Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

“We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise.  We are treated as imposters, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

When it comes to sharing the Gospel with the world around us, our goal should be to make certain that the only offensive thing about us is our message, the Gospel itself.  Everything else about us should be a gigantic yes to the world.  Or, as Paul puts it here, we commend ourselves in every way. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 4:4

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Now, this idea would no doubt be pretty offensive and off-putting to have as our lead when we share the Gospel with someone else: “You’re not going to really understand what I’m about to tell you, but that’s okay because the Devil has probably blinded your mind to it.”  But it is something that is pretty important for us to keep firmly in mind as we do. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 3:3

“And you show that you are letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The Corinthians were a letter from Christ, delivered by Paul?  Huh?

Think about it like this.  What might a letter from Jesus have to say?  From the witness of the Gospels we can say a few things.  It would say, “I love you.”  It would say, “I am for you.  I want you to live fully the life God designed you to live and I’m going to help you every step of your journey to do that.  I gave my life for you so that you can be a part of My Father’s family.  I want you to leave behind the sin that drags you down and steals life from you.  The abundant life of the kingdom can be yours if only you will trust me.” Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 3:17

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Two points here.  The first is that you won’t find a more direct connection between the Father and the Spirit than this.  While the connection between the Father and the Son is fairly easy to make in the Scriptures, for the sake of the Trinity, it is more difficult sometimes to connect the Spirit as the third person.  What Paul says here makes it pretty plain.  The Lord is the Spirit.  There you have it. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 1:9

“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.  But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

One of the questions that has haunted humans since sin entered into the world is why bad things happen.  How do we reconcile the presence of evil in the world with our innate sense that the world was designed to be good?  For those who have heard the Christian claims of a God who is perfectly loving and all-powerful at one and the same time this challenge becomes even more acute.   Read the rest…