2 Corinthians

Via Emmaus on the Road: 2 Corinthians 3

/ davidsschrock

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2 Corinthians 3 (ESV)

Ministers of the New Covenant

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a 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.

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Via Emmaus on the Road: 2 Corinthians 2

/ davidsschrock

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2 Corinthians 2 (ESV)

2 For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Forgive the Sinner

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Triumph in Christ

12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Via Emmaus on the Road: 2 Corinthians 1

/ davidsschrock

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2 Corinthians 1 (ESV)

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God of All Comfort

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 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. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Change of Plans

12 For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13 For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— 14 just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

15 Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

23 But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

Soli Deo Gloria!

2 Corinthians 5:11-21: The Overriding Priority of Being Christ’s Ambassador

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

This is a Guest Post from Garrett Wishall, a good friend, a fellow student at SBTS, and the managing editor for Southern’s Towers Magazine.

Life is full of choices. Should I hit the snooze or get up? Will I go with hazelnut, mocha or Jamaican bean coffee this morning? Do I watch football or have a conversation with my wife? Do I have “the talk” with my son today or do I put it off? When I see my neighbor do I ask him about the yelling I heard from his house last night or do I avert my eyes and comment about the weather?

Our priorities shape how we make such choices. What is truly important to us comes through in what we do and don’t do what we say and don’t say. And it is motivations and heart desires that drive and define our priorities and, in turn, our decision-making.

In 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, Paul discusses a fundamental, overriding priority for every Christian: being an ambassador for Christ. An ambassador is one who represents another, one who acts as an emissary. For example, when President-elect Barack Obama settles into office, he will begin sending ambassadors to foreign nations. Those men and women will go with his commission: they will speak in his place and represent his beliefs. What they say will come with his stamp of approval.

Every believer in Christ serves as an ambassador for Christ, for good or for ill. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says that God makes His appeal through us, through believers. Thus, what we say should align with what Christ would say. What we do should align with what He would do.

In this passage, Paul provides three motivations that shape his prioritization of the role of being an ambassador for Christ.

First, Paul says that he knows the fear of the Lord (2 Cor 5:11). Paul is aware that he once walked in darkness, before the God who called light into existence shined the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ into his heart. Paul says that He thus proclaims Christ as Lord, and himself as a servant for Christ’s sake (2 Cor 4:5-6). Paul knows fearing the Lord centers on submission to Christ and he persuades others to do just that.

Second, Paul says the love of Christ controlled him (ESV) or compelled him (NIV). Paul notes that since one man, Christ, died for all men, all men have thus died. Christ died for all that those who live might then live for Him and not for themselves (2 Cor. 5:14-15). The logic is simple: one righteous man dies for men dead in sin. All who respond to this news with repentance of sin and belief in this one man receive their lives back. How could we not then live for Christ’s sake and not our own?

This touches on the area of Christian freedom. Paul is saying that Christian freedom rightly employed prioritizes the glory of God and exaltation of Christ, not selfish gain. Too often Christian freedom is equated with being able to watch certain movies and drink certain beverages. The central purpose of Christ setting people free is that they might enter His kingdom, be conformed to His image and glorify God. In shorthand: He died that we die to sin and live for God (Rom 6:10-11).

This reality did not simply make logical sense to Paul: it moved him. In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul recounts the ways the love of Christ, being an ambassador of Christ, shaped his actions toward the church at Corinth. Through imprisonments, beatings and other afflictions, Paul was insistent in faithfully representing Christ. Paul concludes that the Corinthians believers are not restricted by him, but in their own affections.

The church at Corinth thus knew about the sacrifice of Christ, but it did not shape their lives. They were aware of His death on their behalf, but were not rightly moved to live on His behalf. We, God’s people, today are prone to respond to Christ’s sacrifice more like the Corinthians than like Paul. May we rend our hearts and ask the Lord to do a work in us. May we meditate upon the riches of Christ and may our lives then explode with gratitude and devoted service.

Finally, Paul was motivated to be a faithful ambassador for Christ because this ministry came from God (2 Cor 5:18). The message that every believer is Christ’s ambassador did not originate with your college mentor. It did not originate with John Piper or Mark Dever or whoever your favorite Bible teacher is.  The role of ambassador for Christ originates with the same God who spoke the world into existence and sustains it by the power of His Word. There is no authority that can override this Authority.

The fear of the Lord, the love of Christ and the authority of God thus drove Paul to prioritize his role as an ambassador of Christ. Such a prioritization should characterize the life of every believer, for we are all ambassadors of Christ.

Life is full of choices. But God does not leave us without direction for such choices. Instead, He gives us priorities that make the way clear. Every believer is Christ’s ambassador. Thus, everything we do and say reflects positively or negatively on Him.

In 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, Paul shows how the fear of the Lord, the love of Christ and the authority of God compel him to prioritize his role as Christ’s ambassador. Let us pray that the Lord will give us the grace to respond in a like manner. Then perhaps we can faithfully represent Christ in the words we say, the things we do and the choices we make each day.

Sola Deo Gloria, dss

Distraction, Devotion, and Destruction: A Reflection from Gregory the Great’s “Pastoral Rule”

/ davidsschrock

Reading Gregory the Great’s “Pastoral Rule,” a document addressing Christian shepherds and their pastoral roles, I came across this quote.  Ponder it with me.

Secular employments, therefore, though they may sometimes be endured out of compassion, should never be sought after out of affection for the things themselves; lest, while they weigh down the mind of him who loves them, they sink it, overcome by its own burden, from heavenly places to the lowest (Gregory the Great, “The Pastoral Rule,” in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd series, p. 18).

Gregory’s comment illustrates numerous biblical exhortations for pastors and leaders in ministry.  Consider three:

2 Timothy 2:4, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”

2 Timothy 2:20-21, “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.  Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful for the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

1 Peter 5:2-3, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God whould have you; not for shameful gain…”

In a world filled with distractions…Television.  Radio.  Video Games.  Internet.  Telephone.  Cell Phone.  Email.  Blogging.  Facebook.  Twitter.  The list goes on… Where was I?  Oh yeah, distracting secular employments!  In a world filled with distractions, Gregory’s warning is a timeless reminder that one of Satan’s ploys is to take our eyes, our minds, our affections off what really matters and to fill them with worldly goods (Read: Luke 14:16-24). 

More so than ever, our enemy has an avalanche of options to force us off the straight and narrow path.  He may not tempt us to be bad but to be busy with banality.  For none of the things listed above are intrinsically evil, but they become instruments of destruction when they hinder our worship, deter our mission, promote lethargy, or increase vain curiosity.

I don’t say this as a disenchanted technophobe, but as someone who regularly utilizes the modern amenities afforded by technology.  Nevertheless, I feel their effects.  Gregory’s words rachet me back to Jesus’ pre-modern call to pick up my cross and follow Him.  I confess that too many times, I am distracted in this pursuit, and so I appreciate his exhortation.  I pray for spiritual renewal in my life and a return to a “sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3).  I pray for others too that we will together fix our eyes on Jesus running with endurance the race set out for us, and that to do this well we throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  In this I pray, that we will learn how to use mass media not for purposes of distraction, but for purposes of spiritual destruction–“destroying arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5)

Father in Heaven, Undistracted Deity: Give your people the wisdom to see the ways in which worldly distractions keep them from following you as loyal soldiers, clean vessels, and willing shepherds.  Spirit of Truth, lead us to repent and turn from our futile pursuits and to utilize all creation, technology included, for your glory.  Protect us from the world’s all-consuming efffects.  Lord Jesus, glorify yourself in your church, liberating your people to be wholly committed to loving and serving you.  And may the world watch in wonder and follow in obedience to you as your church turns from distraction to devotion!

Sola Deo Gloria, dss