Scripture

God will generously provide all you need. then you will always have you need plenty left over to share with others.

Observation

Paul has been boasting to the believers in Macedonia about the generosity of the Corinthians. Their enthusiasm to help the church in Jerusalem stirred up the Macedonians.

Now Paul is sending some brothers, including Titus, to make sure that the church in Corinth is ready to contribute. But Paul wants it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.

A farmer who sows a few seeds gets a small crop, but a farmer who plants generously will get a bigger crop. God god loves cheerful giver, and He will provide for their needs and enough to share.

Application

When we are surrendered to God’s purposes, He supplies what we need. Not only that, He gives us enough to share with others as well.

This is the mystery of God’s economics. The world tells us that we need to look out for our own needs and gain as much as we can for ourselves. God says that if we submit to Him and help others, then He will supply all that we need. In fact, our generous God supplies enough for us to be generous too.

This goes way beyond tithing. Tithing is supporting your local church and paying back for the spiritual support you receive. God wants us to support missions, help the poor and homeless, give to our neighbours, and so on. We must practise generosity in every part of life, being givers rather than takers.

As we give and give and give from the joy of following Jesus, we discover that you cannot out-give God.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for these promises about giving generously. Please help me to give freely at every opportunity. Amen.

Scripture

Whatever you give is acceptable if you give eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

Observation

Paul encourages the Corinthians to give generously to support the church in Jerusalem. The churches in Macedonia gave generously, even though they are poor. They gave far more than they could afford. They begged Paul repeatedly for the privilege of sharing in the gift.

Paul wants to encourage the Corinthians to continue in this gift of generosity. They started a year ago, now they should finish. He wants the eagerness they showed in the beginning to be matched in their giving now. The amount of money is not as important as their attitude.

Application

I believe that tithing, that is giving a tenth of your income to your local church, is a basic christian practice that leads us into a range of freedoms. While the tithe is “required”, we also have the freedom to give above and beyond this.

Whenever we are giving to others, it is our attitude that is important. We should always be eager to share from our prosperity to meet the needs of other people.

In that sense, it doesn’t matter how much or how little we give, as long as it is done with joy. The worst thing in the world is to give reluctantly, or worse, with bitterness. That just undermines any goodness our gift might contain.

I know of some business people who practise aspirational tithing. That is, they give 10% of where they would like the business to be at in twelve months’ time. That is a good attitude to have, but it is not expected that anyone should do this unless God calls them to do so. Paul tells us that we should give according to what we have, not what we don’t have.

God wants us to be generous, even sacrificial in our giving to others.

Prayer

Lord, please grow me in this area of generosity. Help me to give freely to others. Amen.

Scripture

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from Ssn and results in salvation. There’s no regret in that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results spiritual death.

Observation

Paul is not sorry that he sent his severe letter to the Corinthians. He was sorry at first because he caused them pain. But the pain caused them to repent and change their ways, so Paul is now glad.

Godly sorrow leads us away from sin and towards God. But worldly sorrow has no repentance and results in spiritual death.

In the case of the Corinthians, godly sorrow produced earnestness and zeal.

Titus was also happy about the way they received him. Paul’s boasting to Titus about the Corinthians proved true.

Application

There are two ways in which we can be sorry about sin – the world’s way and God’s way.

In the world’s way, people may be sorry even remorseful for their sin. This relates to the consequences of being caught or feelings of guilt. They might be sorry for their sins, but do not relate it to God. Worldly sorrow leads to death it misses repentance.

Repentance is the acknowledgement that my sin is offensive to God. The Greek word means literally to change our thinking. What we once considered to be good or pleasurable we now recognise is evil in God’s eyes. Therefore we make a decision to leave that sin in order to stop displeasing God.

Godly sorrow contains this idea of repentance. We recognise that our sin separates us from God, and we desire to return to fellowship with Him.

We need to repent of our sins daily. This is not a one-off at the start of the journey, but a life long process of course corrections as we seek to follow the Lord.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I recognise that my sins are offensive to you. I repent now and ask you to forgive me Amen.

Scripture

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work towards complete holiness because we fear God.

Observation

We have these promises from God (6:16–18) that God will dwell with us, that we are His people, and that God is our Father. therefore, we must cleanse ourselves from everything that will defile us and become completely holy.

Paul again asks the Corinthians to open their hearts to him. He is confident in them and takes pride in them. In Macedonia, Paul faced conflict on every side. He was encouraged when Titus arrived with the news of how the Corinthians longed to see him, and how they repented for what had happened. Paul’s heart was filled with joy.

Application

Many Christians see faith as a blessing machine. We sign up to Jesus and then He gives us all that we need. These people don’t see the need for a changed life. Paul he says it is exactly because of the promises of God that we that we must pursue a live of holiness.

God promises to be our God and our Father, so so we must make ourselves holy. Various sins defile us in body and in spirit, so we must put them away to remain holy before the Lord

The motivation for this is because we fear God. God has the power to destroy us in body and spirit. He can condemn us to the terrors of Hell. Therefore, He is to be feared.

We do not live in terror of God, because He loves us. We have experienced His love and grace. He limits His power to destroy those who walk in covenant with Him, because He loves us. We must not take that love for granted, however.

Prayer

Lord, I love you. Please show me how to become more like you, to become holy as you are holy. Amen.

Scripture

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

Observation

Paul has never withheld his love from the Corinthians, but they have done this to him. He asks them to open their hearts to him.

We must not team up with unbelievers. How can righteousness partner with wickedness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?

We are the temple of God. For this reason, we should be careful not to be contaminated by idolatry and pagan worship.

Application

This verse, in its traditional rendering of “Don’t be unequally yoked to unbelievers” is often used as a caution against marriage of a Christian to an unbeliever. That is a valid interpretation. A man and wife become one flesh, and so it is wrong to join one’s body to that of a non-christian.

It also applies to other situations. Any close partnership in any field should be examined to see if wisdom would require us to not be involved. For example, a business venture with an unbeliever might not be a worthy arrangement. Creative partnerships in the arts or music might require compromise.

My Bible commentary suggests that the central thought in this passage is that christians must not be involved with anything that requires the worship of idols or glorification of pagan beliefs.

We might differ on where the borders lie on this. I don’t like “welcome to country” proclamations as they put a barrier between Aboriginal people and others, but I tolerate them. I will not participate in so-called “smoking ceremonies” as they are a pagan practice.

Our increasingly pagan society throws up some challenges to christians. How far should we go to welcome the stranger? Where does hospitality become idolatry?

Prayer

Keep me strong in you, Lord Jesus. Please help me to resist the temptation to team up with unrighteousness. Amen.

Scripture

For God says, “At just the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Today is the day of salvation.

Observation

Paul begs them to not ignore the gift of God’s salvation. Now is the hour to be saved.

Paul lives in such a way as to confirm the message. He shows in everything he does that he is a true minister of God. He has been beaten and thrown into prison, but he proves himself with a pure life, with understanding, and with love.

Paul serves God whether the people honour him or despise him, whether they slander him or praise him. He is poor but has spiritual riches; he owns nothing but has everything.

Application

The right time to be saved is now.

Many people put off a response to the gospel until “later”. But later is like tomorrow – it never comes.

Some want to have fun while they are young without the inconvenience of worrying about God’s opinion about their lifestyle.

Some put the message away, thinking they will consider it later, but they forget about it. An encounter with God fades and is soon forgotten.

Paul says that right now is the time to make a decision. We may we may not get another chance, for who can say when we will die?

If you are reading this and have not turned away from your selfish lifestyle then do not delay. Now is the time of salvation. Now is the time to repent.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for dying to rescue me. I give my life over to you now and trust you to raise me to eternal life. Amen.

Scripture

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.

Observation

God knows that Paul is sincere in what he does. He is not commending himself, but giving them a reason to answer those who brag about spectacular ministry but lack a clean heart.

We believe that Christ died for all, so we have died to our old life. Christ died so that those who receive His new life no longer live for themselves but for Christ.

Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The old life has gone, the new has come. This is a gift from God who was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He gives us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Application

The gift of salvation is available to everyone who will receive it. God is reconciling the world to Himself.

God’s grace is so huge that, even though He knew who would receive him and who would not, the offer of salvation is made to everyone. Many choose to exclude themselves, but that is there choice not God’s rejection.

He no longer counts our sins against us, as long as we are “in Christ.” If we accept fellowship with Christ, our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. But if we are not “in Christ”, then our guilt remains.

God has declared an amnesty on sin to all who will receive it. You have to be in the program, so to speak, but your sin will be removed, your record purged.

Best of all is that this is not merely a legal reckoning. God brings us back into friendship with him.

We were once far away from God, separated by a wall called sin. Now we are invited into the throne room to dine with the King.

Prayer

Hallelujah! What an awesome saviour you are! Bless the Lord! Amen.

Scripture

God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

Observation

Our bodies are tents that will be taken down when we die. Instead, we will receive an eternal body made by God Himself.

We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our new bodies. God has prepared us for this, and has given us the Holy Spirit as the guarantee.

We can be confident, because we live by faith and not by what we see. We know that we will go to be at home with the Lord.

Whether in the present body or the future body, we must aim to please the Lord. We will all stand before Christ to be judged by Him according to our deeds.

Application

God has prepared us for the transition to eternal life. We will be raised with a new body to live with God forever. This body will be made directly by God and not by human activity, and so it will be perfect and not subject to death, sickness, or decay.

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of eternity. God has placed Himself within the spirit of every believer to testify to us that we are born again and will live for ever.

Whenever I pray in tongues or listen to the still small voice of His Spirit, it is a reminder to me that I am destined for eternity.

God has prepared us to pass from this world to the next. We live in a culture that actively avoids the reality of death, but God has a transition plan that He has hard wired into the spirit of every person when they are saved.

We know that this planet is not our home, and this body is not our final body. So we have hope when our bodies age, or we get sick, or a pandemic threatens our health. We do not pan like those who have no hope

Prayer

Thank you Father for your grand plan that will see me gain a new and perfect body in your Kingdom. Amen.

Scripture

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things unseen. For the things we we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever

Observation

Paul is pressed on every side by troubles, but he is not crushed. He is knocked down, but not destroyed. The suffering of his body is a sharing in the death and the life of Jesus. He lives in the face of death, but he knows that this results in eternal life for others.

Paul continues to preach because he knows that as God’s grace reaches more people, God receives more glory. He never gives up gives up because these present troubles are small compared to the glory to come.

Application

Many people believe and act as if the material world is more important than the spiritual world. The Bible says the opposite is true.

The spirit world is more important because it is eternal, while the physical creation will eventually pass away.

Even if this were not true, it would still make more sense to invest ourselves in eternal values because that is where our home will be forever. Jesus told a parable about a rich man who died even while he was planning new store houses and ways to increase his financial wealth, but he had given no thought to eternity. God describes him as a fool. ( Luke 12:16-21)

Paul looked at the hardships he endured in this life as an investment in heaven. He rejoiced that God was being glorified as more people received the good news. His suffering was short and inconsequential compared to the joy and eternal life coming to himself and to his converts.

We must learn to see things from God’s perspective and to invest in what will last forever.

Prayer

Thank you Father for the privilege of eternal life with you. Please help me to invest with you in things that will yield an eternal reward. Amen.

Scripture

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God

Observation

God has given us this new way so that we should reject reject all shameful deeds such as distorting the word of God.

The Good News is hidden from those who are perishing because satan has blinded their minds. They cannot see the glory and and do not understand the message about Christ.

The same God who created light to shine in the darkness put the light into into our hearts so we can see the glory of God. We have the light in our hearts, but we ourselves are like jars of clay that contain a great treasure.

Application

We must never forget that satan is the god of this world. Those who choose to follow the world rather than follow Jesus are therefore following Satan, the father of lies.

This means that most of what the world says is good is in fact bad, and vice versa. It is the highest folly for individuals or churches to listen to what the world is saying.

Satan is a liar, but Jesus is the Truth. Everything must be tested against what Jesus teaches. Scripture is truth, and wherever it conflicts with the world, we must choose Scripture.

We are seeing an acceleration of the promotion of lies in the world. sexual deviancy, abortion, self-centeredness, communism, and many other false doctrines are being promoted by the self-styled elites who deny and mock the Father of Truth.

Into the darkness, every christian must shine the light of the glory of Christ. We must do this faithfully and repeatedly. Those who choose to walk in the darkness may take some time before they are able to see the light. We must persist.

Prayer

Thank you Father for saving me. Thank you for the Good News. Amen.