Scripture

When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

Observation

Paul is not trying to frighten people with the sternness of his letters. He will be just as bold when he comes in person.

Other people boast about how wonderful they are, but Paul does not do that. They only compare themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.

Paul refuses to reach beyond the area of authority that God has given him. When he claims authority over the Corinthians, it is because he was the one who established the church there.

There is no point in Paul commending himself because only the Lord’s commendation matters.

Application

The world tells us that we have to promote ourselves, talk ourselves up, stand out from the crowd.

This has infiltrated the church in many ways. We have so-called “celebrity pastors”, which is crazy when we realise that their job is to point others to Jesus, not to themselves. This phenomenon is like having a road sign so adorned with decorations that you cannot read the sign.

There are countless ministries that advertise and promote themselves. They want you to know how good they are at what they do. Is their goal to have the praise of men or the praise of God?

In the end, the only the only opinion worth anything is that of the Lord. The ultimate judgement is not how famous we are, but how faithful to the Lord.

I have seen many people come and go in ministry. The ones who are the loudest and seek to make an impression are like fireworks in the sky – they seem to have the power and authority, but after a short time they disappear.

Prayer

Lord, may I only seek your commendation. Please help me to shun the accolades of people to be totally dedicated to you. Amen.

Scripture

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts to teach them to obey Christ.

Observation

Paul appeals to the Corinthians with the gentleness and kindness of Christ. Some people think Paul is only bold at a distance, confusing his gentleness with timidity when he is with them.

Our weapons are not the fleshly weapons of the world. We use God’s weapons to demolish strongholds and to bring every rebellious thought under Christ’s reign.

Some people might think Paul boasts too much about his authority, but it is authority that comes from Christ and builds people up.

Application

The weapons of our warfare as Christians are not fleshly weapons, but are spiritual in nature.

Paul mentions here strongholds. These are areas of our life where satan has been so entrenched that we are not even aware there is a problem.

Strongholds might be deeply embedded habits or thought patterns that we think are “normal” but are in fact contrary to the gospel.

Strongholds need to be pulled down by an honest look at ourselves in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The weapons that destroy them are prayer and God’s word, that is the normal Christian disciplines.

As we submit ourselves to God’s word and apply it to every part of our life, we notice over time that we no longer believe the way we once did. Strongholds, attitudes, and behaviours become obliterated by the grace of our Lord.

Prayer

Lord, please show me strongholds that satan has established in my life. give me the grace to pull these things down. Amen.

Scripture

For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Observation

Paul quotes Psalm 112 which says that God’s people share freely and give generously to the poor. God provides seed for the sower and bread to eat. In the same way, He will increase their resources and produce a harvest of generosity in them.

God will enrich the Corinthians in every way. When Paul takes their gift back to Jerusalem, the believers there will praise God for this generosity and they will pray for them with deep affection.

Application

God provides the farmer with the seed to sow as well as bread to eat. The test for sustainable farming in the ancient world was that even in the most severe of famines, some grain had to be saved to sow the following year. To fail to do this would lead to further suffering.

As Christians who are under God’s grace, we need to both sow into God’s kingdom and also retain some money to meet our own needs. There is no glory to God if we give away everything we have and then become dependent on others.

So discernment in the Holy Spirit is needed in knowing how to spend and invest the resources that God has given us.

In any event, if we are faithful to the Lord, we will reap a great harvest of generosity. The harvest God is looking for is not just a harvest of wealth, but a harvest of generosity. H wants our hearts changed to the point where the first question we ask we ask is, “How much how much can I give?”

Prayer

Lord, please develop in me this generous heart that seeks to give rather than get. Amen.

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.