Endurance in Trial
Paul continues to defend his ministry and call the Corinthian church to a better understanding of their own mission. Paul calls them not to receive the grace of God in vain and to use the tools of the gospel to produce God’s ends.
Reconciliation in Christ
Paul makes it clear that all of the security and confidence that God gives us as His people is meant to be used for His service. In particular, he points out the dual roles of: ambassador for Christ and minister of reconciliation as our task. We have been called to show the world how we […]
Courage in the unseen
Connecting our earthly lives to the life to come, Paul gives us a reason to not lose hope and to be of great courage. By viewing our life through the lens of eternity, he reframes our light momentary afflictions in comparison with eternity.
Light in darkness
Paul continues to justify his calling by challenging the church’s concept of success. He wants them to see that they have misplaced standards and this causes them to boast about things that don’t matter and to miss what God is doing. The solution, he says, is to consider our own conversion as the motivation and […]
Glory in death
Paul tells the church that the glory they have far exceeds the glory that Israel experienced through Moses and at Mount Sinai. In this, he is encouraging the church to let go of the shadow in order to take hold of the fullness of the gospel. He tells them to remove whatever veil is keeping […]
Proof in people
Paul writes to both defend his authority, but also to help the church in Corinth understand their own assurance. We can be sure because of God’s miraculous work manifested in and through us. Any other proof leads to pride and/or despair.
Forgiveness in pain
The church is always in some sort of conflict. This is because the church is full of people. We should not be overwhelmed by this, but should look to the ways that Paul (and Jesus) call us to respond to the difficulties of relationship.
Sincerity in conflict
Paul writes to a Corinthian church in conflict. He encourages them not to engage in conflict as those around them do, but to do it with simplicity and godly sincerity. This is so that the world can see that their answer is not in them, but comes from Christ.
Comfort in affliction
Paul’s blessing to the church in Corinth is an encouragment to find comfort in their affliction. It is not just about ‘looking at things differently.’ He makes the argument that the work of Christ to unite us to God actually transforms affliction into comfort. We do not need to ‘make the best of it.’ We […]
Peace in Chaos
As we begin 2 Corinthians, we start with the author, the audience, and the major theme of the book. We ended with the greeting, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In this we see that Paul (and God’s) desire is for us to experience God’s peace through God’s […]
Page 2 of 2