2 CORINTHIANS 2:5-172005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Corinthians 2:5-17

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005. Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, he's continuing his discussion. Now, to take you back a little bit, to recap what we talked about last week.

We talked about something that's very important and a distinction that needed to be made between the idea of judging and the idea of correction. Two things that take place within the body of Christ, but one is something that should take place and one is something that should not. Judging, Paul said, is something that we should not do. We looked at 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and saw that we...

as we are, are not equipped. We don't have the ability to know what's in a person's heart. We can't discern what their true motives are. And so we're not equipped to judge someone, to question their motives, to judge them or condemn them based on something that's going on, we believe, behind the scenes. Their heart, their motives, their attitudes.

But what we are called to do, what should take place within a body, within a family, between brothers and sisters in the Lord, is correction. And correction is quite different from judging because judging is making a determination on what's going on within. Correction is applying the word of God to what's going on outwardly.

It's applying the Word of God to sinful actions and sinful things that need to be taken care of. Paul demonstrated this in chapter 5 of 1 Corinthians as we looked at. Now, chapter 5 of 1 Corinthians, there was a situation where a guy, a gentleman, was...

living in sexual immorality with his stepmother, his father's wife. It wasn't his mom, but it was his father's wife. And he was living in sexual immorality with her. And so Paul says, look, you need to deal with this situation. The Corinthians were boasting of how tolerant they were. They were proud of how much they were allowing and how they paraded it around and it was no problem to them. But Paul says, no, this is sin. It needs to be taken care of. It's spoken against in the Word of God. And so you need to apply the Word of God to this situation.

and take corrective action. It's not judging. It's not something that's going on within the heart. It's something that's going on outwardly. It's an action that needs to be taken care of. And so, judging...

is looking at the heart, looking at the motives, but correcting is looking at the actions and applying the Word of God to it. Now, as we look at the idea of correction, Paul concluded last week in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 4, telling us this is the way that you need to approach correction. He

He gave us Himself as an example. He said, look, when I came to you, when I wrote to you these things to correct you, I did it with much affliction, anguish of heart, and with many tears. That it wasn't a joyful thing, it wasn't an exciting thing. I didn't take pleasure in bringing that correction to you, but it was a very difficult thing. It was with much affliction, with anguish of heart, and with many tears. And so, that's the first characteristic that takes place or that should be within true biblical correction. The second characteristic is

is the correct purpose, the right purpose. Paul said, I did not write to grieve you. And often that is the case when we desire to correct people, to grieve them, to make them suffer. But Paul says, look, I was not trying to grieve you, but it was to the purpose that things would be taking place so that I could come to you in joy, that joy would be the result. The purpose was for restoration. And then number three, he says, and I didn't do it out of hate or spite or to get back at you. I

I did it to demonstrate my love to you. So these three things, Paul said, were in place when he was writing this letter in correction. Anguish of heart, much affliction, not to grieve, but to demonstrate his love to them.

Correction is a biblical thing. It's something that does need to take place. Between brothers and sisters in the Lord, we should often correct each other. As things are going on, as things happen, and things are contrary to the Word of God, we need to stick to the Word and share the Word of God with one another. Not in harsh, condemning ways, but in love, as Paul would demonstrate for us. Correction also needs to take place within a family.

That is, things are going on and situations happen. The Word of God needs to be applied to our family's lives. Correction also needs to take place within a church, within the body of Christ. As situations happen and sin is being acted out, not to judge people's hearts, but to look at the sin, to look at the action that's taking place and apply God's Word to it. Jesus talks about this. He gives us the formula.

for corrective action. Matthew chapter 18. Let's turn there for a moment. You can keep your thumb here in 2 Corinthians. We'll definitely come back there in a moment. But Matthew chapter 18, Jesus talks about what to do when there is sin going on, when there's something that needs to take place. How do you do that? If someone sins against you, what is your role? What is your responsibility? Matthew chapter 18 says,

Verse 15, it says this,

And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Verse 18, Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Verse 19,

For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Jesus, as he's talking about this topic, correction, how does it take place? What needs to happen? He gives the example. He says, look, if someone sins against you,

If someone sins against you, now it could be referring to a continual sin, a sin that someone is continually doing towards you, or a one-time sin, a stumble, a fall, an accident, whatever the case may be. It could have been on purpose, but it was a one-time thing. Whatever the case, if someone sins against you, Jesus says, here's what you need to do. The first thing you need to do is you need to go and tell your best friend all about what happened.

Is that what it says? No. What Jesus said is you need to go and tell Oprah on national TV. Is that what it says? No, that's not what it says. What does it say that you and I are called to do? If we say, yes, I'm a believer, yes, I follow Jesus, here's his instruction to us. Someone sins against you, what are you to do? To go to him

You know what that word in the Greek means, alone? It means alone, without companion. By yourself. Just keep it between you two. There's no need to involve other people. There's no need to go around and talk about what this person did to you or what this person did to me and all this and all that. He says, look, if there's a situation, if there's a sin, you need to simply, just you two,

Go to one another and share the Word of God. Now, in dealing with correction and this instruction, we need to understand, when you go to someone for correction or to correct them, it's not that you go so that you can point the finger and condemn. It's not that you go so that they can suffer. Listen, the suffering for their sin was already paid for on the cross.

The reason, the purpose behind going to someone in correction is not to make them suffer, not to grieve them as Paul said, but instead to open their eyes. Because here's what sin does. Sin hardens our heart and blinds our eyes. And so people will often sin. You and I will often sin. And we won't recognize it. We won't realize it. And we won't hear from God in that area because sin hardens our heart. The deceitfulness of sin...

deceives us. We fall prey to it and our heart becomes hard. Not only that, but it blinds our eyes so that we're not able to see. Many times when people are in sin, they do not realize it. They do not understand what is going on. And so the purpose is, look, you go to your brother because you love them, because you want them to see, look, you're involved in sin. It brings destruction, devastation into your life. And so I want you to know this is what's happening. This is what took place. This is what's going on

not so that they could be grieved, but that they could be restored, that their eyes would be opened, and that God would minister to them, and God would restore them and bless them. So the first thing you do, someone sins against you, you go and talk to them one-on-one. Personally, this is what's going on. This is what I see.

It's not judging hearts, not judging motives, but taking the Word of God and applying it to specific actions in people's lives. Now, what if they don't hear you? Jesus says, okay, if they don't hear you, they don't understand what you're saying, they don't listen, their eyes aren't open, they don't see that they're involved in sin, they still refuse to repent or continue on in sin, here's what you do. You take one or two more people

so that by two or three, it's established by the witness, by the word of two or three. Now again, you don't go grab two more people so that there's three fingers pointing at them instead of just one.

It's three people to say, look, we all are here. We all love you. We all care for you. Please understand, we just want you to open your eyes and see what is going on. We want you to see we're here not to condemn you, not to point our finger, not to gang up on you, but to share with you. This is what God's Word says. And this is what you're doing. Let us be your counsel and turn back to God. Now, Jesus says the third thing, if...

He doesn't listen to the person one-on-one. If they don't listen to the two or three gathered together, then Jesus says, then tell it to the church. Take it to the church. And the church then is responsible. The church is to treat that person, Jesus says, as a heathen or a tax collector. Now what does that mean? We don't really understand that. That doesn't mean, again, instead of two or three fingers pointing at them, we've got a hundred people now pointing at this guy and saying, you're condemned, you're

You know, we hate you. That's not what Jesus is saying. What is he saying? Well, to treat someone as a heathen, are we called to love the heathen, those who are not saved? Absolutely. It's not that we don't treat in love, but it's that we don't have that close fellowship like we can have with those who are believers in Jesus Christ. There's a break there. There's a break in the relationship.

There's not the close, intimate relationship that we once had. And so Jesus said, this is what the church is to do. The church is to back away from that close, that intimate, that personal relationship, that personal contact. Fellowship, love, encourage, but to not have intimate contact. Not have that close fellowship.

The intent being that this person would then realize, look, this whole church is saying that I'm in sin. Chances are they're right and I'm wrong. Chances are I'm not the only one that's right and everybody else is wrong. Now we often think that. I'm right and everybody that's talking to me, they're wrong. No, no. Jesus says, look, this is the last effort. This is what we can do. Open their eyes by standing in unison and saying, look, you're in sin. You're involved in sin and you need to open your eyes.

And it would be a big testimony to this person who is sinned, who has sinned, who continues to sin, that they would be able to see, repent, and come back to God. Now, this is what Jesus said to do in dealing with sin, in dealing with wrongs that are done to us. Now, you might ask the question, man, do I have to do this every time? Because I'm going to have to talk to a lot of people. Hey, we stumble, we fall short, right? But think with me for a moment.

If someone stumbles and falls and accidentally insults you, takes your last ice cream without realizing what they're doing or whatever, if they hurt you in some way or they stumble and fall in some way, and it's not a continued action, but it's just a one-time thing, listen, you can do this. If you're going to talk to someone, you need to talk to the person. But there's another option that you have.

The rest of Matthew 18, verses 21-35 deal with Jesus talking about this area of forgiveness.

Because Peter, in response to what Jesus said in the verses we just read, says, Hey, well, how many times do I have to forgive my brother? Like seven times? And Jesus said, Peter, not seven times, but 70 times seven. That's a lot of times. How am I going to keep track of that? Well, you don't have to. That's the point. Just forgive and forgive and forgive. And he gives an example, and we'll talk about that in a little bit.

So yes, you can go and talk to them and you can deal with the situation or you can forgive. You know, the Proverbs chapter 10 verse 12 tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. It covers all sin. Our love for one another, that we don't hold on to the bitterness and hold on to those things, but we just forgive. You hurt me, it's okay.

And we'll see Paul's example of that in forgiveness. So, do you have to do this every time? No. If you're going to talk to someone, you need to talk to that person. That's what's biblical. But you can also take the higher road, which is simply to forgive. Now, in saying that, there's another...

possibility though if it's continued sin if someone is living a lifestyle of sin like the gentleman in first corinthians chapter 5 where he's living in a lifestyle of sexual immorality and the church is is gloating about it and he's okay with it and he walks into church no problem i'm living in sexual immorality then that is a different situation that's not a one-time thing that's not a stumble that's not a fall it's not a shortcoming but it's open defiant sin

And so in that case, then these steps must be applied. Correction does need to take place. You cannot harbor sin. You cannot continue to allow sin to go on within the body of Christ. And so Paul says, look, well, as we look back now at 2 Corinthians 2, you can jump back there now. Paul says, this has already taken place for this guy. This guy who is living in sexual immorality, he's been talked to. The two or three talked to him. The church has...

put them out of their fellowship, out of that close fellowship. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 5, he told them, hey, deliver this one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved on the day or in the day of the Lord Jesus. So they had finally applied, finally put into practice the things that Paul had encouraged them and instructed them to do in this situation. And so Paul is saying, now, this has all been done.

The fourth thing now that needs to happen, number one, you go to Him alone. Number two, there's two or three witnesses. Number three, take it to the church. But the fourth thing now is that when the church has dealt with it and when He has repented, then it's time for restoration. It's time to forgive and comfort.

And that's what Paul is talking about here. So 2 Corinthians 2, verse 5 says, But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent, not to be too severe. So Paul is continuing his conversation. He says, look, I didn't come so that...

I would spare you that I could write you this letter that you could put these things into place, that you could correct the situation, that it wouldn't have to be a sorrowful visit of correction. But he says, look, the time is done though.

The correction has taken place and he has repented. He's received the word. He's received and through your obedience to the word and the things I've shared with you, his eyes have been opened. He's realized he's in sin. He's not in sin any longer. And so Paul says, look, if anyone has caused grief, if anyone has offended, if this guy is offended, referring back to 1 Corinthians 5, he says, he's not grieved me, but all of you.

It's important to remember, this was the same guy who was in sin. This was the same guy who rebelled against the things that Paul said. This is the same guy who attacked Paul for the things that he said. This is the same guy who came against Paul and basically led a rebellion within the Corinthian church against Paul. So there were those who were trying to defend Paul in this situation. They were saying, look, he hasn't suffered long enough yet.

It wasn't severe enough because they loved Paul and they wanted to defend Paul. And so they said, look, he needs to be punished more for how he treated Paul, for what he did against Paul. But Paul here makes it very clear. He says, look, don't worry about me. He hasn't grieved me.

Whatever he said doesn't matter. It doesn't bother me. He hasn't grieved me, but he's grieved all of you because he's part of your body. He's part of the church there. So the grief is not for me. Don't worry about me and how I feel about these things. He's grieved the body there, but the time is finished. The restoration needs to take place because he has repented. He's come back. So he wasn't worried about his own reputation or pride. He was worried about that man. And he says he's repented.

And that was Paul's prayer. Not that he would suffer, but that he would come back, that he would repent, and that he would be restored in his relationship with Jesus. So verse 6 goes on to say, This punishment, which was inflicted by the majority, is sufficient for such a man. Which punishment? Well, the punishment that we've been talking about, where the guy was put out of fellowship for a time.

That close fellowship wasn't there so that his eyes would be opened. And he says, this punishment, which was inflicted by the majority, it's what Jesus commanded, Matthew 18, 17, treat him as a heathen or a tax collector. It's what Paul had commanded them in 1 Corinthians 5, 5 to deliver such a one to Satan. They had done it and he had repented. Now notice he says, by the majority. By the majority. Now,

He's saying basically this. Most of the church at Corinth had listened to what Paul had said and cut off that close fellowship, that close communion with him. But others did not, as is often the case. There are those who feel that they know better and so they do their own thing. But Paul says, look, this was done by the majority. This was taken care of and it's sufficient for such a man. How do you know it's sufficient? Well, he says it's sufficient for such a man because it worked. It worked.

It helped him repent. He's come back to his senses now. He understands his sin. He's not living in sin any longer. So it's sufficient. It worked. What needed to take place took place and it brought him back to an understanding of what he was doing. It opened his eyes so that he would realize. So Paul says, look, he hasn't grieved me. He's kind of grieved all of you. But you've responded and it's sufficient because...

He's repented. He's come back. So in verse 7, he says, So as opposed to saying, well, we need to make him suffer more or longer or extended or something like that. He says, on the contrary, opposite of that, here's what you should do.

Some wanted to extend the punishment duration or make it more severe. Like so many things in life, you and I, we need to find a balance when correction needs to take place. A balance that when the time is done, it's done. That we don't dwell there for too long. But when God has accomplished what He wants to do, that we move forward and we don't dwell on it too long. It's like disciplining a child. When you as a parent have to discipline a child,

You do it in love because you love your children. And so you don't say stand in the corner until your arm falls off. Or you don't say stand in the corner until you pass out from starvation because you haven't eaten for three days. You need to really suffer for this thing because you did it really bad. You don't do it vindictively. You don't do it joyfully. You do it in pain and sorrow. You know, parents always say, it's going to hurt me more than it hurts you. And you say, yeah, right. But much affliction, anguish of heart.

It's proper. It's right. There is a time for that disconnection. There is a time for discipline. But Paul says, when the time is done, then let it be done. Don't dwell on it. Don't extend it because you do it in love. Your ultimate goal is to receive that

child back with their eyes open and go, oh, I'm not supposed to do that. I'm not supposed to talk to you that way, whatever the case may be. Same thing is true in church discipline. It should be a done in love that it's administered, but then when it's done, it's done so that they can be received back in love, their eyes being opened. Oh, I can't believe what I was doing. I was living in so much sin. I was living in rebellion to God. I can't believe that

that that was taking place in my life, in my heart. And they come back restored. Humbled, but restored. And so he says, on the contrary, instead of making it more severe or extending it, here's what you need to do. He says, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him.

Forgive and comfort him. I love these words because they're very encouraging words. The word forgive, in the Greek it's charisomai, which doesn't mean a lot to us, but you might remember the word for grace in Greek is charis. Forgive is a compound word, charisomai. It's all about grace. What is Paul saying when he says to forgive him?

He says, show yourself to be gracious to him.

To be gracious. Now, we talk about grace almost every week because it's an important word. It's an important thing that God has for us. Grace is getting what you do not deserve in a positive sense. Getting goodness, wonderfulness, blessings that you and I do not deserve. That's how God treats us. He says at this time, it's time to forgive. It's time to treat Him the way that God treats you with blessings, with encouragement, with things that He does not deserve and treating Him in a way that He does not deserve. Be kind. Be benevolent.

Show yourself gracious to this person. It's time now. He's repented. So he says, forgive and be gracious. Not only that, but comfort him. How do you comfort him? Well, this word is also a word that we know very well and are familiar with because it's used of the Holy Spirit. It means to call to one side, to call alongside.

Paul says, look, the time is over. The discipline is done. The work has been accomplished. So treat them in a way that they do not deserve. Bless them in ways that they do not deserve. Call them to your side. Restore them to fellowship. Love them. Encourage them. Bless them. And he goes on to say, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up in too much sorrow. Why should you do this? Well, because if you continue to inflict the punishment as you desire to do,

They'll be swallowed up in sorrow. It will be too hard, too painful to walk with God. As they've repented, the work has been accomplished. Their relationship with God is restored. So now restore your relationship. If you exile them, what will end up taking place is they will walk away from God. They'll be swallowed up in sorrow because of the way that you're treating them. Now, in teaching this passage, I know and I understand there's going to be some questions asked

And so I want to try to answer them here and now so that you can hear it. Because some of you will remember a situation here at this body when we had to ask an individual to leave because of sinful actions. As a result, in situations and things, we had to ask them not to be a part of this fellowship. And then we had to ask the body not to be in contact, not to have this close fellowship, so that God could do the work that He wanted to do.

And so I know the questions are coming and I know that I'll have the questions and that's okay. But the question I know that will be asked is, okay, 2 Corinthians 2, does this now apply to us in this specific situation that happened within our body? And I've been praying about this for some time because I knew 2 Corinthians 2 was coming up. And I've been looking and I've been seeking the Lord and I was really rejoicing knowing that, hey, it's going to be time. But then some things took place.

Situations happen, things transpired, and I know now that that's not God's desire at this point. Because He's not finished with the work that He wants to do. He's not finished with what He wants to accomplish. And it's not a matter of discipline, but it's a matter of protection on both sides. And so, I just ask that you trust me without going into the details, that you trust. And you say, okay.

That's what we're called to do. What about him being swallowed up in sorrow? What about this or that? Hey, consider the context for a moment of what Paul is talking about and who he's talking to. The church of Corinth was the church of Corinth. Corinth was a city. There was only one church in Corinth that was Christian, and that was the church of Corinth.

And so Paul says, look, if you exile this guy, if you continue to inflict this punishment, it's going to be too severe. There's nowhere else for him to go to receive encouragement. There's nowhere else that he can grow, that he can be encouraged in his relationship with God. And so he's just going to end up walking away. His life will be ruined because you continued the discipline for too long. In this case, with us specifically, it's not the same way.

This individual is already involved in another body. There's already the opportunity for other fellowship and growth. It's up to them to take it and to receive it and to move forward. But for the protection of this body, there needs to be this lack of fellowship because there is reality, the reality of danger. There is the reality of things taking place. And so we need to understand that

That the purpose is not to make someone suffer. The purpose is to restore, to protect, to do God's work and what he wants to do with his body, with his sheep here. Verse 8, Paul continues on. He says, So he says, with this guy, living sexually immoral with his stepmother. Yet he's repented.

So now is the time not to continue punishment, but instead to reaffirm your love. To forgive and comfort, to call Him to your side, but not only that, to reaffirm your love. That word reaffirm means literally to confirm publicly. Paul is saying, look, just as in public his sin had to be dealt with, just as in public he had to deal with this situation,

in public. Now, reaffirm your love. The work has been accomplished. God's done what He's wanted to do. So now, come back and reaffirm your love. Publicly, open up your arms to Him and welcome Him back in love. Openly demonstrate your love to Him so that He can go on, so that He can continue to grow.

In verse 9, he says, Now, he's referring to, probably, the middle letter that we don't have.

The one that was sent by the hand of Titus with the corrective instructions that was very harsh, that had to deal with those things. He wrote them this letter, sent it by Titus, and he says, last week we saw that he said that he wrote this so that they could set things in order, so that they could put things in place and deal with the situations so that he wouldn't have to visit them in sorrow and in dealing with correction. But next time he visits, it could be in joy, in fellowship.

The second reason, though, he says, I wrote to you, was to see and to prove, to test your obedience, to see if you'd really listen to the things that I have to say. It's an important test for you and I. Will we be obedient? Will we listen to those who God has given as authority over us, those who God has given as spiritual leaders in our lives? Will we listen?

And Paul wasn't trying to do anything for himself, but he was giving them an opportunity to prove that they would be obedient to their spiritual leader, Paul. That they would be and hear and receive from God through him. And if they hadn't, then that would be something that would prove to them their own heart, their own condition. Listen, when you're in a place where your spiritual leaders, those you trust...

are telling you something and you disagree, you do not agree, you do not want to be a part of it, then you need to understand, chances are, it's not them that are wrong. God has given you spiritual leaders for that purpose. And so it's proving to you, God is showing you by that, your heart and where you are in your relationship with God. And it's not a good place if you're in that place. You need to repent. You need to realize and receive instruction from those who God has placed in your life in that way.

Verse 10, he goes on to say, Now, verse 10 can be quite confusing if you read it, especially if you read it a lot of times. So we're just going to read it once and break it down real quick. He starts out saying, Simple.

If you forgive anybody anything, I also forgive them. Paul again is saying, look, don't worry about me. You don't have to think, well, I don't know if we can forgive this guy because what if Paul hasn't forgiven him yet? Paul says, look, if you forgive anything, I forgive him too. This situation, whatever situation, if you forgive it, hey, Paul says, I wasn't fighting a personal battle. I wasn't trying to get at this guy.

So if you forgive, if the time is done, if the work is complete, then it's time to forgive. I forgive him too. You don't have to worry about me. It's not about me. Remember? We've been learning that. Paul says, it's not about me. Don't worry about me. And verse... Oh, continue on then. He says, For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes and the presence of Christ. Now, this is interesting. Because Paul is saying, look, if I have forgiven anything, ever, at any time, if I've ever forgiven anything...

or ever forgiven anybody for anything, then I've forgiven this guy. Paul is using this to say, hey, let there be no doubt. I've forgiven him. There's nothing left. I don't have anything against him. There's not unforgiveness in my heart. If I've forgiven anything, I've forgiven this guy. I've forgiven the situation. And he says, Jesus is my witness. I did it in the presence of God, in the presence of Christ.

So Paul is saying, my forgiveness is not an issue. But it's you guys who need to forgive and you need to move forward. And then he goes on to say, verse 11, We're not ignorant of his devices. Listen, how would Satan take advantage? What's Paul talking about? He's saying this, unforgiveness is a device of Satan.

It's a tool. It's an instrument of the devil. He says, look, if I forgive anybody, I've forgiven him. Because if I don't forgive, if I don't have forgiveness, if I have unforgiveness, then that's a tool of Satan in my life. It's an instrument that he uses to turn my heart from God, to make my heart hard to God, to deceive me, to lead me astray, to turn me away from the things of God.

Unforgiveness is a tool. It's an instrument of Satan and we need to watch out for it. We need to beware. So Paul says, I've forgiven him. I don't hold unforgiveness in my heart because it's an instrument of Satan. Bitterness, grudges, personal vendettas, whatever the case may be, those are not things of God, but things of Satan. He uses them to turn our hearts away, to divide the body of Christ.

to bring devastation into our lives. And so we need to be people who know how to forgive. Learn to forgive. Learn to put things aside. Matthew 18, verses 21-35. It's the portion I mentioned earlier.

He gives us the example. Jesus talking, he tells a parable so that we might understand the importance of us learning to forgive or really the reality of why we should forgive. He gives the example of a king or a master. And he has some servants and let's say it's you and you're his servant and he calls you into court and he says, look, you owe me millions of dollars. And if you're like me, you're like, I got two bucks, will that cover it? No.

You owe me millions of dollars. And the servant goes, I don't got millions of dollars. I don't got that much money. I can't pay that. And so the king says, well, your sentence is you got to go to prison until you can pay it back. In other words, you're going to be there until you die. And the guy pleads for mercy. He begs for mercy. He says, please have mercy. I don't have it. I'll get it to you. Just give me some time. And the king has mercy. He says, you know what? The debt's forgiven. Don't worry about it. You don't owe me anything.

And then you walk out, you're like, whoo, man, that was close. For giving a million dollars. But then you see someone who owes you five bucks. And you go up to them and you grab them around the neck and you ring them and shake them real bad and say, where's my five bucks? I need to go to Carl's Jr. because I'm hungry. And then you put him in prison and say, you're staying there until you pay me back my five dollars.

It says Jesus gives the example that the servants of that king of that master take that servant to him and say, look, you forgave him a million dollars, but this is what he's done to the guy who owed him five dollars. And so the king rebuked him and punished him severely. This is what we are doing if we have unforgiveness in our hearts. Listen, whatever it is, whatever wrong that someone has done to you, it's nothing comparison to what you've done to God.

The debt that Jesus paid on the cross in dying for our sins and covering and wiping away our debt that we owe to God was millions and millions of dollars. And the things that we do to one another, yes, they might be painful. Yes, they might be sorrowful. Yes, there's wicked and horrible things that people do to each other. But comparison, it's like five bucks. And so we need to be people who forgive because we've been forgiven such a great debt.

And Jesus has forgiven them for whatever it is that they've done for us. So Paul says, I don't want this device, this instrument of Satan in my life. So I am learning to forgive and I'm putting it behind me. And that doesn't matter to me what he says or what he's done. I forgive it. Jesus has paid for it. And so I'm letting it go. I'm going to be gracious to them. That's what it means to forgive. You know, often we say, well, I forgive you. But then we're not very nice to each other. We're back off of each other.

The word forgive, again, grace. Give them a relationship, trust, love, blessings they do not deserve. That's what forgiveness is. That's true forgiveness. He says, look, I've forgiven him. If I've forgiven anything, I've forgiven this man. Forgiven people will be forgiving people. In Jesus Christ, you're forgiven. So let's learn to forgive. In verses 12 and 13, he brings it back to the subject of why he didn't come.

He brings it back to the question, can we trust Paul? In verse 12 he says, Paul says, look, furthermore, back to the original subject, the reason why I didn't come through Corinth.

was I came to Troas and there was a great door of ministry open there for me. The Lord had opened a great door, an opportunity there for me to do His work. But, he says, my spirit could not rest. Why? Well, because Titus wasn't there and he hadn't come back yet. You remember Titus was the one that Paul had sent his letter with.

And Titus was the one bringing back word with how they had responded and how it had played out within the church there at Corinth. And so he's anxious to hear. He's written them a hard letter, a corrective letter, and he's anxious to hear. Man, did they receive it? Are they taking corrective action? Are they doing the things that I asked them to do? Because Paul had a great love for them. And so Paul's anxious. He has this great door of opportunity, but he's like, man, I love the church of Corinth.

And I need to find out. I'm anxious. I can't rest until I find out. Are they okay? Did they receive the word of God? Are they walking with God? How did they receive it? So Paul says, look, don't be judging my motives. I left an open door that God had given me because I cared for you, because I love you, and I wanted to find out how you were doing.

and what I could do really to serve you and to bless you. And so verse 14, he goes on and he says, Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. He says, thanks be to God. Hearing that they did receive it. Thanks be to God. He says, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Now this is encouraging to us. Look, if you're with Jesus,

You're with the one who has the victory. There's always victory in Jesus Christ. Stick with Jesus and you'll be on the winning path. He says he leads us triumphantly in Christ. Do things his way, even when you don't understand, because he leads us in triumph. And there might be suffering, there might be pain along the way, but he leads us in triumph. The ultimate end is triumph, victory, rejoicing.

He has the right way, the right path. So Paul says, thanks be to God. Because even though I had to write this letter and I had to do these things in correction towards you, and you had to do these things in correction towards him, but look, he's led us in triumph. The work has been done. The man has repented and he's ready to be restored. And so he says, praise God. Because I just did what God had told me to do in sending you this letter.

Yet God accomplished his victory. And it wasn't easy. It wasn't hard. I didn't quite understand it. But we were led triumphantly in Christ.

And he goes on to say, and through us, he diffuses his fragrance of his knowledge in every place. So number one, when we're with Jesus, not only does he lead us triumphantly, but also he diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. Now, what does that mean, diffuse? It's not like a bomb diffuse, but it means to make actual and visible. To make actual and visible. Something that's tangible. Paul says, look,

Through our actual and visible obedience to Jesus, the knowledge of Him is spread. People know about God. People get to know God by the visible, the actual obedience and relationship that we have with Him. God uses us to make the knowledge of Him real to those around us. We're His proof that He exists. We are the examples to those around us of what He is like. What He is like.

Paul says, through us, he diffuses. He makes it actual and visible, the knowledge of God to those around us. In verse 15, he says, for we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. So, through us,

He diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge because we are, to God, the fragrance of Christ. To God, you and I, as we follow Jesus, we're the fragrance of Christ, the sweet-smelling aroma of Christ. Those who receive God's gift of salvation, they're clothed in the righteousness of Jesus.

clothed in his righteousness, completely covered, so that when God looks, he doesn't see our righteousness because the Bible tells us that our righteousness is as filthy rags. Isaiah 64. But he sees Jesus' righteousness, which is perfection. He sees Jesus in us. He smells Jesus in us. The fragrance of Christ.

We don't have any longer to God the stench of death because sin brings destruction. Sin brings death and death brings a stench. But that's been covered. That's been taken away. And now in Christ with a sweet smelling aroma of Jesus. Isn't that awesome? God finds pleasure in you and I because of what Jesus did for us. He finds pleasure in what we do.

We're a sweet-smelling aroma to Him. To the world, it's a different story. Verse 16 goes on to say, to the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and the other, the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? He says, look,

To those who are perishing, which he made reference to in verse 15, were the aroma of death leading to death. Among the perishing, we are the actual invisible proof that there is a God with the fragrance of Christ. We diffuse the knowledge of God. We make it actual and visible to those around us so that we demonstrate that there is a God and who God is.

John chapter 13 verse 35, Jesus said, look, they're going to know you're my disciples by your love for one another. Listen, those who are fighting against God will not enjoy your presence if you're diffusing his fragrance. If you are making actual and visible the knowledge of God, if you are talking about Jesus, if you're making him real by how you live, those who are fighting God will not enjoy your presence. It's a good thing.

Jesus said, blessed are you when you're persecuted and reviled for my name's sake. When we diffuse in the fragrance of God, the knowledge of God, those who are fighting against God will not enjoy us, will not enjoy our presence. I often encourage my wife that this is a good way to get rid of solicitors because they call and you say, just tell them about Jesus. They won't call back ever again. Silly but serious at the same time, diffusing the knowledge of God.

Sharing the love of Christ, being the reality, making it visible to those around us. To those who are fighting against God, we're the aroma of death. To God, it's a sweet-smelling aroma. To those who are perishing, it's the aroma of death. But to those who are being saved, those who are believers, those who are Christians, what is it? He says to the other, it's the aroma of life leading to life. To the Christian,

It blesses us to see Jesus and other people. It blesses us to see Jesus at work in each other. We see something, someone walks by, we go, smells like Jesus. Jesus is at work. Jesus is in that action. Jesus is in that thought, in those words. Sweet smelling aroma. It's life leading to life.

It reminds us that we have eternal life. It reminds us that we're spending eternity with Jesus. It's a reminder that He's coming back soon. Jesus, He's at work. He's doing something. Man, it's a blessing. It's a sweet-smelling aroma. It brings pleasure to those who are being saved. So Paul says, who is sufficient for such things? Who's sufficient?

To represent God in this way. To make actual and visible the knowledge of God. Who's sufficient? Who can do this? Have this fragrance of Christ. Who can smell like Jesus? The obvious answer is nobody on their own can do this. In just a few verses down, we'll look at this next week, but chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians verse 5, he says, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.

It's from God. I can't do anything without Him, especially smell like Him and act like Him and love like Him and forgive like Him and have peace like He has. I can't be like Jesus on my own. My sufficiency comes from God. I must abide in the vine, as Jesus said in John 15. He strengthens and helps me. He is my sufficiency. Last verse, verse 17.

For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

Paul says, we're not, as many people are, there are many this way, he says, but we are not peddling the word of God. Obviously, that's not a reference to a bicycle. But peddling means to be a retailer or literally to make money by selling anything. To make money by selling anything. Listen, people, there are those, as many, Paul says, do, who say anything to

even if it's Scripture, to make money. Someone who peddles is anyone who will make money by selling anything. But there are those who make merchandise of the Word of God and will sell anything or say anything, say that God's Word teaches something, in order for them to make a profit. We need to watch out for that in the body of Christ. Those who make merchandise, those who seek to profit from the Word and not a true heart and love for the people.

They will say or they sell anything. Look, you can be healthy, wealthy and wise. Just send me $100 and I'll tell you how. All of the prosperity things that we hear. Listen, we need to understand. We need to understand. There are people

who use God's word simply to make a profit. And they'll tell you whatever you want to hear. Oh, you want to live in sexual immorality? Oh, that's okay. You want to live in homosexuality? Oh, that's okay. They'll tell you anything you want to hear, but the cost is going to be steep. You're going to have to pay them for it because they're making merchandise. They'll try to twist it and make you say anything that they wanted to say so that you can feel good about yourself when God says, look, this is the reality of the situation. This is why we teach systematically, not topically.

Not so much that topical messages are completely wrong or anything like that, but so that we don't have the opportunity for that. But instead, we just teach what God's Word says that week, and then the next week, and then the next week. Rightly dividing the Word of God. Not peddling for profit. Not seeking to take advantage of anybody. But simply sharing and teaching the Word of God.

Watch out for those who do that. But Paul says it wasn't like that for us. We did it of sincerity, as from God. We speak in the sight of God. Paul says, look, we didn't come up with some marketing scheme. We sincerely and simply teach God's Word. And that's what makes it as from God, as he says. You ever feel like God's speaking right to you as His Word is being shared? It's as from God because it's not designed to make a profit.

So here's Paul's line of thought as we trace back to where we were. He says,

But then he says, it's not a personal thing, no. He's repented. So now it's time to restore and love him. And I was so worried about you and how you would receive this. I went to find Titus to hear the news and so I wasn't able to come back to you. But now that I've heard you doing well, man, I praise God who leads us triumphantly in Christ. He works in us to reveal himself to others. Praise God. There's a couple of things I'd like to leave you with this morning.

There's a lot we could meditate on and I encourage you to. But three things really that build upon each other. Number one is let Jesus be your sufficiency. Walk with Jesus Christ. Allow him to direct you and spend time with him. Let Jesus be your sufficiency. How do you do that? The second thing, by actually and visibly putting into practice your knowledge of him. Put it into practice. Live it out. Don't just keep it up here.

But let your hands, let your feet live it out. Act it out. And then number three, the result will be that you will be the fragrance of Christ to God and this world. You'll be the fragrance of Christ. You'll smell like Jesus. As you walk with Him, as you do the things He puts on your heart, you're going to smell like Jesus. To some, that'll be a good thing. It'll be the smell of life leading to life, excitement. Oh man, Jesus. Mmm, smells good. To some, it will be death.

reminder of sin, reminder of what is coming and what is in store for those who reject Jesus. But to God, it'll be a sweet-smelling aroma, and that should be our goal. That should be our desire. I want to be a sweet-smelling aroma to Jesus, so I'm going to live with Him, and I'm going to live for Him. Smell like Jesus this morning. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank You for this morning. God, and we ask for Your help.

Lord, because we're not sufficient of ourselves and we cannot walk with you, we cannot be like you, we cannot love like you love, we cannot have peace in the midst of trials and situations like you have. Lord, we cannot forgive like you forgive, we cannot have joy like you have joy. We can't do it on our own. But Lord, we thank you that you desire to fill us, that we don't have to rely upon ourselves, but that our sufficiency comes from you. And so Lord, as you fill us,

As we spend time with you and walk with you, God, I pray that you would help us to be obedient to the things that you put upon our heart. That we would be the actual invisible revelation of you to those around us. That your knowledge would be spread by our lives. Jesus, that we would become the sweet smelling aroma of Christ to you. And that we would allow people around us to get to know you through us. To recognize you in us.

Lord Jesus, help us to smell like you, to be like you, to represent you, draw us close to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.