2 CORINTHIANS 1-7 PAULS COMFORT2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Corinthians 1-7 Pauls Comfort

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 2014.

And so this past week we've read the first seven chapters of 2 Corinthians and we'll be reviewing these chapters this evening. The book of 2 Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul probably around 58 AD to the church in Corinth. And he wrote this letter for two main reasons. Number one was to refute the false apostles who were challenging his ministry and

But then also to prepare their gift for the saints in Judea.

He mentioned this in 1 Corinthians as well. He has been going through the region, gathering together the funds that the churches have set aside to bless the saints back in Jerusalem and Judea who were in desperate need. And so he's writing this to kind of make that final preparation. He's going to be back there soon and to pick that up and to carry that on to Jerusalem for them.

This book by the Apostle Paul is a very interesting book. And if you would ask Harvey, I bet he would say it was his favorite book because he says, my favorite book is whatever one I'm reading at the time. And I get that. You know, I understand that as we've been going through 2 Corinthians, there's so much just amazing things from the Lord that you can see in this book.

It's a very personal letter that Paul is writing. And he shares his heart in this letter in a way that's very unique from his other letters where he's very open and vulnerable and you can see just his love for the Corinthians.

As he's dealing with those who are opposed to him that are there in Corinth, he addresses them with firmness, but in a way that you can see his great love for the Corinthian people.

And so it's a very personal letter and there's a lot of insights into Paul's heart, which of course accurately represents the heart of God, that we can see these insights into how God feels about his people and how leaders should feel about their people.

Well, as we look at 2 Corinthians, I think it's good to kind of consider some of the timeline that was going on because there's a lot of references to various things throughout 1 and 2 Corinthians. So just to kind of walk you through, this is a possible timeline. We don't have this exact in the scriptures, but kind of piecing together the different elements, here's what we come up with. Around 53 AD, during Paul's second missionary journey,

He brought the gospel to the city of Corinth. There in Acts chapter 18, you can see that. And he planted a church there in Corinth. He stayed there for about a year and a half, ministering and building up the saints and establishing that church. Well, then he went back to Antioch where he was sent out from. And then on his third missionary journey, he's in Ephesus and he writes them a letter.

That's what we know as 1 Corinthians. But before that happens, in 55 AD, it seems that Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians before he wrote 1 Corinthians. And you wonder, well, how could there be a first 1 Corinthians? How could that happen? Well, we don't have that letter preserved, but Paul makes reference to it in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 9. So he was communicating back and forth

with the church of Corinth, but 1st and 2nd Corinthians, what we have in our Bibles is what the Lord has preserved for us and not all the other communications. Well then, it seems about 57 AD, the Apostle Paul received a visitor from Corinth. It was a visitor by the name of Chloe or people from Chloe's household. And he mentions that in 1st Corinthians, or actually, yeah, 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verse 11.

And so in response to what he heard from Chloe and her household, he writes what we know as 1 Corinthians. And we just studied that, finished that last week. Well then, after he wrote 1 Corinthians, it seems that Paul visited Corinth for the second time. The first time he planted the church there.

The second time, it was a quick visit, it was a hard visit, and it didn't seem like it went very well. And so immediately afterwards, Paul sent another letter by Titus. It was a severe letter. It was really dealing with some serious issues in Corinth.

And we saw some serious issues dealt with in 1 Corinthians, but there was even deeper things going on. And so he sends Titus with this, and he makes reference to this in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 4. And as they receive this severe letter, they are repentant and they're receptive. And we'll see that as we go through our chapters this evening. And so as

Paul hears back from Titus how they received that hard letter that he wrote, then he responds and writes 2 Corinthians around 58 AD, which is what we're going to be studying this evening. And so soon after that, Paul visits them for the third time and ministers to them. And so there's a lot of things, there's a lot of back and forth. Again, this isn't exactly all detailed in the scriptures, but

piecing together the different references, this is the timeline that is most likely as far as Paul's ministry to Corinth. And so he had a close relationship with them. And there were some difficulties in their relationship. And he's having to address these issues. And again, now in Corinth, what has happened is there are these false apostles who are opposed to Paul and trying to turn the people against Paul.

And so he's writing 2 Corinthians to address now this problem of these false apostles. And he's opening up his heart in a very unique way. Well, one last thing before we get into our chapters, and that is the geography of 2 Corinthians. From Ephesus, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, but he was continuing on his missionary journey. And so he writes the book of 2 Corinthians from Macedonia, probably from Philippi.

And he went down to Corinth and then he went back up into Macedonia. And so he's been there for a little bit. He writes to them and then he's going to go back down to visit them in a little bit. And so we see this happening here on the map where Corinth is there in Greece and Paul is writing to them from Macedonia, which is the region to the north.

Alright, so our chapters this evening, we begin in chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians. Verse 3 is the key verse. It says, Paul begins his letter as he usually does in verses 1 and 2, introducing himself and addressing the people he's writing to. So he's writing to the church at Corinth.

And he goes in now to start to talk about the comfort of God. And it's a theme that we see throughout this book. In fact, in chapter 7, he'll be talking about the comfort of God once again. But Paul says in verses 3 through 7 that we comfort others with the comfort we receive from God. That there is this comfort that God can give us.

And it's that which we receive from God which enables us to then turn around and comfort others. In verse 4, Paul says that God comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

And so Paul is explaining here that there is a purpose and a reason for a believer who is going through difficulty and tribulation.

That in the midst of that, we look to God and God comforts us, but that it doesn't end there. One of the things that God does through our tribulations is he enables us to comfort others with the comfort that he gives to us. And so Paul says in verse 6, if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation that

So he says, look, we're suffering. We're going through great difficulties, but we're taking heart in the midst of it because we know that as God comforts us in the middle of our affliction, we are then able to comfort you. And so there's this great comfort that God provides, that it's not just, you know, a short-lived type of comfort, but it's substantial, it's real, and it's able to be passed on.

And it's an encouragement to us then, when we suffer, then God is able to use that suffering, God is able to use that affliction in us to help us be able to bless others and to be able to minister to them and comfort them in the things that they are going through.

Warren Wiersbe says it this way. He says, Share your comfort. As God speaks to you and He ministers to you,

God intends that you would then pass that on. That's what Paul is explaining. We comfort others with the comfort we receive from God. Now Paul says in verse 3 that God is the God of all comfort. And that's important to know. Because a lot of times we try to comfort ourselves with other things besides God. And that won't comfort us and it won't be able to be passed on to anybody else. It's not going to be comforting. Have you ever had the experience where someone tried to comfort you and it wasn't comforting? No.

Listen, comfort has to come from God. He's the God of all comfort. If you want comfort, you need to go to God. You need to look to Him.

And then if you're going to try to comfort other people, you need to make sure that it's from God and He comforted you. It's something that He brought comfort into your life. This word comfort means to come alongside where God came alongside and helped you through the affliction. And so as God has helped you through, then He wants you to help others through as well. But look to Him and make sure you're looking to Him for help in the midst of those things. Well, why did Paul need this kind of comfort? Well,

Well, he explains in verses 8 through 11 that he was burdened beyond measure in Asia. He says in verse 8, We do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

This is good insight for us because many times we forget that the people in the Bible are people. You know, sometimes we think that they were like super people, super spiritual. They didn't have problems. But Paul says, look, we were really discouraged. We had huge issues and we were despairing even of our lives. We were desperate and burdened beyond measure.

Paul is probably referring to the events of Acts chapter 19, where Demetrius, the silversmith, stirs up a riot in Ephesus against Paul.

Paul and the people of God. And they're upset because their business is dying because people are being converted and turning to Jesus. And so the sale of idols that they made were going down. They were dropping. Their stock was devalued. And so they were going out of business and they're upset. And so Demetrius stirs up this riot against Paul and against those who are with Paul. And so he said, we despaired.

Even of life. We were burdened beyond measure. These events were heavy on us. It was a difficult thing that we went through. But then he goes on to say that God delivered us. And then I like verse 11 because he says, not only did God deliver us, but you helped. Verse 11 he says, you also helping together in prayer for us that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

Paul says, we despaired of life, but God helped us and you were part of that. You also helped together. How? In prayer for us. Listen, this is why we make it a point on Wednesdays to spend some time lifting up our missionaries.

Because we want to be part of that work. And as they go through difficulties and afflictions, just like the rest of us, we want to be part of God delivering them and be part of the work that is accomplished in the name of Jesus Christ. And so Paul says, we were burdened beyond measure, but God comforted us and you were part of that because you were praying for us. Well, now as he goes on in verses 12 through 14, he says that we conducted ourselves in godly sincerity.

This is where he begins now to deal with the false apostles who had risen up within the church at Corinth. And they had an issue with Paul because of his change of plans. He had written to them in 1 Corinthians that he was planning to go to them at such and such a time, but he actually went ahead of time.

And then he, at that time, was planning that he was going to return back pretty quickly. But instead of returning back pretty quickly, he wrote that severe letter. And so the false apostles and those who were against Paul in the church are saying, look, we can't trust this guy. He's just making up stuff as he goes. And Paul is saying, no, we conducted ourselves in godly sincerity. There were no hidden motives or hidden meanings there.

false apostles are saying, you know, this guy can't be trusted. And Paul is saying, look, the way that we conducted ourselves was in sincerity. We had these plans and God changed them. We're God's servants and he's allowed to change them and we're being submitted to God. But then he goes on to explain yet further in verses 15 through 24. He says, to spare you, I did not come.

The reason why I didn't come back as I told you I was going to at the time I told you I would come was, well, it was to spare you. Because of the sin that was going on and the rebellion that was happening, Paul is saying, I wanted to give you opportunity to kind of address those things and get your house in order so that when I come, it can be a joyful time.

And not a time of rebuke and reprimand and dealing with these things. He says in verse 23, I call God as witness against my soul that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. Not that we have dominion over your faith, but our fellow workers for your joy, for by faith you stand.

He says, we're fellow workers. We stand beside you. And so I didn't come back because, well, there were these issues and I wanted it to be in joy. I wanted it to be able to, for us to have good fellowship together. And we'll see that even more as we continue throughout this letter. But now we move on to 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 4 is the key verse.

He says, For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

Paul says in verses 1 through 4, I wrote you out of much anguish of heart. It was with great affliction, Paul says. Now, remember the chapter breaks were added later on. And so as you follow the flow of Paul's thought, he's saying, I didn't go to you right away because I wanted to spare you. Instead, I wrote you this letter and even that was really hard. I mean, I was afflicted and I was weeping and there was anguish in my heart.

He says in verse 1, he says, I determined this within myself that I would not come again to you in sorrow. He had went to Corinth quickly to address the situation. It was a difficult, tense time. There was these conflicts. There was these battles. There was these sin issues. And so he said, I didn't want to go back and do that again. And so I wrote you the letter instead. But it wasn't easy. I was anguishing. I was afflicted.

You can imagine that, right? I'm sure you've, at some point in your life, had to have a very difficult conversation. And maybe as you were preparing for that conversation, you're wrestling with, okay, should I write a letter?

Should I send an email? Should I do this in person? Should we hook up for coffee? I mean, how do I have this conversation? How do we get through this issue? How do we negotiate what needs to happen in the midst of this? Or you know those times when you're calling somebody and you're just like hoping you get their voicemail. It's like, don't pick up the phone. Don't pick up the phone.

Because, well, I just want to share the message on the voicemail. And then, you know, that way it's a little bit easier to have that conversation when they don't get to talk back. Paul says, I didn't want to come back to you in the midst of that. It was a real difficult thing. And so I sent this letter.

I wrote to you instead of visiting so that you would have time to set things in order so that when I get there, we can enjoy our time of fellowship rather than dealing with these issues. And so Paul here is expressing, look, I didn't have hidden motives. I was dealing with you in simplicity and sincerity. I wasn't just making up things. I wasn't saying things that I never intended to do. But I was seeking to

best minister to you and be a servant of the Lord for you. There's no hidden meanings Paul's explaining. You know, these things that I'm saying, I'm not like, I don't have ulterior motives I'm trying to accomplish. He says, my purpose in all of this has been to accomplish joy that our relationship would be restored. And I thought it best to send a letter instead of coming again so that our relationship could be restored.

And so Paul here is dealing with this difficult issue, but it's tough on him. He's afflicted by it. There's anguish. He says, look, I didn't want to grieve you, but I love you. And so I needed to share with you these things. I needed to share the truth with you to help you address these issues of sin within your congregation. Well, then in verses 5 through 11, Paul goes on to say, forgive and comfort the one who caused grief.

Now there's a little bit of discussion about who Paul is referring to here. This could be Paul's reference back to 1 Corinthians chapter 5. You remember he addressed the guy who is involved in sexual sin and told the church, you know, you need to deal with it and not tolerate it and celebrate it. You need to, you know, kick him out and set him apart that he may learn the danger of sin.

And so it's possible that Paul is referring to him and saying, now, okay, this guy's repented. Now forgive him, bring him back into the fellowship and comfort him. But there's also another idea about who this guy is. And that is that it's a guy who opposed Paul during that second visit. That there was this kind of ringleader gathering people against Paul there in the city of Corinth.

And he dealt with him in that visit and in that letter. And Paul is saying now, okay, now that guy's been dealt with and, you know, comfort him. And so that same message, bring him back into the fold and minister to him. Now, the early church tradition was that this was the same guy. That this guy, this ringleader who opposed Paul, was also the guy who was involved in sexual immorality from 1 Corinthians chapter 5. And so that's a possibility.

That, you know, this guy was turning against Paul and turning people against Paul as Paul was asking the church or calling the church to deal with his sin. But ultimately, the principles are really important for us. And that is, verse 6, he says, The punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow."

Paul is saying, look, there is a place for church discipline. There is a place for dealing harshly with those who are in rebellion. And that needs to be done and sin needs to be dealt with. But we need to make sure we don't neglect the other side of that. And that is that when people are repentant,

That we understand, okay, the punishment that was inflicted as the discipline was carried out, that's sufficient. Our job is not really to punish people, but our job is to help them to deal with the sin issue. And when they've repented, when they've dealt with that sin issue,

Paul is saying, now you need to bring them back in. He says in verse 8, therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. And so it's appropriate then when there is that repentance, bring him back in, reaffirm your love. He says, so that he won't be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

Whenever there is some kind of sin issue or someone who is dealt with within the church for some kind of division or issue that is going on, it's always going to happen where there are going to be those who want to extend the punishment beyond what is really necessary or to make it more severe. And there is that tendency for people many times to want to make them pay because of what they did.

But we need to find the scriptural balance that yes, we have to deal with sin. But the whole purpose of dealing with sin is for the objective of bringing the restoration and having the fellowship once again.

So it's not a punishment, get out of here, we never want to see you again. But it's a, look, we need you to wake up. We need you to understand the sin that is going on and we want you to deal with it. So that then we can bring you back in. We can have fellowship once again. We can share love once again and be part of each other's lives.

And so this is the way that we are to deal with sin. These are excellent principles for us as a church, as a family, as individuals, as we are relating to one another, that we deal with sin that is going on, but that we do so in love with the goal, with the hope of restoration, and that we would be ready to bring that restoration and bring that person back in once again into fellowship.

that we would reaffirm their love, that they wouldn't be swallowed up in too much sorrow. The goal is not suffering. The goal is restoration. Our objective is not to make people suffer, but it's for that restoration to be made between that person and God, and then between that person and us. Notice what he says in verse 11. He says, "...lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices."

He says, look, you need to do this. You need to be involved and engaged in restoration because otherwise Satan's going to take advantage of this. This is his work if you're not involved in the restoration. He says, we're not ignorant of his devices. We know that he plans to destroy that person's life and he plans to destroy your life. Listen, unforgiveness is a device of Satan.

It's not a device of the Lord. It's a device of Satan. And we're not ignorant of his devices. So don't hold on to that bitterness. Don't hold on to those grudges. Personal vendettas are devices of Satan. They're not devices of the Lord. Satan uses those things to turn our hearts against God. To harden us and to divide the body of Christ.

And so we need to be engaged in the restoration as well as the discipline. We need both sides. Deal with the sin because you love with the objective of restoring the fellowship. Well then in verses 12 through 17, Paul explains, we are not peddling the word of God for profit.

Here he explains some of his travel. He went from Ephesus up to Troas. He was hoping to hear from Titus, to hear back from Titus about the severe letter that had been sent, but Titus wasn't there. And so he says in verse 13, I had no rest in my spirit. So I had an open door there, but I couldn't stick around because I was anxious to hear what was happening in Corinth and how you were responding to that letter. You can see again the heart of Paul here.

He wrote this letter afflicted, in tears. He didn't want to have to write this way and deal with these things, but he had to because he loved them. But then after he sent it, he can't rest because he's so anxious to hear back. How did they receive it? Are they repentant? Have they turned back to God? Is our relationship, you know, on the mend? Or is there still this...

between us. And so he couldn't hang out there in Troas. He had an opportunity to preach the gospel, but he said, no, I got to go. I got to find out what's happening in Corinth. And so he departs from Macedonia. He goes across the sea a little bit to the northern part above Corinth. And there he hooks up with Titus and he gets to hear about what God is doing there.

But as he's talking about that, he goes on to say, listen, we're not peddling the word of God for profit. This is in verse 17. He says, look, I'm not just trying to make money here. Some people are doing that, Paul says. Many people are doing that, Paul says, but that's not me. I really care. And so that's why I couldn't hang out in Troas. If my objective was, you know, to make money, I would have hung out in Troas because there was a big opportunity there.

And, you know, hey, I could have took advantage of that and made lots of money. But I'm not trying to get some kind of profit here. I really care about you guys. And so I didn't stick around in Troas. I went across the sea because I was trying to find out from Titus how things went when he brought you that letter. And so Paul's line of thought as we follow along here, he says to them, look, I didn't come...

As I thought I was going to, as I said that I would, in order to spare you. I wrote you a letter so that you would have time to get things in order. To demonstrate my love to you, I wrote you that letter. It's not a personal thing. Listen, the guy who is against me, he's repented, restore him. Love on him. It's not that I had this personal issue with this guy.

But I really care about you guys. And I'm worried about you guys. And so I went to find Titus to hear how it went. I didn't stick around in Troas. And now I've heard from Titus that you're doing well. And so I praise God who leads us triumphantly in Christ. Paul, you see now, he's rejoicing now because he's heard back from Titus. Things went well. They received that severe letter. They repented.

as that was brought to them. Now there's still issues that are going on, but they're moving in the right direction. They're drawing near to the Lord and they're receiving from Paul once again. Chapter 3 now, 2 Corinthians, verse 18 is the key verse. He says, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Paul goes on here in verses 1 through 3 to say, you are an epistle of Christ ministered by us. Now here, Paul begins to deal with this idea of commendation or letters of commendation. Because these false apostles who have come in have great letters of recommendation with them. They have diplomas from the top seminaries. They have wonderful things to present about themselves.

And Paul says, are you asking me for some proof that I'm an apostle? Are you saying that I need to present some kind of letter of commendation? Because the false apostles, again, they were challenging Paul's authority.

And so he responds and he says in verse 3, You are an epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh that is of the heart. Paul says this, look, you, church of Corinth, are proof that our ministry is valid because God worked in you and he used us to establish this church, to plant this church here.

Can you imagine what Paul is feeling right now as they're challenging him? Well, who gives you the authority to talk to us? To speak and say that this is from the Lord to us? Paul's like, what are you talking about? I was used by the Lord to establish this church. It's like if we were to challenge Pastor Tom. Who do you think you are? You can't just come here and share on a Sunday morning. Give us some letters of recommendation. How do we know that you're a real minister?

How offensive would that be, right? Well, that's what they're doing to the Apostle Paul. They're questioning what right he has to say anything at all to them. And Paul's saying, listen, you are our letters of commendation. You are the proof that we are God's ministers because God worked in you through us. He goes on in verses 4 through 6 to say, our sufficiency is from God. He says, look,

God used us to work in you, but we're not saying that we are sufficient or that we're so great, but that God is so great, that He is sufficient. He wants to make sure it's very clear. It's not because I'm worthy, Paul says, that God worked in you. It's just because God is sufficient.

We're not sufficient. We are inadequate. Now, the false apostles would come saying, we are sufficient. Look how wonderful we are. Look how many letters of recommendation I have. They were promoting themselves. And Paul is saying, look, I'm not going to be promoting myself. I'm going to be making sure that you understand. If anything good comes out of this, it's because God's at work. He's our sufficiency.

In verse 6, he said that God made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. And so, as he's talking about God being their sufficiency, he goes on to talk about the difference between the two covenants, the new covenant and the old covenant. The covenant of the letter or the law, that is Moses, the Old Testament, and the covenant of the spirit.

And that is the Holy Spirit, the new work that's accomplished by faith in Jesus Christ. And so he's explaining here that the ministry that he has been granted to be part of by God is a great ministry. It's a greater ministry than the old covenant.

It seems from this that the false apostles who were there in Corinth were legalistic in their approach. And so they were putting burdens. They were relying upon the law. They were holding fast to the law. And Paul is, in the rest of the chapter, comparing and contrasting. Look how much better the New Covenant is compared to the Old Covenant. And God has counted us sufficient or given us sufficiency to be ministers of this New Covenant.

And so he goes on in verse 7 through 13 to say the ministry of righteousness is glorious. The false apostles are accusing Paul of not demanding that the people follow the law, which was accurate. Paul didn't hold people to the law. And there is this constant danger in the church, not just in Corinth, but this danger of legalism that comes in.

And Paul is fighting against us. He's battling against us. There's this mentality, if you really want to be spiritual, then here's the laws that you follow. Here's the rules that you do. But Paul says, look, if the ministry of death, in verse 7,

written and engraved on stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his continuance which glory was passing away how will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious Paul looks back to the giving of the law remember Moses would spend time with God and he would come down his face would shine so he'd wear a veil but it wouldn't last forever that glory would fade so it was glorious and

And God did a great work through that. But the new covenant, the glory doesn't fade. He's looking at and comparing the old covenant and the new covenant. The letter versus the spirit. The day that the law was given in Exodus chapter 32 verse 28, 3,000 people died. The day that the Holy Spirit was given in Acts chapter 2 verse 41, 3,000 people were saved.

The Spirit, the new covenant, this new work of God is far superior. It's life and not death.

And so the ministry of righteousness is much more glorious. And Paul goes on to say, that's not the end of it. Verse 14 through 18, we are being transformed from glory to glory. And so he says, we all, in verse 18, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

So in this comparison, the old covenant had much glory, but it didn't last. The new covenant, the glory lasts, and it becomes more and more glorious because we're beholding Jesus. And as we behold Jesus, we become more and more like Him. We go from glory to glory. That is, glory continues to increase. Paul is saying the amazing privilege that we have as a part of the new covenant is this glorious thing.

It's far superior. And what he's dealing with here as he's writing to the Corinthians is he's concerned that these false apostles are leading them away from that glory, from the simplicity that is in Christ, from the glory that is in Christ. There's great glory in Jesus Christ. And the amazing thing about this new covenant is that God does the work as we behold Him.

It comes back to really spending time with God. Spending time with Jesus. And as we behold Him, He transforms us into His image. We go from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord at work in us. And so the false apostles put up on the screen, you know, here's the list of laws and keep these things. And it's an external approach of trying to, alright, everybody follow this. But if you flip it around and you say, okay...

everybody spend time with Jesus. Everybody go forward in your relationship with God. Everybody behold Him. Let Him captivate your attention. Focus on Jesus and spend time with Him. Then you don't need the list of laws because He transforms you into His image and you follow the law not because it's some external law but because He's changed your heart.

And that's what Paul's saying. This is more glorious. It's longer lasting. And it comes by spending time with Him, by beholding Him. So we need to continue to spend time with the Lord and develop that relationship with Him. Well, now chapter 4, verse 16 is the key verse. He says, Therefore we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

Now, this is tying it back to chapter 1. Remember, he needed comfort because of the great affliction. But then as he's talking about this glory, he starts in verse 1. He says, therefore, since we have received this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. So he says, look, we are going through difficult things. I mean, chapter 4 is about these difficult things that he's going through. But he says, we don't lose heart because we're part of this amazing, glorious ministry.

We're part of this amazing, glorious work and we're being transformed from glory to glory. And so we don't lose heart because God is merciful and he's allowed us the great privilege of being part of this. And so he says in verses 1 through 6, we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord. And so we don't come and we present ourselves and say, here's our letters of commendation and look how wonderful we are and why don't you be more like us? He says, we preach Jesus Christ.

He says in verse 2, we renounce the hidden things of shame. We don't walk in craftiness or handling the Word of God deceitfully, but instead by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. How do we commend ourselves? Not with deceitfulness. We don't try to trick you to think that we are superior. We renounce those hidden things, but instead by revealing the truth, God's grace, His mercy,

Yes, we're sinful. Yes, we fall short. But God's grace, His mercy, His work. We proclaim Jesus Christ. We do not preach ourselves. Verse 7 through 15, he says, We are delivered to death that the life of Jesus may be manifest. And so he's talking about the afflictions and the difficulties that he goes through. And he says, look, we're going through these great difficulties through death.

that the life of Christ might be revealed or manifest. He says in verse 7, we have this treasure. Think about all that glory from chapter 3. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. We're just clay pots. But God's implanted this glorious ministry, this glorious work of Jesus. And why has he done this? That the excellence of the power of God, or that the power may be of God and not of us.

See, there's a danger for those who minister or for any believer to try to present ourselves as some glorious vessel. Like, we're awesome. You got to be more like us. Why don't you follow me? I'll teach you how to be wonderful like I am. Paul says, no, no. We're earthen vessels. Nothing flashy. We're simple, messed up. But there's this glory that's given by God. And so we die and we're afflicted and we have issues.

And we go through great difficulty that the life of Christ might be revealed. And in our affliction, what we go through, well, the light of Christ is able to shine. He goes on to say, verse 16 through 18, our light affliction is working and exceeding an eternal weight of glory. So here we go with the glory again. He says, yes, we're going through affliction, but he calls it a light affliction.

Now he's being beaten. You know, he'll go on later in chapter 11 and list all the things that he went through. We wouldn't consider those light afflictions. But he says it's a light affliction. Why? Well, because of verse 18. He says, He's looking at the eternal picture. The big picture.

And he's saying, it's a light affliction. We despair even of our own lives. But then we remember eternity. And we go, you know, it's just a light affliction. It's temporary. It's just for a moment. And then we're going to have eternity. And these things are accomplishing for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. God's doing a great work through this, a greater work through this. And so we're pressing on. We're not losing heart.

The outward man is perishing, but inwardly we're being renewed. We're going from glory to glory. And so we're looking forward to that eternity. We're focusing not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen. Because that is what is eternal. Well now in chapter 5 verse 20, he goes on to say, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

In verses 1 through 8, Paul says, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Now Paul is continuing on to say, look, we're going through great affliction, but he goes on to say in verse 1, we know, he says, if our earthly house, if this tent is destroyed, so if this affliction ends in our death, he says, then we have a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, that's from God.

In other words, we have a new body, a glorified body that God has prepared for us. And so he explains, look, we groan to be further clothed and God gave us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we will be in eternity with him. And so he says in verse 8, we're confident, yes, we're pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. As long as we're here in this body,

We get relationship with God by faith in Jesus Christ, but we don't get the full presence of God. But then as soon as we're absent from this body, then we'll get to be in the presence of God. And here we learn there's no like in-between state. But when we are absent from this body, then we're in the presence of God. Verses 9 through 11, he says, "...we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ."

Every one of us are going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Now this is not the judgment of punishment, but it's the judgment of rewards. And so we're going to stand before God. We're going to stand before Christ and be evaluated. How well did you do? Think about like Olympic judges. How well did you perform with what I gave you, the resources I gave you, the opportunities I gave you? How well did you do? And so Paul says, knowing this, we persuade men.

This prompts us because we know we're going to stand before God. We do everything we can to tell people about the Lord. He goes on in verses 12 through 17 to say that anyone in Christ is a new creation. He says from now on in verse 16, we regard no one according to the flesh. Because if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. So we don't just pay attention to what's on the outside.

We don't just pay attention to how they dress or what's on their skin. We don't just pay attention to what's going on on the outside. If anyone is in Christ, he says, they're a new creation. And there's a new work going on. It's within. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things become new.

And as we mentioned on Sunday, this is what baptism represents. The old being left behind, passed away. And the resurrection, all things become new. Verses 18 through 21, Paul says, God gave us the ministry of reconciliation. He says we're ambassadors for Christ. He's entrusted us with this ministry of helping people be reconciled with God.

And so he says, this is what we do. This is what we are focused on because we know we're going to stand before him and we want to do everything that we can to help people get right with God. And why is that possible? Well, he says in verse 21, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. It's possible for people to be reconciled to God because of what Jesus Christ did, being sinless,

Our sin was placed upon Him there upon the cross. He bore our penalty. He bore our sin that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. And so we are His ambassadors now to help people receive Jesus and be reconciled to God.

Chapter 6, now verse 4 is the key verse. He says, but in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God. In much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses. And he goes on to list a bunch more things. He starts out saying, now is the day of salvation in verses 1 through 3. Today is the day. We're ambassadors for Christ and today is the day. And so we're not delaying. We're about his business today.

And he says in verses 4 through 10, we commend ourselves as ministers of God. Now again, he's dealing with this whole idea of letters of commendation. They're saying, show us proof that you have the authority to minister to us. And he says, I'll show you proof. But it's not some letter, some fluffy thing that someone wrote that said I did a great job at their church. He says, here's how I'll show you. Look at my patience. That is the difficulties I've endured. Look at the tribulations I go through. Look at the needs I have. Look at the distresses I have.

These are the marks of a genuine minister, Paul says. And then he goes on in verses 11 through 18 and he says, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Now, of course, this is a famous verse, right? Don't be unequally yoked. It's like one of the famous verses that people know talks about marriage, right? But as you look at this, it really has nothing to do with marriage. Although it applies, Paul's saying, look, you need to evaluate who it is you're associating with.

I'm a genuine minister, Paul says. Here's my proof. Look at what I've gone through. These guys who've come among you, they're false apostles. Don't be yoked to them. Don't get attached to them. Don't link arms with them. False apostles are not believers. Don't be part of their ministry. But he says, come apart from them. Be separate. In verse 17, don't get caught up with them because they have a different agenda.

Chapter 7 now, verse 10 is the key verse. It says, For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. In verses 1 through 7, he says, God comforted us by the coming of Titus. And so here, remember, he couldn't stay at Troas because Titus wasn't there. He was

anxious to hear back how the Corinthians had received that severe letter. And so he crosses over to Macedonia and there Titus meets him and God comforts him when Titus came. As he brings back the news that they had received his rebuke and they had repented and that they were turning back. They were on the mend. They were going forward in their relationship with God and addressing those things. And so they were turning around and

From those issues that they had, at the same time, there were these who were still trying to cause problems by trying to turn the people against Paul. And so he's dealing with those people as he's also rejoicing that they had taken the right steps to deal with the sin and turn in repentance. He says in verses 8 and 9, I rejoice that your sorrow led to repentance. He says, I regretted it. I wrote this letter with much affliction.

But if I made you sorry, he says, I really don't regret it. I did regret it, but now I don't regret it because I see that your sorrow led you to repentance. He says in verses 10 through 12 that godly sorrow produces repentance. In verse 10 he says, for godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. There's different kinds of sorrow.

as there are sin issues, as there are destruction things in our lives, there's different kinds of sorrow. There's a sorrow that leads to death and there's a sorrow that leads to repentance. And Paul says to the Corinthians, you guys, you had a godly sorrow. And so now I rejoice. I didn't want to make you sorrowful, but now I'm glad I did because it brought you to repentance. You sorrowed well. You had the right kind of sorrow. And so you turned and you got right with God.

And so he says in verses 13 through 16, we have been comforted in your comfort. And so because we've heard about your sorrow that brought you to repentance, oh, it's brought great comfort to our hearts because we're worried for you. We're anxious for you. I wrote that because I love you and I cared for you and I had to deal with the sin. I didn't want to make you sad. I didn't want to make you sorrowful. But now I'm glad I did because you turned and you got right with God.

Now as he talks about this idea of sorrow, this godly sorrow, I want to close with just some thoughts here on this godly sorrow. Paul says that godly sorrow is observable. He says you can see it. He says in verse 11, for observe this very thing. And so here we get some clear insights into real repentance, into godly sorrow itself.

That leads us to repentance. Now, as we look at these things, I think our tendency many times is to look and see, okay, can I really figure out if Jeff is really repentant? Can I really figure out if Harvey is really sorry for this? Is this a godly sorrow that Jake has? Let me look at this list and figure out if he's... There may be a tiny place for that. But notice what Paul says in verse 11. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner.

And I want to encourage you as we, I just walk you through this briefly. Let it be your evaluation of yourself. You see, because our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. And we might feel really good about ourselves because we have sorrow. But you know, we have a hard time discerning between good sorrow and bad sorrow. There's a sorrow that leads to death. And that's not going to work for you. But do you have the sorrow that leads to repentance? That leads to life? That will lead you to that ministry of glory to glory?

Do you have godly sorrow? Well, you can tell if you have godly sorrow when you have diligence. This is a word that implies haste or earnestness in striving after. And so if you are sorrowful, but you're kind of like just meandering, Paul says, you need to reevaluate. Because godly sorrow produces this diligence, this earnestness, or this persistence that

If you're sorrowful and so you try to take steps in the right direction but then you give up because it gets a little bit hard or it gets really hard, that's not godly sorrow. No, godly sorrow has this earnestness, this persistence, this diligence. I'm going to go forward. I'm going to get right. I'm going to do what's right.

He says, Godly sorrow also has this clearing of yourselves. It's a reasoned argument or a verbal defense. Now this isn't talking about like blame shifting, but this is able to explain, to break down, to say, this is what happened. This is what I did. And also, this is what God has done.

You're able to articulate it. You're able to describe it. You're able to give a verbal defense, a verbal explanation. If you're not able to talk about your sinfulness, if you're not able to openly express it, well, there's not godly sorrow. You have to come to the point where you can say, I'm real. This is really what happened. This is really where my heart was at. This is really what was going on. He says, it also produced in you indignation.

There's an anger, irritation and vexation going on here. Now, this isn't at other people that you're upset with everybody else because they made you do that. No, this is an irritation. I can't believe I let myself go there. I can't believe I let this happen. There's this indignation within you. It's a righteous indignation. It's not anger at other people, but it's an anger towards sin. It's a hatred of sin. It's a burning hatred of sin.

And yes, we get sucked into it. And yes, we participate in it. But when there's godly sorrow, there's also indignation. And then there's fear. There's fear. It means to have dread or terror. Sometimes we call it reverence. Because as you come clean, as you come face to face with what you've done, who you are, there's right to fear because you deserve judgment.

I deserve judgment. I mean, this isn't, I'm not pointing fingers here and saying, look at all you scumbags. Listen, this is all of us. And we all need to have godly sorrow and fear because we deserve God's judgment. And so godly sorrow produces this fear where you cry out to the Lord like David did, oh, have mercy on me. Don't take your Holy Spirit away from me. There's this fear because I know what I deserve. And he says it also produces a vehement desire.

It's a desperate longing. This great desire. You see the words that Paul is using here. There's no like ho-hum type of attitude in godly sorrow. There's no oh well I give up in godly sorrow. There's a longing. There's a burden. There's a passion. The next word is zeal. It produces zeal. It's an excitement of the mind. Enthusiasm. Fervor.

Again, I'm going to make things right. I need to make things right. I don't want to continue in this condition. I don't want to stay here in this pit. I want God to work. I want God to change me. And then he says it also produces vindication, which is a clearing of blame. Now again, that's not blaming others. Hey, it's not my fault. No, that's not godly sorrow. But a clearing of blame is, I'm going to make things right.

It's about making retribution. Think about it in the terms of a crime. Or you've got to pay a ticket. And so vindication is paying the fine. And now the blame is cleared. Because you paid the price. You've made retribution. You've went back to those people that you hurt. And you've made it right. This is what godly sorrow produces. And listen. This is for every one of us. This isn't...

To look at other people and say, hmm, I wonder if they're really repentant. This is, Lord, help us to see our own hearts. Because our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. And so when there are these issues in our lives, and there will be, there will always be, we will have these issues, we need to check ourselves and say, I'm sorry, but is this a godly sorrow? Am I really repentant? Is this for real in me? Is there this diligence?

This clearing of myself, this indignation and fear and vehement desire and zeal and vindication. Is that really going on in me? Now, what do you do if it's not? You cry out to God. You see, this is so that we can recognize the condition of our heart so that we can call out to God for help. Not so that we can try to fix it ourselves. But to recognize, Lord, my heart is not where it needs to be. I have sorrow, but it's not godly sorrow.

And so God, help me to have godly sorrow. Lord, break my heart that I would have godly sorrow, that I would really be repentant, that I wouldn't just try to get out of this or try to shift the blame or try to just pass this on, but that I would receive what you have, that I would be obedient to you, that I would fear you. Lord, help me to have godly sorrow. And that needs to be the cry of our heart. And so I would encourage you to meditate on these things, to consider and evaluate where are you at?

It's one thing to be sorry. The Corinthians had godly sorrow and so Paul rejoiced. Listen, when you recognize that godly sorrow, it's cause for celebration. It's cause for celebration because God is bringing life to those who have godly sorrow, to those who are repentant. There's forgiveness. There's new life in him. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things become new. Let's pray.

God, you are so abundantly merciful and gracious and we thank you for that. And Lord, we pray that you would help us to have godly sorrow where we need it. Lord, in those issues of our lives. Lord, that we would truly repent. That we wouldn't just be sorry that we got caught. That we wouldn't just be sorry because the consequences are tough. Lord, that we would be sorry because of how it's impacted our relationship with you. And Lord, may that

Strike us. Because our relationship with you is more important than anything else we could ever imagine. So Lord, help us to understand the glory that you have in store for us. And help us to allow you to bring us from glory to glory by having a real repentant heart and letting you do the work in us that you desire to do. Draw us near to you, we pray, Lord. And rebuke the enemy who desires to push people away

Rebuke those thoughts in our minds and in our hearts that, Lord, that prompt us to run from You. And help us instead to recognize that those are not from You. Those are the enemy's devices. Help us instead, God, to turn to You and receive the grace and mercy that You offer to those who have godly sorrow. 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.