Lesson #24

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1 – 2 Corinthians

September 21, 2015

Lesson #01

January 16, 2010

Lesson #02

January 16, 2010

RETURN TO THE SYLLABUS

2CORINTHIANS 1
Lesson #24
THE SUFFERING BELIEVER

• Memory Verse: 2Cor 1:22

 

• Introduction:
• Paul finished writing 1Corinthians in Ephesus. He anxiously waited to hear from Titus as to how that church responded to his words. When Titus did not return with a report, Paul left Ephesus for Macedonia. Finally Titus caught up with Paul in Philippi. After Paul heard the good report that the church had taken his words to heart, he wrote 2Corinthians. Then he sent Titus back to Corinth to announce that his visit with them would occur soon.
  • Titus Report:
    • The church in Corinth immediately began to correct those things that Paul brought to their attention.
    • Titus reported that the church in Corinth had not begun to collect the offering for the church in Jerusalem.
    • Titus reported that a group of Judaizers from Jerusalem had come to Corinth and were sowing seeds of condemnation against Paul and his position as an apostle.
• The style and content of 2Corinthians:
  • The style in this book is casual and very personal with more love and less rebuke. It contains a lot of metaphors.
    • We come to know Paul more personally in this book than in any of the others that Paul wrote.
  • From this book we learn a lot about Paul, his motives, his anguish, his joys, his fears, his hopes and his hurt feelings.
• Outline of 2Corinthians:
  • Paul’s Greeting (1:1-11)
  • Paul’s Principles for Living: (1:12-7:16)
    • God’s comfort in life (1:12-24)
    • God’s comfort in forgiveness (2)
    • God’s comfort in the ministry of Christ (3)
    • God’s comfort in the ministry of suffering for Christ (4)
    • God’s comfort in the ministry of martyrdom for Christ (5)
    • God’s comfort in all circumstances of the ministry (6)
    • God’s comfort in Paul’s heart (7)
  • Christian Giving (8-9)
    • An example of Christian giving (8:1-6)
    • An exhortation to Christian giving (8:7-15)
    • An explanation of Christian giving (8:16-9:5)
    • An encouragement to Christian giving (9:6-15)
  • In Defense of Paul’s Apostolic Calling (10-13)
    • The authentication of Paul’s apostolic position. (10)
    • The vindication of Paul’s apostolic position (11)
    • The revelation of Paul’s apostolic position (12)
    • The execution and conclusion of Paul’s apostolic position (13)

• Read 2Cor 1:1-6 The greeting:
  • Paul begins this letter with the thought that he was writing them in the authority of an apostle.
    • This is important because as we have seen in the above outline, some were questioning his position.
      • If the majority of people in Corinth questioned his authority, they would not listen to his teachings and corrections. Therefore, it was important that he establish his authority among them.
  • Paul puts Timothy on the same high level of authority as himself, but Paul also lowers himself to place himself and Timothy as equal brothers in Christ. (1)
    • Remember that Timothy was younger than Paul. Paul trained Timothy in the ministry and considered Timothy a son in the faith.
  • Paul addresses this letter of 2Corinthians to the church in Corinth, but he also extends it to all the churches and believers in that area of the world.
    • In other words, he expected this letter to be sent around to all the churches.
  • Grace and peace (2)
    • This is Paul’s usual greeting
      • The word, grace, was a Gentile greeting.
      • The word, peace, (Shalom) was a Jewish greeting.
    • Paul puts grace before peace because God’s grace must first be experienced before you can experience God’s peace.
      • We need grace to come to God for salvation and then He gives us His peace that through Jesus Christ we are no longer the enemies of God.
      • We need grace to live the Christian life every day and God’s peace when we go through fearful times of great difficulty.
    • Read Heb 4:16

 

• “Blessed be God…”

 

(3)
• The word, blessed, means praise. The idea is that when we praise God, we are blessing Him and glorifying Him. (Psa 50:23)
  • Paul mentions this aspect of praise because it is through suffering that the Christian needs to learn to praise God. It is easy to praise Him when things go well. However, when we can sincerely praise Him when things are not going well, that praise opens the windows and doors of heaven for God inhabits the praise of His people.

 

• “…the Father of mercies…”

 

(3)
• Through the mercy of God, the Father, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to this earth to die on the cross for us that we might have the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
• There is no mercy in this world that equals God’s mercy. That is why Paul tells us that God is the father of mercies multiplied to us through the love of God.

 

• “…the God of all comfort.”

 

(3)
• The world looks in all places for comfort, but there is only one true comfort and that is the comfort that comes from God.
  • Read Joh 14:18
    • The Greek word for, comfort, is parakleo which means = to come along side of. This is the same word used for the Holy Spirit. He is the one that comes along side of us when we need His strength, His peace, and His encouragement. That is true comfort.
      • He relieves the pain.
      • He calms the fears.
      • He relieves the grief.
      • He fills the loneliness.
  • Notice the word “all” in the phrase “all comfort”. God is the answer for all situations in life where we need comforting.
    • With comfort comes the assurance of the presence of God with us.
• Of what value is the suffering of believers?
  • Read Jam 5:10-11
  • Read 1Pet 2:19-21
  • The Christian that endures suffering with joy is a testimony and an encouragement that can help other people successfully pass through suffering. (4) The suffering believer becomes the model of how to endure it through the help and comfort of God.
    • The comfort of God helps the Christian endure suffering and in this way it is a testimony of God’s comfort to them in their sufferings. (5-6)
    • God mercifully allows suffering in the lives of Christians to benefit others.
      • Everything the believer has, everything that he is, and everything he suffers comes to him by the mercy of God to make him more perfect in Christ.
• What is the comfort for the suffering believer?
  • The more we suffer, the more God will make available His comfort. (5)

• Read 2Cor 1:7-14

 

• “…ye are partakers of the sufferings…”

 

(7)
• The word, partakers, means = to share in common with others.
• What are some of the things that Paul suffered in his ministry? (7-10)
  • In Asia, Paul tells them about the things he suffered so that they would be encouraged in their own sufferings.
    • In Lystra Paul endured a beating. His body was taken out of the city, and he was left for dead. (It is possible he did actually die and God raised him up) (Act 14:19-28)
    • In Ephesus Paul endured a riot of people determined to kill him. (Act 19)
  • In these tremendous sufferings for the sake of the gospel, Paul trusted God to sustain him. (10)
• The means of Paul’s deliverance from suffering:
  • Paul’s deliverance from suffering was in response to the prayers by the Corinthian Christians. (11)
  • Paul’s deliverance was not from any type of worldly wisdom. (12)
  • Paul’s deliverance came by the grace of God (12)

 

• “…we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours…”

 

(14)
• While believers share in common the sufferings that God permits, they also share in common the rejoicing over victories in the Christian life.

• Read 2Cor 1:15-24
  • Paul wanted to visit the church in Corinth again. (15) He had promised the people there that he would return. However, years passed and he did not return. Many people criticized Paul and said that he was not a man of his word. (17)
    • Paul reassures the Corinthian Christians that he will keep his promise to visit them again. (18) He had not changed his mind by saying he would come and then he would not come.
    • Paul’s word was as good as the gospel. It was positive and based on a firm conviction just as his preaching of salvation in Jesus Christ.
      • The Christians in Corinth had believed Paul’s preaching about Jesus Christ. They were born again and saved by God. Their salvation was evidence that Paul told them the truth.
        • Therefore, when he told them he would visit them again, they could believe it, just as they had believed the gospel.
        • The Christian today needs to have this same kind of attitude toward the words that he says and the promises he makes.
          • God’s promises are true and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
          • Paul’s promises must be as firm as the gospel that he preached in order to be like Christ.
          • The believer’s promises need to be as firm as Paul’s in order to follow the Christian model of Paul’s life and attitudes.
  • The faithfulness of the Word:

 

• “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”

 

(20)
• God’s promises are true and even though He seems to delay, He does not lie. He will eventually fulfill all his promises.
• The word, “amen”, means = so be it.
• Notice that the purpose for the fulfillment of all the promises of God is not for our comfort, but for the glory of God working through the believer.
• The sovereign work of God:
  • It is God who puts people together just as He crossed Paul’s life with those people in Corinth. (21)
  • It is God who anoints believers to carry ministry to others. (21)

 

• “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

 

(22)
• What does verse 22 mean?
  • By God’s mercy and grace, He puts a seal upon believers for all of eternity.
    • What is this seal?
      • The word, seal, means = a promise guaranteed by something of value. It is like an engagement ring. When a man gives an engagement ring to his sweetheart, he is making a promise that he will in fact marry her. She can show it to her friends so that everyone knows of the promise he made. He seals his promise with something of value so as to seal with a down-payment (earnest) his commitment.
        • The engagement ring (earnest) is a promise that even more blessings are coming.
      • The Holy Spirit is the seal for the believer in Jesus Christ. When a person is born again, he receives the seal, the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit inside of the believer is the constant reminder to the believer that one day that believer will spend eternity with Christ. It is a firm promise with a firm commitment sealed by something of great value. The Bible uses the word, earnest. Earnest is a down payment of money or something of value to seal an agreement.
        • The third member of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is the earnest or down payment that has value.
• It is the work of the Holy Spirit to establish the believer in the Kingdom of God and then to cause spiritual growth to occur in him. (21)
  • How does this occur?
    • The Holy Spirit convicts the heart of sinner so that he sees his sin and his need of a Savior.
    • The Holy Spirit moves the soul of the believer from the kingdom of Satan to the Kingdom of God at the moment he is born again by the Spirit.
    • The Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside the believer.
    • The Holy Spirit causes the believer to grow in his Christian life by convicting of sin, giving light and understanding of the Word of God, and making the believer hungry for the things of God.
• It is the work of the Holy Spirit to anoint the believer for ministry to others. (21)
• God is the witness of Paul’s promise:
  • God is the witness of Paul’s promise to visit Corinth and by God’s direction and timing, Paul will go to Corinth.
  • If Paul had gone to Corinth previously, he would have been stern with them and corrected them harshly as he did in ICorinthians. However, he spared them that rebuke and waited until they corrected those things that he had mentioned in 1Corinthians. (23)
  • While the Corinthian church waited for Paul’s arrival, they were not to put their faith in Paul but in God for Paul followed God’s direction. Paul encouraged them to stand strong in the faith while they waited for him. He did not want to be a dictator to them but a helper. (24)

• Summary and application:
  • Paul clearly gives us the attitude that Christians should have toward suffering.
    • The believer should thank God that God considers him worthy to endure suffering.
    • The believer should understand the benefits that suffering brings in the development of his own character.
    • The believer should realize that suffering has a profound purpose that serves others.
    • The believer needs to draw closer to Christ through suffering so as to gain the strength, the comfort, and the victory.
  • Paul’s faithful integrity to keep his promises was a testimony and a challenge to the Christian of our day. We need to develop such high standards so that we come to consider that a promise made is a debt unpaid.

HOMEWORK
2CORINTHIANS 2
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher for correction.

• Application for 2Cor 1
  • What is your attitude toward suffering compared to Paul’s?

 

• At what level is your integrity in keeping the promises that you make?
• Low     Average      High

 

• What can you do to develop Paul’s attitude toward the promises that he made.

 

• Preparation for 2Cor 2
• Read 2Cor 2:1-17
  • What does this chapter teach about forgiveness when someone offends you?

 

• What does the offended person owe to the person who offended him?

 

• Why is forgiveness so important?

 

• What are the results when the Christian does not forgive?

 

• Memory Verse: 2Cor 2:15