2 CORINTHIANS 7

Heart Issues
Today I am challenged by Paul’s heart for the Corinthians. He cared for them greatly and was distressed when they walked away from God and greatly encouraged when they repented. He cared for them as His children just as he started this chapter referring to the fact that we are all children of God. I do want to pursue godliness since that is who I have been made at the core. God has changed me when He adopted me as His child. He delights in me even more than Paul delights in the Corinthians and this is very encouraging. Also I want to pursue God and pursue holiness out of my reverence for Him. In this pursuit it is only by the grace of God that I can attain it. Thank God for His grace in leading me closer to Himself, for my sinful heart would lead me away from Him and direct me attentions to myself every possible moment.

Notes
-The promises that we have are found just before us in that we are sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. Because this is who we are we must press forward toward purity and holiness out of reverence for our father. Our Father has adopted us and made us His own. This is a truth we need to embrace more often and fully realize that we are loved.
-Paul obviously loves the Corinthians. He has great confidence in them, takes great pride in them, is greatly encouraged by them, and takes great joy in them. At the end he also is glad that he can have complete confidence in them. This kind of writing brings life to the Corinthians. It is so different than the speech in 1 Corinthians.
-Sorrow is very different than guilt. Worldly sorrow or guilt drives us to think less of ourselves and run away from God. We usually plunge deeper into that guilt with the mindset of, “Well, I’ve already messed up, so I might as well…” Godly sorrow leads to repentance which brings about salvation. I also love the added description that it leaves no regret. Godly sorrow causes us to change and therefore we don’t regret any longer, we see it as a learning situation.
-Titus brought Paul great news of the Corinthians in that they had repented of their sin and had great concern for Paul in his travels. This was very encouraging to Paul and gave them life although they were surrounded by conflicts and very afraid. This shows us the humanness of Paul and keeps us from elevating him to something different from ourselves. Paul had fears and struggles as we do, but he had extraordinary faith as well.

2 CORINTHIANS 6

Heart Issues
It is amazing to see what Paul went through in his attempts to further the gospel. It challenges me to weigh what I call a trial and hard times. His life is so inspirational and a challenge to push forward no matter what the cost. I long to live like Paul but I am far too often caught up in the concerns of the world. He did all that he did to try and put no stumbling block before others, yet we are not willing to give up any freedom in the view of bringing others to Christ. We are convinced that all of this is for us and about us, not for God or all about Him. Sacrifice seems ludicrous in light of the health and wealth theology of today. I am also encouraged to know that I am God’s fellow worker and that I have a part to play in the salvation of others. God is able without me, but uses me nonetheless to reach others. This passage also continues to challenge me toward contextual criticism. It is so easy to extract a verse from a passage and teach it to mean something that it doesn’t fully mean. Scripture obviously would not teach us to date non-Christians, but this passage is not the one that would make us follow that standard. 1 Corinthians has some great stuff as well as even the Lord’s prayer could not truly be prayed as we lead ourselves into temptation. The term does display the truth well, but the context does not lead us there.

Notes
-We are working alongside God in bringing about the salvation of other people in the world. We obviously cannot save people, but we can bring them to the cross and allow them to encounter the Savior. God has placed an awesome privilege and task in our hands as His fellow workers.
-Grace in vain?? Most commentaries say that we cannot receive God’s grace in vain in regeneration/salvation. They would speak to this as when proclaiming it or when we speak of it lightly to one another. That doesn’t seem to fully fit with the greek, but I can’t make sense of it if it talks about receiving initial grace in vain, unless it is as the parable of the sower with the seed that falls on the rocky places and springs up quickly but withers because it has no root.
-Paul doesn’t want to keep anyone from knowing Christ or responding to the gospel so he has put himself through some crazy stuff in picking up his cross and following Jesus. He doesn’t look down on those times, but he commends all of his group for their endurance through so many trials, hardships, beatings, imprisonment, hunger, sleepless nights. He also commends them for staying pure, patient, understanding, kind, loving, righteous, and truthful. Their character was amazing as they walked through horrific circumstances. They truly had nothing and persevered anyway, but I love Paul’s final words yet possessing everything. He has learned the secret of godliness and contentment for this is great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)
-Paul’s love for his churches was exceedingly huge. He loved them like I would love my family. His heart is evident in many of his epistles and he compares his love for them as love for his children.
-It is challenging as I notice that a verse used so often to convince me not to date non-Christians is taken out of context. This is mainly talking about not worshipping the same idols as them, plunging into sin with them, but most vividly from context that we should not hold them highly in our hearts. We are called out a part from them to be separate so that God can truly dwell among us.

2 CORINTHIANS 5

Heart Issues
This chapter is one of my favorite chapters. It pairs together so well our eternal perspective and our call as ambassadors. When I am focusing on the eternal perspective I automatically begin thinking about how I can draw others to Christ. I am so grateful that God has entrusted me with the ministry of reconciliation. I get to share with others the amazing story of what changed my life and how Christ can change theirs. When I begin to think about heaven and my eternal home I am so motivated to take others with me. When I am focused on the here and now I don’t find myself sharing as much. I am grateful for this chapter for it has renewed in me a longing and desire to share with everyone I meet for I am blessed to be called an ambassador. I am also so thankful today that Jesus became sin for us and that we were given His righteousness. That isn’t fair, but I am so grateful for God’s amazing grace.

Notes
-Earthly tent – what an awesome description of how we should view our bodies. It is only a temporary structure, but God wants to give us the eternal home/building. We focus so much on the mortal man and our outward appearance, but this is just the tent that is fading.
-God has guaranteed us this is true by placing His spirit within us. He is the deposit in our lives that begins to reveal now what the eternal life is going to be like.
-Paul deals with the dilemma of desiring to be away from the body and at home with the Lord, but is still present in the body. Since he still lives in the body He wants to serve God with all that he can for we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged on our deeds. We will receive our due according to our deeds.
-Because we understand the gospel, we must try to persuade men. God has called us to be out of our minds for Him, but to be in our right minds to persuade others to follow as well. It is not our duty or something we have to do, but something that we are compelled to do by the love of Christ. We have been so loved it would be so wrong to hold onto that love for ourselves.
-We do not view people from worldly points of view, but we regard them as either in Christ or not in Christ. If we are in Christ we are a new creation and God has recreated us and made us His children.
-Reconciliation & Ambassadors – These concepts are so vital when thinking through our Christian lives. We have been reconciled to God through Christ and we are now called as Christ’s ambassadors to go and lead others to that same reconciliation. We represent Christ in all that we do, but it is not forced upon us to do it, but our privilege. The gospel is stated so well in verse 21 that God made Christ who had no sin become sin for us that we may receive His righteousness.

2 CORINTHIANS 4

Heart Issues
I want to view myself as a jar of clay. I want to know that I am unworthy to contain such an invaluable treasure. God lives within me through the Holy Spirit. I do not want to ever preach myself, but to only exalt God and give Him the glory through my life. I can far too easily fix my eyes on what is seen and temporary and miss the important eternality of life. No matter what I go through it is only a light and momentary struggle compared to the surpassing greatness of my home in heaven. Paul’s call from Philippians rings loud and true through this chapter to “Press On!” The gospel is the power of God and I will preach it truly and allow God to do the work. I cannot convince someone into a relationship with God, it is only my role to present the truth and allow God to do the work.

Notes
-God’s mercy has given them their ministry and they want God to receive all the glory. Paul and his companions do not preach themselves or distort the truth. The preach the truth and trust God with the results. They do not hold themselves accountable, but holds the blinding by the god of this age responsible. The veil keeps those that are perishing from understanding the truth of the gospel.
-Paul has a right view of himself and those with him. They see themselves as Jars of Clay. Jars of clay were where people kept their valuables although the jars themselves weren’t of any value. They would easily decay and break. Paul knew that they were unworthy of possessing the amazing valuable that was within them, the very presence of God.
-Paul went through a lot of hard times and was persecuted in many ways. They were never fully destroyed, abandoned, or despaired. God was always with them through the trial. We go through hard times because it continues to help us know of the cross and the death of Christ which allows God to fully live in our lives. True life comes when we die to ourselves.
-God was using them in the midst of all the persecution and Paul only saw the trials as light and momentary troubles. He was so enthralled with his home in heaven and the eternal glory that was to come that he would never lose heart. God would always renew them even though they were wasting away day by day as we all are.
-The mystical part of our religion is found in the final verse in fixing our eyes on what is unseen. If we only focus on the temporary things that we can see we have lost our lives. If we give up those things in pursuit of the eternal invisible we will truly find life.

2 CORINTHIANS 3

Heart Issues
I take the credit for what I do way too often. Paul always recognizes that all things are from the Lord. God had made him confident, competent, had removed the veil, given him the Holy Spirit, etc. Paul always credits God and does not commend himself. I want to continue to grow in that mindset as well. I am again taken aback by how awesome it is that we live in new covenant days. The Spirit lives within us and makes us like Christ, this was never experienced before. I also want to continue to live in freedom and not under the guilt and shame of the law. It is so much more glorious to be a part of something that brings righteousness than condemnation. I can’t imagine trying to convert people into the Jewish faith. It would seem something like telling people to join something where they are continually told how bad they are and that they will never measure up without any solution. It seems to really only continue through family and marriage.

Notes
-Paul mocked their need for letters of recommendation. Many would travel with letters of recommendation that would tell people who they were and give them some authority. Paul didn’t need a letter, but was confident because of his trust in God that they would receive him.
-Others bear witness to our ministry. The growth and change in people’s lives due to the Holy Spirit bears witness to our work as ministers.
-Paul recognized that God and God alone was the one to receive glory from their work. He had made them competent and given them the message of the new covenant.
-The law lets us know that we have sin and “the wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23. The Spirit brings life and freedom. How much better it is to live in New Covenant days.
-We have hope, which is a compound emotion, starting with a desire for something and an expectation of obtaining it. Our hope makes us very bold and we want to speak so that all may understand and repent of their sins and turn to the Lord.
-The veil blocks the truth from those who still have it. Christ is the only one who can remove that veil. He gives us life and truth when we receive Him. We are conformed each day to the likeness of Christ by the Holy Spirit and through this we reflect the glory of God. God be praised!

2 CORINTHIANS 2

Heart Issues
I understand Paul’s heart in wanting to come to the Corinthians without judgment or grief. His desire was to see them on a good note to refresh and encourage them. It is hard to always be the confronter. It is easy to get caught up like the Corinthians in punishing someone for their sin and to not offer forgiveness. The person can easily be labeled as bad and pushed outside the fellowship. We don’t want that kind of person representing us. Oh how we should represent ourselves with grace as we have been so graced by the Father. I am really encouraged by the thought of the triumphal procession and it makes me want to lift up the Father even more all the time. I want to stand as a servant to Christ and proclaim to the crowds all that He has done. Scent is the most memorable sense that we have. It can take us back to a different place and help us experience something all over again. We catch it unaware at times, but foul smells and sweet smells are easily recognized. When we are proclaiming Christ with our lives some with reject us as the smell of death and others will receive us as the fragrance of life. Finally, I never want to be motivated by money to do ministry. I want to follow God sincerely without any strings attached. I hate that money has to have anything to do with it. If people would only tithe, it would not be an issue.

Notes
-Paul begins this chapter dealing with a past issue in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. There was a man who was sleeping with his father’s wife. Yeah, that’s disgustin’. Paul told them to expel the wicked man/turn him over to Satan so that he would in the end be saved. It seems that Paul was encouraging this so that the man would repent and then later come back. The Corinthians didn’t seem to want to forgive for a long time and were still executing punishment when the man needed to be restored and forgiven.
-Paul did not want to have to come in and lay down the law on the people. He wanted to be able to come in with freshness and renewal not grief and punishment. He loved this people more than anyone else I know. He didn’t write them off because they were idiots.
-I love the thought of the triumphal procession for the people of that time period understood full well what Paul was talking about. After a military general would conquer a large territory they would come back into the town with a triumphal procession. All the people would gather and they would be paraded through the town on a chariot with a crown on their head and people proclaiming all that they had accomplished. Incense and sacrifices would scent the area. Paul relates that event to how God leads them into different cities for His glory and they get to proclaim all that He has done. They are the smell of life to the saved and the smell of death to the perishing.
-There is an obvious difference in those that are doing ministry for money and those that do it for the love of Christ. Those that love Jesus speak with boldness and passion. Those that long to get rich speak nice words that people want to hear. They never step on toes or call out sin for what it is. The passionate Christ follower can’t help but speak truth for that is what God speaks through that person.

2 CORINTHIANS 1

Heart Issues
My favorite part about this chapter is Paul’s discussion of how we stand firm. Verse 21 shows us that it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. Then later in the final verse he says that it is by faith that we stand firm. Both are so true. Only God can make us stand firm, not our own efforts. God causes us to walk in His ways, but at the same time we have to be putting our faith in Him to allow Him to do that. This is such a beautiful picture of God doing it all, cause only He can, but allowing us the choice to trust Him or go it alone. Another awesome part of this chapter is knowing that God will comfort us in the hard times and that we are never alone in our struggles/sufferings. Finally, another awesome thing to me is that the Holy Spirit is a deposit in our lives, guaranteeing what is to come. It is awesome to know that the Holy Spirit lives within us and makes the power and presence of God available to us now, but that is a deposit guaranteeing the awesomeness of heaven.

Notes
-This first chapter is a defense by Paul of His plans and apostleship. He starts off with notating his apostleship by the “will of God.”
-God comforts us in all our troubles. This is so encouraging to know that God is there through it all. We are told that we will have troubles, but we can find comfort in them. We as Christians will share in sufferings and comfort. Both are meaningless without someone to go through them with. Loneliness with suffering is terrible, just like comfort and good times alone are meaningless.
-Paul and at least Timothy if not more went through some really hard times that made them want to die. This caused them to rely on God more than ever and through this He gave them a greater sense of hope and trust in God.
-The false teachers in Corinth were going against Paul and saying that he was fickle and did not care about the Corinthians. He said he would come to Corinth, but he didn’t. Paul defends this by saying that God changed His plans and that the reason for it was to spare them not to avoid them.

1 CORINTHIANS 16

Heart Issues
This chapter has one of the best pick up lines in it. 1 Corinthians 16:20 says to greet one another with a holy kiss, so I think we should obey the bible. J I am challenged by Paul’s heart for others and his call to men. He calls us to be strong, courageous, firm, and on our guard. These are a great foundation for understanding manhood. I am also challenged today by Paul’s love for his fellow believers. He longs to refresh and encourage them for an extended period of time, not just a passing through. I also would not be able to say the same thing Paul did in verse 9 that I would like to stay in the midst of persecution. I would more easily run away and go to where it was safe and easier to share Christ. 1 Corinthians has been a journey for me and I want to continue to understand better and better God’s presence in my life, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and to pursue love more and more all the time. I never want to be satisfied with my capacity to love and serve right now because I am not near where I want or need to be. My love is still very conditional.
Notes
-Paul begins by dealing with money. So often I don’t like to deal with money in Christianity, but it is so vital in freeing peoples’ hearts. Paul didn’t want to do an offering when he came, he wanted it to already be done and stored up. This is wise for multiple reasons, more money is usually collected in incremental amounts, and Paul didn’t have to have mixed motives while with them.
-Paul longed to spend time with them, not just to see them. This reflects Paul’s genuine heart for other believers. He longed for them to be encouraged and wanted to spend adequate time to refresh their faith.
-I love verse 9 because this is so Paul. He wants to stay longer because effective work is happening and people are opposing him. That blows me away that he would stay where people were opposing him. He definitely challenges our please like me Christianity of today.
-Verse 13 & 14 sums up manhood and the journey of faith for men for me. We must be on our guard against Satan and our sinful nature. We need to stand firm in the faith and allow nothing to move us from what we have been made sure of. In response to this firm faith we should push forward through courage, taking risks and allowing God to use us. In the midst of all this we should be strong. Our whole life is summed up in being warriors of love. Doing everything in love keeps us effective, productive, and not annoying.
-Paul curses again anyone who does not love Jesus. This is so surprising to me as I know Paul’s heart for the lost. He longs that everyone know Jesus, but he also has a healthy understanding of the justice and wrath of God it seems.

1 CORINTHIANS 15

Heart Issues
As I approach Easter this year I want to experience it brand new. I want it to be as fresh as the first time I understood it. I long for Christ to be made real to me again and to experience the power of His resurrection and the glory of God through it. The resurrection is the most incredible event of all history and the least understood. It tells me that there is hope and purpose in this life and a reason for striving hard after God. This causes me to want to worship God for He has conquered death and I should fear no other but Him. I am challenged to continue on and press forward into the presence of God and what He has called me to do.

Notes
-THE GOSPEL – This is what Christianity is all about, this is where our foundation is and where we stake our claim. It all hinges on Christ dying for our sins and being raised the third day. If this is not true the whole of Christianity is not true.
-Paul here states that there is an element in salvation of persevering to the end. We must hold firm to the end to experience salvation for if we are children of God then we will live like children of God. Initial belief, like the parable of the sower, is not fully indicative of salvation. Our faith is not in vain, but if the resurrection were not true it would all be in vain.
-Paul understands here that he is only what he is by the grace of God. If we had a better understanding of that we would be a lot less judgmental. Only by grace are we “good people”.
-Paul presents a defense of the resurrection by showing the truth that would follow if Christ were not raised. All of Christianity would be pointless, futile, and in vain.
-Sin and death came through Adam, life and resurrection come through Christ. God has given Christ all authority and he will destroy every authority that sets itself up against Him.
-After this discussion there is a brief break to talk to the Corinthians about their witness vv.33-34. We don’t stop sinning because God is mad at us, but because we want others to know Christ. We want to reflect Christ to the World and if we are intimate with Him we will be like Him. If we are intimate with the world we will be like the world.
-If there is a natural body there is also a spiritual body. We are heavenly creatures as well as earthly ones. We are spiritual and we are perishable. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We can look forward to an eternal home and because of this we have victory through Christ.
-The end of this chapter brings us to Paul’s final summation that our labor for the Lord is never in vain. Because of the resurrection, our life makes sense, without it, all would be pointless.

1 CORINTHIANS 14

Heart Issues
I have been in church services where it was neither fitting nor orderly. I have also been in rigid, ritualistic worship services. The pendulum can swing either way very easily. The continued search is for the radical middle that waits on the Lord and allows gifts to be used while being used orderly for the building up of the church. God has called us together for that purpose to unite as one and push forward into the kingdom of darkness. We need the greater body as fuel to the fire. This meeting cannot be random and without point, we must take great care of our meeting together and allow it to be used to glorify God and edify others. I continue to pray that God would give me the gift of prophecy and allow me to speak into others’ lives as the prophets of old did. I pray that I would have the boldness and courage to carry out whatever God may call me to say.

Notes
-Paul starts out with calling back to the previous chapter of following the way of love. He wants us to focus primarily on love to be able to begin to understand spiritual gifts. The gift of prophecy is much greater because it is useful for others.
-Prophecy is useful for strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. The purpose of spiritual gifts is the edification of the church not just the individual. Tongues are still important and a blessing to those that speak in them, but not wildly like the Corinthians were doing.
-Speaking into the air, wasting breath. This practice was actually causing people to feel alienated and like foreigners to the people of the church.
-Paul practices speaking in tongues, but he does not encourage it that much in this passage. Tongues are a sign, but prophecy is much greater. Tongues are not wrong and if Paul is thankful that he speaks in them more than all of the Corinthian church he must have done this a lot.
-Tongues are not to be used in the church unless an interpreter is there. Prophecy is a powerful gift to cause unbelievers to recognize their sin and call them to repentance and allowing Jesus to be Lord of their lives.
-In every charismatic church I have been in vv. 26-28 have been totally disregarded. Many times this practice has even been encouraged by the leadership. God wants all the church to be edified and the time together to be useful for worship and building each other up. In a wild display of gifts and disorder everyone will leave confused more than uplifted.
-I am sure that many have twisted the end of this chapter to mean whatever they want it to mean in our feminist society. I am challenged by Paul’s statement here and part of it seems to refer to the Law. The old testament still had weight and still has weight to it. It has not been abolished through Christ but rather fulfilled. I wonder to what degree this has influence in our church of today.