Devotional Sharing Submitted by Ahmi Kim, Gracepoint San Francisco
2 Corinthians 2:1-13
“Titus was the one who apparently carried the ‘severe letter’ Apostle Paul mentions in 2.3-4 to the Corinthian church. Apostle Paul was so eager to receive word from Titus about how the Corinthian Christians responded to his harsh letter of rebuke that even though a door was open in Troas for the gospel, he went to Macedonia to look for Titus. At this point, after 2.3, Apostle Paul moves on to address other matters, but the issue of Titus, and the response of the Corinthians is picked up again in chapter 7.[1]
- Reflect on the words Apostle Paul used in describing what he went through in writing the severe letter. What can I learn from this about what it takes to speak the truth to people we love?
It takes “great distress and anguish of heart and … many tears” to speak the truth to people we love. It was not an easy matter, nor was it cursory or impersonal. It was intense and real, something that consumed heart, soul and mind for Apostle Paul. It would be less if he did not care for them, but it was his love that made him undergo this kind of suffering. That’s what it meant to love someone in truth – not simply imparting knowledge or facts but personally engaging in loving yet painful confrontation based on truth.
- Have I been willing to undergo “great distress” and “anguish of heart” and “many tears” in order to uphold God’s standards in the life of those close to me?
What I find within myself is to do this once, then pull back and find myself shying away from it next time because of the difficulty it takes. It’s a repeated pattern but that means God’s standards do not get upheld. Therefore, it’s a call that I have to push through and obey.
- How should “punishment” by the church be balanced by the need to “forgive and comfort” and “reaffirm love” toward a person who has sinned publicly?
In the church, it should be acknowledged in truth, but not glossed over as if it didn’t matter. It should be addressed appropriately according to its sin and the person involved. Being forgiven and affirmed in love does not mean everything is fine and he can get back to exactly the way he was. Rather, it’s in loving and truthful acknowledgement of his weakness and the areas he needs help, and providing that kind of help as the body of Christ.
I personally find this to be a great challenge because of my desire for things to be easily resolved. That is a desire not borne of love for the other person or for the sake of God’s honor, but for personal emotional ease. It is ultimately self-serving for me to try to not tow that balance but leave it one way or the other. When I deal with sin but not forgive or affirm or just easily forgive, comfort and affirm without properly dealing with the sin issue, then it’s an easy way out of not bearing my cross. That’s what the cross was about – upholding God’s standard and yet at the same time forgiving and affirming God’s love in full. I need to keep going through its full process with each person in light of the cross.
10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
- What does Apostle Paul tell the Corinthians to do in order that Satan would not outwit them? Why would forgiving someone thwart Satan’s schemes?
When I have an unforgiving spirit, it is toxic to the soul. It can grow to condemn the other person and ultimately make me proud in believing that I’m better. It also blinds me to my own sins and therefore hardens my heart against my own acts of grievance against God and His people. This is a way Satan can “outwit us”, so we need to be aware and forgive others. When I forgave, I found my heart softening, felt compassion for their weakness, and more love.
Devotional Questions:
2 Corinthians 2:1-13
“Titus was the one who apparently carried the ‘severe letter’ Apostle Paul mentions in 2.3-4 to the Corinthian church. Apostle Paul was so eager to receive word from Titus about how the Corinthian Christians responded to his harsh letter of rebuke that even though a door was open in Troas for the gospel, he went to Macedonia to look for Titus. At this point, after 2.3, Apostle Paul moves on to address other matters, but the issue of Titus, and the response of the Corinthians is picked up again in chapter 7.[1]
- Reflect on the words Apostle Paul used in describing what he went through in writing the severe letter. What can I learn from this about what it takes to speak the truth to people we love?
- Have I been willing to undergo “great distress” and “anguish of heart” and “many tears” in order to uphold God’s standards in the life of those close to me?
- How should “punishment” by the church be balanced by the need to “forgive and comfort” and “reaffirm love” toward a person who has sinned publicly?
- What does Apostle Paul tell the Corinthians to do in order that Satan would not outwit them? Why would forgiving someone thwart Satan’s schemes?
- Is there someone I need to forgive today?
2 Corinthians 2:14-17
“Here, Paul takes an image from the Roman world, seeing Jesus as the victorious, conquering general in a triumph parade. That is the picture that is in Paul’s mind. He sees Christ marching in triumph throughout the world, and himself in that conquering train. It is a triumph which, Paul is certain, nothing can stop. (Barclay) And, Paul sees himself as sharing in the triumph of Jesus, the Captain of the Lord’s Army, and Paul is one of the Lord’s chief officers!
“Fragrance, in the form of incense, was common at the Roman triumph parade. In Paul’s mind, this fragrance is like the knowledge of God, which people can smell when the triumph parade winds by.
“To the victors the perfume from the censers would be the perfume of joy and triumph and life; but to the wretched captives who walked so short a distance ahead it was the perfume of death, standing for a past defeat and their coming execution. (Barclay)[2]
“In the same way, the message of the gospel is a message of life to some and a message of condemnation to those who reject it (John 3:17-21). ‘The same happens to the present day to those who receive and to those who reject the Gospel: it is the means of salvation to the former, it is the means of destruction to the latter; for they are not only not saved because they do not believe the Gospel, but they are condemned because they reject it.’ (Clarke)”[3]
- Reflect on the picture Apostle Paul paints in v. 14 of God, Christ, the Christian, and the world. What does this picture say regarding the purpose of my life?
- How does vv. 15-16 speak to the notion that a person can stay “neutral” with respect to God?
- What is the relationship between a Christian’s effectiveness in being an “aroma of Christ” and presenting to people a “fork in the road” between death and life?
- Reflect on the responsibility of my role as a Christian and the eternal stakes this involves as expressed in the words: “who is equal to such a task?” Have I ever felt the awesome weight of this?
2 Corinthians 2:17
“The word peddling has the idea of ‘adulterating’ or ‘watering down’ for gain, and was especially used of a wine seller who would water down the wine for more profit. Paul was not like the others who might water down the gospel for gain!”[4]
- In what ways might I be guilty of “peddl[ing] the word of God for profit,” or of engaging in similar insincere approaches to spiritual matters for some sort of personal gain?
- Reflect on the relationship between “speak[ing] before God” and “sincerity.”
[1]David Guzik, Bible Commentary, online
[2] David Guzik, Bible Commentary, online
[3] David Guzik, Bible Commentary, online
[4] David Guzik, Bible Commentary, online
Commentary:
vv.1-4 “Paul faced a dilemma. To come to Corinth might intensify the problems and the pain; to stay away would allow the problems to fester and make reconciliation even more difficult. Again, Paul’s affection for the church comes out. They are a source of joy to him, and when their relationship is out of sorts, his pain is multiplied. The ‘I’ in the Greek is emphatic, ‘if I am the one who causes you pain.’ If he adds to the sadness in some way, they can hardly cheer him. Paul’s solution for reconciling the situation was to write a painful letter of rebuke.”[1]
vv.5-11 “Again we have a passage which is an echo of trouble and of unhappiness. When Paul had visited Corinth there had been a ring-leader to the opposition. This man had clearly personally insulted Paul who had insisted that discipline must be exercised upon him. The majority of the Corinthians had come to see that his conduct had not only hurt Paul, but had injured the good name of the whole Corinthian Church. Discipline had been exercised, but there were some who felt that it had not been sufficiently severe and who desired to impose a still greater punishment. It is now that the supreme greatness of Paul emerges. His plea is that enough has been done; the man is now penitent and to exercise still further discipline would do far more harm than good. It might simply drive the man to despair, and to do that is not to serve Christ and the Church, but to offer an opportunity to Satan to lay hold upon the man. Had Paul been actuated by merely human motives he would have gloated over the hard fate of his former enemy. Nowhere does the majesty of his character better emerge than on this occasion, when, in the graciousness of his heart, he pleads for mercy on the man who had hurt him so much. Here is a supreme example of Christian conduct in face of injury and insult.”[2]
[1]Garland, D. E. (2001, c1999). Vol. 29: 2 Corinthians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (113). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2]The letters to the Corinthians. 2000, c1975 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.). The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (2 Co 2:12). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.