“We're In This Together”
This
review is brought to you by the Kentucky
First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Sunday
School Department.
LESSON
AIM: By the end of the lesson, we will; acknowledge Paul's
estrangement he felt from the Corinthians and assess his reaction to it; feel
the need to heal estrangement within the church fellowship; and articulate ways
to end any misunderstandings and estrangements and list ways to restore health
to the community.
BIBLE
TRUTH: The believer should let nothing separate him from his brother.
2
Corinthians 6:1-13, 7:2-4 | King James Version (KJV)
6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that
ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
6 By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
11 O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.
12 Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.
13 Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
7: 2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man.
3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.
4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.
In an
additional letter to the church at Corinth, Paul finds himself writing in his
own defense and, once again, seeking to encourage the Corinthians to good works
and perfect their belief in Christ.
He begins
this letter asking them not to receive God’s grace in vain. In other words, don’t
take the salvation given to you through Christ and waste it by not fully
understanding the power of the Gospel. There is friction between believers
here, which means that there is discord and divide. As believers, we can
understand that this is one of the ways Satan comes to deceive and manipulate the
Body of Christ…by keeping us divided. Paul is calling it out here and asking
for them to fix it quickly!
SIDE NOTE: Why was Paul acting so
urgently? As long as there is a “disunity”…the Devil is winning! How is he
winning? He’s winning by keeping 2 believers so upset with each other that they
can’t touch and agree like Matthew 18:19 is calling for. He also knows that God
won’t act upon prayers until the condition in Matthew 5:24 be fulfilled. So,
both naturally and spiritually…restoration is of the utmost importance.
Paul
begins reminiscing upon all of the ways he has suffered within his own journey.
In everything that we go through, never give someone a reason to look upon you,
as a believer, and say…”I knew there was nothing to this salvation thing!” or “This
way of life isn’t valid or real”. Don’t ever cause the ministry to be criticized.
So, each time Paul went “through”, he remained blameless. Paul describes the
various ways that he was made to suffer; sometimes it was because of life; other
times because of the wickedness of people; and then he suffered for preaching
the Gospel.
As we
continue reading Paul focuses their thoughts around how these trials only made
him stronger, wiser, and better! God has a way of shaping and molding us into
His perfect will. Paul’s sharing this would be a certain encouragement to any
of the Corinthians, as they continue their walk of faith.
In verse
11, Paul simply asks them to reconcile with him, in their hearts. Paul has been
blamed for not being a real Christian and having false words. He wants to fix
this, understanding that unless they do, they would not be able to experience
God’s blessings. Accepting him would also mean having to accept Paul’s ministry
and joining it. Paul is opening his heart to them, exposing to them that he has
unconditional love for this church, and he’s asking them to reciprocate the
feeling. He knew he could only put it out there, as we never have control over
another human’s emotions. He wanted them to really be honest with themselves
and God. This is because, while they knew where Paul stood on the issue, some still
maintained inappropriate relationships with unbelievers, who cared nothing
about the Mosaic Law, had no issues with immorality in the church, and
entertained false prophets. While Paul wasn’t asking them to break off all ties
with the unsaved folks, but rather to take a stand for God! Don’t be influenced
by these behaviors. Be strong enough to know when you’re out of God’s will. God
demand’s our allegiance!
Paul
concludes by letting them know he had all confidence that they would respond
favorably. He was proud of these Saints and, as we have been in this and other
letters, Paul really did love them.
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