2 Corinthians 4: Never, Never, Never Give Up

Introduction

Sometimes many of us forget. We forget about some important aspects of following Jesus. Discovering and following the truth is not just a matter of “better” life or being good to someone else. Many of us, including myself, often forget that we were drawn into a different realm once we accepted Christ in our life: the realm where the devil wages an incredible war against the follower of Christ.

Moses said in his last sermon: the Word of God is your life (Deut. 30:20). The function of the Word of God is not just giving life. The Word Itself is Life. Without the Word is death. Apostle Paul wholeheartedly knew this with all his entirety that the Word was his life as well as life for all followers of Christ. Because he has experienced the Word of God as his life, he poured out his heart for the Corinthian Church in 2 Corinthians 4.

Any ministry can pose a tremendous challenge – even for apostle Paul. One of the most challenging ministries took place in Corinth for Paul – also the sheer length of the letters to the Corinthians partly reflects the difficulty associated with the ministry in Corinth. Paul wanted to lead them to Christ, yet, many factors were hindering the goal, one of which was the continual presence of the false teachers and false teachings.

This chapter came to me as a declaration of war. War against who? Against any person, being, or realm that opposes the truth, the truth of Christ. However the difficult ministry had been for Paul, he was pouring out his heart to tell that he and his fellow ministers to “not lose heart.” In the New Living Translation, the same phrase is stated in a more proactive stance, “we do not give up.” Yes, Paul and his companions did not give up because they knew the monumental consequence for the Corinthians if they retreated.

Three Statements

The entire chapter can be summarized into three sentences.

We (Paul and his fellow companions) are fragile human beings.
We do not give up no matter how hard this ministry becomes.
We will continue to preach Christ.

The next three subsections summarize the chapter, not necessarily in the order.

First: Weak, Fragile Vessels

Paul knew how weak and how fragile he can be. He knew that he was of an earthen vessel, afflicted in every way, perplexed, persecuted and struck down (2 Corinth 4:7-10). Also, he was carrying about in the body the dying Jesus (v11). He admitted that death was working in him.

In other words, Paul and his companions were severely buffeted by the outside trials to render them weak both physically and mentally. Paul never denied his weaknesses. Paul fully accepted the weakness and limitation of his ability. This was the point where Christ began to shine – inside out.

Second: Strong Inside and Heart

However weak Paul may be, he knew his identity and what he had in him. In Verse 1, he knew that he received mercy. In verse 7, in contrast to his weak physical body, it was stated that he knew that he had “this treasure.” He knew that he and his companions were bond-servants for Jesus’s sake.

Because of this strong awareness of his identity in Christ, he made a courageous confession that although he was struck down, he was not in despair, nor forsaken, nor destroyed. Although carrying about the death of dying Jesus, the life of Jesus was manifested in his body.

The inner strength empowered Paul to maintain this proactive mindset: “We do not lose heart.” In other words, “we do not give up,” repeated twice in verse 2 and verse 16. “We do not lose heart.” Paul’s action did not just stop at the heart level.

Third: Fight and Preach!

The ministry did not just stay at the heart level. Paul and his companions mustered the last ounce of their strength to engage in active offensive tactics.

The first action that they took was to reject any message that does not align with God (verse 2). An emphatic rejection of those craftiness that adulterates the Word of God. This was accompanied by defensive tactics by manifesting the truth.

The second action was to continue to preach Christ (verse 5). This was the very act by Paul to continue to engage offensively to enlarge the Kingdom of God.

Conclusion

Therefore, admit that you may be weak, but continue to cling firm to your true identity in Christ, and translate that into action of rejecting falsehood and continuing to preach Christ.

May God bless you.

2 Corinthians 1-2: Confidence in Christ

Rather than focusing on the content itself, I wanted to draw out some of the implicit factors, those that are unseen, from the passage, especially on the relational aspect. The letter was undoubtedly written by Paul, probably the main author, with the help of Timothy. The recipients were the saints, the followers of Christ, in Corinth.

Firm Identity in God (verses 1 to 2)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:1-2)

The first part of the letter portrays a typical opening statement across Paul’s letters. Often, considering the opening statement too typical, we tend to overlook the importance of it. However, I urge all readers to allocate sufficient time to meditate on the “typical” introduction and greetings. A few important factors are as follows.

Paul had a very strong assurance of his identity. The very beginning of the letter made this clear. Paul introduced himself in relation to Christ. His identity was solely rooted in Christ. He was an apostle, the literal meaning of which was a messenger. Paul was sure that his role and identity was rooted in Christ and empowered by the will of God. The will of God was to send His son and make Him known. Paul had a clear understanding of his role and identity.

From this firm rootness and being assured of the identity, Paul permeated his confidence in Christ throughout the letter, including the First Corinthians and especially in these two chapters of the Second Corinthians. Having this strong anchor, although he was rebuking Corinthians in the first letter, his confidence in God, he rebuked the Corinthians of their clear wrong practices. The continuation can be seen in the second letter of Corinthians.

From the strong assurance of his identity in Christ enabled him to permeate confidence. From this strong assurance, he positioned himself to share immense suffering that his team had undergone in Asia to the saints at Corinth. From this confidence, he told the Corinthians to listen to his message, which in fact, a message of Christ. From this assurance, Paul asked them to forgive the person (2 Corinthians 2) to accept because he was fully aware of Satan’s strategy.

Growing Paul (verses 3 to 5)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

The process of knowing and experiencing God has no bounds. Even for Apostle Paul, this was not an exception. Let’s unfold and uncover something deeper from these three verses.

Paul began by praising God. For what? Paul praised a particular aspect of God here: God of comfort. Comfort is repeated multiple times and not a typical word used in other letters by Paul. That leads us to question why Paul introduced this new term in this passage.

We have to jump a little ahead to verse 8 where Paul and his team were under an incredible affliction that led them to utter despair in Asia (many scholars think the event that led even Paul to an utter despair of death was recorded in Acts 18: the uprising of Demetrius). Although the details of the affliction and sufferings that Paul and his team underwent were not clear, what was certain was the excruciating degree of mental and physical sufferings that afflicted Paul. Through the excruciating pain and thoughts of even physical death, Paul and his team were granted deliverance by the LORD. This experience at Asian (v.8) must have given a new enlightenment and deeper understanding of God – especially, God of Comfort. Even Apostle Paul was growing. Through suffering, Paul spiritually grew closer to a true understanding of and experience of God of comfort.

A similar comparable experience was recorded in the Old Testament by Job. Job underwent a time of extreme trials, losing most of his family members and all of his wealth, compounded by argumentative his close four friends. After all these, God appeared and questioned Job. Through this process, Job realized the gap between his finite wisdom and infinite God, which naturally led him to repent and be in awe of God. Similar to Paul, through suffering, Job also encountered a new knowledge of God.

In suffering and affliction, people can choose to grow. God uses those vehicles to spur growth in each of His followers. Apostle Paul was not an exception.

Sharing and Request to Connect with Corinthians (verses 6 to 11)

In this section, we can see Paul’s relation with the Corinthian church and the earnestness with which he wanted to share his experience with them. In the passage, we see that Paul was acknowledging that the readers were the sharers of his sufferings.

Also, Paul was making a request. He was asking them to be aware of Paul’s situation and pray for his team. That Paul being vulnerable to the Corinthians reflected his trust and dependence on the Corinth church.

Confidence that stems from the identity (v12)

For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you (2 Corinthians 1:12)

What is the common denominator for both humility and confidence? I dare to say they come from understanding one’s true identity. The only way to understand one’s true identity is to know the creator, God and Christ Jesus. Knowing the true identity sets one free – confidence in God leads people to be content and be humble because they do not have to prove anything to other people.

Connecting from verse 1 and 2, Paul’s firm identity in Christ enabled him to display a sheer confidence to the Corinthians. At first glance, these verses may seem rather strange. However, Paul stated that he and his companion conducted above the highest standard, especially toward the Corinthians. He was confident in holiness and godly sincerity.

Was this a sign of hubris, or arrogance? No. His mindset stemmed from a firm identity in Christ and Paul’s love of God was fully manifested to the Corinthians in a variety of forms – even including, a series of severe rebuke and admonishment.

Conclusion

A strong identity in Christ is essential to grow further in Him and to withstand adverse situations. Even apostle Paul, when faced with a tremendously difficult external situation, fell into despair. Yet, his strong identity anchored in Christ catapulted him to experience God of comfort. In Christ, Paul was confident enough to rebuke and admonish Corinthians to an everlasting way of Christ. I pray that you will grow in Christ to have your identity firmly rooted in Him in this tumultuous world.

Introduction to 2 Corinthians

Here’s a continuation of the introduction to the 2 Corinthians.

Author

In order to understand the letter, we must first start with some understanding of the author(s). Apostle Paul was the main author of the letters to the Corinthians, along with Timonty. Given that this letter was written around AD 55, Paul was thought to be in his late 40s or early 50s. Simple fact may this be, it is important for the readers to know the approximate age of the author.

Paul’s first direct encounter with Jesus occurred when he was on his way to Damascus to further persecute Christians (Acts 9). He was in his early 30s when his supernatural encounter with Jesus took place. Before this, Paul was discipled by Gamaliel the Elder, who was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the early first century. He was trained in the word of God (the Old Testament) by the best teacher at that time. After his encounter with Jesus, Paul spent another 14 years in Arabia and Judea, although it is not exactly known what he did during those 14 years, I think Paul started to re-interpret and renewed his understanding of the word of God in reflection of Jesus Christ. After having gone through this rigorous 14 years, he partook in a few missionary journeys. Some of the key concepts in his letters to the Corinthians were a result of both his rigorous reflection of the Old Testament and his numerous missionary trips. Therefore, understanding the full depth of some of the concepts laid out in Paul’s letter is not easy.

If you as a reader, had a difficult time understanding the full depths and knowledge of Paul’s message, it is OK. It is natural. Don’t be frustrated but keep moving on with the guide of the Holy Spirit. If you think you understood Paul’s letter fully, then you may have dwells on the surface only.

The City of Corinth

The city of Corinth was located in the Achaia region, not too far from Athens. As a major trading hub, the city was the center of commerce, attracting people from many other parts of the world. Perhaps, because of the confluence of many cultures, practices, traditions and values from a wide variety of nations and ethic groups, Corinth was a city where a fusion of religious thoughts and practices resided. In some way, the city could be compared to the current Las Vegas in the United States.

Intro to the Corinthians

The Start of Fall 2019

The first and second Corinthians and Joshua make up the main curriculum of the Korean Bible Study group for the year 2019-2020. What stands out is a unique order proposed by The Korean Bible Study Committee: 2 Corinthians, Joshua, then 1 Corinthians. The obvious question is why 2 Corinthians is placed before 1 Corinthians. Furthermore, what is the relation between the book of Joshua and the letters to the Corinthians? I believe that some part of the fun associated with this year’s bible study would be a slow unfolding of the reason for this “eccentric” study curriculum order.

The Overall Impression of the first and second Corinthians

Long. Compared to the other letters written by the apostle Paul, two letters to the Corinthians are significantly longer. In reference, most other letters have fewer than six chapters and the second lengthiest letter, the book of Romans, has sixteen chapters. The total chapters written for the Corinthians, including both the first and second letters, amount to twenty nine. Besides, some scholars believe that there could be up to two additional letters written by Paul to the Corinthians. If two addition letters are included, the total length of the Corinthians could have been close to fifty chapters. Compared to this volume, many other letters (Galatians, Philippians, Colossians and others) are significantly shorter, usually fewer than six chapters.

Why such a long letter?

My hypothesis is that the length of the letter is positively correlated to the degree of trouble that the recipients of the letter caused. The book of Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel contain long prophetic message most of which were warning, to the people in northern Israel and southern Judah. In His love, God continued to reach out to His people with many, lengthy words because His people were not listening and causing many troubles.

What God was to the Israelites in the Old Testament, Paul to the Corinthians in the New Testament. Paul’s long letter reflects both his love and heartbreak toward the Corinthians. As God continued to pursue His people, Paul continued to reach out to the Corinthians. Church in Corinth suffered from an internal division, sexual immorality, deception from false teachers, rebellious attitude toward Paul, and false idea of Jesus Christ. Because of Paul’s relentless love toward the Corinthians, Paul’s letters had become lengthy, consisting of exhortation, firm rebuke, and warning.

Never, Never, Never Give up

Some chapters in the second Corinthians clearly demonstrate Paul’s resolute determination not to lose the Corinthians to the false teachings of the false teachers. Paul deployed all of his arsenals to protect his people – rebuke, his credentials as an apostle, his extraordinary visions and revelations – from false teachings. He was fully engaged in this war for the sake of the Church of Corinth. In fact, I found many references to spiritual warfare in the second Corinthians.

Instead of looking all chapters of the second Corinthians, I plan to share my thoughts on the first, second, fourth and twelfth chapters of the second letter to the Corinthians.