Category Archives: 2 Corinthians

Posted on

All-Sufficient Grace

Read II Corinthians 12

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
(II Corinthians 12:7-10)

Thoughts… Do you ever wonder why God allows you to struggle with certain things? Perhaps there is a physical limitation from which you have asked God time and again to heal you, but to no avail. Maybe there is a limitation in your ability to learn or speak or a lack of confidence in interacting with others that holds you back vocationally or relationally, and you have desperately sought for God to give you victory over it, but to no avail. Perhaps there has been a struggle with a particular sin over the years, and you have agonized in prayer that God would remove it, but your prayers seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Apostle Paul had something like that going on in his life, too. He called it a “thorn in my flesh”. He saw it as a direct assault from Satan. And he prayed intensely that God would deliver him from whatever it was. There has been speculation as to what the thorn in the flesh actually was. Many think it was a physical malady. Tradition tells us that Paul had plenty of physical limitations. Some think the “thorn” was a person who was opposing Paul and his work. Then there are a few who surmise that it was a temptation to which Paul was particularly susceptible. Who knows for sure, but what we do know is that it was really bugging Paul—to the point that he felt frustrated enough to get really serious before God about it.

One of the things I appreciate about Paul is his ability to gain an eternal perspective on things. He was able to re-theologize the negative circumstances in his life to where he could see the mighty hand of God aligning things for his benefit. Such was the case here. If God saw fit to leave this pesky thorn in Paul’s side, then God must have a purpose. And the purpose in this case, he finally figured out, was to keep him from conceit, since throughout his ministry he had been given so many unusual experiences in the supernatural dimension that it would have been easy to become spiritually prideful. Paul needed a little humility, and God gave him a thorn to keep him weak, and therefore humble, in a particular area.

But it wasn’t just humility for humility’s sake that Paul needed, God wanted Paul to come into a much more important understanding of how the Kingdom of God works. God wanted Paul to have a firsthand experience of grace. Paul was the Apostle of grace, so through this experience where all he could do to survive was depend on God’s unmerited favor, he learned to hang on to grace for dear life. Paul learned one of the most important lessons a Christian can ever learn: Through grace, our weaknesses are parlayed into God’s supernatural strength, which enables us to achieve kingdom success that results in all the credit going to God.

That’s why Paul could be grateful for his weakness. That’s why he could tolerate his thorn. That’s why he could turn his disadvantage into an advantage. Satan afflicted him with a thorn, but God watered it with grace and it budded into a rose.

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Soar back through all your own experiences. Think of how the Lord has led you in the wilderness and has fed and clothed you every day. How God has borne with your ill manners, and put up with all your murmurings and all your longings after the ‘sensual pleasures of Egypt!’ Think of how the Lord’s grace has been sufficient for you in all your troubles.”

God’s grace is sufficient—always, It was sufficient for Paul. And because God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and because he loves you just as much as he did Paul, God’s grace will be sufficient for you! Start looking at your thorn from a different perspective. It might hurt a little—or a lot—but God is going to use your present struggle to achieve an eternal glory that will far outweigh any discomfort you feel in the present.

In that sense, go ahead and glory in your weakness, for when you are weak, God is strong.

Prayer… Lord, thank you that in my weakness, I receive your strength! Thorns may pierce me, but they drive me to you, and into a deeper experience of your grace than I would have known without them. In my weakness your sufficient grace is revealed, and I am strengthened to overcome. You bring victory out of defeat in such a way that all the credit goes to you. Therefore I will boast all the more that in my weakness, I am strong in your strength.

One More Thing… “To all who find their days declining, to all upon whom age is creeping with its infirmities, to all whose strength seems steadily to ebb….God seems to take our last things, and as it were, pack them up for our journey. These are tokens that you are approaching land. They are signs that the troubles of the sea are almost over.” —Henry Ward Beecher

Posted on

Show Me Your Scars, Not Your Stars

Read II Corinthians 11

“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
(II Corinthians 11:30)

Thoughts… II Corinthians is a unique letter in that Paul spends much of his time defending his apostolic ministry to the church at Corinth. Apparently, other so-called “apostles” had wormed their way into the church and were not only leading the believers away from their pure and sincere devotion to Christ (11:3), they were gaining credibility for their own authority by putting down Paul’s credibility and authority. And, judging from the undertones in this letter, it had been working.

Paul, being a spiritual father to these Corinthian believers, had to take drastic action to remind them of his “street cred” — how he had earned his stripes as an apostle. While the false apostles were bragging about their superior spirituality and awe-inspiring ministry gifts, Paul began to list his own ministry accomplishments — things that most ministers would never brag about:

  • I’ve been in prison more times
  • I’ve been beaten more times
  • I’ve faced death on several occasions
  • I’ve received 39 lashes five times
  • I’ve been pummeled with rods three times
  • I’ve been stoned once
  • I’ve been shipwrecked three times
  • I’ve spent a day and a night drifting at sea
  • I’ve faced life-threatening floods
  • I’ve faced robbers
  • I’ve endured sleepless nights
  • I’ve gone without food and water
  • I’ve experienced hypothermic conditions
  • And if all that weren’t enough, I’ve had to worry about you being deceived by these “super apostles”.

Quite a résumé, isn’t it! There is probably not a church in America today that would hire Paul to be their pastor. Boasting about spending more time in jail than the other pastoral candidates probably wouldn’t win many points with a pulpit committee.

Yet Paul finds his sufferings for the cause of Christ to be the basis for boasting. And I think he has pretty firm ground to stand on before the Lord. One day when we stand before Christ, he will say, “Show me your scars” rather than, “show me your stars.” It will be the sacrifice of blood, sweat and tears more than the attainment of money, fame and power that will carry credibility with the Lord.

Perhaps that’s how we ought to evaluate spiritual authority and ministry success—by how much suffering for Christ has been endured.

Let me suggest that beginning today, you start evaluating your Christian experience from that perspective. Assess your own walk with God in terms of what it is costing rather than what you are gaining. Evaluate the ministries you are enamored with by how God has strengthened them in their weaknesses rather than how much they have accomplished through their own charisma, charm, wealth and power.

I am not suggesting that we should go out of our way to suffer. What I am saying is that every once in a while, the life of faith probably ought to get us into some of the same kind of hot water Paul often found himself in.

So if there is any cause for boasting, let it be our scars, not our stars!

Prayer… Lord, what I love so dearly about you are the scars on your nail-pierced hands and feet, the stripes on your back and the wounds on your brow that your bore on the cross for me. Without your scars, you would not be my Savior. So why would I not evaluate my own life that way…by my scars and not my stars? Why do I look at the glamour and the glitz of a ministry to determine its value rather than the sacrifice that it has endured? Help me to change my perspective. Help me to see things as you see them. Help me to celebrate what you celebrate. Help me to embrace what you embrace. If I boast, Lord, may I boast in the things that show how your strength is revealed in my weakness!

One More Thing… “They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?” —Martin Luther

Posted on

Demolishing Strongholds

Read II Corinthians 10

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have divine power
to demolish strongholds.”
(II Corinthians 10:4)

Thoughts… Are you up against a stronghold? Perhaps it is a troublesome spouse or a rebellious child or an overbearing boss. Maybe it’s a crippling disease or a shaky economy or an uncooperative job market. Whatever your stronghold is, in reality, there is an unseen spiritual enemy behind it masking as a real human being or a challenging circumstance.

If you are going to experience a spiritual breakthrough with your stronghold, then Paul says you will need to employ the spiritual weapons that God has put at your disposal. Those weapons are not carnal. In other words, sheer force of will, rational argumentation, personal discipline, financial resources alone cannot secure your victory. Rather, the weapons you must use are spiritual in nature, but they are powerful. They pack a divine punch that will destroy the demonic strongholds that are behind those challenging relationships and difficult circumstances that you are facing.

What are those weapons? First and foremost is the weapon of prayer. It is through prayer that we access the power of God to overcome all the attacks of the enemy. Samuel Chadwick preached, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” Why does Satan do everything in his power to keep us from prayer? Because prayer works!

The second weapon is the Word of God. Divine truth will expose Satan’s chief strategy, which is deception. Satan is the “father of lies,” and he is effective only as we remain in the dark as to who we really are, what we really have, and what we can really do in Jesus Christ. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.

The third weapon is the authority of the name of Jesus. All the demons of hell tremble at that name. It is at the name of Jesus that everything must bow in submission. It is in the name of Jesus that we have authority to pray. It is in the name of Jesus that doors must open, demons must flee, and answers must come. We must learn to live and pray in Jesus’s name, otherwise we will live well below our capacity for Divine provision, blessing, freedom and favor.

The fourth weapon is the righteousness of Christ that we wear as a breastplate. It is Christ’s righteousness, imputed to us at salvation, that makes us not only holy before God, it likewise empowers us to live a life of integrity and purity in our daily journey. Christ’s righteousness, worked out in our own daily righteousness, keeps of from being vulnerable to an enemy looking to exploit any chink in our armor.

We were made to win.  God has given us every weapon that we need to live the victorious Christian life. These are our weapons of mass destruction. Now we’ve got to make sure we use them.

Prayer… Lord, in you I am completely victorious. You are my shield and my strength. Through you I will overcome. You have provided every weapon to destroy the enemy’s efforts to destroy me. By your Spirit, through your Word, in the name of Jesus, and by his blood that makes me righteous I am more than a conqueror. Thank you for guaranteeing and securing my victory.

One More Thing… “The reason why many fail in battle is because they wait until the hour of battle. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came…Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees before temptation comes, and you will always have victory.” —R.A. Torrey

Posted on

$trategic $tewardship—The Kind of Giver God Loves

Read II Corinthians 9

“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so
that in all things at all times, having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.”
(II Corinthians 9:7-8)

Thoughts… Paul has been teaching the Corinthian Christians for two whole chapters now about the ministry of giving, and he gives some pretty clear guideline as to how God desires us to give.

First, you are to give with authenticity. No one should tell you how to give or how much to give—not even the preacher. “You are to decide” about giving, Paul says. You need to dig way down deep and come to grips about the ministry of giving, until it is a value that drives your stewardship.

Second, you are to give out of heartfelt desire. Give because you really love God and want to demonstrate your love with a tangible expression of your devotion to him. Don’t do it because it will make you feel better, ease your guilt or make you look good.
Don’t do it just because you feel pressured to do it, not like the boy who mis-memorized the verse, “Each should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not repulsively or under convulsions.” Instead, you are to give because it’s just what you ought to do. Give because it is the nature of love. Give because it is consistent with Christian character. Give from a convinced heart. If your gift doesn’t send the message of genuine desire, it won’t count for love.

Third, you are to give with delight. Why? “For God loves a cheerful giver.” A truly authentic and heartfelt giver will enjoy giving the gift. They don’t think of giving as a loss or a requirement or a burden, rather they think of the joy it brings and the love it communicates to the recipient. That’s what we’re told in Hebrews 12:2 about Jesus, our example of joyful generosity, “For the joy set before him, endured” the ultimate act of giving: the cross.

Fourth, you are to give expectantly. Paul teaches that when you give in a way that is pleasing to the Lord—authentically, from the heart, and joyfully—God will make sure that you will always have plenty to give away: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” As someone has wisely pointed out, “Give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving.”

What a privilege it is to give back to God. When we get giving right, God makes sure we ourselves will abound in every good work.

Prayer… Lord, you are the Supreme Giver. You gave your best, you gave your all, you gave yourself. From the depth of my heart, I thank you. It is now my honor and joy to give back to you. May the sacrifice of my offerings be acceptable worship pleasing to you.

One More Thing… “Since much wealth too often proves a snare and an encumbrance in the Christian’s race, let him lighten the weight by ‘dispersing abroad and giving to the poor’, whereby he will both soften the pilgrimage of his fellow travelers, and speed his own way the faster.” —Augustus Toplady

Posted on

A Touchy Subject

Read II Corinthians 8

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you
through his poverty might become rich.”
(II Corinthians 8:9)

Thoughts… Money is a touchy subject in most churches. Pastors have to tread lightly in this area these days or face being compared to money-grubbing televangelists, of which there seems to be an endless supply. Congregations get nervous about money too, sometimes feeling as if they exist only as a financial means to help the pastor achieve his ministry ends.

Periodically, I have a chance to watch religious services on television—which usually cures me from watching again for a long time—and it becomes apparent that some pastors have no fear of talking about money—or should I say, “asking” for it. These spiritual leaders take offerings with skill and passion that would make a door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen proud, and their congregations seem not to mind one little bit.

In most churches, however, this is not the case. Pastor and parishioner alike gets twitchy when it comes to offering time, and thus the subject that Jesus talked about more than anything else—money—is avoided like the plague.

But the Bible never backs off from the subject of money. William Allen has pointed out, “One verse in every six in the first three Gospels relates either directly or indirectly to money. Sixteen of our Lords forty-four parables deal with the use of misuse of money. A loving, joyful, liberal giving to the Lord’s work is an acid test of a spiritual heart, pleasing to God.”

The fact is, money is critical in the life of the believer and to the ministry of the church. God’s blessings are predicated upon his people being wise and faithful stewards of their resources, and the effectiveness of the church cannot be separated from the adequate resources it takes to carry out ministry. Every ministry I have encountered in my travels throughout the world, whether near or far, all face the same challenge: The resource challenge. Money is important!

That’s why Paul devotes two whole chapters to it here in II Corinthians 8 and 9. Paul wasn’t afraid to address this issue and challenge his people to have the right attitude toward giving. He knew that giving keyed both blessing to the giver and effectiveness for the ministry. And for that reason, Paul unashamedly promoted eager, generous, fair, joyful and expectant giving among God’s people.

And the basis for such an appeal was rooted in the eager, generous, fair, joyful and expectant giving of God revealed in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That’s what the verse I began with is describing. In his generous grace, Jesus gave up the riches of heaven and took on the impoverished life of living as a human being in order that through his sacrificial giving we who were helplessly and hopelessly poor could partake in his eternal riches.

God is a giver. He set the example. He established the pattern. He did first what he now calls us to do. He gave his all, his very best, and he did so with eagerness and joy. He did it purposely and passionately. He did it you and for me. And now he calls you and me to do it as well.

“Just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (II Corinthians 8:7)

Perhaps it’s time for us to re-examine our attitudes toward money and giving. May our faithful stewardship in giving enable our faith to pass the acid test of true and God-pleasing spirituality.

Prayer… Father, all that I have is yours. All that I possess is from you. Even my ability to make a living is a gift from you. You are the true owner and giver of everything I have. So I re-dedicate myself to honoring you with the first fruits of my wealth, such as it is. My giving is my worship, and as such, I pray that it will be acceptable and pleasing to you. Cause my stewardship to result in the growth of your kingdom, and may souls stand in eternity some day as a direct outcome of my faithfulness in giving.

One More Thing… “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.” —C.S. Lewis

Posted on

Sweet Sorrow

Read II Corinthians 7

“I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
(II Corinthians 7:9-10)

Thoughts… Thank God for pain. If we didn’t have it, we’d be in a world of hurts!

Pain is a gift from God, a gift nobody wants, but a sweet gift nonetheless. Why, because as Paul says, it leads us to sorrow. And Godly sorrow leads to repentance, and true repentance leads us to life.

Years ago there used to be a corny TV program called “Hee Haw”. I hate to admit it, but it was a family favorite—which tells you a lot about my family of origin. One of the skits in this show had a person come into the doctor’s office and describe to the doctor a place on their body that was hurting. They would say, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” Then the doctor would whack them upside the head and say, “Well, don’t do that!”

Dumb skit, great point! That’s what God says, “Don’t do that!” God in his grace has allowed us to experience pain, and our pain is meant to bring us to God. It is meant to cause us to look within and see where we have made missteps. It is meant to cause us to look without and see where we need to initiate change in our circumstances. It is meant to lead us look ahead and evaluate how we can steer our life in a more God-honoring direction.

If you are going through a painful episode right now, I would suggest that you thank God for it. Famed Scottish theologian and hymn-writer George Matheson once prayed,

“My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorns. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorns. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross: but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross: teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.”

By the way, Matheson went totally blind when he was twenty years old.

Pain is the gift nobody wants, but it is still a gift. It will open your eyes to the real and lasting beauty that awaits you in God. So thank God for your pain, it may just turn out to be the best gift He has ever given you.

Prayer… Father, I have been guilty of rejecting the thorns in my life as contrary to your will for me. Sometimes I whine and complain about the discomfort they bring. Lord, help me to endure discipline as a soldier of the cross. Help me to embrace my enemies as gifts disguised. Use every discomfort, every blow, every disappointment, every difficult person as your divine chisel to make me into the image of your Son. There is no higher purpose for me than to be like Jesus. Do what it takes to conform me to his likeness.

One More Thing… “[Pain] plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul. —C.S. Lewis

Posted on

In It But Not Of It

Read II Corinthians 6

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Satan? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.”
(II Corinthians 6:14-16)

Thoughts… This is one of Christianity’s most difficult teachings. Not because we don’t understand it—Paul’s meaning is pretty obvious. This is a hard teaching because it is so challenging to actually live out in the practicality of our everyday lives. After all, though we are not of the world, we are certainly in it. Unless we are going to enter into communal living, we are pretty much required to live next to unbelievers, work for unbelievers, go to school with unbelievers, and buy, sell or trade among unbelievers.

So how do we keep separate from unbelievers when we can’t keep totally separate from them? The answer:

Very carefully!

We need to be very cautious and alert when entering into any kind of close and ongoing relationship with an unbeliever where influence will be exchanged. And we need to be very realistic about that influence factor. So many Christians believe that they will be able to influence an unbeliever to faith in these kinds of relationships, but sadly, the outcome is far too often the exact opposite.

That’s why a Christian young person should not get into a serious dating relationship with an unbeliever. I would go so far as to say they shouldn’t date one at all. For sure, a believer should never marry an unbeliever! College students ought to think twice about where they live—the “Greek” life—fraternities and sororities—has swallowed many a Christian young person. Christian business people ought to be extremely reluctant about a business partnership with anybody other than a believer. Christian people should be very cautious about social circles that don’t have Christ as the common bond.

Obviously, that is very challenging to pull off, and you even may find that what I am suggesting seems unfair, exclusive, judgmental and intolerant. I agree! It does seem that way—but it is God’s Word, not mine.

In some ways, God’s Word calls us to be narrow-minded, for our own good. Being “narrow” is now one of the worst cultural sins that you can commit in America, but narrow just might save your life and preserve your destiny. Narrow isn’t always bad. A runway is narrow, too, but it is the only way to get an airplane safely to its destination. I don’t have all the answers to the questions Paul’s teaching provoke. I can’t tell you exactly how you should apply this to each of your relationships, but I do hope you will give some serious thought to what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to say.

The narrow-mindedness God’s Word calls for will get you safely to heaven some day, so pay attention to it!

Prayer… Father, the people of faith we read about in your Word and in Christian history always felt like strangers and pilgrims on this planet. People of faith have always considered themselves to just be passing through, headed for a better home. They refused to get too earthbound. They lived with their bags packed, ready to go at a moment’s notice. My generation has lost that sojourner’s sense. Remind me through a fresh baptism of your grace that though I am in the world, I am not of it.

One More Thing… “I can tell you plainly…if you are at home in the world; if the things of time and sense are your element; if you feel one with the company of the world, the maxims of the world, the fashions of the world, the principles of the world, grace has not reached your heart—the faith of God’s elect does not dwell in your bosom.” —J.C. Philpot