2 Corinthians 7 -- More Joy in the Midst of Bad Stuff

No rest, harassed at every turn, conflicts, and fears.  These are Paul's words to describe his situation.  And yet God steps in at just the right time, in just the right way.  He comforted Paul and his assistants by sending them Titus, with an encouraging message from the Corinthians.

When things look bleakest, we can expect God to provide the comfort we need when we look to Him for that comfort.  He "comforts the downcast".  The joy Paul receives from Titus and the stories brought from Corinth provide the exact type of encouragement he needed in a challenging time.

God can be trusted no matter what.  His love is infinite and His timing is perfect.

2 Corinthians 6 - Hardships

Troubles, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, riots, hard work, sleepless nights, hunger, dishonor, bad report, regarded as an impostor, regarded as unknown, dying, beaten, sorrowful, poor and having nothing.  These are some of the ways Paul describes his life.  There are a few positive descriptions mixed in, but the point is that this guy's life is brutally difficult by just about any cultural standard.  And yet he knows his God in a way that makes all of that not only worthwhile, but a cause for celebration.

Paul is a man who spends almost no time worrying about his personal circumstances.  He cares so little about himself, it almost doesn't seem possible.  He cares only about trusting the Lord, and carrying out the calling placed on his life.  His type of faith is a great inspiration to those of us who spend time thinking about ourselves and our present circumstances...maybe even worrying or being anxious occasionally.

2 Corinthians 5 - Purpose

In chapter 5 we have more talk of trouble and hardship, and just as in chapter 4, we are encouraged by the promise of what the hardship is preparing us for.  Fact is, "we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands".  And in verse 5 we see that God "has made us for this very purpose".  Our purpose is to be united with Him for eternity.  Our current existence is painful because we are not yet with Him completely.  So "we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling".

And yet "we are always confident", walking "by faith, not by sight".

Two final thoughts on this chapter.  First, it's awfully common in today's world to hear people talk about the need to keep one's own faith a private matter, that it's rude to have spiritual conversations with others.  Sounds nice, I guess, but it's definitely not biblical.  Verse 11 is clear: "we try to persuade men".  Now how we try to persuade them is incredibly important.  Nobody likes a pompous, arrogant spiritual bully who tries to persuade men motivated by his own insecurities.  But Paul (and Jesus) don't leave us the option of keeping our faith a personal matter.  We are to share this good news of Christ's death and resurrection with others, motivated by our love for God's people.

Lastly, we have to mention verse 17, which reminds us that in Christ we are new creations.  The old has gone, and the new has come.  Even when it doesn't appear to be true, it is.  I am a new creation, and I'm learning to act more like it all the time.  Hopefully you are too.

2 Corinthians 4 - Jars of Clay....not just a rock band

We saw at the end of chapter 3 that we are constantly being transformed into the likeness of Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit.  In chapter 4 we see that this work of transformation is largely accomplished by the fact that life is hard.  Paul writes, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."  (v. 8-9).

God gives us much to do, but does not want to give us the option of thinking we are accomplishing anything on our own.  We are described as "jars of clay", designed to show that the power working within us is from God and not from ourselves.

Maybe that sounds discouraging, but Paul speaks to that as well.  "We do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

2 Corinthians 3 - Humble Confidence

I love Paul's confidence.  He knows he has done good work with the church in Corinth as he writes, "you yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.  You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."
And then in the very next paragraph, Paul gives the reason for his confidence.  "Not that we are competant in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God."  Paul doesn't shy away from the reality that he's conducted a successful ministry, and yet he knows that this success is a result of the work of the Holy Spirit.  Awesome.

Paul concludes by contrasting the glory of the old covenant with that of the new covenant in Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit among followers of Jesus.  I love verse 18, where we are told that we are able to reflect the Lord's glory while being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Holy Spirit.  Awesome again.