Epistle – 2 Corinthians 6-8

Well, we have an extra posting on the impressions on today’s Bible Passage. And actually, we are supposed to be doing…

2 Corinthians 6-8

Today we continue to read the second letter of Paul to the Corinthian church, and the key messages to us in these 3 chapters are: Sanctification, joy of obedience, and a willing heart in giving.

In verse 21 of the previous chapter,

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”,

Paul reminds us of the redeeming death of Christ on the cross; taking our sins upon Himself so that we can become the righteousness of God in Him. This is a grace that is given to all mankind, but it is still up to the individuals to stretch out their hands to receive this grace from our God. Now that we are the people who had stretched out our hands to receive this grace from God, we MUST NOT receive it in vain! God has done His part in bestowing this wonderful grace upon us, now it is really our part to receive it, but not to receive it in vain, as Paul also mentioned in Gal 5:13,

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Indeed after receiving the salvation grace of God, we have liberty, free from the bondage of sins, but this liberty is not for us to be free in fleshly desires, but to fulfill the love and works of God, i.e. serving God and man.

From v3 to v10, Paul mentions his steadfast diligence and also the extreme experiences he encountered in his ministry, and this is exactly what I had mentioned in my previous post that Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that his ministry is a tested one. So through these verses, we can empathize with him about his diligence and love in preaching this wonderful grace of God to all people. Just as God has done his part in dying for us to shower this grace feely upon man, so were the apostles in going through umpteen hardships to preach this gospel of reconciliation to the lost, so again, it is now our part, we who are already reconciled to God to lead a life of sanctification and holiness to the Lord.

Just a gentle reminder to all my brethren concerning 6: 14,

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

This is not a commandment that we should cut off totally from our unbelieving friends and relatives, but is a warning not to do the things that they are doing, especially in their ungodly lifestyles. We do not cut ourselves totally off from them so that there still remains a bridge that we can reach out to them and bring this message of reconciliation to them, for the door of salvation has not been shut yet, so this is the acceptable time and day of salvation for the lost.

In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, we have read of Paul’s tone of rebuke to the believers there, harsh yet could sense the fatherly chastisement in between those lines. Indeed rebuking with a heart of love and a heart of hoping the ones being rebuked would change is important. Many people often reprimand others for not doing things according to their ways or to their likings, these reprimanding are usually selfish, self satisfying, thus it can achieve nothing, and to make things worst, it may even lead to resentments. In chapter 7, Paul’s letter of rebuke reaped results of remorse and repentance from the Corinthian believers. This was due to Paul’s godly and zealous concerns for them and thus, causing godly sorrows among the believers, which then produced repentance that leads to salvation.

Personally I feel that what Paul has done is really what we have to do when we are truly concerned for the brethren. For in v12, he says,

Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.

Paul expresses his genuine love towards the believers by telling them that his letter of rebuke was not actually directed at the person who had done wrong or the person who was wronged, but was for the believers there to see the apostle’s concern for them with the love of Christ. Paul’s love is an open one, this is something that all of us must understand and learn, for we neither have psychic powers to read minds and intentions of the hearts, nor are we gods that can know all secret things. If we do not express our care and concerns with actions, no one will know, and we as easterners are rather conservative and would always say, “It is enough that I love and care about you in my heart.” ‘Love’ is like ‘Faith’, both are abstract and need a “media” to manifest them. By works, faith was made perfect (James 2:22), therefore, by actions, love was made complete. Do you agree?

Because of the words from Titus concerning the repentance of the Corinthian church, though experiencing much trouble, conflicts and fears while in Macedonia, Paul felt very comforted and even rejoicing when their acts of obedience refreshed and touched Titus.

Paul in chapter 8 praises the excellence of the Macedonian believers in their spirit of giving, for they gave beyond their means for the sake of the saints. I believe we can still remember how Jesus observed and pointed out to His disciples at an old widow who offered up her last two mites into the temple treasury (Luke 21: 2 – 4); her offering caught the attention of our Lord for she offered out of her poverty whereas the rich out of their abundance.

Whenever I come across this incident in the Bible, I always think to myself, “Can I do what this old widow did?” then I would always sigh in my heart, “I want to do what she did, but it’s not easy.” But I believe there are members in the church who can do this with a cheerful heart of thanksgiving. So let us examine our monetary offerings to the Lord for a moment, are we offering a little out of our abundance, or are we offering much out of our little savings?

God does not need our money, but God desires our hearts to be cheerful givers. God can destroy and He can also build up, He can make rich and also cause poverty according to His will, there is nothing impossible for Him. For the old widow, Jesus knew that she had offered up the entire livelihood that she had, but did she worry about how she could even survive through the night? This was not mentioned in the Bible, but I believe she had faith that “God will provide”, and in response, God would also say, “Yes I will provide!” Amen! I am not starting to suggest that all of us must offer like the old widow, giving all our possessions to the church, but it is all up to the individual’s willingness and resolution in giving and according to the level of faith in each and everyone. God did not demand things that we do not have, but things that we already have from Him.

One of the traits of the apostolic church was that they had everything in common. Acts 2: 44 – 45, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Here we can understand the purpose of giving in material things and in monetary terms is to help the needy brethren in their daily needs, and also to help the evangelists who need to travel to various places to preach the gospel.

And in 2 Cor. 8: 13 – 14, Paul clarifies that there is no purpose in giving to the extent of adding burdens to the givers to ease the receivers. Therefore, giving is also a form of sharing, so that there is equality in the kingdom of God. We do not know when poverty will strike, and if poverty does strike on our brethren in any part of the world, we who are not affected must quickly respond to their needs. All these are trials to the affected so they can learn to rely on God, and to those who are not affected, these are tests to reveal the level of love they have for the brethren in the Lord.

So as for the Macedonian believers, they have passed the test of giving with a willing heart, and Paul also admonished the Corinthians to do likewise since they had a willing heart in the beginning, they must also complete the doing of it. So brothers and sisters in Christ, let us also be admonished by the words of Paul to re-examine our attitude towards offerings to the church and giving to the brethren in the Lord who are in needs.

As we listen and enjoy the following video gospel song “With All I Am”, let us reflect on the lyrics that flash on the screen, ponder over the love of God and ask ourselves are we ready to commit our all for the Lord? Remember the 3 key messages in these 3 chapters that we have read? Sanctification, obedience and giving with a cheerful heart.

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