"Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness!"  (II Corinthians 9:10)
 
In last week's lesson (on verses 1-9), the apostle Paul, after noting to the Corinthians that it was "superfluous" (or totally unnecessary!) for him to write to them anything more about giving, since "they were so ready to give, and he had even boasted about it to the Macedonians," proceeded nevertheless to write more about giving anyway!  And he even "thought it necessary" to send Titus and two "brothers" from the Macedonian churches ahead to Corinth to arrange the collection and have it ready for him before he arrived--so he wouldn't be "embarassed, or see them put to shame" if he found them unprepared, or perhaps no longer as willing to give as they had promised!
 
And, as a further motivation (but without any intent to try to manipulate them!), he wrote that "he who sows sparingly would also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully would also sow bountifully"!  And that "each one must follow through in doing just as he had purposed in his heart--not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver"!  And he left them with that wonderful promise (in verse 8) that "God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have an abundance for every good deed"!  Then ending with a reference to Psalm 112:9, where the Psalmist wrote: "He (speaking of God) scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever!"
 
And that set the scene for our lesson last night (on verses 10-15)--our fifth lesson on this subject--with Paul making reference to Isaiah 44:10, where Isaiah prophesies that "just as the Lord sends snow and water to replenish the earth, and seed to the sower, and bread to the eater (to satisfy the physical needs of people), so the Word which goes forth from His mouth will not return void but will accomplish the purpose for which it is sent"!
 
Similarly, the prophet Hosea prophesied this to God's people, Israel: "Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you!"  But then, in verses13-15: "You have plowed in wickedness; you have reaped injustice...thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your wickedness!  At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off!"
 
And with this as the setting, Paul charges the Corinthians that it's time for them to "sow righteousness and seek the Lord, and to be imitators of Christ, and (as Rod emphasized last night) to "walk in His way"!  And, more specifically, to "prove" the genuineness of their faith through the act, or "ministry" (as Paul calls it), of giving!  And all for the purpose of showing thanksgiving to Christ, and bringing glory to God!  (II Corinthians 10:13 says, "whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"!)
 
And so, in verse 10, Paul writes that "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness,"--so that (verse 11, in ESV, says) "you will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way (in your giving!) which through us will produce thanksgiving (and bring glory!) to God"! 
 
And he goes on in verses 12-14, "For the ministry of this service (the collection!) is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you!"  And we are reminded (from 8:1) that the generosity of the churches of Macedonia was also motivated by God's grace"!
 
MacArthur notes that this "ministry of giving" provided the Corinthians an important opportunity for them to test (and affirm!) the genuineness of their faith!  And Swindoll adds that "we are never more like God than when we give"!  But Paul puts it all into it proper context by summarizing his discourse on the believers' act of giving, by comparing it with what God did in giving Jesus Christ, "His indescribable gift"!  And there's obviously no comparison!  We can't outgive God!
 
And so the goal of raising funds for the poverty-stricken saints in the church of Jerusalem was accomplished, bringing thanksgiving and glory to God!  But as Rod pointed out last night, the larger goal which the apostle Paul may have had in mind for the Corinthians' giving was "to bring them into walking in the ways of the Lord"!
 
And the question was raised: what does it mean to "walk in God's ways"?  The Bible has lots to say about it!

• Psalm 128:1 says, "How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, and walks in His ways!"
• Romans 6:4 says, "...So as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life!"
• Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared for them beforehand, so that we would walk in them!"
• Ephesians 5:2 challenges us to "walk in love, just as Christ also loved and gave Himself up for us, as an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma"!  And, in verse 8, "For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light!"
• David's last words to Solomon, in I Kings 2:1-4, "Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes"... (then quoting words he received from the Lord): "If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you will not lack a man on the throne of God!"
• I John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin!"
• And of course, John 14: 6, where Jesus says, "I am the way...!"

And we sang a memorable song, called "Walking in God's Ways," that rang out this truth!  And here are the words: 
 
"O God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You!
O God, You are my God, and I will ever praise You!
And I will see you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in Your ways,
And step by step You'll lead me, and I will follow You all of my days!"
 
May that be our song, and our "walk," and our prayer!
 
And may our giving--though trivial as it is, in comparison with His "infinite gift" to us--produce "a harvest of righteousness" and bring glory to God!
 
Til we meet again!
 
Lowell

"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sow bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver!" (II Corinthians 9:6-7)
 
In last week's lesson (on II Corinthians 8:16-24, the apostle Paul wrote how Titus, "his friend and beloved partner in ministry," had the same "earnestness in his heart" for the Corinthians, and for their participation in the collection of funds for the poverty-stricken saints in the church of Jerusalem, as he had; and that he went to Corinth "of his own accord," along with two other "brothers," commissioned by the churches, so that the collection process would not be "discredited by anyone but seen as honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of man"!  And Paul challenged the Corinthians to now finish the collection process and "show the proof of their love and of his reason for boasting about them" to the Macedoniana believers!
 
And that set the scene for last night's lesson (on II Corinthians 9:1-9), where Paul writes that "it was superfluous for him to write to them about their giving since he knew of their readiness to give," and how had already responded to his call for the collection (as recorded in I Corinthians 16:1-4), which he had "boasted about to the Macedonian, and which stirred them up to give as well"!  But then, contrary to his words, he proceeded to remind them again (in this passage) about it--just to assure that their promise, and readiness, would actually result in their following through of giving!  Bt he also "thought it was necessary to urge the brethren (including the one appointed by the churches) to go ahead and arrange the bountiful gift and have it all ready" before he got there!  Thus preventing any "covetousness," or recalcitrance on their part in holding back on what they had promised!  He didn't want to be embarrassed--and for them to put to shame--after all his boasting about them--if he came to Corinth and found that the funds hadn't yet been collected, or they were found unprepared, or perhaps no longer as entirely willing to give!
 
And so it sounds like the apostle Paul, by his writing, was putting a little bit of pressure on the Corinthians ahead of time, and not too sure that they would actually follow through on giving what they had promised, without a little conjuring on his part!  Constable notes that "the subtle pressure that Paul put on his readers, which comes through especially forcefully in this section, raises a question as to his method of motivating his readers!  Was he making it impossible for them to give from proper motives by stressing motivating factors too strongly?  In other words, was he manipulating them into giving?  Evidently Paul realized that the Corinthians might not follow through on their commitment unless they wanted to do so very strongly! After all, they had procrastinated for a year (according to 8:10)"!
 
Constable further notes that "apparently Paul didn't see anything wrong or unspiritual about asking people to give!  He didn't tell them how much to give, but did expect them to keep their promise!  He also notes that the word "motivation" is often confused with the word "manipulation," but that motivation occurs "when you persuade someone to do what is in their own best interest," while manipulation is persuading someone to do something that is primarily for their own benefit"!  Godly giving is seen as being in the best interest of both the giver and the receiver!
 
Paul uses the analogy of a farmer, in verse 6, to inspire generous giving!  "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully!'  And then goes on in verse 7 to give a basic principle for Christian giving--that "each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver"!
 
And Paul ends with two of the greatest verses in the all the Bible about "God's grace"!  And here it is: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, 'He scattered abroad, and He gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever!"  Wow!
 
"God is able!"  According to His power!  He has all power!  Jeremiah 32:17 says, "Ah Lord God!  Behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm!  Nothing is too hard for You!"  And "He is able to make all grace abound to you...!"  Wow!  The "grace" of God!  Abounding!  MacArthur calls it "grand"!  And "immense"!  And "staggering"!  Beginning with the grace that provides salvation and eternal life!  "For by grace are we saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves!  It is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)!  Amazing grace!
 
But that's just the start!  James 4:6 says, "He gives grace to humble!"  Romans 5:20 adds, that "...where sin increased, grace abounded all the more...and that it would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!"  And II Corinthians 12:9 says that "His grace is sufficient for us..."!  Adequate!  Enough!  And Hebrews 4:10 challenges us to "come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy to help in time of need!
 
O the grace of God!  Grand!  Immense! Staggering!
 
And it brings to mind some beautiful old Christian hymns of the faith which we can gratefully, and joyfully, sing (to ourselves!)!
 
"Marvelous grace of our loving Lord; grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt; yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt!  (And then the chorus!)  Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within!  Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin!"  (On to the second verse!)  "Dark is the stain that we cannot hide; what  can avail to wash it away?  Look! There is flowing a crimson tide; whiter than snow you may be today!"  (The chorus and then the third verse!)  Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe, all who are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive!"  (And the chorus again!)
 
Then there's, "He giveth more grace when the burdens are greater; He sendeth more strength when the labors increase!  To added affliction He addeth His mercy; to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace!  (And the chorus)  "His love has no limit; His grace has no measure; His power has no boundary known unto men! For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!"  (Then verse two!) "When we have exhausted our store of endurance, when our strength has failed ere the day is half done, when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving is only begun!"  (And the chorus!)
 
Then this one that I love so much!  "Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin--How shall my tongue describe it?  Where shall His praise begin?  Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free; for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!"  (And then the chorus!) "Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mightly rolling sea; higher than the mountain, sparkling like a foundain, all sufficient grace for even me!  Broader than the hope of my transgressions, greater far than all sin and shame!  O magnify the precious name of Jesus!  Praise His name!  (Then the second verse!)  Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost; by it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost! Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty, for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!  (Can't leave out verse three!)  "Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled, by its transforming power making us God's dear child!  Purchasing peace and heaven for all eternity; and the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!  (And the Chorus!)
 
And, of course, "Amazing grace!"  You know the words! Sing it!
 
Wow!  "God is able to make all grace abound to us!"  Grand!  Immense!  Staggering!
 
May His grace abound to you all this week!
 
"Til we meeeeet, til we meet...!  God be with you, til we meet again!"
 
Lowell 

"But thanks be to God who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you!" (II Corinthians 8:16)
 
In last week's lesson, on II Corinthians 8:8-15, we saw how the apostle Paul was continuing to pursue his mission of raising funds for the poverty-stricken saints in the church of Jerusalem; and he wrote that he wasn't "commanding" the Corinthians to do this, but hoping that they would do it voluntarily, with the same love and "earnestness" that the believers in the Macedonian churches had exhibited!  But he also realized that the greatest motivation for their giving was not just to be like the Macedonian believers but to exemplify Christ's giving for them!  (His "indescribable" gift!)  And so he gave them (and us!) perhaps the greatest and most profound "doctrinal treasure" in all the Bible (in verse 9), about the marvelous and wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ--a verse (Constable notes) "tucked away in this very pragmatic section of Scripture about giving"!  "For you know (he wrote) the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor that you through His proverty might become rich!"  Describing how Christ left His heavenly throne when He came to die for us--descending from the riches of heaven to poverty in this world so that believers might ascend from poverty to riches, in this life and beyond!
 
And so, in our lesson last night (on II Corinthians 8:16-24), Paul urged the Corinthians to finish doing what he had earlier called them to do, in I Corinthians 16:1-4, and what Titus had challenged them to do as well, and what they had promised to do, by completing the collection!
 
In verse 12, he set forth the standard for giving which is based "not on what someone doesn't have but on what he (or she) does have"! And he goes on to write (in verse 13) that it "is not for the ease of others and for their affliction, but by way of equality"!  Making reference to Exodus 16:18 to illustrate that "financial fairness is not a new idea--describing how "the Israelites gathered manna that God so graciously supplied for their daily food, so that no matter how much they gathered, nobody had more or less than they needed to live on"!
 
And so, as we delved into last night's lesson (on verses 16-24), we found that the apostle Paul wasn't through teaching about giving, and he picks it up by writing about how his "friend and beloved partner in ministry," Titus, had the same "earnestness" in his heart for them, and for this cause, as he had, and that he had gone to the Corinthians of his own accord (voluntarily!) for the collection!  But he didn't go alone but was accompanied by "a brother" (verse 18 says) who "was appointed by the churches to travel with them for this gracious work"--a brother whose fame in the things of the gospel had spread through all the churches"!  And so it was being "administered by them (like a finance committee) for the glory of the Lord Himself to show their readiness, taking precaution that so that no one would discredit their administration of this generous gift"!  Because it was important to Paul (verse 21 says) that "the administration of this mission be seen as honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men"!  (Barclay writes: "It's interesting that the same Paul who could write like a lyric poet and think like a theologian could, when it was necessary, act with the meticulous accuracy nnd care of a chartened accountant!"
 
Paul wanted to take all the safeguards available to avoid all suspicions, and any criticism or accusations of offense, and so sent with them yet another bother, a third brother who Paul said (in verse 22) was "often tested and found diligent"!  MacArthur writes that Paul, "anticipating his enemies' attack on him, took the precautions of involving a godly preacher who would accompany Titus and the other brothers so that no one would discredit them in administering the Corinthians generous gift"!  And so, a band of brothers which Paul called "messengers of the churches," and a "glory to Christ"!  Constable writes that the two brothers who accompanied Titus were "apostles" in the sense that they were commissioned and sent by the church--but not "apostle of Christ," according to Scripture, because "they were not "eye-witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, or commissioned by Him directly"  (a requirement noted in II Peter 1:17, and elsewhere in Scripture)!  Proverbs 27:17 says "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another!"
 
MacArthur notes that the greatest of all commendations for someone is to be characterized as one "bringing glory to Christ," and that "those who live to bring glory to Christ would never bring shame to His name, or to HIs church"!
 
Paul ends this passage in verse 24 with an appeal to the Corinthian believers: "Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you!"  By giving generously back to the Lord what He so graciously has given to them!  (And to us!)  
 
MacArthur notes that a loving church is a generous church and that the Corinthians' generous love would validate Paul's boasting about the working of the Lord in the lives of its members!  G. Campbell Morgan writes, "It is the business of the Christian Community to do its business in such a way that men of the world have no cause to suspect anything contrary to its affairs!"
 
And in the spirit of giving, let us all "give of our best to the Master...Clad in salvation's full armor, join in the battle for truth!"
 
But, guess what?  The apostle Paul's still not done with his teaching about giving!  
 
May God be with you, til we meet again!
 
Lowell

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!"  (II Corinthians 8:9)
 
In last week's lesson, on II Corinthians 8:1-7, the apostle Paul, after having his relationship with the Corinthians re-affirmed (based on the report he received from Titus), re-asserted the mission which was on his heart and which he had earlier initiated with them and with the other churches he had founded--that of raising funds to deal with poverty-stricken saints in the church of Jerusalem!  And he did this by making known to them "how the grace of God had motivated believers in the churches of Macedonia to give to this cause.  They manifested God's grace to others by their giving, just as God had manifested his grace to them!
 
He writes how, "in the midst of an ordeal of severe tribulation, their abundance of joy and their depth of poverty together overflowed in the wealth of their liberality"!  And that "according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord--not out of compulsion, or manipulation, or intimidation, but voluntarily"!  And "even begged him, with much urging, for the favor of participating in the support of the saints"!  Believing that God would take care of all their needs, as He had promised!  (Constable notes that "their poverty no more impeded their generosity than their tribulation diminished their joy"!)
 
Paul writes, in verse 5, that they "gave far more than expected"--and that it came about after "first giving themselves to the Lord (as living sacrifices) and to us by the will of the Lord"!
 
MacArthur summed up last week's passage this way: "It revealed that giving is motivated by God's grace, trancends difficult circumstances, is given with joy, not hindered by poverty, generous, proportionate, sacrificial, voluntary, a privilege, an act of worship, in submission to pastors, in concert with Christian virtues, and evidence of love!"
 
And as we got into last night's lesson (on verses 8-15), we found that the apostle Paul was not through with giving instructions on giving! And we wondered why he was devoting so much of his time and energy to raising funds for this cause?
 
He certainly knew that it had nothing to do with gaining salvation and acceptance from God for what he did!  He even wrote to Titus (in Titus 3:5) that "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior...!"  And he wrote to the Ephesians (in Ephesians 2:8-9) that it's "by grace that we are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves, but a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast!"
 
But Paul also knew that there was one thing he could do! And that was to "manifest" the same grace of God to others that had been so graciously manifested on him, and to become a little more like Him!  And I'm sure he would have loved to sing Thomas Chisholm's great hymn, "O to Be LIke HIm" (although it hadn't yet been written): "O to be like Thee!  Blessed Redeemer, this is my longing and prayer; gladly I'll forfeit all of life's treasures, Jesus Thy perfect likeness to wear!"  And then the refrain, "O to be like Thee!  O to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; stamp Thine own image deep on my heart!"
 
Constable notes that "it was undoubtedly Paul's love for his needy Jewish brethren that motivated him! But also that because he knew this gift would honor Jesus Christ, and that it would provide a visual demontration of the equality that existed between the Gentile and Jewish Christians, and dispel Jewish suspicions of Christianity and of Paul's mission to the Gentiles"  Moreover, it illustrated the spiritual indebtedness that the Gentiles owed to their Jewish brethren and, for Paul personally, was a way that he could in some way compensate in part for his earlier persecution of the Jewish Christians!"
 
Ephesians 2:12-22 captures this thought beautifully: "Remember that you (speaking of Gentile believers) were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and  strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope nad without God in the world! But now, in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ! For He Himself is our peace who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by having put to death the enmity!"  Wow!
 
Paul wrote in verse 8 that he hoped "the earnestness of others" (the Macedonian believers) would motivate the Corinthians to prove the sincerity of their love as well by their giving!
 
And then the great verse 9!  "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!"  Speaking of this verse--Constable writes that "tucked away in this very pragmatic section of Scripture about giving is a profound doctrinal treasure!  Its truth is not couched in technical theological language; its words are not complex or confusing! And though its message may be grasped in one reading, the truth it contains may not be fully comprehended throughout eternity!  It describes Christ's descent from riches to poverty so that believers might ascend from poverty to riches!"
 
The theme here, Constable notes, "is about collecting money for the saints in the church of Jerusalem, and he used the example of the Macedonians who gave so generously and sacrificially; but as the apostle thought about the reality of love that manifests itself in sacrificial giving, his mind was irresistibly drawn to the greatest example of such love and sacrifice the world has ever known--the Lord Jesus Christ! Unlike the rich of this world, who rarely if ever impoverish themselves by their giving, He--the worthy One--became poor to make unworthy ones, like us, rich!"  Wow! (Makes us want to sing: "Thou didn't leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, when Thou camest to earth for me; but in Bethlehem's home was there found no room, for Thou holy nativity...Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang, proclaiming Thy royal degree; but of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth, in great humility; O come to my heart, Lord Jesus!  There is room in my heart for Thee!")
 
And so, in verse 11, the apostle Paul urges the Corinthians to finish doing what Titus had challenged them to do "a year ago," and what they had promised to do, and desired to do, "by completing the collection now"!  (MacArthsur writes that a desire to give, even a sincere readiness to do so, is not meaningful if it never results in actual giving!, and that there's a wide gap between wanting to do something and making it happen!)  And os his plea!
 
And the standard by which God would judge their contribution, according to verse 12, was "not how much they gave, but how much they gave in relation to what they had"!  God is most concerned with the heart attitude of the giver, and Jesus observed how the poor widow (in Mark 21:41-44) "gave more than all the contributors to the treasury, for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of poverty, put in all she owned"!  
 
Paul goes on to write, in verses 13-14, that giving "is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality--at this present time your abundance being a supply of their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality"!  The idea being (MacArthur notes) that "in the body of Christ some believers who have more than they need should help those who have far less than they need--viewing Christians as being brothers and sisters in a large family"!"  Constable writes that "it didn't make sense to Paul that some believers should lived on the verge of starvation while other lived in excess"!
 
And it was Paul who wrote in I Timothy 6:17-18, "Instuct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy!"
 
Paul ends this section by quoting from Exodus 16:18 to illustrate that financial fairness was not a new idea--describing how the Israelites were to gather the manna the Lord so graciously supplied for their daily food so that no matter how much was gathered, nobody had more or less than was needed to live on!
 
And so what did we learn about giving from this section of Scripture?  

• We can't outgive God, "who so loved that He gave us His Son..."!
• "Give and it shall be given to you...!"
• "God loves a cheerful giver!"
• Giving is God's design for the advancement of His kingdom!
• Giving is proof of our love for God, and others!
• Giving is a privilege, and a way to "manifest the grace of God" so graciously manifested on us!
• "It's more blessed give than to receive!"

May the grace of God be with you all!  Til we meet again!
 
Lowell

"But just as you all abound in everything, in faith and utterance and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also!"  (II Corinthians 8:7)
 
In last week's lesson, on II Corinthians 7:12-16, the apostle Paul continued to look back and "mull over" the "severe letter" (the so-called "lost epistle") that he had written to the Corinthians, before writing his first epistle to them--a letter admonishing them for their sinful ways that he felt "made them sorrowful" to the point that it might have damaged his relationship with them!  But, after learning from Titus, who hae carried the letter to them, that they had actually responded well to his instructions, expressed their love and longing for him, and realized that his letter had produced in them "a godly sorrow that led to repentance without regret," he had second thoughts about it, and was comforted when he saw that it all worked for something good in their lives!
 
And so, he began this passage by restating the reason for writing the letter in the first place!  He "didn't write the letter for the sake of the offender" (the ringleader in the church who stirred up the trouble), "nor for the offender (speaking of himself), but that they might realize for themselves, in the sight of God, how much they cared for him"!  And when they responded to him the way they did, it gave him, being the very humble and people-centered person that he was, great comfort!
 
And so now, with the relationship re-affirmed, he felt free to reassert with them the mission that he was pursuing with all the other churches--raising funds to meet the needs of the poor saints in the church of Jerusalem!
 
From its birth on the day of Pentecost, the Jerusalem church had to cope with the "extreme poverty" of its members, many of whom were Hellenistic Jews who had come to Jerusalem at the time of the Pentecost, were converted and chose to remain there, but with no place to stay, losing their jobs and being ostracized by their families because of their conversion to Christianity, and becoming the outcast of the Jewish society!  And so the Jerusalem church made a noble effort to meet the needs of these people, and Paul endeavored to seek help from the Corinthian and other churches to help make that happen!
 
Paul had earlier made reference to this need in I Corinthians 16:1-4, where he wrote, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also!  On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.  When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gifts to Jerusalem; and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me!"  That effort had apparently been held up, however, because of his falling out with the Corinthians, but now that the relationship had been restored, Paul took the occasion to reassert his call for them to give!
 
And so he picks it up in this passage, using the churches of Macedonia as examples of what it means to give! He "made it known to them that it was "the grace of God" that motivated the generosity of the Macedonian churches!  Constable wrote that they "manifested the grace of God"!  They gave help just as God gives help!  Manifesting God's grace!  (Interestingly, the word "grace" is used 10 times in chapters 8-9, more than in any other two chapters in the New Testament!  And it refers to "God's enablement"!  Adrian Rogers wrote that "God's grace gave them both the desire and the power to do the will of God"!  God said to Paul, in II Corinthians 12:9, that "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness...!  And it makes us want to sing, "Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin..."  Or, "He giveth more grace when the burdens are greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase..."!)
 
Paul was making reference to the churches in Phillipi, Thessalonica, and Berea which were located in the province of Macedonia, which was basically an impoverished province in the northern region of Greece, a province that had been ravished by many wars and even then was being plundered by Roman authority and commerce!  And yet, verse 2 says, "that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their wealth of poverty they overflowed in the wealth of their liberality!"  The Amplified Version puts it this way: "For in the midst of an ordeal of severe tribulation, their abundance of joy and their depth of poverty together have overflowed in a wealth of lavish generosity!" 
 
MacArthur writes that "the Macedonian believers were rich in their single-minded, selfless generosity to God and to others"!  Wow!  And he further notes that three elements characterized their giving: 

• They gave "according to their ability"!  Based on what they had, with no fixed amount, or percentage placed on it!
• They gave "beyond their ability"!  Giving sacrificially!
• They gave "of their own accord"!  Not out of compulsion, or manipulation, or intimidation!  But voluntary! As they chose!  Believing that God would take care of all their needs!

Philippians 5:19 says, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus!"  God would give increase to the Philippians in proportion to His infinite resources!
 
George Sweeting wrote: For the Macedonian churches, giving was not a burden but a blessing!  Not something to be avoided, but a privilege to be desired!"  Reflecting what Paul noted in verse 4, how they even "begged him with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints"!  And even more importantly (in verse 5) that "they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us, by the will of the Lord"!  Reminding us of Romans 12:1, where Paul wrote, "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service..."!  (Steve Cole notes that underlying the concept of Biblical giving is that you have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; and committed to furthering His work through His people"1 And MacArthur writes that "the supreme act of worship is not giving money, attending church, or singing hymns, but giving ones self!")
 
Plummer writes that "the abundance of joy is a strange thing to be found in much testing of affliction!  But few things were more characteristic of the Corinthians in the Apostolic Age than their exuberant joy!  This abiding and conspicuous effort of 'the good tidings' was one of the leading causes of the gospel's rapid success!  It's missionary power was then--and is still, where it exists--very great!  Those who witness great joy in people whose lives are full of trouble are led to think that such people are in possession of something which is well worth having!"
 
Constable write: "Their poverty no more impeded their generosity than their tribulation diminished their joy!"
 
The Corinthians were clearly imitators of Paul who had just written in 6:10, that "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things"!
 
The Bible is filled with verses on giving!  Here are just a few more: 
 

• The writer of Acts said (in 20:35) "...to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He himself said, 'It is better to give than to receive!
• Jesus said to those who followed Him, in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you! They will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over!  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return!"
• The writer of Acts wrote (in Acts 20:35) to "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is better to give than to receive"!
• II Corinthians 9:6-7 says, "Now this I say, 'he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver!
• James 1:17 says, "Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning!"
• And David wrote, in II Samuel 24:24. "...For I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing!" 
• ​
  

MacArthur sums up our lesson this way: "This passage reveals that giving is motivated by God's grace, transcends difficult circumstances, is with joy, not hindered by poverty, generous, proportionate, sacrificial, voluntary, a privilege, an act of worship, in submission to pastors, in concert with Christian virtues, and evidence of love!"
 
And it should be a natural response to God who has given to us His "indescribable gift"!
 
Makes you want to sing!  "Give of the best to the Master...!"
'
Or maybe, "How can I give thanks for the things that You have done for me--things so undeserved yet you give to prove your love for me...!"
 
Or, how bout, "I surrender all... All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all!"
 
May God be with you and give you an "abundance of joy" as your heart overflows in response to "the wealth of generosity" that He has bestowed on us, and that we have the privilege of sharing with others!
 
Til we meet again!
 
Lowell 

"For the sorrow that is according to the will of the Lord produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death!" (II Corinthians 7:10)
 
In last week's lesson, on II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, the apostle Paul gave clear instructions that believers were not to be "bound together (KJV says "unequally yoked together") with unbelievers, for what partnership have righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols"?
 
This does not mean, says MacArthur and other Bible commentators, "that believers should end all associations with unbelievers, since that would defy the very purpose for which God saves believers and leaves them on earth"--that being, to reach out to unbelievers and making them disciples, thereby fulfilling the great commission"!
 
Verse 16 states that "we are the temple of the living God"; just as God told us (through Old Testament writings), that He would "indwell us and walk among us, and be our God, and that we would be His people"!  And, in a more intimate way, that He would be "a Father to us and that we would be sons and daughters to Him"!  And 7:1 goes on to say, "Therefore, having these promises beloved (or, in view of this incredible, and indescribable, relationship we have as part of the family of God), let us cleanse ourselves from all defilements of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God"!
 
And we were (and are) prompted and encouraged to respond with gratitude and thanksgiving based on what the apostle John further wrote, in I John 3:1-3, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called 'children of God', and it has not appeared as yet what we will be; but we know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is!  Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure!"  
 
And so that's how our lesson ended!  On a high note!
 
And that set the tone for our lesson last night, where the tenor and tone of Paul's writing seems to change--at least initially!  In verse 2, an emotionally-driven Paul begins with an appeal for the Corinthians to "make room in their hearts" for him, as he continues to try to defend himself, and his ministry, against the criticisms of some in the church of Corinth who question his integrity and oppose his teaching--and so he writes that, contrary to their claims, he "hasn't wronged anyone, or corrupted anyone, or taken advantage of anyone"!
 
And he goes on (in verse 3) to write that "he didn't speak to condemn them" noting, as he had said before, that he loved them, and that they were in his heart to die together and live together" (possibly referring to their eventual death and resurrection together for all eternity)!  And (in verse 4) to express "the confidence he had about how God was working in their lives," something he even "boasted about to others," being totally comfortable with their status as believers!  In fact, "overflowing with joy despite all his afflictions," some of which were attributable to them!
 
In verse 5, he alludes to the tensions and anxieties he was feeling at the time when he first came to Macedonia (recorded in 2:13-13) "leaving Troas, even though a door was opened to him in the Lord there, because he had no rest for his spirit"!  Apparently going to Macedonia to meet up with Titus, to get a report from him about his visit and experience in Corinth and how things were going there, and particularly their reactions to the "severe letter" (sometimes referred to as "the lost epistle") he had sent to them, before writing his first epistle!  A letter full of retribution which he thought may have caused them undue sorrow!  
 
MacArthur notes that "Paul's concern for the problems in the Corinthian church and how its members were responding to both the problems and his instructions (in the letter) caused him debilitating restlessness and anxiety!  In fact, so debilitating that he was unable to give full attention to his ministry"!  (Paul obviously didn't enjoy rebuking, and judging, and disciplining believers, even though he felt compelled to do it as a minister called of God, and knew that it had to be done!  And by this we catch a fresh glimpse of the tender heart and yet human side of this great man of God!)
 
Verse 6 says, "But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me"!  
 
And so, the good news from Titus gave great comfort for Paul, pulling him out of his depression and anxiety, and bringing back his joy--and even causing him to have second thoughts about the severe letter he had written to the Corinthians!  He writes, in verses-9 8, that "for though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while!  I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you not suffer loss in anything through us!"  Wow!
 
And here's the beautiful truth, and verse to remember, and live by!  Verse 10--"For the sorrow that is according to the will of the Lord produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world leads to death!"  (Hebrews 12:11 says, "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness!)  Wow!
 
MacArthur notes that "true repentance cannot occur apart from genuine sorrow for one's sin"!  And it's something that applies to both believers and unbelievers!  Repentance for the unbeliever is at the heart of one's salvation!  An unbeliever needs to acknowledge and repent of his (or her) sin as part of the process of receiving Christ and experiencing salvation!  And then, as a believer, to repent of his (or her) sin continually, not for salvation, which has already happened, but to keep the joy and blessing of his (or her) relationship with the Lord!  And that's part of the normal Christian life, and the progressive sanctification process that every believer experiences!
 
James 6:16, speaking to believers, says: "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed; the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much!"  Jesus said to His disciples, in Luke 1:3-4, "Be on your guard!  If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times a day and returns to you seven times, forgive him!"  Wiersbe notes that "four of the seven churches of Asia Minor, listed in Revelation 3-4, were commanded to repent"!
 
Verse 11 notes (says MacArthur) seven "good outcomes" that came to the Corinthians, and that come to us, as a result of "godly sorrow," and true repentance!  And he prefaces them all with, "For behold what..."

• Earnestness (or diligence)--The initial reaction to repentance that ends indifference to sin and causes one ot eagerly and aggressively pursue righteousness!
• Vindication--The desire to restore the confidence of others!
• Indignation--Anger at the shame brought on the Lord's name and His people!
• Fear--Repentance leads to a healthy fear of the One who chastens and judges sin!
• Longing (or "yearning")--The desire to restore the relationship with the one who was sinned against!
• Zeal--Loving someone, or something, so much that one hates anything that harms the object of who or what one loves!
• Avenging of wrong--The desire to see justice done, regardless of what it may cost one!

And so, what might you take with you from this lesson?
 
"The sorrow that is according to the will of the Lord produces a repentance without regret...and a overflowing joy even in the midst of affliction!"
 
"The essence of true repentance is an aggressive pursuit of holiness" (MacArthur)!
 
"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God is holy!" (Leviticus 19:2)
 
May God be with you, til we meet again!
 
Lowell 

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.  For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?  Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14)
 
In last week's lesson, on II Corinthians 6:3-13, the apostle Paul wrote how he "determined to give the Corinthians no cause for offense in anything, so that his ministry not be discredited," and he goes on to list a whole litany of deprivations he endured as a servant of God for the furtherance of the gospel--"in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;" noting the various graces and positive character qualities that God produced in him through these trials--"purity, knowledge, patience, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;" always operating within the confines of "the word of truth" (as revealed in Scripture), and in the power of God; by "weapons of righteousness"!  These the spiritual weapons that God supplies: the "sword of the Spirit," the Word of God, the "shield of faith"!
 
And yet, despite the nobility and commendable characteristics of Paul's life and ministry, it was marked by a series of paradoxes, which Paul described in verses 8-10: "By glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, yet well known, as dying, yet behold, we live; as punished, yet not put to death; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing, yet possessing all things"!  Wow!
 
And so, while the human responses to Paul's preaching to the Corinthians varied greatly, God's estimate of him was always positive; and Paul continued to "fight the good fight of faith"!  And he appealed to the Corinthians as a father to his children, "speaking with his mouth freely and his heart opened wide"--in order to stimulate them to accept him and his ministry so they would continue to experience all the blessings God wanted them to have!
 
All of which set the scene, and established the tone, for our lesson Tuesday night (on verses 6:14-7:1) where Paul charges them not to be "yoked together with unbelievers"--using an analogy from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 22:10) where God prohibited the Israelites from putting an ox and a donkey together in a "yoke" for plowing a field!  A yoke (which Mark Wever just happened to latch on to, and bring along to our gathering last night, so that we could actually see what one looks like!)--a bar or frame of wood by which animals were joined together at the neck, or head, to work in plowing a field.  But an ox and a donkey are by nature different and couldn't walk together in a straight line to plow a furrow!  But, more importantly, one (the ox) was deemed by Old Testament law as a "clean" animal while the other (the donkey) was deemed "unclean"!  And therefore could not be "yoked together"!  (And isn't it interesting that Jesus said (in Matthew 11:29) "Take My yoke upon you and learn from...and you will find rest for your souls!")
 
And so Paul used this insightful analogy to teach that Christians must not be bound, or "yoked together" with non-Christians in any spiritual enterprise or relationship that would be detrimental to the Christian's testimony within the body of Christ!  This was especially important for the Corinthians because of the threat from the false teachers and the surrounding pagan idolatry!  And it makes the point clearly and establishes the principle which applies just as much to believers in our world today!
 
God told the Israelites in Old Testament times, in Exodus 34:11-16, to "be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day...Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst...for you shall not worship any other god. For the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God--otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods!"
 
In Deuteronomy 7:1-4, He makes the point even stronger: "When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites (and the Mennonites!  Oops, no!), seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them!  You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.  Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.  For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods...."!
 
And, in the New Testament, in our passage tonight, the words, and the principle, couldn't be stated more clearly, or profoundly!
 
Verses14-16a say: "Do not be bound together (or 'yoked together') with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  Or what agreement has the temple of the living God with idols?"
 
The book of James, addressing "the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad," says: "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God!"
 
And I John 2:15-16 says, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever!"
 
Ephesians 5:8 adds, "For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord!  Walk as children of light!"  (Reminding us of the song that calls for us to "let our light shine forth for Jesus...in the day-time and in the night-time..."!)
 
But, as MacArthur notes, this and other passages in the Bible don't mean that a Christian should end all associations with unbelievers; and that doing so would defy the very purpose for which God saved believers and left them on earth"!  So that they (we!) can be "a light in the world"!  And fulfill the "great commission" (as Jesus gave to us, in Matthew 28:19-20)!
 
Paul wrote in I Corinthians 9:23 that he himself had become "all things to all men," so that he might "by all means save some"!  In I Corinthians 10:27-28, he wrote that if one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience sake..."!  And in I Corinthians 5:9-13, he said that when he wrote in his letter for the Corinthians "not to associate with immoral people, he didn't mean with immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world!"  But that he actually wrote to for them "not to associate with a so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolator, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or or swindler...!
 
And to clarify this principle of separation from unbelievers even further, he wrote this (in I Corinthians 7:10-16), concerning a brother who has a wife who is not a believer (and thus "yoked together" in the ultimate relationship): "But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.  But to the rest, I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her!  And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away!  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband...!" 
 
This same principle applies for believers in their relationship with government authorities!  Jesus said (in Matthew 22:21 and in Mark 12:17) to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's"!  Romans 13:1-7 says that "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God! Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves!  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.  Do you want to have no fear of authority?  Do what is good and you will have praise from the same..."!  (But if there's a conflict between what God and men in authority require, Peter and the apostles made it clear, in Acts 5:27, that "we must obey God rather than men"!)
 
MacArthur sums it up this way: "Relationships between believers and unbelievers are at best limited to the temporal and external!  They may enjoy family ties, work at the same job, share in business relationships, live in the same community, experience the same hobbies and pastimes, and even agree on certain political and social issues.  But on the spiritual level believers and unbelievers live in two different worlds!"
 
II Corinthians 6:16-18 says (and these are wonderful words), "For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said (in Old Testament writings): "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people; therefore, 'come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord; and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you, and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty!"  Wow!
 
Just as God said to His people (the Israelites) in the Old Testament; in Exodus 29:45, "I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God!  They shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God!"
 
And as Jesus said in John 14:23: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word; and My Father will love him, and We will make our abode with him (speaking of the Holy Spirit who He would send to indwell us)!
 
Isn't it amazing that God would so love us--and be a Father to us--and send us His Son, and then His Spirit to dwell within us, and give us the hope and promise of eternal life in heaven?  (Makes you want to sing "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saves a wretch like me..."!)  And "How Firm a Foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!  What more can He say than to you He has said..." and many others!)
 
And, finally, another "therefore"!  What's it there for--in 7:1?  "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God!"  Harkening back to Isaiah 52:11, where it says, "Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purity yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the Lord!"
 
Leviticus 19:2 says, "You (we!) shall be holy, for the Lord your (our!) God is holy!"  And as I Peter 1:14-16 speaks to us: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy Spirit who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'you shall be holy, for I am holy"!
 
Go with God, MOBsters!  Til we meet again!
 
Lowell

"We are treated as imposters, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known, as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, and yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything!"  (II Corinthians 6:8-10)
 
In last week's lesson, on II Corinthians 5:16-6:2, the apostle Paul noted that as a result of us being reconciled to God, through Christ, "we have become new creatures; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come"!  Verse 21 explains that "He (God the Father) has made Him (God the Son), who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"!  And not only that, but that "we have been given the ministry of reconciliation...and are ambassadors for Christ"!  Having the privilege of carrying the good news of redemption and reconciliation to a weary and needy world!  Echoing the words of Jesus, in Matthew 28:18-20, commissioning His followers to "go into all the world and make disciples"!
 
And we were challenged to demonstrate the same sense of privilege, and urgency, and passion as Paul did in reaching out to the Corinthians, where he wrote of his deep concern that some might "preach another gospel," a gospel contrary to the one he delivered, and thus that some might "receive the gospel of grace by faith in vain"!  A gospel of works!  And he also noted that not only did one need to receive the gospel by faith alone, but also receive it at "the acceptable time," when they heard His call!  "Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation," he wrote, at the close of last week's passage!
 
And all that set the scene for our lesson last night, on verses 3-13, where Paul warns that those who engage in the ministry of reconciliation should expect to be rejected by some, while accepted by others, and to encounter both hardships and joy, as Christ taught His disciples! (Jesus said to His disciples, in Matthew 5:11-12--"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me!  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you!"
 
Paul begins by writing, in verse 3, that he determined "to give the Corinthians no cause for offense in anything, so that his ministry not be discredited"!  It was important to Paul that his ministry not be discredited, and so he did everything he could to make sure that he did not give anyone cause of justifiable criticism of him or his ministry!  In Romans 2:24, he wrote that "the name of God is blasphemed among the Greeks because of you"!  And, I Corinthians 8:9 to "take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak"!  (MacArthur writes, "What an unbelievably frightening indictment to say that one was the cause of some blaspheming against God because he named His name and was a hypocrite"!)
 
And so, as Constable notes, the apostle Paul goes on in the verses that follow to describe how he "commended himself as a servant of God, and defended his ministry in order to provide the faithful Corinthians with more ammunition to rebut his critics, and not just through his words but through his actions"!
 
In verses 4-5, he writes that "in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance,

• "in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses" (trials Constable describes which were of a general nature that Paul endured);
• "in beating, in imprisonments, in tumults" (describing physical persecutions that Paul endured);
• "in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger" (describing some of the self-imposed deprivations that Paul endured for the furtherance of the gospel)!

Then, in verses 6-7a,

• "in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left" (describing the various graces and positive character qualities that God produced within Paul through these trials)!

Paul protected his purity and his virtues!  MacArthur writes that he "made these the theme of II Corinthians and that it was not just what he preached (or said) but what he lived"!  (The way we live "is the only letter of commendation that really matters," Paul implies!)
 
"in the Holy Spirit" is thrown in the middle of this list but is really the heart of it all," MacArthur writes!  And Constable notes that Paul cites the Holy Spirit in the same sense that he did in Galatians 5:16, where he writes, "But I say walk in the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh"!  And it produces "genuine love" which is an honest desire to do what is best for those in view"!  
 
And he operated within the confines of "the word of truth" (as revealed in Scripture), and "in the power of God," and "by the weapons of righteousness" (the final three!) , These are the spiritual weapons that God supplies!  The "sword of the Spirit," the Word of God, and the "shield of faith"!  Romans 6:13 calls for us to present our members as instruments of righteousness to God"!  And Ephesians 5:10-18 challenges us, "finally, to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might...and to put on the full armor of God, so that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, and be able to resist in the evil day, and having everything to stand firm"!
 
And yet, despite the nobility and the commendable characteristics of Paul's life and ministry, it was marked by a series of paradoxes, which Paul describes in verses 8-10!  "By glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things!"  Wow!
 
Constable writes that human responses to Paul's preaching varied greatly, but that God's estimate was positive regardless of the opinions of the people!  And that regardless, the great apostle Paul continued "to fight the good fight of faith"!  I Corinthians 4:13 says, that "when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; and we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now!"  (To "conciliate," according to the dictionary, means "to appease, or overcome the distrust or animosity toward one!  To try to regain the friendship by pleasant behavior"!  Or (and here's that word again!) to "reconcile"! 
 
Paul appealed to the Corinthians as a father to his children--speaking "with his mouth freely and with his heart opened wide"--wanting the same response from his readers!  "In order to stimulate the Corinthians to accept him and his ministry to that they would continue to experience all the blessing that God wanted them to have," MacArthur notes!
 
May we as MOBsters, like the apostle Paul, be given the grace (and "wherewithall"!) to demonstrate the same kind of love and care, and openness of heart, to those with whom we cross paths in our lives--so that Christ may be honored and glorified, and that we might all continue to experience the blessings of God!
 
Merry Christmas to all!  Til we meet again, in 2026!
 
Lowell 

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come!  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to HImself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation!"  (II Corinthians 5:17-18)
 
In last week's lesson (on II Corinthians 5:11-15), we found the apostle Paul continuing to have to defend his integrity against the false accusations of some in the church of Corinth who were being used by Satan to question his character and motives, and thereby to split the church and stunt the spiritual growth of new believers!  And so Paul, "knowing the fear of the Lord," and mindful that his life was an "open book" to God (and hopefully to them as well!), he sought to "persuade men"--not only to believe and trust in Christ but also to recognize and accept him, and receive his instructions, as a representative of Christ to the church!
 
And if they thought--because of the passion and zeal he exhibited in their presence--that he was "beside himself," and fanatical to the point of being out of his mind and unbalanced, "it was of God," he claimed, since he was dealing with critical truths that needed to be proclaimed and taken to heart by them!  For "the love of Christ controls us (he wrote), having concluded this, that one died for all, so that they all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf!"!
 
MacArthur summed up the lesson best, we noted, by writing that, "As the apostle Paul defended his integrity to the Corinthians, he wanted them to know that his old, self-centered life was finished and that he had an all-out desire to live righteously!  For genuine believers, their death in Christ is not only a death to sin, but a resurrection to a new life of righteousness"!  
 
And so that set the scene for our lesson last night on II Corinthians 5:16-6:2, where Paul begins with yet another "therefore" (with more to come)!
 
"Therefore, from now on (Paul continues) we recognize no one according to the flesh (or "from a worldly point of view," says the NIV); even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer!"  (Constable says that Paul "had stopped making superficial personal judgments on a person's external appearances, and that his (or her) spiritual condition was more important," and also that, "after his conversion on the Damascus Road, he saw Christ in totally new light"!)
 
"Therefore (Paul writes), if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come!"  (MacArthur says that "the words ('in Christ') comprise a brief but most profound statement of the inexhaustible significance of the believer's redemption, which includes (1) the believer's security in Christ, who bore in His own body God's judgment for our sin; (2) the believer's acceptance in Him with whom God is alone pleased; (3) the believer's future assurance in Him who is the resurrection to eternal life and the sole guarantor of the believer's inheritance in heaven; and (4) the believer's participation in the divine nature of Christ, the everlasting Word!"
 
"There's both continuity and discontinuity that takes place at conversion (Constable writes)!  We have the same physical features, the same basic personality, the same genetic constitution, the same susceptibility to temptation, and live in the same sinful environment! But we have a new spiritual life, an indwelling Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of Christ, and new viewpoints and values!"
 
Verse 18 says that "all these things come from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation"!  (According to the dictionary, the word "reconciliation" means "to settle or resolve something"!  Like settling  a dispute!  Or reestablishing a relationship!  Or creating harmony once again!)
 
MacArthur notes that verse 21 "answers all the questions regarding being reconciled to God, and resolves the seeming paradox of redemption!  It reveals the essence of the atonement, expresses the heart of the gospel message. and articulates the most glorious truth in Scripture--how fallen man's sin-sundered relationship with God can be restored!  It reveals truths about (1) the benefactor (God the Father), (2) the substitute (God the Son), (3) the beneficiaries (those who trust Christ), and (4) the benefits!"
 
1--Reconciliation with God is made possible by God the Father who designed the plan to reach sinners through the sacrifice of His Son!  John 3:16 says that "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!"  Romans 5:8 says that "But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!"  Reconciliation required the death of Christ because "the wages of sin is death" (but "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"! Romans 6:23)
 
2--Jesus Christ is our substitute!  Verse 21 says it so clearly!  "He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus Christ, the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf!"  Only He could bear the wrath of God for sin!  Galatians 4:4-5 says that "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons!"  Galatians 2:13 says that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us...!"  Our sins were "imputed" on Him! I John 2:2 says that "He Himself (Jesus Christ) is the propitiation for our sins..." His "atoning death" for us "satisfied" the demands of God's holy justice and wrath against sin!
 
3--We, as believers, are the beneficiaries!  Christ's substitutionary death on the cross was "efficacious" for us and all those who would believe, and whom the Father would draw!
 
4-And the benefits are that we "become the righteousness of God in Him"!
 
Romans 5:10-11 puts it this way: "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only this, but we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation!"
 
And so, as Constable notes, "when repentant sinners acknowledge their sin, affirm Jesus as Lord, and trust solely in His completed work on their behalf, God credits His righteousness to their account!"
 
And that explains verse 21!  And the high point of the gospel!  
 
Jesus said to Zaccheus, in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost!"
 
What a wonderful thing!  To be reconciled to God, the One who created us that we might know Him, and be able to walk with Him--as Adam and Eve did in the garden, before the fall--and have a special relationship with Him, and enjoy Him forever!  Wow!
 
But there's more!  The same God who provided for our reconciliation has "given to us the ministry of reconciliation," and (with another "therefore"!) to be "ambassadors for Christ" in reaching the world with the gospel message!  Echoing the words of Jesus, in Matthew 28:18-20, when He called His disciples "to go into all the world and make disciples"!
 
The apostle Paul responded to this call with a sense of urgency, even "begging" the Corinthians "on  behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God"!  And expressing concern that "the grace of God would be received in vain"!  He later expressed this same passionate concern (in II Corinthians 11:3-4) where he wrote, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.  For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you put up with it easily enough"!
 
Paul expressed similar concern for the Galatians, in Galatians 1:6-9, where he wrote, "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; but there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!  As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!"  Wow!
 
And not only must one need to receive the grace of God by faith, he (or she!) must also receive it "at the acceptable time," Paul writes (in 6:2)!  There may not be another opportunity when God speaks to one's heart again as He does in that moment when the Holy Spirit draws him!  Constable notes that "there is a time in God's grace when He may be sought by sinners.  The Lord warned those in the pre-flood world (in Genesis 6:3): "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever..."!  Hosea 5:6 warned that apostate Israel would go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them!"  Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near!"
 
"Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation," Paul writes in the closing verse of this passage!
 
May we approach this blessed ministry of reconciliation with the same sense of privilege, compassion, and urgency as Paul!  Isaiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!"
 
All of which makes you want to sing "Amazing Grace!"  Or, "And Can It Be?"  Or, "Something beautiful, something good...!"  Or "Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb..."!  Or, during this Christmas season, "Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born!"
 
May God be with you, til we meet again!
 
Lowell

"For the love of God controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf!" (II Corinthians 5:14-15)
 
In our lesson last week, on II Corinthians 5:1-11, the apostle Paul (a tent-maker by trade) began (in verse 1) with one of the most profound verses in all of Scripture, describing and affirming the confidence, and assurance we as "born-again" believers in Christ can have, not only now but when, at some point, we face death in this life!  He wrote that "we know (with certainty!) that if the earthly tent which is our house (in this life!) is torn down (speaking of "death"), we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!"  And so, describing the great contrast between the fragileness, vulnerability, and temporary state of our physical bodies in this life with the "building from God--the stableness, stability, and permanence of our glorious, resurrected bodies in the life to come!  This is the "blessed hope" of every believer, when we shall see our Savior and Lord face to face!
 
"For indeed in this house (our physical body!) we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven...so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life" (eternal life!)  And he adds that, "He who prepared us for this purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit (the Holy Spirit, who indwells every believer!) as a pledge" (or a guarantee for this to happen!)  But Paul's not done!  "Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, and not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord!"  Wow!  Paul is saying that, considering his circumstances, he'd rather die and be with Christ than go on living in this life!  Because he "knew" (he knew!) what was ahead for him!
 
But then another "therefore" (which sounds more like a "but"!)  "Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to the Lord!"  That was his greatest goal and desire!  To always be "pleasing to the Lord"!  (MacArthur notes that "the noblest and highest ambition to which we (as believers) can aspire, whether in this life, or the next, is to be pleasing to the Lord"!)
 
Paul said as much to the Ephesians (in Ephesians 5:6-10): "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things (sin in the world!), the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord!"
 
And why?  He answers it in verse 10: "For we (as believers!) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be (not condemned, but) recompensed (or rewarded!) for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad!"
 
And that set the scene for our lesson last night (on verses 11-15) where the apostle Paul begins with yet another "therefore"!  (MacArthur notes that "this passage is a very personal, first-person communication for the apostle Paul, and that one of the hardest things he had to do was to defend himself against the false accusations of some people who had come into the church of Corinth, a church which he founded, and for people whom he dearly loved, amid great trials and suffering!)
 
"Therefore (Paul continues), knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men...!"  Persuade them of what?  Not only of their need to believe and trust Christ as their Savior and Lord, but also for them to recognize and accept him as Christ's representative to them in this world!  He knew he had to defend his own integrity, and the integrity of his ministry from the many false accusations against him (among them: that he was proud, self-serving, untrustworthy, incompetent, and even mentally unbalanced).  And so, defending himself, for the sake of Christ and the preservation of the church!
 
MacArthur notes that "the greatest impact that critics can have on anyone who's in the ministry is an assault on their integrity!  And that's what was happening here! Constable notes that "assaults on Paul's integrity threatened not only to split the church but to stunt the spiritual growth of the believers"!  And so the whole epistle of II Corinthians is basically a defense of his integrity and for the preservation of the church of God!  
 
Knowing the "fear of the Lord" not only influenced and generated integrity in Paul's life but motivated him to preach the gospel of salvation to others!  He wrote in Hebrews 10:31 that it's "a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!"  Jesus said something similar to His disciples, in Matthew 10:28,  "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell!"  And, in Luke 12:3, "But I will warn you whom to fear; fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!"
 
Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!"  And Paul wrote in II Corinthians 7:1, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God!"  MacArthur says, "this is not referring to be afraid of the Lord, but to have a worshipful reverence and awe as an essential motivation to live in such a way as to honor Him!  And he notes in another place that "life is summed up in its richest form by fearing the Lord!"
 
Constable wrote that "the testimony of a clear heart and a good conscience before God and people was important to the apostle Paul, and he told the Corinthians (in verse 11) that his life was made manifest to God (first of all!); and that he hoped it would also be "manifested also in their consciences" as well!  Remember what he had already told them (in 1:11) that "the testimony of his conscience" was 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," and so they "had reason to be proud of him as he also would be proud of them, in the day of our Lord Jesus"!  And why?  In verse 12, he says, "So that you will have an answer to those who take pride in appearance and not in heart"!
 
Constable notes that Paul "knew his life was an open book to God, and he wanted it to be transparent to all the Corinthians as well!  Paul wanted to be seen like David in Old Testament time, who wrote, in Psalm 26:1, "Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord, without wavering!"
 
"For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; (but) if we are of sound mind, it is for you," he writes in verse 13!  Paul was so passionate and zealous about devotion to truth that some thought he was fanatical to the point of being out of his mind, and unbalanced!  But Paul maintained that the zeal and enthusiasm, and compassion he demonstrated was because he was dealing with critical truths which needed to be heard!  And he didn't seem to care what they thought, as long as the truth was proclaimed!  MacArthur notes that "the world, now as then, often looks unfavorably on people who are so dogmatic and zealous about the truths of the Bible!  As on "Jesus freaks"!
 
"For the love of God controls us," responds Paul (in verses 14-15), "having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf!"  Wow!  What a stunning statement!  
 
The apostle Paul was gratified, and motivated, most notably, by Christ's loving, "atoning, sacrificial death" on the cross!  This truth is the heart of the doctrine of salvation, notes MacArthur!  I John 4:9-10 says, "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins!"
 
And in II Thessalonians 5:9-10, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will be together with Him!"
 
And Romans 8:31-39, "What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare HIs own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?  Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the One who justifies; who is the one who condemns?  Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also interacts for us!  Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or sword?  Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered!  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us!  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor any created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of Christ our Lord!"  Wow!
 
Verse 11 in our text says, that "He died for all, therefore all died"!  Since He was our substitute!  We were, in effect, "crucified with Him"!  Romans 6:6-7 says, "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who died is freed from sin!"  And then to verse 11--"Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Jesus Christ!
 
MacArthur sums up or lesson this way: "As the apostle Paul defended his integrity to the Corinthians, he wanted them to know his old, self-centered life was finished and that he had an all-out desire to live righteously. For genuine believers, their death in Christ is not only a death to sin, but a resurrection to a new life of righteousness!"
 
Galatians 2:20 says it well, as well!  "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me!"  Changes the way we live!
 
What hymns or other gospel songs come to mind as we look back on this lesson?
 
How bout "Amazing Grace!"  You know the words!
 
Or, the one that goes: "I am Thine, O Lord!  I have heard Thy voice; and it told Thy love for me.  But I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee!" (And the chorus) "Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died; draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious healing side!"  (There are more verses!)
 
Or, this one: "Take my life and let it be; consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my moments and my days--let them flow in ceaseless praise, let them flow in ceaseless praise...!'
 
And, last but not least--"The love of God is greater far, than tongue of pen can ever tell!  It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell; the guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child, He reconciled; and pardoned from his sin!  O love of God, how rich and pure!  How measureless and strong; it shall forever more endure, the saints and angels sing!"
 
Sing to the Lord, men!  And let the love of God control the way you live in the days to come!  Til we meet again!
 
Lowell