God Speaks
Paul Defends His Ministry, Lists Sufferings. Expresses His Care for Them, and Gives Final Warnings and Greetings
Verse of the Day: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV 2011)
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We Respond
2 Corinthians 10
Reflection: In chapter ten, Paul defends His authority and approach in dealing with the Corinthians. Whether by letter or in person, he was relying on God’s mighty weapons–applying the truth, appropriating the righteousness of Christ, standing in the peace with God won for him by the crucifixion, holding onto faith in God’s power over Satan, protecting and renewing his mind, skillfully wielding the word of God, and being in constant two-way conversation with God (prayer) in union with the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 6:14-18). With these spiritual weapons, Paul was able to stand against and demolish the devil’s strongholds. These weapons enabled Paul to “break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding Him. With these weapons [Paul could] capture rebels [rebellious ideologies] and bring them back to [being focused on] God and change them into men [attitudes and worldviews] whose hearts’ desire is obedience to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5 TLB) The problem was that they were only seeing Paul’s weak human body and speaking style instead of the mighty spiritual power and authority God had bestowed on him (See 2 Corinthians 5:16 for another reference Paul made to this concept of taking a spiritual versus a fleshly viewpoint.) Paul didn’t brag about himself or compare himself with other human preachers. His goal was to measure up to God’s plan for him and his fellow-workers; he didn’t want to take credit for work someone else had done. Once their faith was established and functioning as it should, Paul’s plan was to leave Corinth and spread the good news of Jesus where people had never heard it. The only credit Paul wanted was credit from God.
Prayer: Dear Sovereign God, thank You for providing Your people with great authority and strong spiritual weapons. Please help me to correctly apply the truth, to appropriate the righteousness of Christ, to stand strong in the peace with You Jesus won for me by His crucifixion, to hold onto faith in Christ’s power over Satan, to protect and renew my mind, to skillfully wield the word of God, and to be in constant two-way conversation with You because of my union with the Holy Spirit. I want to view people not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Keep me from bragging about myself or comparing myself with others. I want to live by and measure myself by Your plan for me. Don’t let me take credit for what someone else has done. Please help me to faithfully complete the assignment You have given me. May I not strive for approval from people, but only from You, so that I can give any award I receive to Jesus so that He can give it back to You, Father. AMEN
Action: (Ask the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will use biblical reference materials and make a list of all the spiritual weapons God has given us, including the ones mentioned above and others.
- I will make a list of fleshly ways I use to “evaluate” people (including myself) and ask God to help me to stop doing so.
- I will make a list of God’s ways of viewing people (including me) and ask God to help me to develop the same viewpoint.
- I will thank God for the gifts, awards, and blessings He has given me in this life and both work for and look forward to receiving more in Heaven so that I can give them all back to Him.
2 Corinthians 11
Reflection: In chapter 11 Paul “foolishly” (speaking like a fool, not like the humble, wise man of God that he was) recounts to the Corinthians both his resume of the hardships he has endured to bring them the gospel and to see them grow in Christ and his pedigree as a true Israelite devoted to YHWH the God of the Jews. He boasted like this to counter the claims of the “super apostles” who were taking advantage of them and leading them away from the truly Good News of Jesus Christ. These liars were urging the Corinthians to believe in a different Jesus than Paul had told them about, a different spirit than the Holy Spirit, and a different way to be saved than by faith alone in Christ alone. All these lies and their gullibility made Paul both sad and angry. All that he had suffered on their behalf seemed to be in vain.
Prayer: Dear gracious God who is a loving husband to Your people, thank You for zealously guarding Your beloved ones. Equip Your chosen leaders, like the Apostle Paul, to stand up against the onslaught of the wolves in sheep’s clothing, false teachers of various kinds. Please wake up Your true church to the deceit of false doctrines and teachings. Please don’t let me or others be drawn into sin like Eve was by the craftiness of the enemy’s “logic” and doubts. Help us to remain pure, trusting Your words. Help us to recognize the Truth and follow Him. I want to honor those who sacrificially serve You and Your people as Paul did. Please keep me and all Your true children from boasting in the flesh, being drawn into any kind of bondage, being taken advantage of, putting on airs, being assaulted, or being shamed. Please make Your loving presence known to Your servants who are working hard for You; who are imprisoned for doing right; who are enduring much torture: who are near death for whatever reason; who are being mercilessly beaten; who are being stoned; who are shipwrecked (or in kind of wreck); who are adrift at sea (or in any kind of isolation); who are in any kind of danger; who are experiencing any kind of dangerous or extremely difficult work; who are experiencing sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, starvation, extreme heat or cold, (or lacking any kind of necessary provision to carry on Your work). Please strengthen and relieve the mental and emotional tension of those who are caring for others, whether individuals such as family members or groups like churches. If I (or any of Your children) have an occasion to boast, may it be boasting about how You rescued me (them) from a very dangerous situation. All for Your glory, Lord. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will spend some time each day asking the Lord to fill me with His Holy Spirit and submitting to His directions.
- I will strive to be faithful to do whatever the Lord is telling me to do.
- I will ask for the Holy Spirit’s power not do things according to my old fleshly way of thinking and behaving.
- I will use the prayer above to pray for Christians around the world. [A shorter version might be: “Lord God, please guide, provide for, and protect _____ from dangers and enemies seen and unseen. For Your glory, Lord. AMEN”]
2 Corinthians 12
Reflection: Paul continued his “boasting” by mentioning a visit to heaven. Some translators and commentators say this was Paul himself, others do not. Either way, the person was not allowed to give details of the awe-inspiring visit. Then Paul went on to discuss his “thorn in the flesh.” My thinking is that if it wasn’t Paul, why would God need to give him the thorn in the flesh to keep him humble? How was it a messenger from Satan? On this, his third visit, Paul was saddened by the fact that if the people of the Corinthian church didn’t change their attitudes and behavior, he would have to be very stern with them. He didn’t want to be so negative, but there were major sins (affronts to both God and Paul) that he and they would have to correct. Paul was writing as a very concerned spiritual father who wanted the best for and from his spiritual children.
Prayer: Dear God who reveals His plans to His children through experiences, visions, dreams, but most of all through the Scriptures, thank You for Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” You used it to help Paul (and all believers) to grasp the fact that Your power is made completely evident in our weaknesses. Your grace is more than sufficient when we rest our trust in You. When we admit our weakness, the great I AM is strong! May everything I do be done with great perseverance for the sake of those to whom You have called me to minister out of love for them and You. I must confess (even though You already know). Should Jesus come back right now, He would find “quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder” (2 Corinthians 12:20 NIV) in members of His body. Please apply the forgiveness and cleansing provided by the cross to me and other believers who have done any of these things. Help us to repent and turn from “impurity, sexual sin and debauchery” (2 Corinthians 12:21 NIV) as well. Only You can save us from our sins and from ourselves. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will call, write, or visit the spiritual or physical children God has given me to see how they are becoming more like Christ and less like the world.
- I will talk with the Lord about ways that I can help them grow in Christlikeness.
- I will check my own thoughts and behavior to see if I am drifting toward worldly attitudes or actions.
- I will do spiritual warfare praying on their behalf asking the Lord to equip them (and me) with the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and to develop in us the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
2 Corinthians 13
Reflection: This is the conclusion of a letter full of admonitions and warnings. On what would be Paul’s third visit with them, he did not want to severely scold or punish the Corinthians, but he would do so if necessary. They were accusing him of being weak; however, Paul promised to show them how strong he was in the Lord if they didn’t deal with sinful behavior before he arrived. Since some were insisting on persisting in their sinful behavior, were they truly Christians (in Christ)? They should check themselves to be sure. Paul assured them that even though he appeared weak in his physical body, he had the power of Christ dwelling in him to deal with their misbehavior and disrespect. To show his true heart for them, Paul closed the letter by praying for them and urging them not to do wrong but to do the right things in God’s power.
Prayer: Dear gracious Father God who disciplines the children He loves, thank You for giving the Apostle Paul a heart to correct his spiritual children’s misbehavior. Give me that kind of love as well. Please give me the courage to confront misbehavior and the compassion to instruct my “spiritual children” in the God-empowered way to live. I know that You and I both want to see them maturing in Christ. That means turning from their old sinful ways, being joyful, growing in Christlikeness, encouraging each other, living in harmony and peace, and treating each other well. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest upon all who belong to You, LORD (whether they know it yet or not). AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will thank the Lord that although my body may be weak (for whatever reason), His Spirit within me will provide the strength to confront whatever problems I may face.
- I will ask the Lord to point out and help me overcome an old sinful way in my life. I will do whatever He says.
- I will write, call, or visit at least one of my “spiritual children” this week.
- I will seek to be joyful, grow in Christlikeness, live in harmony and peace with other people, treating them well and encouraging them to do the same.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.