2 Corinthians 13:11

As for the rest, brothers, rejoice, be restored, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

It seems here and elsewhere in the NT that God’s tangibly being with us is conditional upon our choices, on how we choose to live and think.

As we always clearly put forth, God’s love is unconditional. But God’s manifest presence? Well, it seems to be made dependent on a few things.

In this particular verse, Paul says to:

• rejoice
• be restored, or to grow and mature as humans in faith
• be encouraged, and probably means also to encourage others
• be of the same mind, be unified in our faith and belief in God, or think in the same way
• be at peace, live in the shalom of God, trusting in God’s goodness and power

And, as some translations have it, then the God of love and peace will be with you.

I guess it only makes spiritual sense that the God of love and peace will not experientially be with you while living in hate, disunity, lack of celebration, immaturity, discouragement to self and others, conflict, or disharmony.

2 Corinthians 12:9

“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” ~NLT

There is a way things work best.

One way I’ve experienced this truth is in the practice of Sabbath.

I’ve allowed my habit of Sabbathing every week slowly slip away, and have paid a price for it. This summer I’ve found myself socially, relationally, and emotionally drained. I am out of gas.

Before this year, I was very disciplined to take a 24 hour period every week to totally disengage and unplug. Come Monday, I would feel ready to take on the world again. It was that effective.

Talking with a friend the other day about this, I felt God saying something like, “Look, I designed your body to require a full day’s break out of every seven. It’s just how I made you to function properly and optimally.  That is how it works.” Then my buddy and I joked about God saying, “You can try to go against this design…Let me know how that works out for you!” And we had a good laugh.

He then shared how an early mentor of his strongly encouraged him, “Every six weeks, take Friday through Sunday completely off. I mean truly off. Unplugged.” Good advice.

So I am convicted to return to this necessary practice which, for me, includes not looking at any screens or checking any messages for a 24 hour slot each week in order to recuperate, refuel, and not lose relational capacity as I have this summer.

Another friend last week shared a description I really found helpful–that of the elite athlete who needs about 6 months of the year off from performing at such a high level. Nobody can go that intense for extended periods.

It is in these times of rest, which some may even see as weakness, where we are strengthened , receiving power from on high.

“My power works best in weakness.”

2 Corinthians 11:14-15

The satan himself transforms himself to look like an angel of light, so it isn’t surprising if his servants transform themselves to look like servants of righteousness.

They will end up where their deeds are taking them.

We know from Scripture that the devil knows Scripture. The satan can actually “preach” too. But the big difference is that it will not include the message of the cross and Jesus as the Son of God.

There are many today who are serving the evil one, some consciously, but I believe many unconsciously. If you listen a little closely, you will not hear the gospel of the cross which is the crux of our belief (pun intended).

In this letter, Paul has warned against a couple of dangers. One is false apostles preaching a different gospel, a gospel which does not include or emphasize the cross and the work done there and our absolute need for it. So listen carefully to preaching in order to notice if they preach the same gospel that has come from the beginning. One aspect to listen for is that of need. We are desperately in need of God, but many will strokingly and subtly  tell you in delectable language the you’re all good on your own.

The other thing Paul said to watch out for are “peddlers” of the gospel. Since the beginning there have been those doing it for the money. Beware of these people. They speak some truth, of course. Few people listen to someone speaking all lies for very long at all. But if a preacher/minister is taking home tons of money, be very wary of him or her. This does not align with the New Testament.

CRUX: The decisive or most important point at issue. From Latin, literally ‘cross’.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Yes, we are mere humans, but we don’t fight the war in a merely human way. The weapons we use for the fight, you see, are not merely human; they carry a power from God that can tear down fortresses! We tear down clever arguments, and every proud notion that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We take every thought prisoner and make it obey the Messiah.  ~NTE

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.  ~NLT

I was greatly moved by this commentary last night, and would like to share it with you:

[Paul} says that he is equipped to deal with and to destroy all the plausible cleverness of human wisdom and human pride. There is a simplicity which is a weightier argument than the most elaborate human cleverness. Once there was a house party at which Huxley the great Victorian agnostic was present. On the Sunday morning it was planned to go to church. Huxley said to a member of the party, “Suppose you don’t go to church; suppose you stay at home and tell me why you believe in Jesus and in Christianity.” The man said, “But you, with your cleverness, could demolish anything I might say.” Huxley said, “I don’t want you to argue. I want you just to tell me what this means to you.” So the man, in the simplest terms, told from his heart what Christ means to him. When he was finished there were tears in the great agnostic’s eyes. “I would give my right hand,” he said, “if I could only believe that.” It was not argument, it was the utter simplicity of heartfelt sincerity which got home. In the last analysis it is not subtle cleverness which is effective but simple sincerity, against which cleverness has no defense.

There will always be someone who can out-argue you. But your subjective experience of what Christ has come to mean to you is axiomatic.

2 Corinthians 9:2

Your enthusiasm has stimulated most of them into action.

Sometimes your enthusiasm for what you do will motivate someone into action to do that too.

Seeing Zakk Wylde play guitar with such passion in 1989 inspired me to take guitar lessons soon after…

Hopefully our enthusiasm for Christ stimulates others to follow Him as well.

2 Corinthians 8:12

If the eagerness is there, you see, the deed is acceptable, according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.

Couple things here—Eagerness to do good is great, but if it is not acted upon, it remains only an impulse. If you get the urge to call someone to encourage them (likely from the Holy Spirit), but do not do it, it remains an impulse and the person receives no tangible invigoration from you.

So first off, follow up impulses eagerly with the deed which they call you to. This you will not regret, and you’ll probably make someone’s day.

Second, be fine with doing what you can do, and do not feel guilt over any inability to do what others may be able to do.

We are not called to give what we don’t have. And focusing upon this will serve only to paralyze you from doing what you can and should do in and for the world.

The flip side is also true. Over the weekend, the Spirit whispered to me, “It is not necessary to live according to others’ limitations.” Sometimes I feel some sort of illogical guilt over being able to do things other people cannot do, and then it holds me back unnecessarily. Some people have severe physical limitations. Does that mean I shouldn’t exercise in order to take care of my body?

We do not need to feel bad that we have abilities that others do not possess. We are all uniquely blessed so that we can all uniquely bless each other. If we all had the exact same talents and abilities, it would get boring real quick.

We say we want everything to be fair and equal, but do we really? It appears God has chosen to distribute according to His divine wisdom and in a way that motivates us to all work together and fill in each others’ gaps.

2 Corinthians 7:10

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.  ~NLT

How do you know if you are truly sorry over something?

If your sorrow is godly, or worldly?

One simple test might be to examine the object(s) of your focus.

Godly sorrow will be focused upon…God! Upon wronging God first and foremost. It will also give attention to the person you have wronged. And, godly sorrow involves a hatred of the sin for which you are sorry.

But worldly sorrow…is focused upon self. It is merely resentment at punishment, resentment for not getting away with something, for getting caught. Worldly sorrow is upset over embarrassment and the predicament you find yourself in due to the wrongful act way more (if at all) than over the act itself.

Big difference.

In world sorrow, we may even torment ourselves over something, but again, that means we are focused first on—self. That’s why it’s called SELF-loathing, because you must pay most attention to YOU. That is not true sorrow, not godly sorrow.

Godly sorrow sees mostly who is wronged, and senses so strongly the wretchedness of the sin, that repentance is produced leading to reconciliation.

I really like how The Interpreter’s Bible puts it:

In true repentance the change of outlook and of spirit is followed by a surrender to the way of righteousness, and to that trust in the grace and forgiveness of God which takes the place of self-loathing and self-despair.

And from my man, William Barclay:

A true repentance, a godly sorrow, is  repentance and a sorrow which has come to see the wrongness of the thing it did. It is not just the consequences of the thing which it regrets; it hates the thing itself.

The real question is whether you hate your sin because you see it as opposition to God’s will of love, or because you dislike the pain it produces. If your grief is of the latter kind it will merely deepen your blindness to the real condition and deaden your conscience.

Do you want to escape pain, or resolve to be a different kind of person?

2 Corinthians 6:3-4

But in everything we try to keep on commending ourselves as ministers of God must do—in much endurance, amidst the things which press sore upon us, in the inescapable pains of life, in anxieties…

It’s funny, I don’t think I’ve really sat and pondered that the Christian life is one of endurance.

Yet endurance is a vital and foundational requirement for life, if it is to be lived well at all. The Bible tells us that those who persevere to the end will be saved.

We must finish well.

The word Paul uses for endurance here is hupomone, which describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it transfigures them and transmutes them. We could say it is Triumphant Christian Endurance.

Paul starts his list of just what we need this hupomone for with three internal conflicts of the Christian life:

The things which press sore upon us. This is sheer, physical pressure on a person, the things which weigh down your spirit, the sorrows which are a burden on your heart, the disappointments which could just crush the life out of you, the sheer pressure of the demands of life. This triumphant endurance can cope with them.

The inescapable pains of life. The Greek word anagke literally means the necessities of life. Some burdens you may escape, others you cannot. There are certain things a person involved in the human situation must bear. There is sorrow which inescapably comes to every person. If it hasn’t come to you yet, it will.

The anxieties of life. The word Paul uses, stenochoria, literally means a too narrow place. Life has its moments when a person feels shut in, suffocated, when life induces in you a kind of spiritual claustrophobia, when it seems the walls of life are closing in around you. Even in such a situation as dark as this, the triumphant endurance makes you able to breathe, to breathe in the presence of God and the spaciousness of heaven.

Oh how we need this supernatural hupomone to live our life in the midst of inevitable troubles, so that we do not lose heart and just give up, but rather persevere to the end and finish well!

2 Corinthians 5:12

Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart.

~NLT

Let me tell you something, I am so not impressed by anybody’s “spectacular ministry” because it’s usually spectacular by worldly standards, as in big numbers or famous people involved.

La de frickin’ da.

But what does inspire me…

Someone who is truly humble, a real servant leader. Someone who loves Jesus Christ more than anyone or anything else. Someone who is even remotely pure in heart, non-judgmental, viewing everyone through equally loving eyes.

How easy it is to still get sucked into the quicksand of the world’s thinking, holding up on a pedestal someone who is physically beautiful, monetarily successful, politically powerful, or athletically gifted.

Well I don’t give a rat’s turd about any of that.

It’s time we started paying attention to those whom God has shown us to care more about, namely, widows and orphans…those who are suffering and lonely, who are in prison and on the streets..those who have “nothing” to offer, even though they really have everything to offer because they are Christ in disguise.

It’s interesting to note that bragging about spectacular ministry and doing it just to make money are two topics Paul wrote about in this letter, therefore, they have been going on pretty much since the birth of Christianity about 2,000 years ago. So do we really need to continue being shocked at this?

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

However, if our gospel still remains “veiled,” it is veiled for people who are perishing. 

What’s happening there is that the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they won’t see the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah, who is God’s image.

There are some who simply cannot see the light of Jesus Christ. There are various reasons, for sure, but here we see the “veil” of the evil one, a real and dark power. It is not that God has shut them out or abandoned them, but the idea is that they have shut themselves off from God, allowing the blinders to stay in place, refusing to accept what God has given in order to “find” Him.

William Barclay wrote in his Daily Bible Study Series that “We, too, can fail to see the real meaning of scripture because our eyes are veiled.” He listed three veils that may be clouding our vision that you may find helpful to be on guard against:

Prejudice—Too often we approach scripture with our theories already in place, looking to reinforce them, instead of coming humbly, open, and ready to listen and learn what it has to teach us. To be taught means to learn something you didn’t already know. Not even scripture can teach a know-it-all. Do not go to the Bible just to find support for your views, but to honestly find the truth of God.

Wishful Thinking—Sometimes we try to find in scripture what we wish to be there rather than what is there. We skip over what we don’t like, finding what we want to find and neglecting what we do not want to see or wrestle with.

Fragmentary Thinking—We should always regard the Bible as a whole. It is easy to pull out texts here and there as we please to criticize them or “prove” our private theories, choosing what we want, discarding the rest. “But it is the whole message of scripture that we must seek; and that is just another way of saying that we must read all scripture in the light of Jesus Christ.”