Lesson for July 19, 2023
The Book of II Corinthians
Chapter 2:1-17
Verses 1-2
“But I definitely made up my mind not to grieve you with another painful and distressing visit (like I did the first time because I had to rebuke you for causing divisions). For if I cause you pain [with rebuke again], who is there to provide me enjoyment (since I upset you with my rebuke) but the [very] one whom I have grieved and made sad (you)?”
Made up my mind is the Greek word “krino,” which means to determine. Paul had planned to return to Corinth, but determined it was not God’s will for him to do so. (I Corinthians 16:3-7) The believers in Corinth who were upset with Paul for his rebuke of them and for not returning to visit them (after they rebounded), failed to recognize God’s will for Paul. They should have been supporting him with their prayers and finances so that they could be part of his ministry instead of getting upset.
Just as in the case of Paul, determining God’s will at any point in your life depends upon applying doctrine to the situation, and you cannot apply doctrine unless you know it. The more doctrine you know, the easier it is to determine God’s will for your life.
The Greek word for grieve is “lupe,” which means heaviness or sorrow. Paul could not violate the will of God by succumbing to the grief or the heaviness of heart he felt to return to Corinth. Even if he had succumbed to it, they would not all be receptive to his teaching when he returned because he would have been there to admonish them. Admonishment can often cause a person to become defensive, trying to justify their attitude. For this reason, it was better for the believers in Corinth to hear from Paul by letter, rather than face-to-face.
Verse 3
“This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all.” Paul had absolute confidence that Bible doctrine would produce inner happiness for both him and the believers in Corinth who had responded to his first letter and straightened out their spiritual lives. He had confidence in the effectiveness of the Word of God. If they resented his admonishment, they most likely would reject his message to them.
Verse 4
“For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.”
The attitude of some toward Paul had hurt him to the point of tears when he thought of the tragedy of their negativity. Paul was not trying to get them to feel sorry for their sins. Paul was attempting to wake them up to the fact that they were out of fellowship and needed to Rebound. Paul wanted them to respond to his love, rather than to his rebuke, by getting back in fellowship with God. It was much better for Paul to rebuke them in a letter and give them a chance to Rebound.
Verse 5
“But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you.”
The one who caused sorrow was probably the man guilty of incest in I Corinthians 5. If this is the case, he had rebounded and was back in fellowship with God. We know this because Paul instructed these believers to forgive him and restore him to the congregation. Unfortunately, some believers in the church apparently couldn’t let it go. God had forgiven him, now the congregation needed to do the same. While God had forgiven him, some of the people had not. It was now time to forget the entire matter and move on as a church. In other words, Paul was now stressing a point: grace makes a believer a good forgetter!
Verses 6-7
“Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.”
The suffering of the believer who had committed incest was great. God’s discipline on him had been very severe, to the point of the sin unto death instructed by Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And he had been removed by the Church, which was a sad event.
Forgive him means to exercise grace and to have a relaxed mental attitude toward him. Forgiveness comes from the application of Bible doctrine. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We all fail, and we all need the forgiveness of God and the forgiveness of others. Spiritually mature believers do not wait for someone to apologize or ask for forgiveness for the harm they caused them.
Comfort him means to comfort someone by having a relaxed mental attitude toward them. Comfort means the restoration of their privacy. It means restoration to the fellowship of the local church congregation without judging and maligning.
It is a terrible sin to remember what God has forgotten and blotted out.
Verse 8
“Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.”
This verse means to give him assurance that he is still loved. It has the idea of encircling them with virtue-love. It means exhibiting the same love that Jesus Christ exhibited toward us on the Cross when He said, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” Love is a great restorer for those who have lost their way temporarily and have returned to fellowship.
Verses 9-11
“For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”
Paul wrote, instead of coming to them, so that he could test them by giving them an opportunity to apply the doctrine they had been taught without him being there to “hold their hands.” Obedient in all things means response to something inside. In this case, it meant to use the Bible doctrine they had learned. Paul’s authority is found in accurate Bible doctrine. They had doctrine, now they had a test to see if they would be obedient to the doctrine which he had taught them. If they were, then they would demonstrate the fact that they were spiritually self-sustaining without Paul “babysitting them.”
Paul was simply saying, ‘Here is this man who has failed. He has rebounded and is now forgiven. I have personally already forgiven him, and I have a relaxed mental attitude toward him. This assures him of my love. But what about you? What is your attitude toward this man?’
If we are all operating on doctrine, then we present a great testimony to the unbelieving world. To the extent that you are condemning other people, to that extent you are giving Satan the opportunity to distract and divide. We should all be aware of the strategy of Satan. He presents himself as “a minister of righteousness” and “an angel of light,” while being a minister of unrighteousness and an angel of darkness. He comes as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, in order to devour believers in the local church by deceiving and dividing.
Verses 12-14
“Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
There were people in Troy with positive volition and Paul was sent there by God to evangelize them. Paul was supposed to remain in Troy and preach the Gospel, but the sin of worry caused him to disobey the will of God and go to Macedonia to find Titus.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Now we see where Paul recovered his spiritual life through Rebound. The Greek word for thanks is “charis,” which means grace, favor or giving thanks. This verse is an indication that Paul realized his mistake and confessed his sin of worry and returned to fellowship with God.
The Greek word for triumph is “thriambeuo,” which is a hymn of triumph. The word means to celebrate a victory, to sing of a restoration. Every time you Rebound you ought to celebrate a victory. The last half of verse 14 tells us of Paul’s recovery. The Greek word for manifest is “faneroo,” which means to bring to light, it means that something becomes obvious to us. Through doctrine we know when we sin, they come to light to us through Bible doctrine so that we acknowledge them to God and keep advancing.
Sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him is the triumphal processions in victory celebrations. The sweet aroma is knowledge of Bible doctrine is the fragrance of victory. Victory in the Christian life can be experienced only through the work of Christ in the Cross and a believer’s consistent application of Bible doctrine. This is the sweet fragrance of victory when you achieve it through the grace of God.
Verses 15-17
“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”
That sweet aroma is manifested in us as believers in Christ when we demonstrate our faith through our lives and by sharing the Gospel. Every believer is in full time Christian service, the fragrance is the Gospel which resides in us.
As you give out the fragrance of the Gospel, there will be two kinds of people who will smell it: people who will believe and respond to the Gospel and those who reject it. Our job is to give them the information in a clear way.
The Greek word for peddling is “kaphleuo,” which means to be a corrupt retailer. Paul and his team did not preach the Gospel for monetary gain as many were doing at that team and are still doing today. Paul and his team often worked so that the local churches would not have to provide for them. Their ministry was based on sincerity. The Greek word for sincerity is “elikrinia,” which means purity of conduct.