Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from 2 Co 7. 1 and following. Indeed, Christ’s love embraced Paul for his Corinthians. And this love was also true, so great when he had written them his first stern letter. But now his heart is off; he can let his affections speak freely. Those who take us back and warn us with the most severity are often the ones who love us the most. “I take up and correct all those I love,” the Lord will say to a church that has become lukewarm (Rev 3:14-22).
The assembly had judged evil in its midst; she had thus shown her purity and righteousness(2 Co 7:11): if she had endured an awful sin, it was out of ignorance and negligence. Nevertheless, the Corinthians had to be humbled by their condition, which had allowed such evil to appear in their midst, and they had felt a sorrow according to God. Note that simple regret, shame, remorse… are not repentance. It consists in making the same judgment on our faults as God, in recognizing evil and abandoning it, whether it is the acts committed before or after our conversion (Pr 28:13). It is the first fruit of faith. And in turn it produces “fruits suitable for repentance” as John the Baptist said to those who came to his baptism (Luke 3:7-9). Has each of our readers gone through true repentance?
The obedience of the Corinthians had awakened the joy and affection of Titus and thus doubly rejoiced and comforted Paul himself. But they were still far from having the zeal of the saints of Macedonia. The latter had not simply given this or that part of their resources and their time: they had given themselves entirely. They had not waited, like some, for the end of their lives to offer God only a poor remnant of their strength; they had given themselves “first”… Nor had they begun with the service of the saints; no, it was to the Lord that they had first given themselves. And this first gift had brought all the others. They also belonged to the apostles, because they were servants of the Lord. Was it painful for these Macedonians? Quite the contrary.
We have seen what characterized the apostle as a minister of Christ. Here we do not find these characters, but something even more precious: we find the heart of the apostle. This is what makes him say: “I do not say this to condemn you, because I have already said that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together”. His whole heart went before his children in faith. They were cramped in their own hearts, as it is said in the previous chapter: they did not have them wide enough to contain all the love that was shown to them by the apostle, while he represented this love in practice, in their midst. His heart so wide towards them desired to awaken their hearts so that they had together only one thought, one goal, one path, one object.
Therefore, far from using against them the authority entrusted to him, he opens his heart to them and deploys in their eyes all the affection he had for them, his children in the faith. He boasted of them to Titus, and he is happy that Titus found things as he had made him hope.
After exhorting them to holiness, he seeks to bind their hearts together, so that they can be in communion with him, the apostle, and with the Lord Jesus of whom he was the representative. But he puts forward another thing: his ministry had produced fruits: “What excuses, what indignation, what fear, what ardent desire, what zeal, what revenge! In all respects you have shown that you are pure in the matter” (2 Co 7:11). Reading this passage, one might ask: Why then had the apostle been so harsh to the Corinthians, since it was shown that they had not soaked in any way in the heinous sin that had occurred among them?
It is that, despite this relative non-guilt, they were in great need of repentance. We read in 2 Co 7:10: “The sadness that is according to God operates a repentance to salvation of which one has no regret”. What repentance, if they were not complicit in the criminal act, and had shown that they were pure in this matter? So what had happened? The first epistle had proved to them that instead of being spiritual Christians, they were carnal Christians, who remained little children in Christ! The motives for their activity were nothing other than the satisfaction of their pride; they used their gifts to exalt themselves. Such was the state of that brilliant congregation in Corinth, where one could not enter without saying, “God is truly among you!”
But when, before the word of the apostle, they return to themselves, they are plunged into sadness, wondering how they could have allowed such a scandalous evil to develop in their midst. Ah! they say, we were far from God in our thoughts, without real communion with Him; we were looking for a lot of knowledge, the solution of all kinds of intellectual questions, the outward signs of strength and power that exalt man, but our consciousness was not at stake in these things!
Dear friends, this is very important for all of us. When we see evil happening in the congregation, we are instructed to promptly remove “the wicked from the midst of ourselves,” but do we stop at that, and do we not go further? This matter should reach our consciences. The production of any evil, in an assembly of God, comes not only from the individual who did the evil, but from the assembly that was in an unstried state. When evil breaks out, let us be certain, there is not only a culprit, but it is the assembly of God that is the culprit.
The Corinthians had not confined themselves to sadness: “The sadness which is according to God operates a repentance to salvation of which one has no regret”. It is a complete judgment of oneself in the presence of God. When the apostle wrote these lines to them, any idea of making their case had disappeared in the midst of the tears they had had to shed; all the questions of intelligence which had occupied them so much were left aside; repentance was produced. The end of this chapter shows us a third result of the Apostle’s ministry to the Corinthians: the first was to bind their hearts in brotherly love with that of Paul; the second to produce repentance to salvation; we find the third in the last verses of this chapter: “Titus’ affection was more abundantly upon them, when he remembered the obedience of all of them, how they had received it with fear and trembling” (2 Co 7:15). Thus the ministry according to God, exercised in the midst of Christians, if it pushes them to the judgment of themselves, also pushes them to obedience. A disobedient Christian can only expect God’s discipline or judgment. The same is true of a disobedient assembly; the apostle says here: “the obedience of all of you.” Not one was excepted. They had gained from this discipline love, repentance, and obedience. They were now unanimous about the path in which they had to walk to serve the Lord and glorify Him.
The apostle adds: “How you received him with fear and trembling.” This word often comes up in the Old and New Testaments and always refers to complete self-defiance. In the first epistle, Paul tells them how he had been among them “in weakness, and in fear, and in great trembling. Fear is not fear, but the feeling that there is no strength in us to do God’s work. It had taken the rod for the Corinthians to learn to realize what the apostle himself had taught them from the beginning of his ministry among them.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Purification, repentance of the wicked
Isa 1:16 Wash yourselves, purify yourselves, Take before my eyes the wickedness of your actions; Stop doing evil. Jer 4:4 Circumcumcing yourselves for the Lord, circumcising your hearts, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest my anger erupt like a fire, and ignite, without being extinguished, because of the wickedness of your actions. Acts 22:16 And now, what are you waiting for? Arise, be baptized, and washed of your sins, invoking the name of the Lord. 2 Co 7:1 Having therefore such promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God. 2 Tim 2:21 If, therefore, anyone keeps himself pure, by abstaining from these things, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified, useful to his master, proper to every good work. John 4:8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Clean your hands, sinners; purify your hearts, unresolved men. 1 Jn 3:3 Whoever has this hope in him purifies himself, as he himself is pure.
- Spiritual boldness, examples
Mk 15:43 came Joseph of Arimathea, counselor of distinction, who himself also awaited the kingdom of God. He dared to go to Pilate, to ask for the body of Jesus. Acts 4:13:31 When they saw the assurance of Peter and John, they were astonished, knowing that they were uneducated men of the people; and they recognized them for having been with Jesus. 31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled trembled; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they confidently proclaimed the word of God. Acts 9:29 He also spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they sought to take his life. Acts 14:3 They remained, however, long enough in Icon, speaking confidently, leaning on the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace and allowed him to do wonders and miracles to himself through their hands. Acts 19:8 Then Paul entered the synagogue, where he spoke freely. For three months he spoke about things concerning the kingdom of God, trying to persuade those who listened to him.
- Special Causes of Spiritual Joy
-the dedication of the house of God Esd 6:22 They celebrated with joy for seven days the feast of unleavened bread, for the Lord had rejoiced them by arrquiesing the king of Assyria to support them in the work of the house of God, of the God of Israel.
-the return from captivity Ps 126:2 Then our mouth was filled with cries of joy, and our tongue with songs of joy; Then it was said among the nations: The Lord has done great things for them!
-the blessings of a spiritual life Isaes 61:10 I will rejoice in jehovah, My soul will be delighted with joy in my God; For he clothed me with the garments of salvation, He covered me with the mantle of deliverance, As the bridegroom adorns himself with a diadem, As the bride adorns herself with her jewels.
-the delights of God’s word Jr 15:16 I have collected your words, and I have devoured them; Your words have made the joy and joy of my heart; For your name is invoked upon me, Jehovah, God of hosts!
-the times of spiritual refreshment Acts 8:5, 6, 8 Philip, having descended into the city of Samaria, preached Christ there. 6 The whole crowds were attentive to what Philip was saying, when they learned and saw the miracles he was doing. 8 And there was great joy in this city.
-the love of Christ 1: 1:8 which you love without having seen him, in whom you believe without seeing him yet, rejoicing you with an ineffable and glorious joy,
- Telling the truth
Pr 12:19 The truthful lip is strengthened forever, but the false tongue remains only for a moment. So 3:13 The remnants of Israel will not commit iniquity, They will not tell lies, and there will not be in their mouths a deceptive tongue; But they will graze, they will rest, and no one will disturb them. Za 8:16 This is what you must do: tell the truth each to his neighbor; judge in your doors according to truth and for peace; Ml 2:6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips; He walked with me in peace and righteousness, and he turned many men away from evil. 2 Co 12:6 If I wanted to glorify myself, I would not be a fool, for I would say the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may have an opinion of me superior to what he sees in me or to what he hears of me. Eph 4:25 Therefore, renounce the lie, and let each of you speak according to the truth to his neighbor; for we are members of each other. Eph 6:14 And you fathers do not irritate your children, but raise them up by correcting and teaching them according to the Lord.
From all the above, we note that the apostle had only one object through his ministry, to keep the Corinthians, not only in the path of holiness, but in the path of love, of a love that binds God’s children to one another and binds them all together to Christ. How little esteemed this beloved apostle was by his children in the faith! He, who was overflowing with love, was obliged to say to them: “Receive us: we have not wronged anyone, we have not ruined anyone, we have not enriched ourselves at the expense of anyone”. What state were they in, then, when we already find them restored, so that such things must be said to them? It is that there were people among them who sought to belittle the apostle, representing to them that he was an interested man, he who, after leaving everything to serve them, followed so faithfully the trail of his Lord and Savior, having nothing. He adds: “I am not saying this to condemn you”; don’t think I’m coming to you with the penis. If an authority was entrusted to him in the Church of Christ, he did not use it here, because the exhortation of the first epistle had begun to bear fruit. Indeed, this is what the Christian’s mistrust of himself always leads to; he relies on the One in whom is the strength, who never changes, who will stand at his side to the end and will make him attain the final salvation whose crowning is glory. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow on “Titus and two more brothers are sent to Corinth.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.