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2 Corinthians | Chapter 2

2 Corinthians 1:15-2:11

“Faithful to Forgive”

I. Intro.

So far we have seen Paul in this personal letter address two very practical situations that every person deals with: the reason for stress and how to handle misunderstandings. Now Paul deals with church discipline, but more specifically, “How the church should receive one back into fellowship after the discipline.” Church discipline is not aimed at knocking a person down; it is aimed at picking a person up who has been knocked down by sin! Good church discipline is not about taking the sinning saint and bringing them into submission, but rather loving them in such a way that we inspire them to goodness. Thus, “discipline must encourage, not discourage!”

II. Vs. 5-8 Marks of Repentance

Vs. 5-8 This section presents several difficulties with regard to the topic:

  1. What is the situation Paul is referring to?
  2. What actions were taken to bring conviction upon the believer?
  3. What does biblical repentance look like?
  4. What does biblical restoration look like?

Paul doesn’t mention the person’s name or the situation in this letter. Traditionally, folks assume that he is speaking of the case in 1 Corinthians 5, where there was a fellow living in incest with his mother (or as Paul puts it, his “father’s wife”). Apparently, the church thought that by allowing this immorality to continue in their midst, they were examples of how Jesus would love. Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians like a medical board addressing a doctor for not treating cancer in a patient. Others feel that this cannot be the case because Paul had not only written First Corinthians about that, but he had been there since then. Perhaps Paul is addressing the person who was leading the rebellion against him. Though Paul knows the person’s name, he does not mention it so as not to hinder the person’s restoration! He is careful not to overstate the offenses and instead is general. By these two actions, we can see that Paul is out to restore a brother, not get even with an offender! It is safe to assume that the actions taken towards this individual would have been what Jesus gave the church in Matthew 18, commonly known as the three steps to handling church discipline.

  1. Matt. 18:15 Step One: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” This step has nothing to do with aligning allies or spreading “your side” of the story, both of which are far too prevalent in the body of Christ. This step is never publicized, and neither is it just a matter of opinion. Instead, it has to do with one person coming to another who feels that the other person’s behavior is out of line with what the Bible has to say. This first step is done “between you and him/her alone.” There are a few things to consider before you launch out in this:
    1. Galatians 6:1 reminds us that “if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” The goal of this is restoration, and to be effective, the one confronting must make sure that they come in gentleness, lest they become part of the problem instead of part of the solution.
    2. 1 Cor. 10:12 says that when dealing with someone, we need to first examine our own heart. If we “think we stand, we need to take heed lest we fall.” Whatever has happened to our fellow saint is something that we also deal with, so come to them in your failure, not theirs!

    We are not to go to one another in those areas where we are irritated that someone is doing something in a different way than we would do it. We are to only go to them in those areas where the Word of God has already said they are clearly wrong. The goal is to “gain back a brother/sister” who is not practicing the Word of God in their life. The person who goes is not to go to someone else and share what they have done; they aren’t to spread the offense to the church. They simply drop it and act as if it never happened because once they repented, it never did!

  2. Matt. 18:16 Step Two: “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” If there is resistance and unwillingness to face the wrongdoing, then Jesus said, we are to take one or two others so that there may be witnesses to the discussion. The objective of discipline is not punishment, but recovery and restoration. If the offending person repents, then the matter is closed, not to be brought up or spread to others.
  3. Matt. 18:17 Step Three: “If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” The third step is to tell it to the church, with the expectation that everybody in the congregation who knows the individual will go and plead with him to reconsider, to face the trouble and admit it, so that peace can be restored. Apparently, based on verse 6, this is the level to which this church had come. The reason for this step is to be found in Paul’s words in verse 5, where he says, “if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent–not to be too severe.”

Vs. 7 Paul writes, “you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.” What does biblical repentance look like? In calling for forgiveness and restoration, it is clear that this man had met the “mark of repentance” with what Paul calls “much sorrow”! In 2 Cor. 7:8-10, Paul addresses the Corinthian believers, saying, “For even if I made you sorry… Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner…. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” This mark of “biblical repentance” is when you begin to genuinely see the “hurt” that your actions or inactions have caused others, especially Jesus. Accompanying the admittance of wrong must be a true sense of sorrow caused by that wrong. Based on Paul’s words both here in this verse as well as in 2 Cor. 7:8-10, “Godly sorrow” is when you don’t really believe anybody ought to forgive you because what you have done is hurtful, and you do not think you deserve forgiveness. John Wesley once offended a British general who exploded saying, “I will never forgive you,” to which Wesley wisely responded, “Then sir, I hope you never sin!”

Vs. 8 The last question is, “What does biblical restoration look like?” This fellow had come to that point (albeit after the first two steps had been exercised without repentance), to repentance, and it was time that the discipline ended and full recovery began. So Paul says in verse 8, “Now show him that you still love him.”

III. Vs. 9-11 Marks of Forgiveness

Vs. 9-11 The last three verses help us understand how to bring a person to restoration in three steps:

  1. Vs. 9 Faithful Confrontation: Paul says that he wrote to “put them to the test” to see if they would obey the Lord in this matter and confront biblically the offending person. I think that is one of the reasons we see problems in the church: people are afraid to confront someone who is not being obedient to the Word. Far too many people would rather talk behind the problem to others instead of talking to the person about the problem!
  2. Vs. 10 Fruitful Restoration: Equally important is to be ready to forgive when the person has acknowledged what they did was wrong, saw the hurt that it caused, and grieved because of it. One of the reasons for continual hurt and damage in the church is because of an unwillingness to forgive things in the past. Notice in verse 10 how quick Paul was to extend forgiveness; there was none of that “I forgive you but I’ll never forget” hard feelings. Biblical forgiveness is a threefold promise we make:
    1. First: To the person who has hurt you and has now repented, saying, “I will not let my attitude toward you be governed any longer by this offense. It has been put aside. My treatment of you from here on will be as though this had never happened.” A promise that not only will you never bring it up again, but you will treat them as if it never happened in the first place.
    2. Second: A promise you make to everyone else that you will not pass the repented offense along to them. The matter is forgiven and FORGOTTEN! Everyone else may know of the situation (as was the case in the Corinthian church), but no one is going to throw that back at the repented offender. They aren’t going to treat them any differently or hold it over their heads in the future.
    3. Finally: A promise to yourself that if your memory goes back to the offense, you will repent and not let Satan get a foothold in your heart. We will do what Paul says to do in 2 Cor. 10:5 when he writes to take “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

    The person who says, “I just can’t forgive that person, it hurts too much,” has failed to realize that “If you cannot forgive, it is because you have forgotten what Christ has done for you while not forgetting the offense of another.”

  3. Vs. 11 Two Fathomable Observations: It is Satan who keeps bringing back to your mind the hurts of the past; he keeps interjecting them back into a situation. Paul says, “we are not ignorant of his designs,” and in Ephesians 4:26 he says, “do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” Don’t carry over that in your heart until the next day and give Satan an opportunity into your heart.

As an illustration, Ray Stedman tells a story about a mental hospital that had devised a very effective test to know whether the patients were ready to get out of the hospital and back to their life. The patients would be brought into a room where a water faucet was flowing out on the floor and handed a mop and told to mop up the water. If they took the mop and just started mopping away, with the water still flowing, they would be taken back to their room. But if they had the sense to go and turn off the tap first, and then mop up the water, they were ready to go back to life. There is no sense in trying to clear up a situation until we have turned off the devil’s tap by forgiving that which has been acknowledged as wrong. If we persist in bringing it up, over and over again, we are trying to mop up a situation where the water is still flowing. To Paul, the term “body of Christ” was not just a slogan, and the church was not a “trial membership.” It was a radical family of relationships in which each person was precious, and all were interconnected.

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

“From the Agony of Defeat to the Thrill of Victory”

I. Intro.

This week, Christian quarterback Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos was asked about comments made by former Broncos QB Jake Plummer regarding Tebow’s visible faith and the wish that it wasn’t so visible. Tebow described how wonderful it is to proclaim your love for your bride on your wedding day, but how much better it is to continue to do so for the rest of your life, each and every time you have the opportunity. Paul takes the time in this passage to do just that. But what is remarkable is that such praise wasn’t because things were going his way. Paul digresses into praise at a time when most wouldn’t. The victorious Christian life is not one of continual victory in overcoming all obstacles. No! It is one of heartache, of deep inner doubts, fighting frustrations without and fears within. It is one of being opposed often, yet confident that the God who is within you is able to work and do His will. The vibrant Christian life is a death march in which the marcher repeatedly dies to self-centeredness. It is this march that Paul enthusiastically proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 15:31, in what would otherwise seem an oxymoron: “I die daily.” Happy is the person who has discovered no freedom in their religion and no joy in their self-righteousness; all of this has become worthless to them, for now they are “Dying to live!”

II. Vs. 12-13 Marble Pyramids

Vs. 12-13 In Corinth, some of the believers had treated Paul as an enemy and criticized him for everything, from his tribulations to his travel plans. Upon his last visit, Paul had been taken to the “woodshed,” so he cut off his visit and went back to Ephesus, disheartened by their treatment of him. While in Ephesus, he wrote a tearful but stern letter of correction to them. When he hadn’t heard a reply, he sent his fellow servant Titus to see how they were doing. But when Titus hadn’t arrived when Paul expected, he took leave of Troas and headed in their direction, hoping to hear some encouraging news from Titus. Paul was suffering from what one author describes as an occupational reality called “Pastoral Anxiety.” A man who had been a pastor for 50 years had a dream in which this was displayed as his wife woke up to find him at the foot of the bed on his knees, hunched over trying to scoop something with his hands. His wife watched for a moment and asked, “Honey, what are you doing?” Still asleep, he responded, “Trying to keep this pyramid of marbles together with my two hands.” You may not be a pastor, but this illustration may fit your life as you stack the marbles of your life in a pyramid and you feel as though in doing so you are losing your marbles in the process!

III. Vs. 14-17 Marks of Authentic Christianity

Vs. 14-15 Paul has confessed a sense of failure so heavy that it caused him to leave a great opportunity to see lives transformed, in search of news of the believers in Corinth from Titus. But here he changes this into praise to God. What caused such an instantaneous transformation in the apostle’s heart? To reverse the quote of Jim McKay from ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” program of the ’70s, “From the agony of defeat to the thrill of victory”? Before we look at what caused this transformation, look at how he describes it:

Most Bible scholars believe that Paul is thinking about the “Roman Triumphs.” It was the custom in the Roman Empire, when a conquering general returned from a victory over one of the enemies that threatened Rome, that the Senate would grant him a Triumph. It would be equivalent to what we would call a “ticker tape parade.” The conquering general would ride through the streets of Rome in his chariot, followed by numbers of people swinging pots of fragrant incense. Behind them would be the captives he had taken, being led to their execution in chains; then there would come the commanders of his forces. The streets would be filled with people shouting praise. As vivid a picture as the “Roman Triumph” is, the context reveals to us that Paul did not view himself as the conquering General at the helm of his chariot with two white stallions pulling him along as the crowds cheered. Instead, he viewed himself as God’s captive being led to death of self. We come to this view when we look at the only other time Paul used this word in Colossians 2:15. There, God, having conquered the rulers of this age, has led the procession. God had conquered Paul at his conversion and was now leading him as a “slave of Christ” to death to self-centeredness in Christ. It was in this journey from death of self to life in Christ that God’s power and majesty is on display! In this “death march” of self, the sweet fragrance of Christ is released to have an impact upon others.

Vs. 15-16a What does the “Victorious Christian life” look like? There are a lot of people who think that because they are Christians, they will be kept from every single pressure and danger of life; nothing is ever going to get to them. If that is the view of the “victorious life,” then Paul knew nothing about it. He went through terrible trials and great times of pressure. Yet he interrupts his pain and anguish with the truth that God was carrying out His purposes through the very weakness he was going through. With regard to church, which do you prefer to follow?

  1. The procession of personality and performance, technique and technology?
  2. Or the way of Christ, where He says in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Paul mentions what Ray Stedman in his book “Authentic Christianity” calls the FIVE MARKS OF THE “REAL THING”, and today we will look at four of them. The first three are found in verse 14:

  1. 2 Cor. 2:14, “Now thanks be to God…” UNQUENCHABLE OPTIMISM: Radical Christianity is a thankful life even in the midst of trials and persecution. It is genuine, not fake or put on. It feels all the hurts and pains of life in this fallen, cursed world. Yet through all of the pain and sorrow, it looks past it all to see the end result. James 1:2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Acts 16:25, “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”
  2. 2 Cor. 2:14, “…who always leads us in triumph in Christ…” UNVARYING SUCCESS: Notice what it doesn’t say – sometimes, occasionally, or often, but “always.” We see that radical Christianity is always successful. There is no failure in Christ’s plans or goals. For ALL things will be brought into fruition. This does not mean we won’t struggle or go through hardships because it is not our plans and goals that are in view, but God’s. The triumph spoken of here is not Paul’s, but Christ’s. In Jesus, every obstacle becomes an opportunity, and His plans will never be thwarted—success is inevitable.
  3. 2 Cor. 2:14, “…and through us diffuses (spreads) the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” UNFORGETTABLE IMPACT: The Christian life, lived as it ought to be lived (in His strength), is like a fragrance. Verses 15-16 tell how people will experience this scent. There are only two possibilities when people come in contact with the “REAL THING”—they will either be bitter or better, but never the same.

Vs. 16b-17 Paul asks a question with regard to these characteristics: “And who is sufficient for these things?” Trying to answer this in the context of the “Five Marks,” it is no wonder Paul asks, “Who is sufficient?” Who is able to maintain a consistent cheerful, confident spirit, an ability to always come out on top, a powerful, positive influence over others, a complete trustworthiness, with such a realistic demonstration of these qualities that no one ever is in doubt about them in your life? Are you sufficient to continually manifest these characteristics? We might want to know what book we might read or what hidden power we might tap into that these might be produced. If you watch the TV commercials or read the magazine ads, you will be convinced that it is in the shoes you wear or the cologne or perfume you splash on. But once we have tried some of these products and nothing happened, we realize that it is all a marketing ploy. I will let you read ahead and answer that question as we will get to it next week.

  1. 2 Cor. 2:17, “For we are not, as so many, peddling the Word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.” UNIMPEACHABLE INTEGRITY: Note that this was not just spoken to pastors, but to everyday Christians. Paul describes this characteristic in two ways – negatively and positively.
    1. Negatively: First, Paul says that we are not to “peddle the Word of God…” A peddler in this context is a huckster or a street salesman. We don’t need to “hawk” Christianity to attract people to Jesus by using things that appeal to their old nature. Those who choose to do this fail in their task. Acts 20:27, “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Those who choose to “hawk” Christianity pick out those things that appeal to our old nature. 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world.”
    2. Positively: Four Qualities of UNIMPEACHABLE INTEGRITY:
      1. “…but as of sincerity…” Men of sincerity are those that “mean what they say and say what they mean.” This is one of the highest qualities in the world, but it should be, at the very least, something one should expect from a Christian. We all ought to be people who believe what they say by seeking to put it into practice.
      2. “…but as from God…” This means to be commissioned like in military service. The idea is that we are a purposeful people, knowing that our authority and adequacy are from God.
      3. “…we speak in the sight of God…” This describes openness to investigation because we are transparent. To walk in the sight of men means we can fake it. But if we recognize that we walk in the sight of God, then we are both transparent and trustworthy.
      4. “…in Christ.” This quality speaks of authority. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul says we are Christ’s ambassadors. That is to say, we are Christ’s authorized spokesmen, and this is not powerless but powerful.

This explains Paul and Silas’s reaction in Acts 16:25 after being beaten and thrown into a dark, damp dungeon and placed in stocks, they could praise God. Those two missionaries didn’t react to the situation because they were too busy responding to what God was doing in their hearts. Their praise wasn’t based upon the expectation of being set free; their praise was because they were set free from the tyranny of the bars of self-absorption! There is nothing that Satan would rather do after encouraging a person to sin than to continue to remind them of that sin for the rest of their life until they long for hell for relief.