◄ 2 Corinthians Devotional Commentary ►
2 Corinthians 1:2
"Grace and peace to you from God and from the Lord Jesus Christ," is a well-loved and oft-used greeting that the apostles used throughout their letters. No doubt, they were also the chosen words that fell from the lips of many Christians in those early days of the Church, when they gathered together for worship, teaching, the breaking of bread, and prayer.
"Grace and peace to you from God and from the Lord Jesus read more...
2 Corinthians 1:3
Following his introductory greeting to the saints at Corinth, where the amazing grace and abundant peace of Almighty God is the heavenly blessing that Paul bestows in great measure on all the congregation there, He turns his rapt attention and deep affection upon our great God and Father in heaven: "Blessed be GOD the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; Blessed be the GOD and Father of all mercies and Blessed be our Father in heaven Who is the God of all read more...
2 Corinthians 1:4
Our Father in heaven has a wondrous array of divine qualities, eternal attributes, and godly characteristics that rejoice our heart and calm our soul, but perhaps one of His essential elements is that He is our God of all comfort; our Source of all consolation.
He Who walked this earth and Who learned obedience by the things that He Himself suffered, is more than adequate to identify with our hurt and pain and to empathise with read more...
2 Corinthians 1:5
Paul was a man that was beset by troubles and trials, and had to face many dangers and disappointments in his Christian life.
The catalogue of pressures and distresses he faced were probably greater than most of us will ever have to go through in our lifetime, but we discover in his discomfort and distress a godly attitude that we should all seek to emulate.
Paul never forgot his Damascus Road read more...
2 Corinthians 1:6
Jesus suffered and was afflicted for the sake of righteousness, and He warned that in this world we too would suffer tribulation. But He also gave us great comfort and encouragement with the words, "but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world."
Paul was a man who followed in his Masters footsteps. He too experienced much pain and suffering because he was faithful to his calling, sharing the good news of read more...
2 Corinthians 1:9
Paul was a man who was equipped to comfort and encourage other Christians through the difficulties and dangers of life, because Paul was a man who understood the significance of suffering for the sake of Christ. Paul was also a man that received gracious comfort from the God of all comforts (Who comforts each one of us so that we may be used by Him to comfort other people, who may cross our life-path).
Paul was a man who was read more...
2 Corinthians 1:10
Despite the division, defilement and ungodly behaviour that was identified in so many believers in the Corinthians church, they were nonetheless a called-out, holy people who were set apart to God. They were identified as 'saints' who were sanctified of God: set apart for Him and called to be holy even as our Father in heaven is holy.
In his writings to the church at Corinth, there were many issues that Paul wanted to emphasise read more...
2 Corinthians 1:12
Paul did not boast in himself but only in the Cross of Christ, his Saviour. Paul's whole heart was that he himself would decrease to nothing, while the Lord Jesus must increase in every part of his life until he could say: "It is not I that live, but Christ that lives in me." And so, Paul could say with utter confidence that he had not lived his life by the fleshly wisdom of the world, but by means of the gift of grace that he received from the read more...
2 Corinthians 1:20
Paul had a deep spiritual burden for the believers in Corinth, and this letter was written soon after he wrote his first, disciplinary epistle, where petty arguments, sexual immorality, spiritual immaturity, worldly carnality and an absence of godly love were vigorously addressed.
He had planned to visit these believers, following his earlier, forthright epistle, for he wanted to rebuild their trust in him, by restating his read more...
2 Corinthians 1:21
We are positioned in Christ, and identified with Him by the Spirit of God, the moment we trust the Lord Jesus as Saviour. He baptises us into the body of Christ, for it is by the power of one Spirit that we have all been baptised into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, whether bondmen or free, and we have all been given to drink of one Spirit.
Once we have been born again and saved by grace through faith in Christ, we are to be read more...
2 Corinthians 1:22
The Bible lists over 200 things that are true of all believers who have been saved by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in this verse we discover two amazing things that are the birthright of all God's children.
Firstly, we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of God as His children. Secondly, we have been given the indwelling Holy Spirit of promise in our heart, as a pledge read more...
2 Corinthians 1:23
The more we come to understand the interchange that took place the moment we trusted Christ for salvation, the more mindful we are of our privileges in Him. The more we are aware of God's work in our lives, the more we marvel at the innumerable gifts and immeasurable graces He showers on each of His blood-bought children.
The gospel is simple enough for a child to understand; that Christ died for our sins and paid a debt we read more...
2 Corinthians 2:3
In His earlier letter, it was necessary for Paul to severely rebuke the Corinthian believers for their bickering, their ungodly behaviour, and their worldly carnality.
And so at the start of his second epistle to the believers at Corinth, Paul determined to correct any misunderstanding that might remain between them and to set out to renew a right relationship with one another.
Paul resolved, within himself, that he would not visit them read more...
2 Corinthians 2:4
It had been very painful for Paul to write his earlier letter to the Corinthian Christians which rebuked them for their ungodly behaviour. He had received a report from a delegation of saints who explained to Paul that an even earlier letter he had sent (which is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 but now lost) had been seriously misunderstood by the believers there, which necessitated the corrective teaching and admonishment read more...
2 Corinthians 2:14
As Christians, we are the most blessed people on earth, for in Christ we have become victorious in life - and through Him we have been declared triumphant over death. We are identified with His Person, His perfections, His glorious victories, and His resurrected life - and it is all by faith.
Because we are in Christ by faith, we have passed from death to life-eternal and are one with Him. Because we have been born again, we are read more...
2 Corinthians 2:15
The Bible describes the two different types of aroma that ascend heavenward to the Lord. The first is the sweet fragrance of those that are saved by grace through faith in Christ... while the second is the unbeliever who exudes the nauseating, deathly stench of a person who has rejected God's gracious offer of salvation, "for we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved... and are among those who are perishing. read more...
2 Corinthians 2:16
In His great High Priestly prayer, which was delivered to the Father on the night that Christ was betrayed, the Lord Jesus prayed that Christians would be united together as one - for we are one-in-Christ.
We are one body, with one faith, and one Lord. We are one Church with one truth, one life, and one blessed hope. We are accepted by the one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who is the one and only Mediator between man read more...
2 Corinthians 3:1
An important reason Paul wrote his second epistle to the Corinthians, was to denounce the legalistic teachings of Judaisers that had infiltrated the Corinthian church. They not only imposed their unscriptural doctrine on the believers there but also attempted to control their minds by denouncing Paul as a false teacher, which caused much confusion among the believers. In this section, Paul sought to contrast the superiority of read more...
2 Corinthians 3:3
Having laid out the amazing victory we have in Christ Whose sacrifice on the Cross became a sweet smelling fragrance to the Father, Paul announces that in Christ, we too have passed from death to life and have been commissioned by God to be epistles of Christ, declaring the truth of the gospel not with letters that are written with ink, but ones that have been inscribed, stamped, and sealed by the Holy Spirit Himself.
Our lives read more...
2 Corinthians 3:4
The letters that are written by Paul and the epistles that other New Testament apostles penned, should thrill our hearts, for in them we gain exclusive information about our Heavenly Father and privileged access to Him through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are able to read and study the New Testament epistles and through them are enabled to come to a deeper knowledge and understanding of our great Creator God and our humble read more...
2 Corinthians 3:5
Legalism boasts in oneself to keep rules and regulations, but grace boasts only in the Lord. Keeping laws or rituals, whether self-imposed or insisted upon by a denomination or organisation, inflates the ego, for our sufficiency is dependent on my abilities and what I do. However, the gospel of grace nurtures humility, for it admits one's own inabilities and insufficiencies and depends completely on God and His abilities and sufficiency: "For we are read more...
2 Corinthians 3:17
This verse is part of a passage about the use and abuse of spiritual gifts. It precedes Paul's examination of the Christian Church and explanation of our membership in the Body of Christ. Each member is unique in the sight of God and together, we are God’s chosen vehicle on earth, through whom He makes Himself known to man.
We are God's representatives on earth during the Church dispensation, and Paul began his teaching by read more...
2 Corinthians 3:18
There is so much packed into this glorious verse of Scripture, that one could spend a lifetime looking as into a mirror at the glory of the Lord, and that would suffice. And yet, the verse tells us that as we continue to gaze into His loveliness and drink deeply of His grace, we too will start to be transformed into His glorious likeness, as we pass from one stage of glory to the next.
It is not the old sin nature that is being read more...
2 Corinthians 3:18
Simply reading these inspired words of Holy Writ which are part of God's eternal love-letter to human-kind, causes us to kneel in humble reverence before the throne of grace. And it causes us to worship our Father in heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ Who shed His blood so that condemned sinners might be made perfect before His face: "And so we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory read more...
2 Corinthians 4:3
Paul had a glorious ministry that flung wide-open the door of salvation to men. He opened up the Word of God and taught the glorious gospel of grace to Jew and Gentile alike. This apostle of God revealed many of the biblical truths and treasures which we have received as a free gift of grace, by trusting in Christ Jesus as Saviour.
Paul had been a strict Jew - a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul had followed the traditions of men. read more...
2 Corinthians 4:4
In context, Paul is talking about the glories of the New Covenant of God. He is rejoicing in the wonderful promises that are founded on the blood of Christ – the gospel that removes all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ from the condemnation of the Law, for the free gift of God is eternal life to all who believe on Christ. Because of the glories of the wonderful gospel of Christ, where the life and light of salvation flows to all who believe, Paul rejoices to read more...
2 Corinthians 4:6
The first Word of God at the dawning of creation was: "Let There Be Light." And that same Word of God at the advent of each born-again creation-in-Christ is also: "Let There Be Light." It is the God Who spoke His creative Word over the dark earth in the beginning, and it is same Spirit Who brooded over the face of the deep Who dispels the darkness in a man's heart at salvation. It is He Who floods the glorious light of the read more...
2 Corinthians 4:7
Our mortal bodies are made from the dust of the earth and for the duration of our earthly life we live in frail, feeble, perishing bodies, which are decaying and dying. Seemingly they are of little worth to the great, powerful, omnipotent, eternal Creator, Who is to be praised forever and ever, amen. And yet God has taken those apparently useless, insignificant human forms and poured into them a revelation of the glorious gospel of His only begotten Son.
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2 Corinthians 4:8
What radiant delight filled the heart of the apostle Paul as he joyfully proclaimed the good tidings of the gospel of Christ Jesus.
Paul knew that the enemy of our soul uses every trick and deceit to veil the truth from those that are dead in their trespasses and sins. He knew that the enemy of our soul, as a roaring lion, seeks to extinguish the light of the triumphant teaching of truth, and to quench the witness of those that read more...
2 Corinthians 4:9
There was much persecution of the early church, and a good deal of Paul's teaching was about the persecution of the saints and how we should address issues of ill-treatment, torment, and torture. There continues to be much persecution in the Church today and although the methods of torture may differ, the aim is to shipwreck the faith of the saints and render their testimony impotent.
Paul's ministry objective was to teach the read more...
2 Corinthians 4:11
Having been chosen by God and called to be an apostle of Christ, Paul proclaimed the glorious gospel of grace with great boldness of spirit, but he also presented it with much humility of heart. Paul taught that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. He taught that when the truth of God's Word shines into our hearts, by faith, we are given the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ - but he also warned that the Christian read more...
2 Corinthians 4:16
Paul's church epistles were written to different groups of Christians, dealing with matters that were important to their need at the time, and yet they address issues that remain relevant today. Paul's letters were written as an integrated whole, yet progress from one train of thought to the next. Paul's writings were written to correct any error, preach a clear gospel message, provide encouragement, and address issues of concern.
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2 Corinthians 4:17
None of us want to invite pain and suffering into our lives and Paul is an example of a man who went through much suffering in this world for being a Christian. At times he despaired even of life, and yet despite his terrible persecution and many imprisonments, Paul willingly endured his suffering with godly grace, patient endurance, and unspeakable joy.
Paul considered the sufferings he endured for Christ's sake as a light read more...
2 Corinthians 5:1
The beginning of 2 Corinthians chapter 5, is closely linked with earlier chapters where we are encouraged not to lose heart because of the inevitable suffering and pain we all experience in our fallen, dying bodies. We may be living in an earthen vessel, a frail and deteriorating human frame, but as believers, we have the indwelling Spirit of the eternal God in our heart and have received absolute assurance of our secure, heavenly destination.
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2 Corinthians 5:2
Paul was a tentmaker who supplied portable shelters to the many nomads and travellers living in Israel. He used the picture of a tent as an illustration of a human body. A tent is a portable home in which pilgrims and wayfarers shelter. It is not a permanent residence, and Paul compared this deteriorating, mortal body in which dwells our eternal spirit and soul, with a temporary, transitory tent that is taken down, or 'dissolved' at death.
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2 Corinthians 5:3
Because there are many anomalies in the Christian faith, Paul often sets out the truth of our great salvation and the glory that is ours in Christ, in a very systematic way. For instance, he points out that the suffering we undergo for Christ's sake, brings with it great reward and equips us for the ministry of comfort, in that when we are weak in ourselves we are strong in the Lord, but when we are proud of our self-sufficiency, we will suffer a tremendous read more...
2 Corinthians 5:4
Paul used Christ's own death and resurrection to lay the foundation for a very important teaching about our future... that a day is coming when all Christians will be clothed in a new, resurrected body - after we have travelled through the portal of death. Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God, so too the believer-in-Christ will be raised into newness of life, through the same wonder-working power of the almighty God.
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2 Corinthians 5:5
So much of Paul's ministry to the Church is reminding us of our eternal inheritance and our heavenly citizenship. Although we have no tangible evidence of our future hope, nevertheless we accept it by faith because God has spoken in His Word, and God is faithful to His Word for God has even set His Word above His holy name.
We may have no tangible proof of our home in heaven, but faith is the evidence of unseen and invisible read more...
2 Corinthians 5:6
God breathed the breath of life into man, and Adam became a living being. Life is one of the most precious things we have in this world. We desire long life, a good and challenging life, a fulfilled and happy life. There is much research into extending life and combating death, for God has set eternity in the heart of man.
But there is much intrigue into what happens after death, for death is that looming shadow on the horizon of read more...
2 Corinthians 5:7
Justification, like sanctification, is a gift of grace. The former is God's gift of grace to the unsaved sinner, and the latter is God's gift of grace to the saved saint. Both are accessed by faith, as demonstrated throughout Scripture.
It was the constraining love of Christ that motivated Paul to proclaim the gospel of God and present the glory of the Christian faith to the people of his day. Paul needed these believers to read more...
2 Corinthians 5:10
Having given the Corinthians Christians additional insight into the glories of the new body that awaits every Church-age believer at the resurrection / rapture of the Body of Christ, Paul reminds us that following this event, each one of us will also stand before the judgement seat of Christ. All those who are saved by grace through faith, during the dispensation of grace, will appear before Christ's judgement seat.
We will not be read more...
2 Corinthians 5:10
Paul was reminding the carnal Christians at Corinth to stop behaving like worldly unbelievers and to start living as children of God. They had been saved by grace through faith, and ought to be living godly lives; lives surrendered to the Spirit rather than lives living in the lusts of the flesh.
The reason we are given this reminder in God's Word is because all Church-age believers must appear before the judgement seat of Christ read more...
2 Corinthians 5:14
The Cross of Christ most certainly paid the price for the sin of the whole world so that whosoever will may come. None are excluded from the forgiveness that flowed from the veins of the Messiah, which paid the price for all sin. None are excluded from this gift of God's grace. The only reason that some are condemned is through their own unbelief. They are condemned because they have not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
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2 Corinthians 5:15
Christ died for ALL. No one is excluded for all have sinned and so all need a Saviour, but sadly not all will choose to accept God's free gift of salvation. Not all will make that specific response to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." The price for all the sins of the whole world collectively, which includes all the accumulated sin of every individual man and woman, was forgiven at Calvary. The only response required by God to be saved unto read more...
2 Corinthians 5:16
The God of the universe, with all His divine attributes and entitlements, became the man Christ Jesus. God incarnate was born into the fallen race of man. The Creator of the universe came from heaven to earth in human flesh.
The almighty everlasting Word, willingly became flesh and dwelt amongst us, and humbly and obediently carried out the word and will of the Father in every area of His life, even to death on the Cross.
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2 Corinthians 5:17
Having outlined the frailty of man's flesh and the mysterious glory of Christ's cross, Paul reaches his climactic conclusion, that anyone, who is in union with Christ, by believing His finished work on Calvary paid the price for their sins, has been made a new creation. Trusting that Christ's death burial, and resurrection is the core of the glorious gospel... "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away; behold, read more...
2 Corinthians 5:18
There is a great truth that threads its way through Scripture - that all things are of God, and from God, and for God, and culminate in God Who returned us into close relationship with Himself, through Christ. This is a subject that is close to the heart of Paul and a theme that can be seen flowing through all of his writings.
All things are made by Him, directed by Him, and held together by Him, whether it be the old cursed read more...
2 Corinthians 5:19
The Lord Jesus Christ was fully human - yet He was born without sin. He came into this world without a sin nature for He was Son of the most high God. The Lord Jesus was fully God for He was the Word made flesh Who was with the Father from all eternity. In the beginning, He was with God and from the beginning, He was God.
The Lord Jesus was truly God, but He was also fully Man. Indeed, if He had not been a member of the read more...
2 Corinthians 5:20
Because of our sin and rebellion against God, man has become an arrogant enemy of the most holy Creator, but through the death of Christ alone Whose sinless blood was poured out to pay the full price for our sins, we can be reconciled to God and returned into full fellowship with Him, simply by trusting Christ as Saviour and Lord.
The righteousness of a holy God is incompatible with the unrighteousness of sinful man, for there is read more...
2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus is the personification of love, and the message of the Cross is written in His blood. Christ's sacrificial death at Calvary is the greatest demonstration of the love of God for mankind, for God demonstrated His deep love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. The Son of God was made sin for us and the great design of the gospel of grace is full and free reconciliation; unconditional peace with God.
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2 Corinthians 6:2
Before the Cross, the world in general and Israel in particular, were looking forward to the day when God would fulfil His promises to His chosen nation and send His appointed Messiah-King to save God's people and set up His Millennial Kingdom.
Prophetic Scriptures throughout the Old Testament were looking forward to these 'last days' when God would pour out His read more...
2 Corinthians 6:7
The apostolic ministry of Paul, is an example to all of us of a life that was lived for God's glory and praise. The deep love and responsibility he felt towards the whole Body of Christ, is seen in this second letter to the Corinthians.
Paul urged these believers to follow his example and to become triumphant victors in Christ. They were read more...
2 Corinthians 6:10
Afflictions, grief, poverty, and lack is generally considered as lamentable, calamitous, pitiable, and often unfair. Times of unhappiness, melancholy, hardship, and need can weigh heavily on a wearied soul, exercising the sympathy, condolences, pity, or indifference of others. But how different from God's design for His children, for it was through suffering that the Lord Jesus Himself learned willing obedience to the Father and it is through the same pathway that read more...
2 Corinthians 6:14
Paul had to admonish Christians in various churches for their ungodly ways and from distancing themselves from the important issues of Christian conduct, which are necessary for godly living and effective ministry. In the Corinthian church, it was a lack of love and a cooling of affection towards Paul himself that he identified. Indeed, he was quick to point out that the main reason for their lack of warmth towards him was because of their close, 'chummy' and read more...
2 Corinthians 6:16
In the previous chapter, Paul not only reminds us that everything is from God, Who graciously reconciled us to Himself through Christ, but that we have been given the 'ministry of reconciliation'. As the Body of Christ, we are His representatives on earth. We are to be 'ministers of reconciliation', in a world that is lost in trespasses and sins.
Just as Christ was the Channel through Whom God worked to reconcile the world back to read more...
2 Corinthians 6:17
Jesus has chosen us out of the world to be His children. He told us that His kingdom was not of this world system and that as His Body and Bride, we are to be in the world but not to be part of the world. The church at Corinth had become shockingly entangled with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
Many had adopted the prevailing behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes of the world, indulging in fleshly read more...
2 Corinthians 6:18
It is sad that Paul had to defend his ministry to the carnal Corinthians, but he had discovered that these believers often resisted his teaching before they would accept it and apply it in their lives. He found it necessary to chasten them for their worldly ways and correct them for some of their ungodly behaviours. Paul was calling them to be reunited back to himself and to be reconciled back to the Lord. He urged them to remember that Paul was God's read more...
2 Corinthians 7:1
The Lord God Almighty desires His people to separate themselves from fond affinity with the filth of this seductive world system. He charges that all such unnatural bonding of purity with evil, should be discarded with equal revulsion and tenacity, as if fleeing from Satan into the arms of the Lord.
The precious promises for those that heed this call, is that God will be a Father to them and they will be His dearly beloved sons read more...
2 Corinthians 7:3
Paul's first epistle to the Corinthian church concentrated on teaching and correction, whilst his second letter is more pastoral and exposes the deep love Paul has for these people. It shows the concern he has for their spiritual welfare and the establishment of their faith.
Paul's first communication concentrated on correction, while the focus of this second message is on comfort, victory in the Cross, and the sufficient grace read more...
2 Corinthians 7:10
Paul's second letter to the Christians at Corinth, gives us a glimpse of his tender heart towards the believers there. He had addressed some serious disciplinary issues in his first letter, but had later become concerned that his stern correction had been too severe. The carnal behaviour of some and the bitter wrangling of others, had necessitated Paul's strong rebuke, and yet his dear desire for this group of believers was that they grow in grace, mature in the read more...
2 Corinthians 8:9
What Love! What Grace! What a God!
Paul had been commenting positively on the good works that were being carried out by the Corinthian believers, and the motives behind the generous things they were doing. Perhaps it was to stem the possibility of unfounded pride in their own generosity or to encourage an explosion of grace within this Christian community that caused Paul to write about these things. Whatever the read more...
2 Corinthians 9:6
Following his corrective letter to the Corinthian Church, their spiritual recovery provided Paul an opportunity to boast about these brothers and sisters, to other Christians in Macedonia. However, there was one area of their Christian witness, which Paul wanted to address, very specifically. It was in connection with their financial giving, to the needy saints, at Jerusalem.
Persecution in the Holy City had increased, and many read more...
2 Corinthians 9:7
Legalistic rules about giving, together with the unbiblical 'word of faith' movement and its prosperity teaching has given Christians an unbiblical focus, dishonoured the glorious gospel of grace, and brought Christianity into disrepute. Legalism and prosperity teachings has placed many into bondage under unbiblical, man-made rules. It has twisted the truth of Scripture and dishonoured the lovely name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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2 Corinthians 9:8
As Christians, we are not under the Law but under grace. We are encouraged to be generous in our gifts and giving, not as a legal requirement or because a percentage of our income is required to meet the demands of a church body or the dictums of a denomination, but simply because cheerful giving and wise generosity is something that delights the heart of the Lord Who has saved us by His grace and has given us all things to richly enjoy, due to His over-abundant read more...
2 Corinthians 9:10
As blood-bought children of God, we are of all people most blessed. Not only was the penalty for our sin paid in full, by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also its suffocating power has been broken. The curse of the Law has been lifted, the sting of death has been removed, and we have been born into the family of God and become part of a totally new creation in Christ, with our sins forgiven and our eternal read more...
2 Corinthians 9:13
Although the Corinthian church started out with some severe criticism from Paul concerning their carnal attitude and argumentative ways, we find at the close of his second letter, that Paul is able and willing to applaud their generosity and praise their Christian witness to their brothers and sisters in Christ.
In his first letter, Paul's teaching was interspersed with chidings and correction, while at the close of this second read more...
2 Corinthians 9:15
A gift for which payment must be made is not a gift. It is a purchase, an acquisition, needing to be paid for, needing to be bought with a price. A gift is something that is given freely, given without any strings attached, otherwise it cannot be called a gift. Christ Jesus was God's free gift of grace to every member of the human race.
A gift that is not accepted is still a gift. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, read more...
2 Corinthians 10:1
Just as Moses was the one who was chosen as a prophet of the Lord to lead Israel and give them the Law, so Paul was chosen as apostle to the Gentiles to give deeper insight into the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Just as Moses gave Israel instruction on how to live as God's chosen people and chastened them when they failed, so Paul gives us directives on our heavenly position in Christ and outlines our roles and read more...
2 Corinthians 10:4
Our adversary, the devil, roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, and there was much evidence of the enemy's meddlesome wiles in the lives of many of the Corinthian Christians - for he seemed to have infiltrated every area of their everyday lives and spiritual walks.
They had abused the gifts of the Spirit for personal promotion. They engaged in divisive arguments and petty quarrels. They backslid into read more...
2 Corinthians 10:5
We must stop looking to other people, to other ministries, to the church, to the philosophy of others, and especially to our own understanding, if we are to destroy the arguments, perception, and pretensions that set themselves up as the authority of God and which so often become an authority against God.
Our concern is to bring our heart and our thoughts in line with Christ and to place every thought under the authority of Christ read more...
2 Corinthians 11:2
Godly jealousy is very different from the selfish jealousy that is so often displayed in the wrong attitudes and actions of the natural man. The yearning that Paul felt towards the Corinthian Church was that of a loving father towards his beloved virgin daughter who is betrothed to be married, and whose dear desire and precious privilege is to maintain her purity until she is finally united as one with her husband.
Paul was read more...
2 Corinthians 11:3
Paul had been entrusted with the good news of the gospel of grace and the hidden mystery of the Church, which is His Body, and had been commissioned by God and Lord Jesus Christ to share these glad tidings of great joy to Jew and Gentile alike.
But in both quarters Paul found much resistance to his message, and we discover him once again defending his apostleship to the spiritually immature, carnal Christians at Corinth. These read more...
2 Corinthians 11:30
Not only was Paul's apostolic commission being called into question by certain critics at Corinth, but these false teachers were also leading many believers astray. Paul, therefore, felt it was necessary to remind the Corinthian Christians that he had a divine calling, and in this chapter he set out a wise strategy to reestablish his God-given authority as Christ's apostle in a most unusual way: by boasting in his weaknesses!
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2 Corinthians 12:7
Many years before Paul started to write his epistle to the Corinthian church, he had a spiritual experience that leaves the rest of us breathless. Before beginning his ministry and missionary journeys, Paul was caught up into heaven and saw unspeakable things about which he was commanded not to speak.
In various letters, he confirms that, "eye has not seen.. ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the read more...
2 Corinthians 12:8
Paul was afforded a unique role in the administration of the Christian Church, for not only was he the ONLY God-appointed apostle who did not accompany Christ throughout His earthly ministry... but he was also a murdering, hostile antagonist of the gospel of Christ at the time that the church was born - at Pentecost.
However, Saul of Tarsus was called to become Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. He wrote much of the holy read more...
2 Corinthians 12:9
Paul was doing a great work for the Lord, but God knows the heart of all men and He knew that Paul could become puffed up with pride due to the great revelations that God was giving to the Church through him. The mysteries that Paul was being shown, had been kept hidden for ages and generations, but now were being revealed to the saints of God through Paul. No wonder the Lord gave Paul a thorn in the flesh, which caused him to be tried, tested, beaten, and buffeted read more...
2 Corinthians 12:10
Human nature dictates that none of us can be content with weakness or insults. No-one delights in difficulties and distresses and naturally speaking none of us are happy to be persecuted or ridiculed by our fellow man. But this verse contains a very important modifying phrase: "FOR CHRIST's SAKE." It is for Christ's sake that we are content to be insulted and to suffer persecutions, and it is by His grace that we can be content in the middle of the read more...
2 Corinthians 12:15
When first introduced to the believers at Corinth, we find a group of Christians that despite their boasting, their diverse spiritual gifts were devoid of love and wallowed in a divergent range of ungodly actions and attitudes including: quarrelling, envying, anger, bitterness, back-biting, carnal intrigues, and gross spiritual immaturity.
Despite Paul's corrective teaching to this community of Christians, there were some who read more...
2 Corinthians 13:5
In his final words to this group of believers, Paul was challenging them to test themselves and examine their hearts and behaviours, to see if they were truly living the life of faith.
Like so many believers, they were quick to criticise others, and feigned a false spirituality that was self-induced and not from God. These believers were encouraged to examine their hearts to be sure that their faith was founded on Christ, and read more...
2 Corinthians 13:14
As Paul draws his second, lengthy epistle to the Corinthian Christians to a close, he reiterates his earlier exhortations to seek after unity within the Body of Christ, to be of good comfort to one another, and to remain encouraged in the truth of the glorious gospel of God.
As Paul prepares to bid these beloved believers at Corinth farewell for the last time, he entreats them towards godly conduct... beseeching them to live read more...