II Corinthians 1-7
Today we are racing through several chapters that I find to be some of the most difficult to understand in all of Scripture. Part of the problem that we have is that the context is very unclear. In Acts, Luke does not tell us absolutely everything about Paul’s comings and goings, so we do not know for certain how many times Paul might have visited Corinth or when. Neither do we know how many letters Paul might have written that we no longer have in hand, nor what the occasions might have been for writing those letters. Furthermore, II Corinthians itself seems to be somewhat jumbled up — at least, it seems so to me — so you might want to take a look at my comments about rearranging II Corinthians. All in all, we are left to guess about quite a bit. Even so, I trust that, in God’s sovereignty, we have what we are supposed to have — but that does not mean it’s easy!
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
II Corinthians 4:7-11
Does this sound anything like what you might hear from various “Christian” authors, televangelists, and other purveyors of prosperity theology? Does God promise the Christian health and wealth, a grand life that is free of pain, illness, suffering, and poverty — if only you have enough faith? Are the difficulties you are facing a sign of sin in your life or of a lack of faith? Maybe. Or maybe not…
See also:
- Rearranging II Corinthians
- September 12 (2021) / II Cor. 1:1-24
- September 13 (2021) / II Cor. 2:1-17
- September 14 (2021) / II Cor. 3:1-18
- September 15 (2021) / II Cor. 4:1-18
- September 16 (2021) / II Cor. 5:1-21
- September 17 (2021) / II Cor. 6:1-13
- September 7 (2021) / II Cor. 6:14-7:1
- September 18 (2021) / II Cor. 7:2-16, 13:11-14