II Corinthians 3:1-18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord… (v. 18a) My Study Bible suggested that “beholding” could also be translated “reflecting”. These two verbs are very different in their activities. In the first case, it is us beholding the glory of the Lord – seeing the Lord as He is. Awesome! In the second translation it is us reflecting the glory of the Lord – others seeing the glory of the Lord in us. The first translation is a wonderful, glorious activity, us seeing our Lord fully, completely. The second translation, “reflecting”, must surely cause us to ponder whether we are, in fact, reflecting the glory of the Lord. How do others see us? I’ll leave it at that.

See also: May 23 / II Cor. 2:12-3:6; May 24 / II Cor. 3:7-18

II Corinthians 2:1-17

For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears… (v. 4a) I wrote about this verse last year in my comments in the first link below. But now that John has encouraged us to read II Corinthians in a different format we have already read through chapters 10 through 13, and it seems reasonable to me (and to a number of Biblical scholars) that Paul’s words above (I wrote to you…) may well refer to chapters 10-13. Having read these four chapters earlier that suggestion follows nicely. By simply reading II Corinthians in order, 1 through 13, most readers would likely not see that connection. It’s only through my Study Bible notes that I have ever seen that connection.

Even though John has guided us into a reorganization of II Corinthians, he advised us to take his reorganization and chronology with “a pretty good sized grain of salt”. And no wonder… The Chronological Study Bible suggests that II Cor 2:14-7:4 could well be part of another letter in that this body of text seems very different from what came earlier and what follows later. Even there, however, an argument could be made for extending that body of text to the end of chapter 7 since chapter 8 begins an entirely different topic. Like I said a few days ago, probably many dissertations have been written about this epistle!

See also: May 22 / II Cor. 2:1-11; May 23 / II Cor. 2:12-3:6

II Corinthians 1:1-24

In verses 3 through 7 Paul speaks of affliction and comfort and how both the good times and the hard times are shared by Christians, wherever they are. These verses bring to mind two not-long-ago items. Yesterday was the 20^th anniversary of our 9/11 tragedy. Many of us have been recalling events from that horror of twenty years ago. One that I recall is of a refugee from Kosovo, a father about my age who had come to the USA in July 1999 with his wife and children. After a few months here he decided to return to Kosovo with his wife and youngest son. Upon returning he realized that he had made a mistake and applied to come back to the USA. Unfortunately he had not filed the proper paperwork and his return was denied. It’s a long story, but he did finally return and now lives in Florence, KY. While he was back in Kosovo, however, sad that his return had been denied, 9/11 happened here. His immediate reaction to 9/11 was to go give blood. He so identified with his children, with us, with the whole of the USA that he wanted to do something to help. In our affliction he wanted to somehow comfort us. Sweet!

The second item has to do with Uganda. A number of people in our congregation have close ties to Uganda through our sponsorship of girls at the Canon Njangali school in Hoima, through our support for all that Eric Twine is doing, and through our personal relationships with both the past and the current bishops (Nathan and Sam) of the Bunyoro-Kitari Diocese. As COVID was raging through the USA in the summer of 2020 we were regularly receiving notes from them offering their prayers for our welfare. Likewise, when COVID became a threat for them from a major outbreak in the neighboring Congo our Mission Committee offered prayer and financial support to help the Ugandans withstand this threat. Again, affliction and comfort – from them and from us. We are all in this together; we need to help and support one another, those nearby and those far away. Thank you, Paul, for this reminder!

See also: May 20 / II Cor. 1:1-11; May 21 / II Cor. 1:12-24

II Corinthians 12:11-13:10

And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. (v. 12:14b) In this context my Study Bible discussed Paul’s ongoing collection for the saints in Jerusalem. That is, when Paul writes, “…for I seek not what is yours…” my Study Bible suggests that the Corinthians thought that Paul was lining his own pockets with this collection and that it would never make it to Jerusalem – or that the full collection amount would be substantially diminished. Beyond that, I really like Paul’s sentence construction here: for I seek not what is yours but you.

Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ… (v. 12:19a) Paul’s writing in these four chapters (10-13) is very different that anything else he writes in all of his 13 epistles. But even as he writes what he calls “foolishness” he is fully aware of his standing before God and that it is God to whom he is responsible.

So now we have finished this troublesome section, Paul’s boasting. He mentions twice in today’s reading that he will be coming to them again a third time (12:14, 13:1). Very soon we will be reading from Acts again of what I assume to be this third trip to Corinth by way of Macedonia and we will see him spending three months in Corinth. I can’t see him spending three months there if he is received so harshly by those “super Apostles / most eminent Apostles”). So it seems as if his second visit (and a lost letter?) must have been sometime between his first visit (on his second missionary journey, after Athens) and the next visit that we have recorded in Acts 20. Yes, the time frame of II Corinthians is confusing. I suggested to John S. a few days ago that many dissertations have probably been written about this book!

See also: June 6 / II Cor. 12:14-21; June 7 / II Cor. 13:1-14

II Corinthians 11:16-12:10

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (v. 28) Although Paul is a traveling missionary (with occasional longer stays) he is speaking here very much like a pastor. I have gotten to know a number of pastors well in office visits, over lunch/coffee, whatever. And in these smaller one-on-one sessions I have often heard of their disappointments, their frustrations, occasionally their anger over events in the church or in their parishioners’ lives. They feel for their parish, for their individual parishioners. It’s a burden they carry that they occasionally need to unload. Every pastor whom I have gotten to know has himself his own “spiritual leader” or pastor colleagues, people with whom he can share these disappointments, frustrations, angers. Being a pastor means carrying a burden not too easily carried alone! We need to pray for our pastors!

See also: June 4 / II Cor. 11:16-33; June 5 / II Cor. 12:1-13

II Corinthians 11:1-15

When someone is awarded a Ph.D. they are “hooded”. A very fancy, but cumbersome “shawl” (hood) is placed around his/her neck, with folds in the cloth open in the back. I was told that the tradition of these hoods came from ancient Greece where scholars and rhetoricians would wear a similar “hood” and listeners would place money in the hood to the extent that they felt that the message they had heard was worthy. The folds open to the back allowed for anonymous giving – the speaker never knew who gave how much. Their speaking was how these scholars and rhetoricians earned their keep. As you can see from today’s reading, Paul was not “hooded”. He preached God’s gospel … free of charge. (v. 7b)

I well remember in my early born-again days that I was drawn to a number of activities on campus that would help me grow my new faith. One such activity to which I was invited was someone new to campus who was beginning a new teaching on I Corinthians. In this introductory session this guy spoke for about 30 minutes, first simply introducing himself, then covering only maybe five or six verses in those 30 minutes. Then he began to talk about his ministry and the need for funds to continue to carry out his work. This went on for another 30 minutes or so, truly another 30 minutes of his trying to guilt us into funding him. I left, feeling somewhat embarrassed at being the only person to walk out, but still I left. And as I walked home I was comforted in my spirit that I did the right thing – and later readings of Scripture, like what we read today have shown me that I was right to leave.

Gospel preachers should not have to beg for funds. They know that the Lord will supply their needs if they are truly following Him. Unfortunately, in reality long-term overseas missionaries are often forgotten by their sending churches and income support becomes a major challenge in their continuing ministry. Talk with Mission Committee members from our church; ask them about the needs of those we support at St. Andrew’s. You’ll find that the reality of funding for these overseas missionaries is often the biggest problem they face if they are to continue in this work to which God has called them.

See also: June 3 / II Cor. 11:1-15

II Corinthians 10:1-18

Paul truly has a missionary heart, but he is so wordy that it’s hard to really see what he is saying in verses 16 and 17: …our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. Let me break it down a bit, by eliminating the middle section: …our hope is that… we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. This last phrase is also a bit confusing. My sense is that Paul is saying that he wants to bring the Gospel where no one has gone before him. That’s the way it’s been with him – in Cyprus, in Galatia (Antioch, Iconium, Derbe), in Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea), and in Achaia (Athens, Corinth). He does not want to build on what someone else has started; I think that’s because he fears that those new converts may have had some bad (or incomplete) teaching. Here is an example: Paul … came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (Acts 19:1b-2) Someone else had come to Ephesus before him and preached Jesus, but not the Holy Spirit. Incomplete teaching!

So Paul wants to go somewhere beyond Greece (Macedonia and Achaia). My Study Bible and a large number of scholars suggest Spain. My first thought had been Rome, in that Paul had a desire to go there (see Romans 1:9-13). But if he went to Rome, he would be building on another man’s foundation (see Romans 15:20). To that end I can agree that he had Spain in mind for his future travels. We have no Biblical account that he ever visited Spain. However some scholars claim that he did get to Spain. I covered that last year when we started I Timothy (9-15-2020). So I’ll wait a while before I share that information with you.

See also: June 2 / II Cor. 10:1-18

II Corinthians 6:14-7:1

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (v. 14a) I’ve often heard this verse quoted with respect to Christians dating and marrying Christians, often as advice from older believers to younger believers. However, in context with the rest of this section and the Corinthian culture’s idol worship it’s clear that Paul is speaking more of Christian relationships in general rather than marriage specifically. These relationships could include business partnerships, temple prostitution, or simple friendship. But clearly Paul does not want these Corinthian believers to be drawn into the idol culture that pervaded Corinth.

Still, the application for today often has to do with Christian dating and marriage relationships. We hear stories of young men and women dating unbelievers with a professed hope of bringing their girlfriend/boyfriend to the Lord. I’ve heard the analogy more than once that it’s easier to pull someone down from a ledge (or chair or table) than it is to pull that person up to join you. So just back away! Carol and I watched from afar (sadly) as the young people to whom we had ministered in Mark Bruner’s (Czech) English Camps so often became more interested in the local non-Christian boys and girls – their party life was much more exciting than youth group activities! Unfortunately, the Christian life was just not attractive to these young people. Paul closes this section with …let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit… (v. 7:1b). That “every defilement” begins at the beginning, that first step down a wrong path. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)

II Corinthians 9:1-15

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (v. 7) In my comments from last year I discussed God loves a cheerful giver. In my many years as treasurer at St. Andrew’s I have had a major focus on the revenue side of our budget while Todd has focused on the expenditures side. And as I have analyzed our revenues and reported on them to the Vestry and to the congregation I can say with absolute certainty that the rest of us also love cheerful givers! When I can report pledge amounts year by year exceeding the previous year’s pledges, when I can report that pledged givers as a whole have exceeded their combined total pledge amount, when I can report that unpledged amounts have shot far above our budgeted numbers – when I can report these positive outcomes, I see joy in the faces of those listening to my reports. So yes, God loves a cheerful giver, but the rest of us do also! So bring joy to all of us – give cheerfully!!

See also: June 1 / II Cor. 9:1-15

II Corinthians 8:1-24

As I said in a second note yesterday, I would strongly encourage you to read John’s post from yesterday morning before (or after) you read today’s passage – which begins in the middle of this letter!

Some difficult translation issues here… The ESV has some verbs in the present progressive tense: “he is going” (v. 17) and “we are sending” (vv. 18, 22). But the ESV also has a note that these verbs could be in the past tense, as in “he went” and “we sent”. This past tense usage is also how the NASB and NKJV translate these verbs, in the present perfect tense: “he has gone” and “we have sent”. These differences in tense make it difficult to understand whether Titus is still with Paul as Paul writes this letter or whether he has already gone. Specific to that point, the present progressive tense usage (“he is going” and “we are sending”) could also be reflecting a future activity, as Carol just now noted to me, often an immediate future. John, in his post from yesterday touches on the importance of time frames in our understanding of II Corinthians.

As to the content of today’s reading… Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything … see that you excel in this act of grace also. (vv. 6-7) Reading between the lines here… I get the sense that Titus on his own, or Titus at Paul’s urging had begun in Corinth a collection for the saints in Jerusalem. Then, in my mind, some of the Corinthians had become cross with Paul and stopped their giving to the Jerusalem ministry. Now with his letter-writing and his envoys Paul has done what he could to repair that breach and he has asked that the Corinthians continue with this collection for the Jerusalem church. Whether that is true or not, it is my sense that some people hold their giving as a weapon, withholding or threatening to withhold if things aren’t going their way. Leaving a congregation to go somewhere else is one thing, but staying behind and refusing to donate is quite another. I don’t know of cases like this at St. Andrew’s, but in my mind it is a wrong, wrong thing to do! Donating to a church is our responsibility, our stewardship, available to us by the grace of God: …for all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee. (I Chronicles 29:14, KJV)

See also: May 30 / II Cor. 8:1-15; May 31 / II Cor. 8:16-24