A Great Commission Church in Lenexa, KS
Paul now wraps up a letter of love and agony to his spiritual children. His heart is that of a loving parent who cannot overlook destructive sin. His example is helpful for all of us in our relationships with each other.
God intends for his people to grow and flourish under the good authority of leaders who, like the apostle Paul, genuinely seek to build them up in Christ.
The principle of God working in and through weakness was so important in Paul’s life that he repeated it three times in this passage. It’s also important for you and me to understand and apply today!
Paul continues his urgent defense of his authentic apostleship, to guard the Corinthians from the corrupting influence of counterfeit teachers.
Satan unceasingly uses deceit to subtly draw you away from “a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
“We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But 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 the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” — 2 Corinthians 10:15-18
In his closing appeal on the subject, Paul pours fuel on the fire of motivation for generous giving.
Giving generously offers proof of the love we have from God, and so we aim to celebrate this and other evidences of God’s grace in our fellow saints.
As we study Paul’s advice to the Corinthians in this passage, we learn about the joy of giving as a powerful form of worship.
Godly sorrow leads to a sharp turn from sin and fresh joy in God.