{"id":17614,"date":"2021-09-29T22:00:51","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T05:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2corinthians-12_11-21-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-09-17T16:37:49","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T23:37:49","slug":"2corinthians-13_1-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2corinthians-13_1-14\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Experience More of God\u2019s Love and Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Corinthians 13:1-14\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Corinthians 13:1-14.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others,
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-3a:\u00a0\u00a0Paul naturally preferred to take a gentle approach with his congregation in person (see for example verse 10).\u00a0\u00a0However, the Christians in the church in Corinth were continuing to engage in the sinful behaviours that Paul had repeatedly warned them about in the past (see 2 Corinthians 12:20-21).\u00a0\u00a0In addition, people in the church in Corinth had been criticizing Paul for being strong and aggressive in his letters but weak and mild in person.\u00a0\u00a0They even questioned whether Christ was really speaking through Paul (v3).\u00a0\u00a0So with all that in mind, Paul says that he now plans to take a stern, disciplinarian approach toward the people in his church, just as he had warned them before on his second visit to them (v2).\u00a0\u00a0In verse 1 Paul quotes Deuteronomy 19:15 as a way to say he is getting ready to exercise some church discipline when he visits them next.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you\u2019re a parent, a teacher, a pastor or some other leader, warnings and eventually discipline will be necessary if the people you are leading are not doing as they should.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As Proverbs 13:24 says, \u201cThose who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0May you have wisdom to know when and how to warn and discipline those you lead when necessary.<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:3b-4 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3b-4: In talking about the need to discipline his church in Corinth, Paul cites Jesus as his example.\u00a0\u00a0Just as Jesus was crucified in weakness but lives by God\u2019s power, so Paul acknowledges that he is weak on his own but that God\u2019s power will enable him to do what he needs to do.<\/p>\n

Notice also that Paul says that \u201cby God\u2019s power we will live with him\u00a0to serve you<\/em>\u201d (v4).\u00a0\u00a0Paul is saying this in the context of knowing he needs to discipline his church when he arrives in Corinth.\u00a0\u00a0What does that tell us?\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s that\u00a0when we discipline those we lead, we need to have the attitude that through our disciplining them we are serving them and helping them.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t discipline to serve ourselves or as an outlet for our own anger.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0We discipline because it helps the ones we discipline grow into the people God made them to be.\u00a0\u00a0Let serving the other be your motive for disciplining them.<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 5:\u00a0\u00a0Paul encourages the Christians in his church in Corinth to examine themselves first and to see if they are truly living the way they should.\u00a0\u00a0In what ways do they need to correct or adjust their behaviour? Are there any sinful habits they need to repent and turn from?\u00a0\u00a0Are they any attitudes they need to adjust?\u00a0\u00a0These are the kinds of questions Paul hopes that the Christians in Corinth will ask themselves so that they can make adjustments even before Paul visits them.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Self-examination is a healthy part of the Christian life.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0That is why David writes in Psalm 139, \u201cSearch me, O God, and know my heart.\u00a0\u00a0Test me and know my anxious thoughts.\u00a0\u00a0See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0When we examine ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can spot the issues that are bothering us, the habits we need to change and the attitudes we need to adjust.<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:6-10 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority–the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 6-10:\u00a0\u00a0Despite all the ways that people in his church in Corinth criticized Paul, Paul still loved the people in his church very much.\u00a0\u00a0He would rather that the people in his church make the adjustments they need to make without him having to be really bold in disciplining them when he visits them.\u00a0\u00a0Paul knows that by not being so bold in disciplining people in the church, some may take that as a sign of Paul being weak, but Paul would still rather that he be seen as weak if it means that his church can be seen as strong, mature and not needing their pastor Paul to discipline them before they will change.\u00a0\u00a0Here we see Paul\u2019s Christ-like humility: he would rather that his church look good and he look bad than the other way around.\u00a0\u00a0May we live with Christ-like humility as well, putting other people\u2019s interests ahead of our own.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As Philippians 2:3-4 says, \u201cDo nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.\u201d<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 11:\u00a0\u00a0Christians can say that God is with them wherever they are, since Christ lives in them.\u00a0\u00a0But\u00a0if you want to experience the presence of this God of love and peace in a tangible and personal way, it\u2019s about four things<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201caim for perfection<\/strong>\u201d (that is, seek to please God in all that you do)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201clisten to my appeal<\/strong>\u201d (that is, apply the Word of God that you hear from your church leaders as best as you can)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cbe of one mind<\/strong>\u201d (that is, as much as possible agree with one another in the church and work together)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201clive in peace<\/strong>\u201d (that is, as much as possible, especially when you can\u2019t agree, seek to have healthy, peaceful relationships with one another anyway)<\/p>\n

When you do these four things, you\u2019ll experience much more of God\u2019s love and peace in your relationships.<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:12-14 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Greet one another with a holy kiss.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All the saints send their greetings.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-14:\u00a0\u00a0Paul ends his letter to the Corinthian church by directing the Corinthian Christians back to one another (\u201cgreet one another\u201d), reminding them that they are part of a much bigger spiritual family (\u201cAll the saints send their greetings\u201d), and praying a blessing that Jesus\u2019 grace, the Father\u2019s love, and Holy Spirit\u2019s fellowship be with them all.\u00a0\u00a0Being with one another and with God \u2013 in the end that is what life is all about, made possible through Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You for being our greatest example of how to put others\u2019 interests ahead of our own.\u00a0\u00a0Since You love me just as I am and died for my sins, may I aim for perfection in all that I do, not to earn Your love, but so that Your love and peace can fill my life and relationships.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for showing me that being loved by You, loving You and loving others is ultimately what this life is all about.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Corinthians 13:1-14.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
\n2\u00a0\u00a0I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others,
\n3\u00a0\u00a0since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me\u2026<\/p>\n

On verses 1-3a:\u00a0\u00a0Paul naturally preferred to take a gentle approach with his congregation in person (see for example verse 10).\u00a0\u00a0However, the Christians in the church in Corinth were continuing to engage in the sinful behaviours that Paul had repeatedly warned them about in the past (see 2 Corinthians 12:20-21).\u00a0\u00a0In addition, people in the church in Corinth had been criticizing Paul for being strong and aggressive in his letters but weak and mild in person.\u00a0\u00a0They even questioned whether Christ was really speaking through Paul (v3).\u00a0\u00a0So with all that in mind, Paul says that he now plans to take a stern, disciplinarian approach toward the people in his church, just as he had warned them before on his second visit to them (v2).\u00a0\u00a0In verse 1 Paul quotes Deuteronomy 19:15 as a way to say he is getting ready to exercise some church discipline when he visits them next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17614"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17615,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17614\/revisions\/17615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}