2 Corinthians 2 (7)

Pray Psalm 71.14-16.
But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

Sing Psalm 71.14-16, 3.
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
But as for me my voice I raise to sing in hope and constant praise!
With saving grace my voice will swell Your never-ending grace to tell.
Refrain v. 3
A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be!

Review 2 Corinthians 2.1-17; meditate on verse 9.

Preparation
1. Why did Paul write 1 Corinthians?

2. What was he testing?

Meditation
In a sense, all of 1 Corinthians was a test. Paul challenged the immature and worldly practices the Corinthians had become stuck in and called them to break free of their selfish, schismatic ways and get on the growth path with Jesus. The report from Titus was that they were working on all that Paul had written, beginning with having excommunicated an unrepentant sinner.

2 Corinthians celebrates God’s grace in moving the Corinthians to obedience. Next, beginning in chapter 3, Paul will go on to enlarge their vision and stretch their faith. He began that process here, in chapter 2, by calling them to receive the man they had disfellowshipped and to love him back into the Body of Christ. They passed a major test by doing what Paul commanded, and now Paul was helping them to take on the next test—yet another test of love. Had they grown enough to reach out and restore this repentant sinner?

The Christian life is like this, God marks out our daily path with tests. Will we obey His Word? Resist the devil and his incessant temptations? Stand firm in the Word of God? Keep our eyes on Jesus and follow Him to a greater degree of sanctification? We need these tests to grow in our faith and become more like Jesus. Without them, we will simply settle into some comfortable rut of faith where we’re never challenged, of little service to others, and hardly growing in the Lord.

Jesus is ever leading us forward in faith and in triumphs over sin. His goal is to make us more like Him, and we know how many tests He had to endure. We are not sufficient to pass all these tests, but God is. His strength is made perfect in our weakness, but we must yield to Him, keep focused on Him, and walk the path of loving obedience marked out by His Word. As we do, we will diffuse the fragrance of Christ throughout our world, test to test and glory to glory.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Paul wrote the abridged textbook on love in 1 Corinthians 13.
Then he threw down the gauntlet by saying: “Reaffirm your love to him” (2 Cor. 2.9).
Nobody was left wondering: “What does he mean by love? What does that look like? How do we do that?”

Jesus showed us how.
After Peter’s betrayal, Jesus questioned him three times (Jn. 21.15-17):
“Do you love Me more than these?”
“Do you love Me?”
“Do you love Me?”
Then Jesus gave Peter three opportunities to re-establish his relationship:
“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
“Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Finally, Jesus reaffirmed Peter with three commands to obey on his restoration path:
“Feed My lambs.”
“Tend My sheep.”
“Feed My sheep.”

God is constantly growing us through testing:
“The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the LORD tests the hearts” (Prov. 17.3).
“The LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous…” (Ps. 11.4, 5).
“But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,
even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2.4).

Jesus’ goal is to make us more like Himself; which often entails testing—some pop quizzes, some final exams. But “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4.15, 16).

Reaffirming love, God’s love, can be a difficult test—think full sentence answers vs. multiple choice. Loving correctly, even someone that we love, can be challenging. How much more so, to reaffirm love to those who have committed sins, and maybe even sins against us?

We cannot do this in our own strength or power. Success is only achieved by God’s grace as He enables us to pass the test with flying colors, obeying Him carefully and rightly (Lk. 1.37).

“As we do, we will diffuse the fragrance of Christ throughout our world, test to test and glory to glory.”

For reflection
1. How do you experience God testing throughout the day?

2. How would you counsel a new believer to prepare for these tests?

3. How can you help other believers pass the tests God puts in their path?

As far as anyone can tell, Paul was commending the Corinthians for their obedience in other respects. They had already put matters right in their church administration, and now he was asking them to be obedient in this matter as well. Ambrosiaster (f. 366-384), Commentary on Paul’s Epistles

Pray Psalm 71.1, 2, 7, 8, 12-13.
Give thanks to God for His salvation and strength. Look to Him for mercy and grace for all your times of need today.

Sing Psalm 71.1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13.
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less)
In You, O LORD, I refuge claim; O let me never be ashamed.
in righteousness deliver me; incline Your ear and hear my plea.
Refrain v. 3
A Rock of habitation be; command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be!

While many see in me a sign, I shelter in Your strength will find.
LORD, fill my mouth with endless praise and with Your glory all my days.
Refrain

O God be not too far from me; my ever-present Helper be!
Consume and shame my enemies; let them reproached and humbled be.
Refrain

T. M. and Susie Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from theNew King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.