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The Book of 2 Corinthians inspires all Christians to persevere in walking with Christ. An outline of the book is provided below as an overview of the book.
Introductory, Personal Testimony, 1:1-2:13
The Glory of the Christian Ministry, 2:14-7:16
The Glory of the Ministry of Giving, 8:1-9:15
The Glory of the Christian Ministry Defended, 10:1-13:14
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 18 – 2 Corinthians 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.[a] 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
The more we read the Bible, the more we realize that most of the ideas of man about God are wrong. By example, often times God is presented as someone who is eagerly waiting to get at us is, to punish us. This is just a human idea, this is not a biblical idea. The Bible tells us that God is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction (2 Corinthians 1:4).”
The word of God also tells us that “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17).” God is not after us to hurt us, rather he is searching us to heal us, to protect us and to comfort us. God loves for us is demonstrated in the person of Jesus Christ who died for our sins.
True faith is manifested mostly in our moments of testing. We hold on the promises of the Lord no matter the circumstances. We read in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” We must believe these words, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20).”
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 19 – 2 Corinthians 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:5-11)
“Menm lang ak dan konn gen kont” (Even the tongue and the teeth can be in disagreement). This Haitian proverb clearly shows the delicate nature of relationship and the necessity of forgiveness in even the best of relationships. This is also true in the church. Though we are glued together by the love of Christ, yet there will always be times when we need to forgive one another since we are not perfect.
A lot of times we sin by omission. We neglect to do for a brother or a sister the good that we know that we ought to do. That usually happens because of preoccupation with our own problems, or worst because of indifference. What should we do? We need to recalibrate our lives all the times on the love of Christ.
How many times should we forgive? Jesus gave us the answers: seventy-seven times (Matthew 18:22). Basically, it means just as we need to pray without ceasing, we also need to forgive without ceasing. “I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him (2 Cor.2:8).” We must forgive and forget “in order that Satan might not outwit us (2 Cor.2 11).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 20 – 2 Corinthians 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.(2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
The reference to Moses in 2 Corinthians 3 corresponds to the story found in Exodus 34. After Moses had spent forty days and nights on the mountain in the presence of God, his face shone of the glory which was projected on him. However, we are told that the glory on Moses' face was a temporary one, because it came with the Law.
A more enduring glory is available to us Christians. There is a process for the glory to be manifested in our lives. We must look at Jesus. The more we look at Jesus, the more we grow. “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (v. 18).” This transformation is done from the inside out. It is the work of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
We may look at ourselves and feel that there is no progress. But the word says that we are being transformed, and we must believe it. We need to keep our eyes away from ourselves, from our problems and our shortcomings. We need to focus on Jesus, and on Jesus alone. That is the key and the secret of our victory.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 21– 2 Corinthians 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.(2 Corinthians 4:13-18)
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[b] Since we have that same spirit of[c] faith, we also believe and therefore speak (v.13).” Dear brothers and sisters, we can only speak what we believe. Our beliefs are our destinies. We must speak the truth. I believe and therefore I speak:
Jesus is the son of God, he died on the cross for our sins. The Holy Spirit lives in me. God will never leave me nor forsake me. I am the righteousness of Christ. The Lord forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. Surely God’s goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Whatever I do prosper. I am being transformed into the image of Christ from glory to glory. The Lord is my light and my salvation. God is in control.
There are so many promises of the Lord that we can speak. But we must believe in order to speak. Please speak life, we need to speak the truth to our own life and to the lives of our children. God loves us and he cares.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 22 – 2 Corinthians 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
How would live the rest of your life if you had faced execution and someone stepped in your place to die for you? Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who died as prisoner 16770 Auschwitz, on August 14, 1941. When a prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected 10 others to be killed by starvation in reprisal for the escape. One of the 10 selected to die, Franciszek Gajowniczek, began, to cry: My wife! My children! I will never see them again! At this Maximilian Kolbe stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted. No one would emerge alive - Father Kolbe was the last to die.
But what happened to Gajowniczek - the man Father Kolbe saved? He died on March 13, 1995, at Brzeg in Poland, 95 years old - and 53 years after Kolbe had saved him. But he was never to forget the ragged monk. After his release from Auschwitz, Gajowniczek made his way back to his hometown. Every year on August 14 he went back to Auschwitz. He spent the next five decades paying homage to Father Kolbe, honoring the man who died on his behalf.
We were discussing 2 Corinthians 5 in Sunday school this morning. After reading the text twice, I asked the students which verse captured their attention the most. One of the students said verse 15 because this verse is the essence of the Gospel, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
Father Kolbe saved the life of Gajowniczek for 53 years, so he remembered him all his life. He spent the rest of his life honoring the man who died on his behalf. Christ, because of his love for us, died on the cross to save us not for a few decades but for all eternity. That is why we no longer live for ourselves but for Christ who died for us and was raised again.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 23 – 2 Corinthians 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”[a]
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2)
I read about a young man who had a disagreement with his dad over some businesses transactions. For two years he did not speak to his dad. He knew that was wrong, and wanted to make it right. But every time he kept postponing the decision to mend the relationship to next week, next month, next holiday. Unfortunately his dad died before he could reconcile with him. Too late! It is hard to imagine the regret in that young man's heart now.
What are we waiting for? God is willing to help us. He is offering us his help, but we keep on putting off his help for tomorrow. Why not now? We do not let our loved ones keep calling in vain, when they call we pick up the phone. As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain (v. 1). We need to be prompt answering him. The right time is now.
It is hard for us to understand God’s view of time. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends,” Apostle Peter wrote, ”With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. (2 Peter 3:8).” We may think that postponing a decision for tomorrow is not a big deal. But how long do we want the Lord to wait? A day which is like a thousand years? Or a thousand years which are like a day?
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. ( 2 Corinthians 6:1)
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 24 – 2 Corinthians 7 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
18 And, “I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”[e] (2 Corinthians 6:18)
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
God is a Father to us, we are his sons and daughters. The Lord’s Prayer starts with the fundamental truth of our relationship with God, “Our Father who art in heaven”. In that prayer, Jesus told us a life transforming truth about God and about ourselves. We are God’s children, he is our Father. What does that mean?
It means that God is responsible for us. He is responsible for us not because of duty, but because of his love for us. As every human child carries in themselves the physical characteristics of their parents, we too carry the spiritual characteristics of God. As every human child needs nurturing to grow, God nurtures us, transforming us into the image of his son Jesus Christ.
God gives us his Holy Spirit to guide us, to lead, to teach us, and to empower us to live the life that pleases him. The Holy Spirit produces in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). So we must keep ourselves pure of fear, sadness, strife, frustration, self-rejection, wrong competition, arrogance, and pride.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 25 – 2 Corinthians 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Some people are rich, but they don’t know it. Mostly this happens to children of the very rich, it is said that they are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. For us who are born again into the family of God, I would say we are born again with a golden spoon in our mouths. The Lord Jesus, the Creator of the universe, “for our sake he became poor, so that we through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).”
Christians are really rich. The riches that God gives us include material wealth, but go beyond physical stuff. We read in Ephesians 1:3 that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Jesus told his disciples, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).”
We have the abundant life. By his death on the cross, Jesus freed us from the wages of sin which is death (Romans 6:23). He freed us from the curses of the Law, which includes poverty and disease (Deuteronomy 28). He gave us the blessing of grace which includes prosperity and health. He gave us more than enough, “so that in all things at all times, having all that we need, we will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).” We can be generous.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 26 – 2 Corinthians 9 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
The subject of giving is one of the most difficult subjects in our churches. Many pastors talk about giving all the time, and many more avoid preaching about it all together. It doesn’t need to be that way since the word of God is plain regarding giving. Everything Christians need to spend some times in the Bible studying the subject for themselves and then decide. Chapters 8 and 9 of "2 Corinthians" are good guides for such studies.
The spiritual life is a question of faith in God and in his word. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (v. 6).” Do we agree with that? Check. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (v. 7).” Agree? Check. Giving is a test of the condition of our heart.
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (v.8). You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (v. 11). Agree? In this chapter, the word of God is really talking about money. We must chose. It will be done according to our faith (Matthew 9:29).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 27– 2 Corinthians 10 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
15-18 We’re not barging in on the rightful work of others, interfering with their ministries, demanding a place in the sun with them. What we’re hoping for is that as your lives grow in faith, you’ll play a part within our expanding work. And we’ll all still be within the limits God sets as we proclaim the Message in countries beyond Corinth. But we have no intention of moving in on what others have done and taking credit for it. “If you want to claim credit, claim it for God.” What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference. (2 Corinthians 10:15-18)
On his desk in the Oval Office, President Reagan kept a small plaque with the words: “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he does not mind who gets the credit.” If every parent, every child, every pastor, church leaders, or everyone would just put this simple thought in application our families, our schools, our communities, our churches, all of them would be places of greatness.
It is easier to talk about leadership behind the scene than to actually practice it. Because leadership behind the scene is not natural. It is an affront to our egos, even for highly spiritual people. Our ego screams for recognition, we want credit. When the disciples of John saw that the people were going to Jesus to get baptized, they get offended. John had to correct them, telling them, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30).”
The solution to the temptation of fame and recognition for John the Baptist was to give priority to the Lord. This should also be the solution for our ego problem. We dissolve our ego by doing everything to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Apostle Paul put it bluntly, “If you want to claim credit, claim it for God.’ What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference (v. 17, 18).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 28 – 2 Corinthians 11 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:24-30)
All Christians agree that Apsotle Paul was a great leader. We can learn a lot from Paul leadership style. What kind of leader was he? What made him so successful? From our readings of Paul’s letters, it is clear that Paul’s leadership secret rested on the fact that he always considered himself as a servant with one master, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Paul exemplified what Jesus taught his disciples in Luke 17:10, “10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” God wants us to serve him with joy and gratitude. Paul knew that he could not serve the Lord fully if he was complaining, or thinking that he deserved more.
On the contrary, he prided himself of being a slave of Christ Jesus, “If I must boast, he said, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” Why? Because his weakness shows God’s power. It is when we cannot succeed through our own strength that God can get the glory through what we accomplish.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 29 – 2 Corinthians 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
A few weeks ago, an older member of our church was about to relocate to a new church. We took a few moments to pray for her, asking the Lord to bless her in her new church. I was very saddened. While we were praying for her, I could not help to shed a few tears. This weakness offended a few people. The world wants us to project strength, while the Lord wants us to project humility, so he can glorify his name through us.
In the Bible, we find many weak leaders. They understood their own limitations, they often did not believe that the Lord could use them. But, once they surrendered their will completely to the will of God, their weaknesses turned into great strength in God’s hand. Moses told the Lord that he could not speak. Gideon objected that he was the least in his family. In the end, great things were accomplished by those reluctant heroes “because of God.
Paul gives us one of the keys to obtain spiritual power. He gladly boasted about his weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on him. Would that also work for us? We should try it, we boast about our weaknesses to see the result. Jesus said in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).”
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 30 – 2 Corinthians 13 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
5 Examine 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? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. (2 Corinthians 13:5-8)
“Padon papa (manman) mwen pap fè sa encore.” When I was a child growing up in Haiti, I used to hate the disciplining process used by my parents, especially the last part. After the punishment, whatever it was, we needed to go to our parents, with a contrite heart, at least with a contrite face to promise, “Forgive me father (or mother) I will never do that again.” Seriously, after the punishment! But that was the key for true changes.
When was the last time you went to confession? Most of us, Christians of this fast paced world, do not really know how to go through a good confession even when our spiritual well-being depended on it. It is very sad to see Christians being held down by regrets and guilt for sins they have committed years and years past because they never experienced the liberating power of a good confession to the Lord Jesus himself, the mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
What does a good confession contain? We will go through the first two steps now, and the last steps another time. First step: prayer and reflection. Examine yourself is the first step as Paul told the Corinthians to do (v. 5). This examination must be done through prayer, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts (Psalm 139:23). Second step: sorrow and desire to change, “See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:24).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
We have reached the end of our 1 & 2 Corinthians Challenge. Starting tomorrow, for the next 30 days we will be reading the following New Testament books: Galatians (6 chapters) , Ephesians (6 Chapters), 1 Thessalonians (5 chapters), 2 Thessalonians (3 chapters), 1 Timothy (6 Chapters), 2 Timothy (4 Chapters), and Philemon (1 Chapter). As usual, I will be sending a daily reminder so we can all be in sync.
Book of 1 & 2 Corinthians Challenge – Day 31 – Psalm 51 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge. (Psalms 51:2-4)
Last time, we discussed how important it is for Christians to make a good confession of their sins to the Lord. The psalmist knew the problem of unconfessed sins. In Psalms 32:3 he wrote, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” He felt no peace because his relationship with God had been strained.
However, he did not despair because faith leads to hope, and hope leads to love. God will always forgive us based on the blood shed of his son on the cross. Jesus paid for our sin with his life. And, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)
Confession implies repentance and reconciliation with God, and if necessary reconciliation with our brothers and sisters. We need always to remember that the whole confession process must be motivated by love. In Revelation 3:19, the Lord declares, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.”
May the Lord richly bless you!
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