Have you ever been upset with someone for not following your advice or listening to you? I remember back when I was just a kid, my parents would always tell me, “Don’t jump off the swings.” They would tell me this whenever I was going to elementary school or going to my cousins; the two places I frequented most with swings! One day, while at my cousins, he convinced me that it would be the perfect day to see if we could swing and jump over his parents’ house. I know what you are thinking as you read this and you are probably right! However, we thought for sure that the weather was perfect and we had enough confidence that day to clear my cousin’s house, unscathed. 

As we continue in on our series going through 2 Corinthians, we come to this passage where Paul is warning both the church and even us today! He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” I love how Paul writes of his “divine jealousy”toward the church. He is showing how much he cares and loves the church and desires for them to not stray. This reminds me of God’s jealous love for us in Exodus 20:5. Paul is desiring this, not only for the warning and guidance he gave but more importantly the Gospel and ultimately Christ, as we see in verse three, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 

You can probably guess what ended up happening to me that day that my cousin and I tried jumping over his house – a broken arm. Today, I hope you will heed my warning as I echo the words of Paul. Do not be deceived by the cunning and alluring things of this world and of Satan. Listen to the warnings and guidance of your brothers and sisters in Christ, of your pastors, and ultimately and most importantly, God’s Word. We are called to this beautiful relationship and marriage with Christ. The world is full of temptation and deception. Today, I pray that you will remember the Gospel of Jesus. I pray that you will not be led astray by the things of this world; and if you have, that today would be the day that you remember His truth and turn back to His goodness and love. 

Who is one person in your life that you receive or have received a compliment from, that made you proud? As I read this passage of 2 Corinthians, I cannot help but imagine the pride and encouragement the church felt when reading this portion of his letter. In 2 Corinthians 7:2-9, we read, “Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn-fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it – though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.” Wow! Now I know that was a lot of verses, however, I do not think we can ever have too many verses from God’s Word! In this passage, I love how Paul begins saying that he has “great pride” in the believers in this church. Two words, that as I read them, I can imagine the faces of the believers as they hear about how Paul feels and thinks of them.     

As we read on in this passage, we find out why Paul had this great pride. First, it is because of the comfort Titus received from the believers in Corinth when he came to them. He was accepted and what Paul told him would happen, happened. Secondly, his pride was felt because of the repentance of the believers and their faith in Christ. Paul writes of the believers in regards to their “godly grief” in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Paul truly had great pride in the believers because they heard the Gospel, experienced repentance, and confessed Christ as their Savior. As someone who is on staff at a church, but more importantly someone who has experienced the life-changing love of Christ, there is nothing greater than seeing someone accept and experience the love and life-giving forgiveness of Christ! I hope that when you hear of someone confessing Christ or you are part of leading someone to the Lord, you too experience great pride and joy as Paul did!

I have had glasses for the majority of my life. The first time I needed them was back in elementary school. I can remember going to the eye doctor. I would sit in the stiff upright chair as the doctor would bring this big crane over to my eyes, and I would look through two little holes. For what felt like an eternity after, the doctor would ask which lens was better to see through using a set of numbers. He would begin by saying, “One or two, two or three, and three or four?” Eventually, through this crazy mathematical process, I would be able to see clear as day! 

In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul is writing about the most important message ever shared to the world, the Gospel of Christ. He begins in verses 1-6, writing, “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 

Paul is reminding the church in Corinth of the power and importance of the Gospel. He writes how it can pierce the darkness and how it is solely through this Gospel message of Christ through which we can have access to God. Yet, in verse five, Paul gives a reminder and a refocus. He writes, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.” Read that again — what an incredible reminder for our daily lives. 

Today, I simply want to encourage you and maybe help you refocus as Paul helped me. As time goes on, our vision can get blurry, and we are not able to see as clearly as we used to. However, when we go to the eye doctor, they help us refocus and see more clearly. Paul tells us Who we proclaim, Jesus. At times, we can get distracted by the things of this world: our jobs, school, social media, or fill in the blank. Yet, when we refocus our vision, we remember the incredible darkness piercing light, and life-giving power of Jesus Christ. This helps us remember that our goal and our focus as followers of Christ is to proclaim Him. It is not about ourselves, but our amazing Savior!

Part two of books, movies, or albums, can often be very troubling grounds. More often then not, the only reason for doing a part two or a follow-up is simply for the money. If the first book enthralls the readers, then we will make a sequel. If this movie captivates the audience, we will make a sequel, or we will follow the sequel up with a prequel to make up for the awful sequel. The opportunities are endless. However, one sequel or part two that I do truly love, is 2 Corinthians. The letters from Paul to the church in Corinth have always been a staple for me, and I will often read over them when I am looking for a refresh. Yet, there is one particular theme that has always stood out to me in Paul’s second letter, reconciliation.

In Paul’s first letter, he is imploring the church to turn from their sin and misguided ways, so that they will ultimately grow in their faith and knowledge of Christ. As he begins this second letter, he thanks them for heeding his words and for the change that he has heard is taking place within the church. Why is this so important to Paul? He understands that Jesus is in the business of reconciliation. Therefore, he is imploring that the church in Corinth do the same and make it a priority in their lives, so that they may be able to attest and be witnesses of Jesus Christ. 

In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Paul reminds the church of the new life they have in Christ. He explains this new life, by teaching them how they were redeemed and reconciled to God the Father, through the sacrifice of Christ. 

As we begin this study on the book of 2 Corinthians, I want to encourage you to view it through the lens of reconciliation. Paul reminded the church of Corinth, and us as followers of Christ, that we are ambassadors for Christ. Therefore, as ambassadors of our Risen Savior, I want to encourage you to heed and remember the words of Paul. Not only have we been reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Christ, but we have been given the call and ministry of reconciliation. I pray that as you continue in your study of 2 Corinthians, this theme and continual reminder of reconciliation will challenge and encourage you as it does me.