Today’s study is a short passage, but as we read it, we will want to pay attention to observe Paul’s heart and drive in ministry.
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Fellowship of the Weak
In today’s study, we’ll continue to unpack Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The first part of the study will trace the idea of covenant ministry from the perspective of redemptive history. The second half will build on that foundation to work out the practical outcomes.
In our passage today, Paul is defending his ministry: defining what ministry success means, and showing us what are some marks of a true and genuine gospel ministry.
We have been walking through the narrative and circumstances of Paul writing this letter to the Corinthian church. We have read of how he had heard of the distress, tension and sin in the church. He wrote 1 Cor to them and heard bad news. Then he went down and had a worse experience. There was a painful visit that left him grieved. Paul then left them and wrote them a severe letter which he wrote out of much affliction and anguish. To let them know the love he had for them. So tonight’s narrative comes after having written that letter, and having Titus deliver that letter to them. This is Paul waiting for Titus to bring back news.
In this study, we will read of Paul’s heart for the church.
In this study, we’re going to deal with the issue of church discipline. This may seem strange and foreign to some of us, but let’s see what God’s word has to say about this issue!
What does it mean to be a shepherd of the sheep? Today’s passage is about the heart of Christ for His people.
The Bible uses the word “comfort” in thirty-one places, and more than half appears in 2 Cor. In just today’s passage alone, it appears for ten instances. Paul is sharing with the church in Corinth about the true comfort he has experienced amidst his suffering.
Today’s passage is very practical, because we, or our friends might need comfort. Often, we struggle to comfort sufferers and we don’t know how to help or what to say to them. How do Christians comfort and suffer?
Corinth was a strategic city in the Roman empire. It was a seafaring port with a diverse, cosmopolitan crowd. Many in the city, and also the church, were probably used to riches and power. We’re going to look at this second letter to the Corinthians in this series. Why are we doing 2nd Corinthians? It is a book that we hope will be like a bowl of hearty, healthy broth that can reinvigorate our hearts, just as it did for the Corinthian church.