Corporate Pain and Forgiveness

2 Corinthians 2:1-11

Pain is corporately experienced

A painful situation:

Paul had made a painful visit to them (v.1)

Therefore, he decided not to make another painful visit to them

Apparently, at the time of his travel, the sin problems he addressed in the church were still unresolved

So, Paul had written a painful letter to them instead of making a painful visit (v.3)

His hope is that the sin will be dealt with before his next visit to them

Paul has been pained

The sin of some members of the Corinthian church have caused Paul pain

Likely the sexually immoral man from 1 Corinthians 5

1 Corinthians 5:1- It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife.

Because of the context and tone of 2 Corinthians 2, it seems likely that this man responded to Paul by reviling him

Paul is operating out of heartfelt love and affection for the church and these sin-straying individuals (v.4)

Where love exists, pain is bound to follow

Christian love is fixed on the foundation of unchanging truth: God’s Word

Therefore, if someone we love errs from the truth, we feel the terrible force of pain that flows from their disobedience

Paul’s pain causes corporate pain (v.5)

Paul’s pain does not merely remain as individual pain

Becasue of the public nature of the sin, the pain caused to Paul spreads to, and is experienced by, every member of the Corinthian church

A local church is one body with many members

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 26- For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slavesd or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many…. (26) If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Your sin will always have some affect in the life of the church

Either indirectly (unknown and private sins)

Or directly (disclosed and public sins)

Pain that brings punishment (v.6)

The pain-causing sinner was excommunicated

1 Corinthians 5- Bible

He was put out of the church, being denied inclusion of any and all of its gatherings and ministries

This was with one goal: restoration

Biblical excommunication is not retributive, angry, smug, or rough

It is sorrow-filled, prayerful, and desiring reconciliation with Christ and the church

Many Christians recoil at this idea, but it is the wise and loving instruction of our Heavenly Father to implement church discipline

There is a point of completion for punishment (vv.6-7)

The desire and prayer of the church ought always to be that the discipline comes to a conclusion with the repentance of the wayward individual

If true repentance does occur, then the discipline must come to its conclusion

There is a great difference between causing sorrow, which leads to repentance, and excessive sorrow that flows from failure to restore

Forgiveness is a corporate action

Paul instructs the church to turn, forgive and comfort

Apparently, the sinner has now repented

He commends the whole church to turn

Forgiveness is a matter of the heart

Individually, this reality ought to mark each of our lives

We are commanded to forgive all who sin against us

Matthew 18:21-35 (parable of unforgiving servant)

This heart transformation ought to mark our lives together

Forgiveness is also a matter of the corporate church body (v.10)

Forgiveness moves outward from the heart into restorative action (vv.7-8)

It is not superficial or begrudging

“Reaffirm your love for him”

The forgiveness extended by the church must be genuine, heartfelt, and full of love

It is tender and gentle

“Turn to forgive AND comfort him”

To forgive and reconcile is not only to cease from discipline, but to actively extend loving kindness, tender mercy, and compassionate support

Forgiveness is an act of obedience (v.9)

If the Corinthians fail do heed these instructions, they will be found in brazen disobedience

So too, any church that fails to turn and forgive and comfort a penitent sinner is found in brazen disobedience to God

The Lord is perecftly wise, so may we walk in obedience because we trust that what He says is wise, true, good, and loving

We are engaged in corporate spiritual warfare

Satan is actively scheming and working

Let us not forget that we have an adversary

Sin is our main problem, in our lives, in our church and in our world

But Satan is our enemy, and he is tirelessly working to deceive us into sin and rebellion

1 Peter 5:8- Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

He is exceedingly crafty and clever

It is to our peril to forget that he is working to deceive and destroy us

We should not be ignorant of Satan’s designs

The Word of God, from beginning to end, reveals the ways in which he schemes and acts

If you care little about knowing God in His Word, then you will likely be ignorant of the schemes of the Devil

If we are ignorant of his schemes, then we will be sitting ducks for him

It is possible to get outwitted by Satan

If we fail to deal with unrepentant sin in our church, we will have been outwitted by Satan

If we fail to forgive, comfort, and restore a repentant sinner, we will have been outwitted by Satan

The most powerful words of the passage

“In the presence of Christ”

Literally “before the face of Christ”

Paul knows that all that is done is know by Christ

He is motivated by Christ

He is empowered by Christ

He is modeling the love of Christ

Praise be to God, that we have a Savior!

He is faithful to us when sin causes pain

He is merciful and able to restore wayward sinners

He is infinitely stronger than Satan

He sees all, and is with us through it all