2 Corinthains 6:1-13

Verse 1

Working together with him, then

Then- points us back

-just like “whats the therefore there for”

-Remember points previous point

-The Gospel has reconciled us to God

-As reconciled beings we are called then to be ministers of reconciliation.

-The great lengths God has gone to reconcile wicked people to a holy God is amazing...

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21 ESV

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,

So Because of our reconciliation

because of the call to be ministers of reconciliation

because of the great lengths God has gone to

-

We make our appeal for the Gospel to others woking together with HIM

-WITH HIM is not in the Greek. The translators supplied it to make the text make sence.

-Literally means to cooperate

-You ministry is a cooperative work whereby God does all the saving…he does all the transforming....he does all the drawing....and we cooperate in that work by being obedient to his call to GO AND TELL.

Paul then urges those in COrinthian to not recieve the grace of God in vain

-The grace of God is a reference to the Gospel

-Paul labor amongst the people in Corinth..

-He faithfully preached the Gospel

-But tells them now to not receieve the grace of God in vain.

-Just like any church…not everyone in FBC Corinth was saved.

-We talked about knowing about Jeuss vs knowing Jeuss...

-SOme would have gained intelletual knowledge of the Gospel, but not found saving faith.

-For this reason Paul wrote to them in

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

AND THIS WARNING IS AN URGENT WARNING

VERSE 2....

-QUOTING FROM

-There is no “I will get right tomorrow.”

-You are not promised tomorrow.

-GOd in his Grace has given you right now and nothing more to come to him

Noah preached about the coming flood

VERSE 3-

PAUL IS POINTING TO HIS ENDUANCE IN THE MIDST OF MANY THINGS

-NO MATTER WHAT CAME TO HIM HE KEPT THE FAITH

-enduring faith is the mark of true salvation

Remember what he said in 2 Cr 4

2 Corinthians 4:6–7 ESV

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. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:6-

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

There this is a list that he rattles off.

VERSES 4-5 Discuss enduring through the negative.

Verse 6-7 the positive.

Paul’s lists are always interesting to me.

They almost allways have some sort of pattern. The same is true here.

-Each list can be subdivided into 3 groups of 3

I. Internal Struggles Based upon Exteral Pressure

-Affliction, Hardship, calamities

-Affliction - spiritual physical or emotional suffering

-Hardships - general word for difficult that go along with living in a fallen world

-Calamities - has the picture of being restricted or confined in a narrow space…describing difficulties that seem to be escapeproof.

2. These are exteral threats to physical saftey

Beatings, imprisonments, riots

Beatings…common word for a beat down with fists and weapons.

Imprisonment…can refer to the harshest of situations or house arrest

riots points us to mob violance

Acts 13:45 ESV

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.

Acts 14:19 ESV

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

acts

3. ISelf-Inflicted due to exteral and spiritual struggls.

Labors, sleepless nights, and hunger

1labors - woking to the point of complete exhaustion

-rest is a spiriaul disaplain....DO IT.

2Sleepless nights - when you get to the point of physical and mental exhaustion sleeplessness follows

3. Hunger - Phyical, mentle, and spiritual demands result in hunger

WHEN YOU GET TO THIS POINT YOU ARE MOST SUCCEPTIBLE TO TEMPTATION AND STUMBLING.

-SO ENDURE THROUGH IT....GUARD YOURSELF

Verse 6ff

One commentator I read about this passage says

“ Paul defines the ministry of reconciliation not as one in which we make demands on God, but one in which He makes demands on us. Ambassadors of Jesus Christ do not seek greater comfort and prosperity but greater endurance.”

Paul defines the ministry of reconciliation not as one in which we make demands on God, but one in which He makes demands on us. Ambassadors of Jesus Christ do not seek greater comfort and prosperity but greater endurance.