1 Corinthians 7:4-16

This morning I want us to see this main idea of the text:

A true church will be a repentant church who will increase the pastors comfort, confidence, and joy as they seek to maintain unity in Christ through reconciliation.

What I mean by that is that a pastor will continue to gain confidence as God’s word is proven true when individuals in the church must be corrected and they respond as those changed by the Gospel according to the Scriptures.

We are going to see this in 4 truths about the ministry of Paul to Corinth in this passage.

I. Paul’s Pastoral Heart for the Corinthians (4)

If you want to know how a pastor ought to care for and feel about the flock of which God has made him an overseer you can learn a lot from Paul. Notice how he begins verse 4.

Paul pastored the Corinthians with,

A. Courage and Confidence in the Church

4 I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you;

When you consider all of Paul’s interaction with the Corinthians, his visits, his desires to visit, his letters, and his sending Titus, one thing is clear Paul acted with confidence, boldness and courage toward them. He stood firm on the gospel. He continued to point them to the cross of Christ. To their need for repentance, reconciliation, and right worship. He was not afraid to address sin, schism, or the “super apostles” in the church.

Even though he said in his first letter,

1 Corinthians 2:3 ESV

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,

He still preached boldly because he was resting in the wisdom and power of God. What I find more impressive than his boldness toward the Corinthians is his great pride in them.

Again remember all of the problems Paul is addressing in his communication with the Corinthians. You would think they might not be a church you would want to put on your resume. But do you remember what he said to them earlier in the letter?

You are our letter of recommendation. Paul truly understood that God had done a work in them. Even with all of their problems he writes to them as the church of God that is at Corinth. Paul recognized who they were, like us yes they were still battling sin, ignorance, and immaturity, but they were still the household of God. They were still those who had experienced the reconciliation of God through Jesus Christ!

As we walk on through this letter we will see why he is so proud of them specifically.

Notice that Paul not only cares for them with courage and confidence, He is also,

B. Comforted by The Church

Paul writes,

I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction,

Paul has just laid out all of the afflictions they were experiencing in

2 Corinthians 6:4–5 ESV

but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;

I don’t know about you but none of that sounds comforting. But remember this is the role of the body of Christ, the church of God. As we are in affliction we are comforted by God who is the God of all comfort. And he then comforts us so that we may comfort one another.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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.

Even amongst all of the peril and trials going on in the church at Corinth Paul was comforted by them and in them. Here is what I would imagine. Like many churches there are always a few who may be immature in the faith, who may stir up strife, who have a propensity to divide instead of unite. But there is usually a core body of believers within the local church who encourage, build up, love, and care for one another well. I would think that even at Corinth Paul had that group that loved and supported him, prayed for him, and bore his burdens while he was ministering to them.

Who will we be in the body of Christ?

Will we be those who the Pastor would say,

He has confidence in us?

He has courage as we stand with him in Christ?

He is comforted by us as we care for him in all his afflictions?

If he answered yes to those questions, he would probably like Paul, experience great,

C. Joy in the Church.

Paul closes verse 4 proclaiming,

I am overflowing with Joy

Could you imagine Paul writing that he was overjoyed by the confidence and care he recieved form the church at Corinth after all he has written them? There is a reason for this joy that we will see as the section unfolds, that Paul was brought great joy by the church at Corinth.

Anyone want to take a guess at why he was overflowing with joy regarding the Corinthians?

We will get there, but it was primarily their repentance, that leads to salvation! Their godly grief that brought them to repent of there sin brought Paul and his partner Titus great joy as they have been shepherding them through this season of suffering and sin in the church.

Now that we have seen Paul’s pastoral heart towards the church at Corinth, we come to our second point in the passage.

II. Paul’s Comfort by the Coming of Titus

A. Current Affliction

5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn —fighting without and fear within.

Paul lays out the reason the comfort was so good to him in verse 5. He lets the church at Corinth know that when we made it to Macedonia we were wore out, our bodies had no rest.

We have to remember, missionary journey’s were a little different then. Paul didn’t jump on a plane, a train, or an automobile to travel over to Macedonia. They were on foot or on a donkey. They might have jumped in an old wooden boat. They would be exposed to the weather, the rough roads, and hostile crowds. Plus, remember all the afflictions he described in the last chapter. These brothers were tired, they were exhausted, and spent.

But not only from the travel but from the fighting. He goes on to say, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within. Paul said as tired as we were the trials did not let up, they kept coming. We continued to fight against false teaching, foolish rioters, and fake apostles. Don’t get the imagery of Paul as a street fighter or being on the offensive, but as fighting to stay alive that he might preach the gospel another day.

Praise God, Paul didn’t stop there. He then gives glory to God because his,

B. Comfort by the Coming of Titus

6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,

Paul says as tired and beat down as we were, as always God comforts those who are downcast. God shows his care for his church, his servants, by giving them what they need when they need it. Paul’s current comfort came as he was in Macedonia in the middle of a spiritual battle. And as always God came through.

How did God comfort Paul?

By the coming of Titus,

Paul explains to the Corinthians he was in the middle of a spiritual battle, that was afflicting him physically and mentally. But in the midst of that God comforted Paul by sending Titus, his brother in Christ his partner in the gospel.

I want to ask a couple questions here.

Has God ever comforted you by sending a faithful brother or sister to you, who ministered to you right on time?

Have you ever been that comfort for another?

This is how we are to minister to one another in Christ. As his church he calls us to love one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, and comfort one another!

But notice it wasn’t just Titus’ companionship that brought comfort to Paul,

C. Comfort from the Church

7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you,

When Titus got back to Paul, he brought a good report from the church at Corinth. They had recieved Titus with brotherly love and hospitality and more importantly we will see in the next few verses that they had recieved Paul’s pastoral care, counsel, and correction and repented of their sin. But that is for a little later. Their repentance brought Paul joy and comfort we will see, but specifically here we see the affection returned to the apostle Paul by the church at Corinth.

Listen to the report, Titus returned to Paul,

The first thing Paul notes is, their longing, he writes,

as he told us of your longing,

This word longing carries the thought of a deep desire. In other words, Paul says when Titus got back he told me how much you desired for us to be reunited. You long for us to be face to face to fellowship together, worship together, and rejoice in genuine reconciliation. It is one thing to reconcile through writing, texting, or even talking on the phone, it is another to reconcile as we are in one another’s presence.

There were those in the church at Corinth that had opened their heart up to the apostle, they had a deep affection for Paul and evidently to Paul we long to be with you again. We can’t wait until we are able to come back together in worship and fellowship.

Do we long to be reunited with the Church when we are separate?

Do we feel empty, and alone when we are away from they body of Christ?

COVID has presented some challenges to the church. It has made it hard to gather, it has made us “socially distance” ourselves when in the church we are supposed to live in a close knit community.

I do believe COVID has revealed those how lack a longing not only for being separated from the pastors of the church, but also from their family in the church, which will result in less longing for Jesus Christ, the head of the church.

Titus also reported of, your mourning,

Do you see that they longed to restore their relationship with Paul following the tearful letter. They mourned over the broken relationship, the fact that they had in a sense turned on and disappointed the one how had led them to Christ, and labored to preach the Word to them.

Let me ask us a hard question.

When relationships are broken in the church do we,

Sull up and separate?

Get mad and gossip?

Pout up and put up a wall?

Or do we,

Mourn and long to make it right?

Lament and labor to restore the relationship?

Repent and seek reconciliation?

Do you see the difference in worldly and godly grief beginning to be revealed.

Paul was also comforted by, your zeal for me,

How would you describe the zeal the Corinthian had for Paul, what does he mean by this?

Here are some ways zeal is defined:

intense positive interest in something marked by a sense of dedication

a deep concern for

to be devoted to

an earnest concern

John MacArthur defines zeal this way, “Zeal is a combination of two equally strong emotions; love and hate, it produces a strong love that hates anything that would harm its object.” (pg. 264)

Do you see the way even through Paul’s gospel reproof and rebuke of the church there were those that saw their error, their sin, and sought in a passionate way to be reconciled with Paul to restore godly fellowship with Him. This is a beautiful example of the way the church ought to function when strife and division comes. When sin makes its way into the camp. We ought to have our hearts wide open to one another.

We should long for unhindered fellowship.

We should mourn when fellowship is broken.

We should passionately pursue reconciliation.

We should rejoice when relationships are restored.

Isn’t that what we see in Paul here? He said all of this was,

so that I rejoiced still more.

When we passionately pursue reconciliation within the body of Christ, we are affirming our affection for Christ and his Bride.

When we refuse to seek restoration in relationships we are rejecting Christ’s teaching regarding our responsibility to reconcile.

There is nothing that should bring us more joy than being in right relationship with Christ and his church. Even in the midst of affliction and suffering our kinship with one another through our union with Christ should cause us to be able to rejoice even when we face trials of various kinds.

When we lose a job we rejoice because we have a body who labors with us.

When was are in the midst of physical pain we rejoice because we have brothers and sisters who bear our burdens with us.

When we lose a loved one the church grieves with us.

When the world, family, and friend reject us God’s people stand with us.

As Paul was experiencing all types of affliction, the church comforted Him through their longing, their mourning, and their passion for him so that he rejoiced still the more.

This brings us to,

III. Paul’s Intent in Writing to the Corinthians

8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—

Paul here begins to explain the goal and intent of his letter. He had gotten word that there were those who had been grieved and hurt by the letter. Those who had been wounded by the letter. This is where we begin to see the reason Paul loved the church at Corinth so much. Even though there were some there causing him pain. Here we see there some there who were soft hearted enough that when rebuke came they recognized their sin, where broken by it and repented of it.

We are not sure what was in this letter, but we know it was a painful, tearful letter that Paul had written some pretty strong rebukes to the church. Even though the letter brought grief which in one sense Paul didn’t regret, on the other hand, he said,

though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.

Here is when you see the heart of a true shepherd. When Paul has to write this strong letter to call out the sins of the Corinthians he does it with tears, he does it knowing that the letter is going to be painful for them to hear, but he also does it knowing that it is his role as a pastor.

He knows that he will be held responsible for the souls under his care, therefore he must call them to repent of their sin and their following after these false teachers and false gospel.

So even though he did regret writing the letter because he knew it was his responsibility and the right thing to do, he never desired to hurt the church. However, he knew that it was necessary to maintain the purity of the bride of Christ.

In verse 9 he lays out what he was and was not grieved about.

9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were [grieved], but because you were [grieved] into repenting.

When someone is saddened, grieved, or mourning over their sin. This should not bring us happiness and joy. We should never take pleasure in someone’s pain caused by sin. Instead we should weep and mourn with them.

However, when they confess, repent, turn from, and lay aside a specific sin that should bring rejoicing from both the one repenting and the one who by God’s grace led them to repentance! They did not stay in their state of sinning against the apostle and more importantly against God, instead they humbly, agreed with Paul in his addressing their sinful actions and attitudes and with tears sought forgiveness.

Paul goes affirms this writing,

For you felt a godly [grief], so that you suffered no loss through us.

He say through this godly sorrow, grief and repentance you didn’t wreck our relationship instead through your repentance we have gained reconciliation.

Does this not remind us of Jesus’ words,

Matthew 18:15 ESV

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

We are familiar with the rest of Jesus instructions, had the Corinthians rejected Paul’s letter and call to repentance they would not have gained a brother instead, they would have lost their relationship within the church.

Matthew 18:17 ESV

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

However Paul rejoices, because God granted them godly grief and repentance.

10 For godly [grief] produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret,

Have you ever heard anyone say,

I wish I would have never repented of that sin?

I wish I would have never trust in Christ?

I wish I would haver never turned from my selfishness, greed, immorality, drunkeness, idolatry, lying, coveting, and corruption?

Absolutely not. Now if our grief was not genuine, godly grief, we would have regretted it.

whereas worldly [grief] produces death.

How many of us have been there before we were saved?

We were in bondage to a certain sin, got caught, we were humiliated, shamed, and embarrassed. We may have been worried about the consequences of our sin and said or thought, I will never do that again.

But as soon as the shame wore off and the consequence of that sin was over. Ah never-mind the sin is better than the suffering and like a dog we returned to our own vomit?

That is worldly grief, were were not worried that our sin was against God, but instead we feared man and the perception and punishment man might bring.

How are we to know the difference in godly and worldly grief?

See the string of whats in verse 11,

11 For see,

what earnestness this godly [grief] has produced in you,

2 Corinthians: Crossway Classic Commentaries The Effect Produced on the Church in Corinth by the Apostle’s Previous Letter, and His Consequent Satisfaction and Joy (Verses 1–16)

Sins that had been regarded as of little account are apprehended in their true character, and deep feeling takes the place of unconcern

but also

what eagerness to clear yourselves,

The Corinthians were in a sense running to repent. They recognized that they had sinned after Paul’s tearful letter. They understood their failure and had a sincere desire to acknowledge their sin and be reconciled to Paul.

Not only was their earnestness and eagerness, Paul affirms their,

what indignation,

What does sin do to the heart of a believer? Or

What should sin do to the heart of a believer?

It should cause a righteous indignation to well up in our hearts. When we consider that Christ has died to pay for our sin and free us from sin and sent his Spirit to convict us of sin, when we fail we are without excuse. Sinning against God is the utmost reason anger should be stirred up in us, but when we sin and hurt a brother or sister that should cause us to indignant towards ourselves and our sin.

However, we don’t stay there! We stay their long enough to repent and reconcile....

Paul continues,

what fear,

Why do Christians fear in response to recognizing our sin?

Because of who we have sinned against.

In this context the Corinthians has sinned against God and their apostle/pastor. They had sinned against the one who effectually called them unto salvation and the one who generally called them to salvation. They had sinned against their Savior and his servant.

Charles Hodge writes, “They were alarmed at the wrath of God, and at the same time at the apostle’s coming among them displeased and armed with the spiritual power that belonged to his office.”

This earnestness, eagerness, indignation, and fear lead them to a holy,

what longing,

What do you believe they were longing for?

Repentance, reconciliation, and making sure their relationship with their father in the faith was restored.

Do we long to maintain this kind of unity within the fellowship?

Do we live to ensure we are growing in unity in Christ with one another?

Do we do more to divide than we do to unite?

Division today may not look like the Corinthian division but make know mistake it is still sin.

This is why Paul commends the church for,

what zeal,

The church had an “ardent concern” for getting right with Paul before God. They woke up in the morning wanting Paul to return, they worked throughout the day wandering how their relationship could be mended. They laid their head on the pillow at night longing to express their love, affection, and care for Paul!

How is our concern for the church, our pastors, deacons, and ultimately our chief Shepherd?

Do we have this desire of deep, unhindered relationships within the church?

Our level of concern and devotion to the church, reveals our level of devotion to Christ and concern for the glory of Christ.

Notice Paul’s last what,,,,,

what punishment!

Here is what separated the believer from the unbeliever, we see the righteous hatred God has towards sin. We understand the punishment sin earns as we see God’s wrath poured out on the cross. We also recognize that even though sins of the believer has been paid for their is often consequences/punishment that sin deserves.

Therefore this ought to cause us to be concerned, to fear, to run after repentance. Although we know our sin is paid for on the cross we still see the heinousness of sin and the horrific nature of sinning against God and against one another.

This is why this next statement made by the apostles is so comforting and causing rejoicing!

At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

Can you imagine the sigh, the tears, the praise that came out of the people when these words were read?

This brings us to Paul’s purpose statement,

2 Corinthians 7:12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we are comforted.

Paul wrote this tearful letter not to hurt anyone, not for the sake of the sinner, not for the sake of the one who had been sinned against, but for the good of the church and the glory of Christ.

This letter was written to reveal, reprove, and bring repentance of sin. This letter did exactly what Paul intended it to do. When it was read,

It humbled the church,

It grieved the church,

It wrought repentance in the church,

It brought reconciliation to the church,

It expiated sin in the church,

It glorified Christ in purifying the church,

It revealed that the Corinthians were a repentant and faithful assembly of believers.

Therefore, Paul was comforted.

The fourth truth we will learn from this letter is of,

IV. Paul’s Confidence in the Corinthians

A. Confidence in Titus’ refreshed spirit.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

Paul’s confidence in the Corinthians was restored when he was reunited with Titus, and saw the joy that Titus had when he returned.

When Titus came walking up the road, Paul could have probably seen the change in his countenance. Imagine the somberness of both Paul and Titus when he sent him too Corinth. Not knowing what would happen, how they would respond, concerned about their soul.

Would the reject Titus or repent and be restored?

But, when Titus restored, he had a skip in his walk and a smile on his face. It had been a sweet time of repentance and refreshing.

Acts 3:17–21 ESV

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Titus and Paul experienced this refreshing through the repentance of the Corinthians.

Next, Paul had,

B. Confidence in Titus’ Proof of Truth

14 For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true.

I can imagine Paul saying to Titus, brother I know God has done a work in the lives of these brothers and sisters at Corinth. I am confident they will receive the truth. I have spent time teaching, laboring, and fellowshipping with them and a I believe the will see the error in their ways and repent of their sin and seek restoration.

Paul writes, Titus has proved all of this true!

Every time Christians, repent of sin, restore broken relationships, and grow in unity God’s gospel is proven truth. Ministers of reconciliation can only be such if they are willing to reconcile themselves.

Paul also has,

C. Confidence in Titus’s Increasing Affection

15 And his affection for you is even greater,

Don’t miss this phrase. One of the ways Paul continued to grow in confidence in the Corinthians was that his faithful friend and partner in the ministry began to grow in his love for them. As Titus spent time with them and saw their repentant heart, their love for Paul, and their desire of faithfulness in Christ, he was like Paul I see why you love this church so much as broken as they have been. They have a longing and love for Christ and his servants that is undeniable.

Think about it in our context. Our brother Virgil is getting to know us more and more as he visits and prepares to join us here at Pray’s Mill.

What will he say to Josh, Adam, and Matt in the fall?

“Brothers, my affection for the saints at Pray’s Mill is growing more and more.”

“I see why you brothers love this church so much.”

“I see the loving one another, serving one another, repenting to one another, and bearing one another’s burdens.”

Or will he say,

“Men these people are mean, they reject our counsel, they are divisive, they are being drawn away by false teachers, they have no desire to obey the Scriptures or the teachings of Scriptures.”

Obviously we believe he will say the former, because like Paul he will have,

D. Confidence in the Corinthians Obedient Reception.

as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you.

Titus reported three important Truths about the Corinthians,

They were obedient to the truth.

They were hospitable to Titus.

They were God fearing!

What was the result?

Paul rejoiced because he had complete confidence in them!