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2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13
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2Cor 13,1-6
· (73b) Authority Ø
Respect your leaders Ø Those in charge of the
word – This is the third time Paul is coming to
Corinth. The first time was the initial preaching of the gospel at the
conception of the Corinthian Church; the second time was shortly after the
writing of his first epistle, and the third time was shortly after his second
letter. So, he writes his letters first, preparing them for his visits, and
then comes a little later so he doesn’t catch them unaware, reminiscent of
the second coming of Christ.
2Cor 13,1-5
· (196d) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø Immaturity
Ø Not mature enough to die to self Ø
Unable to put down your own flesh
2Cor 13,1-3
· (203k) Denying Christ Ø
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God Ø
Back-slider Ø Practicing sin Ø
Living in sin – Paul wants to see their good side, and is
discerning enough to know if it is real, and will speak reality into their
hearts if they’re not, driving it into their souls and into their spirits,
until it comes out their behavior. Paul has two or three witness who will tell
about their true spiritual condition. He’s getting them ready, and promises
to redress past sins, such as the man who had his father’s wife as described
in 1Cor 5-1.
2Cor 13-2
· (51c) Judging the Church with the world Ø
God warns the Church -- This verse goes with verse 10
· (69i) Authority Ø
Righteous judgment Ø Judging the flesh by the
Spirit – If he comes and finds them unrepentant,
he will not spare them, he said. So, what is he going to do, beat them up? Is
he going to give them a verbal thrashing? Anybody can endure a lecture. Why
should the Corinthians be afraid of Paul’s discipline? If he doesn’t
intend to inflict physical pain, then what is there to fear? To the
unbeliever, there is nothing, but the Corinthians do believe in Jesus, though
sometimes it doesn’t seem like it, the truth can be very painful to
unfaithful believers, even more so than physical punishment. The conviction of
the Holy Spirit can be a heavy mallet, and if they have a remnant of the
Spirit, Paul can appeal to them about where they’ve gone wrong and what is
at stake, what they’re missing, what they’re trading for a little fleshly
indulgence, and let the Holy Spirit do the work on their hearts, convicting
those who are disobedient, and leading them back to the truth. However, there
needs to be a core of faith for Paul to appeal to them if they have any hope
of responding. Remember in 2Cor 10-6 it says, “We are ready to punish all
disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.” He’s appealing to that
core of faith and showing them that sacrificing the things they have received
from God is a form of spiritual suicide that is just as bad as literally
killing yourself. They need to stop playing footsy with their fleshly impulses
and get back in line with God.
· (138c) Temple Ø
Building the temple (with hands) Ø Reproof Ø
Reprove your brother for sinning -- This verse goes with verse
10
· (178f) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Hypocrisy Ø
Hypocrisy of the church is rebuked Ø The church
is rebuked for sin
· (184i) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Abusing the grace
of God Ø Spending His grace on your pleasures Ø
Adding leaven to His grace
· (199d) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø
Frustrating the grace of God Ø Frustrating
Jesus Ø Frustrating the apostles
2Cor 13,3-6
· (132b) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Holy Spirit is
in God’s people Ø spirit of God in the spirit
of man Ø Spirit of Jesus
· (156g) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of
salvation Ø Manifesting the Holy Spirit is
evidence of salvation
2Cor 13-3,4
· (64h) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Weaknesses of God Ø
God subjects himself to human frailty Ø His
weakness is stronger than men -- These verses go with verse 9
· (66h) Jesus’ authority Ø
His cross is the power of God
· (97a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Having a negative attitude about yourself Ø A
self-righteous attitude
· (111g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Spirit and the word Ø Word and the power
(meaning) of God Ø Circumstances cannot evade
the voice of the Spirit
· (113n) Thy kingdom come Ø
The anointing Ø Our weakness proves it is the
power of God – We may be weak in the flesh living for Him
now, but a day is coming when we will live by the power of God, when our
bodies are transformed, and our weaknesses cast off and replaced by power that
is currently foreign to us. We will become light; we will become energy. Strength
will then be the composition of our bodies. Since these things are in our
future, God has afforded a way for them to become part of our present;
applying His strength consists of His calling in this life!
2Cor 13-3
· (17l) Sin Ø
Unrighteous judgment Ø Discerning by the
flesh Ø Making distinctions between each
other
· (110d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Spirit and the word Ø Spirit speaks through
His ministry in us
· (130j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Unity Ø
Accept one another Ø Accepting the great and
the small Ø Small people cannot accept great
leaders – The Corinthians were seeking proof of
Jesus Christ who lived in Paul, not that they doubted his salvation; rather,
they wanted to see the power of God in his ministry. They heard of God using
him to perform signs, wonders and miracles, and they wanted to see it for
themselves. This is not so distant from the Jews seeking a sign from Jesus,
and what did He say to them? “An evil and adulterous generation seeks
after a sign….” The Corinthians wanted Paul to perform a miracle in
front of them, which is not surprising, since they were searching for the
power of the God, generating Paul’s discussion about the gifts of the
Spirit, which is how we now know about them. Paul said, ‘I’ll show you
Jesus Christ in me; I’ll show you parts of Him that maybe you don’t want
to see.’ The power of God granting repentance to a misfit crew of
disobedient Christians is a miracle in itself, and this is the miracle that
Paul wanted to see, and he needed help from the Corinthians for this miracle
to manifest, but they were looking for some other kind of miracle. To go
home with repentance in your heart is a treasure far greater than witnessing
a miracle of healing or any other sign. The sign of repentance in our own
generation is very much needed and will in fact be the greatest sign of the
endtimes, “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the
sun, and the moon under her feet…” (Rev 12-1).
· (181c) Works of the devil Ø
Practicing witchcraft Ø Rebellion Ø
Rebelling against God Ø Rebelling against the
men of God
· (254k) Trinity Ø
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son Ø
Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit Ø Power
of Jesus’ Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 5
2Cor 13-4
· (57g) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø Crucified in weakness, but He lives
by the power of God
2Cor 13-5,6
· (68j) Authority Ø
Discernment Ø Judging truth and error Ø
Perceiving a wicked heart
· (69l) Authority Ø
Discernment Ø Righteous judgment Ø
Judging yourself correctly – Paul says to make sure you are born of the
Spirit, that you have made this commitment with God. Do not assume that you
have. Instead, test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine
yourselves. Quit saying you are because you say, think or believe you are.
Quit saying you are because you want it to be true. Rather say, you are born
of God and He dwells in you because you have a faith that came from God. You
have a faith that cannot be manufactured. You have a faith that rises above
human ability to believe. You have something that belongs to God inside you.
You have a knowing about God’s love and about His will, and it is growing
with your knowledge of the Scriptures, through your faith and through the
unity you help build in one another, as these things continue to grow
according to the Spirit who dwells in you. Test yourself to see if these
things are working in you.
· (70c) Authority Ø
Church conveys Jesus’ authority Ø Discernment
Ø Test the spirits – Each person must make a decision on his or
her own. We must resolve that God does in fact exist, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11-6), that He is a benevolent
God, who loves us more than we’ll ever know. We must resolve that He is
worthy of our service, not just for a season, but also for the rest of our
natural lives. We offer our will to Him, so that what we want is no longer
valid, but is replaced with His will for us. This is the kind of commitment we
must make with God. It happens one day when we finally come to the realization
of these things, when we say to Him, ‘God, I belong to you. Everything I am,
everything I own, everything I will ever be is yours to direct and control
from now until the day I meet you face to face in heaven.’ When a person
makes a commitment like that, God makes a similar commitment, investing His
own life by imparting His Spirit into us, so that God now dwells in us through
the Holy Spirit, our hope of glory.
· (122e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Confidence in
yourself as you die to sin Ø Confident in your
salvation
· (238b)
Kingdom of God Ø Pursuing the kingdom Ø
Transferring the kingdom Ø The kingdom is
transferred to the church Ø Born again Ø
Born of the Spirit by the will of man – Paul is talking about the born-again
experience, the thing that Jesus said in Jn 3-3, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” We must be
born of the Spirit.
2Cor 13-5
· (182b) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Deception Ø
Self deception Ø Believing you know God when
you don’t
· (254k) Trinity Ø
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son Ø
Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit Ø Power of
Jesus’ Spirit -- This verse goes with verse 3. The Holy Spirit is one and the same with Jesus
Christ; the trinity means there is no difference between the three members.
This is why Paul says Jesus Christ is in you; it is the same thing as saying
the Holy Spirit dwells in us. You say, ‘It’s not Jesus who dwells in us
but the Holy Spirit,’ but it makes no difference how you say it; Jesus
Christ is in you through the Holy Spirit. They are not like identical twins
that you can dress up alike, so a stranger can’t tell them apart. They may
share identical DNA, yet they have separate minds and inner experiences and
their individual experiences will drive them apart, so that they will become
two different people, and as they mature they will demonstrate that. Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit are not like identical twins; they are identical;
they are one. Jesus Christ is the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is Jesus
Christ, and the two of them are identical to the Father. They are one and the
same, all three of them.
2Cor 13-6
· (42e) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Innocent before God
2Cor 13-7
· (57d) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø World’s wisdom versus God’s
wisdom
· (75c) Thy kingdom come Ø
Motives of the heart Ø Being motivated to do
the will of God – Paul is saying whether we appear approved or
unapproved, he wants them to do what is right. He’s not saying, ‘Do as I
say, not as I do,’ but wants them to do what is right whether they believe
the false reports they have heard about Paul and the other apostles. When he
comes, he will set these things straight. They will have a chance to talk to
him face to face and ask him their questions. Meanwhile, he wants the
Corinthians to do what is right, not to falter based on a bad report.
· (127k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Goodness Ø
Rewards for doing good Ø Doing good hides your
shame
· (164j) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is at
enmity with God Ø The world hates the church
· (168f) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world listens
to itself Ø The world receives itself
· (171k) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Outward
appearance Ø Outward appearance is not
important
2Cor 13-8
· (243k) Kingdom of God Ø
The eternal kingdom Ø The indestructible
kingdom Ø The head of the body is
indestructible Ø The word of God is
indestructible – Jimmy Swaggart and some of his cronies
have dragged the gospel of Christ in the mud, making it less palatable for
those who would search for God and His promises, so is he an example of
someone who has damaged the truth? No, he is not! What did Jimmy Swaggart do
to the truth? He may have ruined his own reputation and to some extent the
reputation of Christianity in the world, but what did he do to the truth? Not
a thing! The truth stands on its own and no body can touch it. Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth and the life….” What can you do to Him? They
did everything they could to Him; they whipped Him mercilessly, then hung Him
on a cross until He died, still He rose from the dead and consequently took
the keys of death and hell from the enemy of our soul, the devil, and made it
impossible to die for anyone who believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life.
So, what did they do against the truth? Nothing! The more anyone tries to kill
the truth, the more it lives. The truth is in another dimension; the truth
lives in heaven, where we’re going one day. The truth is like events that
have already taken place; you cannot undo them. Essentially, the truth is
God’s rendition of the facts.
2Cor 13-9
· (9i) Responsibility to strengthen one another Ø
Be strong
· (44f) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Transformed Ø
Completing the will of God -- This verse goes with verse 11. Paul prays, earnestly for the church to be made
complete. He talks to all the churches using the word “complete.” What
does it mean to be made complete? James said it best when he taught that faith
without works is dead. By analogy, our faith combined with works creates a
sort of closed circuit. The switch breaks the circuit, but God wants us
switched-on to complete the circuit; He wants our hearts lit with the glory of
God, and our faith to produce works for which it was intended. While puffy air
escapes our orifice, merely talking about our thoughts and beliefs, yet never
showing anything for it, two great expressions of faith are ignored: endurance
and perseverance. You persevere in the will of God, while you endure your
circumstances. If you can do those two things, this is the work of God.
· (57c) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø Humble yourself and God will exalt
your brother
· (64h) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Weaknesses of God Ø
God subjects himself to human frailty Ø His
weakness is stronger than men -- This verse goes with verses
3&4
· (122h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Confidence in
yourself as you die to sin Ø Confidence in the
church through your ministry – Invariably we offend people, who believe
we have no faith, but it’s not about pleasing them, but about pleasing God.
It’s not about making people feel good about you; it’s about doing God’s
will. If you do His will, you will offend people more than if you were
disobedient. Each one of us has a calling, and we need to search our own
hearts for the voice of the Spirit and listen to Him until we fully understand
what God wants us to do, and then do it. This is what completes us, more than
pleasing people who think we should live the Christian life according to their
rendition of Christianity. What do they know about our faith? If they
weren’t so critical, they would be living their own rendition of
Christianity. They are just as obligated as we of finding and performing the
will of God, only they have excused themselves from a lack of faith, and
instead hold the carrot before us, expecting us to follow it, promising that
if we perform their rendition of Christianity, then maybe they will become
Christians too. Essentially, they are asking us to test their faith. They
should test their own faith! We do what we can to avoid offending people, and
we serve God by serving others, but ultimately our faith is in Jesus Christ,
not in what other people think of us.
2Cor 13-10
· (4e) Responsible to advocate God’s cause Ø
Being accountable in your stewardship – God has given Paul grace to build up the
church and not to tear it down, to be constructive with it and not to be
destructive with it, otherwise known as spiritual abuse. Anyone who
spiritually abuses the people of God is in big trouble, even more so than
the unsaved. Not only are they both going to the same place without
repentance, but the one’s judgment will be far more severe than the
other’s. People make mistakes in the ministry all the time; they
unwittingly believe in false doctrine and even teach it, but there are other
people who make their mistakes completely on purpose, and even invent false
doctrine. The inventors of false doctrine do it solely for the purpose of
sordid gain. Their judgment is something you won’t even want to be in the
same room with them when it happens. Spiritual abuse is quicksand; there is
no spiritual growth in its environment. The scariest part is when someone
says he is spiritually growing while he is abusing the good faith of the
saints. Now you know you are dealing with someone who at least is
border-lining on the reprobate mind. God gives us grace to build up one
another, to be constructive with it. The moment someone uses the grace of
God for evil, something happens inside him, a correction phase, and a spirit
of conviction that comes over him that warns the man to stop what he’s
doing. If he refuses to listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and
continues in his abusive ways, there may be many dreadful days ahead of such
a person, potentially making him wish he had never been born. He can turn
into a monster over night. Paul was truly just the opposite of such a
description. He had one of the most beautiful spirits anyone could ever
want, and obviously so did Jesus. Anyone who uses the grace of God for good,
who is well endowed with the Holy Spirit and uses it only for what is good
and right, has a beautiful spirit. You can always tell those kind of people;
they stick out of a crowd and they know how to bless and minister to people
in need, especially those who are suffering. This was Paul all the way. He
planned on using the grace of God to build up the saints. Even in his
coarseness at times he was being constructive. Sometimes you have to knock
down a wall or two before you can continue the construction process.
· (51c) Judging the Church with the world Ø
God warns the Church -- This verse goes with verse 2
· (68a) Authority Ø
Doing God’s work under His authority Ø
Ministry of helps Ø Help God’s people
· (138c) Temple Ø
Building the temple (with hands) Ø Reproof Ø
Reprove your brother for sinning -- This verse goes with verse
2
· (139h) Temple Ø
Building the temple (with hands) Ø
Edification
2Cor 13-11
· (44f) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Transformed Ø
Completing the will of God -- This verse goes with verse 9
· (78h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Renewing your mind by the word of God Ø Be of
one mind, his mind
· (125g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Joy Ø
Joy is the result of unity
· (126a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Peace Ø
God is at peace Ø The peace from God
· (129n) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Unity Ø
Being in one accord Ø Having one mind
· (228c) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø God
working in you Ø Comforted Ø
We are comforted in the presence of God Ø Holy
Spirit is our comforter
2Cor 13-12
· (123k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø
Spiritual affection Ø Being in love with the
body of Christ Ø Physical affection with
spiritual motives
· (133i) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Holiness Ø
The body of Christ is holy Ø Our godly behavior
is holy to the lord
2Cor 13-13,14
· (123g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Love Ø
Spiritual affection Ø Ministry of the saints Ø
Emotional benediction toward helpers
2Cor 13-14
· (208i) Salvation Ø
The salvation of God Ø Personal relationship Ø
Being the friend of God Ø Having fellowship
with God
· (255g) Trinity Ø
Father, Son and Holy Spirit Ø The process of
imparting the substance of God Ø Father
discloses the Spirit by the word
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