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2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 3
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2Cor 3-1
· (22l) Sin Ø
Pride glorifies self Ø Seeking the glory of man
· (169h) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Seeking the glory
of man Ø Loving the approval of men rather than
the approval of God Ø Love to be noticed by men
2Cor 3,2-18
· (205g) Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø New
covenant Ø The new one is a better one – God has replaced the ink of His Old Testament
with the Spirit of the living God, being the essential difference between the
old and new covenants. He now writes his word in our hearts. He spoke of
writing on tablets of stone, referring to the Ten Commandments that He wrote
for Moses on mount Sinai, which has been used ever since to represent the
entirety of Israel’s old covenant, though there were other features of it,
such as their manner of worship through the old covenant tabernacle, which was
embroiled with laws and regulations, taking up hundreds of pages of the Old
Testament. Yet, it was all reduced to ten simple commandments. Obeying these
commandments therefore became more important than performing the regulations
of temple worship. All these duties of worshipping God through the tabernacle
were nothing more than a symbol of that which was to come. Paul says that
these very words are now written in our hearts as the essence of a new and
better covenant, indicating that God now dwells in us.
· (230d) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Partaking of the power of God Ø
Partaking of the ministry of the Holy Spirit – The “letter” is the ministry of death,
yet it had glory. Therefore, if the ministry of death had glory, how much more
should the ministry of life and righteousness shine with the glory of God?
Yet, the glory of God has gone missing in the church. Paul uses many analogies
of the old covenant temple to reveal the truths of the new covenant, talking
about the veil that marked the point of transition as a rug that was hung
between the holy place and the Most Holy Place. This veil is removed when we
believe in Jesus, denoting access to the presence of God through prayer
without impediment or annual sacrifice. The blood of a bull was required of
the high priest. He brought its blood in a golden bowl, which gave him access
into this place, and that only once a year. Even then it was nothing more than
a symbol of things to come. That time came 2000 years ago, and the offer is
still standing for the children of God to enter the Most Holy Place and
fellowship with God in the Holy Spirit. In so doing we should come away
shining with the glory of God. With each of us having this in common, we could
unite around our relationship with God, combining the Holy Spirit with the
word of God in prayer to yield the substance of the anointing. This anointing
is something all of God’s children should experience. If we did, we could
change the world. All it takes is a little faith and obedience, yet we can’t
seem to find it in ourselves, because our flesh is in the way, just like the
veil of the temple, and we refuse to remove it. We are so addicted to our
animal nature, we are unwilling to sacrifice it as our offering that we bring
with us into the Most Holy Place.
2Cor 3,2-11
· (109d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Revelations of the Holy Spirit Ø Revelation of
the children of God -- These verses go with verses 15-18.
Paul uses Moses as his standard, saying that if
he descended from the mountain with his face shining with the glory of God,
then how much more should we of the new covenant glow from having spent time
with God in the inner chambers of His most holy place? Not only should we have
the glow of Moses, but that it should remain, since we have full access to His
presence whenever we wish through prayer. This countenance on the faces of
God’s children will become in the last days the mark that He will place on
the foreheads of His beloved people who worship Him in spirit and truth,
according to Rev 14-1, “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb,
standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's
name written on their foreheads.” These Jewish witnesses will raise up the
gentile church in the last days, and those who receive them and adhere to
their doctrines and walk in their footsteps will inherit their mark. The mark
of the beast will therefore be Satan’s counterfeit. God intends to make a
distinction between the righteous and the wicked in the last days, using the
glory of God as a tool of discernment to discriminate between the faithful and
faithless.
· (111k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Spirit and the word Ø Living and active word of
God – There is a “non-teaching” in the church
today that we must deduce from what people say and do, because it is not
something that is actually taught, though it is believed by many, that we can
be born again and have nothing to do with the Holy Spirit throughout our
entire lives, but we will go to heaven when we die. This is not the vision of
Christ according to His high priestly prayer in John chapter 17. God wants the
Holy Spirit who dwells in us to be the primary influence in our lives. The
church needs to rise above their book knowledge of the Bible, develop a
spiritual understanding of God’s word and start seeking a practical
application to the teachings of Christ. If we can spiritually understand the
word of God and unite around it, we will have something very meaningful to
share with others. As it is, we cannot unite around book knowledge of
Scripture. The Holy Spirit believes only one thing – the truth. If the Holy
Spirit is not moving and working in our lives, then we are a telluric people
of the earth and of the flesh and do not know the truth no matter how much we
have studied Scripture. The Bible would say that we are still in our sins, but
we of the last days’ apostasy have taught ourselves through our
“non-sermons” that God is laying dormant in our hearts. Does the Bible
really teach that God is willing to lay dormant in us throughout our entire
lifespan? No! Instead, it teaches this: Lk 13,6-9 and Jn 15,1-6. There are
certainly times in our lives when we are more spiritually active than other
times, but if the Holy Spirit remains dormant in those who believe He is
willing to non-relate to His people, then how can they even prove they are the
children of God?
2Cor 3,2-4
· (13d) Serve the body Ø
Promoting its health Ø Building up the body
of Christ
· (35j) Gift Ø
God gives Himself to us Ø Gifts from the Holy
Spirit Ø Spiritual gifts
· (74b) Thy kingdom come Ø
The heart Ø God wants a relationship with
your heart -- These verses go with verses 14-16
· (119e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø
Fences of freedom Ø Freedom in Christ
-- These verses go with verse 17
· (130h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Unity Ø
Committed to caring for the needs of the body Ø
Commitment stimulates intimate bonding
· (152d) Witness Ø
Validity of the Father Ø Witnesses of the
father Ø Apostles Ø
Fruitful results prove apostleship
· (155j) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Witness of the
believer Ø The word of God bears witness of
the believer
2Cor 3-2,3
· (112d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Jesus light in us overcomes darkness Ø
The light of His power -- These verses go with verses 7-13
· (255a) Trinity Ø
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son Ø
God’s word is Spirit Ø Spirit of the word Ø
Words of His Spirit are life – The church is called primarily to manifest
the word of God, especially in these last days. It’s what the church has
always been called to do since Christ has been raised from the dead. In that
sense you could almost say that the Corinthian Church was one of Paul’s
epistles as much as his letters he wrote to them, for they straightened out their
act after he wrote to them the first time. For the last 2000 years God has
called the church throughout the world to manifest His word, but we have for
the most part failed Him on this level. However, in the last days God has
every intension of calling His church to fulfill His objectives, and He will
not take no for an answer, or be refused or denied.
2Cor 3,5-18
· (132h) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Holy Spirit is
in God’s people Ø Filled with the Spirit Ø
Filled to overflowing
2Cor 3,5-12
· (35b) Gift of God Ø
God is willing to Give Ø He is generous with
the Spirit of His Son
· (118m) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø
Law of the spirit Ø Newness of the spirit
transcends oldness of the letter – Before the new covenant man was required to
fulfill God’s laws through his flesh, which is impossible. Paul said that his
adequacy as a Christian comes from God. He claimed that the
person he had become since his conversion was the result of the Holy Spirit
dwelling in him. In describing his adequacy, Paul compared the letter of the law with the truth
of the Spirit. The term “letter” refers
to the written word of God. The bible condemns us because we in our
flesh are unable to do what it says. Paul testifies about this saying, “the letter kills, but
the Spirit gives life.” God has written His laws in our hearts through the
new covenant, who has now become our conscience.
· (205i)
Salvation Ø
Salvation is based on God’s promises Ø
Faith versus works Ø The faith of God versus
the faith of men Ø Faith is the work of God – Paul contrasts the letter and the Spirit.
What did he mean by the “letter”? On one level he meant the letter of
the law, referring to the Old Testament, namely the Ten Commandments, but on
another level he had the entire Bible in mind, including the New Testament,
even including the very words he was writing to the Corinthians! Therefore,
when he said, “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life,” at the very
core of what he was saying was, if we don’t understand God’s word by the
Spirit, then we can’t experience the life of God, even though the Holy
Spirit dwells in us. This is how important it is to obey the Holy Spirit.
The Bible without the Holy Spirit can only condemn you, both the new and the
old covenant. Nevertheless, it seems the letter is all the church cares
about these days. There is very little teaching about the Holy Spirit, and
what little we hear is mostly skewed. We have our Bibles and go to church,
but when it comes to associating with the Holy Spirit, we excuse ourselves
from God’s table of spirituality. The church has almost no relationship
with the Holy Spirit. In fact, whole Christian denominations don’t even
acknowledge a relationship with the Him. They believe in Jesus well enough,
that He died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead and ascended
to the father, and they even believe He sent the Holy Spirit, but when it
comes to a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, they fall silent. The
church is largely unfaithful to the voice that resides within them. Nevertheless, God has
His people throughout the world who are faithful to Christ. The church today
needs to graduate from the letter to the Spirit. We need to let the new
covenant teachings of Christ become our tutor to lead us to the Holy Spirit.
· (234c) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Seeking the glory of God
Ø Seeking the glory of His Spirit --
These verses go with verses 15-18
· (254h) Trinity Ø
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son Ø
Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit Ø Holy
Spirit is life Ø Spirit of God is the life of
Christ
2Cor 3,5-9
· (52b) Judging Church with world Ø
Law judges sin Ø Law is hostile against us
2Cor 3-5,6
· (13f) Serve the body Ø
Promoting its health Ø Servant is anointed
– God does not send us out as sheep in the midst of wolves unprotected and
without defense, but gives us His anointing, which we use to both confound
the enemy and build His church. Consider this equation: Christianity minus the
anointing = the letter. The letter is just that, mere words. If that were
all we had, our faith would not be worth fighting for, but the spirit was
given us as the life of His word. Now we are not just working with mere
words, but with the life of God.
· (77j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Tapping into the power of God through humility Ø
The humble realize the source of their power
· (116h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Working the grace of God Ø Our adequacy is
from God
· (227h) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø God
working in you Ø
Depending on Jesus to impart His gifts into us Ø
To give us what we give to each other
· (231c) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø
God’s grace is the
mystery of godliness Ø God working in you is
a mystery
2Cor 3-5
· (53m) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø God is made strong in our weakness
2Cor 3,7-13
· (112d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Jesus light in us overcomes darkness Ø
The light of His power -- These verses go with verse 18
2Cor 3,7-11
· (117k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Eyes of your spirit Ø Seeing through the eyes
of your spirit Ø Light illumines your spirit – This is a question we should ask ourselves:
why isn’t the church immersed in the glory of God? Are we living in the age
of apostasy? Paul has been comparing the old covenant with the new, but now
he’s contrasting it, saying that the new is so much better than the old,
that the glory of the new covenant overshadows the glory of the old. It should
be as though Moses’ face did not shine at all in light of the glory of the
new covenant, except where is this glory that should be associated with the
saints especially in the last days? God’s intension is that we should clothe
ourselves with His unfading glory, so that everyone can see by our countenance
that we belong to God.
2Cor 3-9
· (41h) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Be like Jesus Ø
Seek His righteousness
2Cor 3,10-12
· (129b) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Bearing the fruit of
evangelism Ø Spiritual fruit
2Cor 3-12
· (85f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Words that are spoken in faith Ø Powerful when
spoken by the Spirit Ø Spoken with authority
· (122h) Boldness
(Key verse)
· (123a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Boldness to speak the
word by the Spirit
2Cor 3,13-18
· (140a)
Temple Ø Temple made without hands Ø
Hiding place Ø The doorway
2Cor 3-13
· (118h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Eyes of your spirit Ø Giving God your attention
Ø Resolutely focus on the glory of God Ø
Focus on Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 18
2Cor 3,14-18
· (3e) Responsibility to the Family Ø
Marriage Ø Pattern your marriage after Christ
and the church –
The veil is a very significant symbol in the Bible.
It represents the transition of a number of things. In this case it represents
the transition between virginity and knowing God. In this
context knowing God bears the symbolism of marriage, suggesting a sexual connotation. In a
regular wedding the man lifts the woman’s veil when it is time to kiss the
bride. This public act denotes breaking the woman's hymen during the sexual consecration of the marriage that
the couple will perform after the wedding ceremony. The
Bible is using this tradition to symbolize what happens to a person who is
born again; they experience God, not sexually of course, but spiritually. The
spiritual experience is similar to a sexual experience
in that the Holy Spirit inhabits the person's soul, mixing His
Spirit with the spirit of the individual, who becomes one with God.
· (231f) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Mystery
of godliness Ø Revelation of Jesus is the
mystery of the kingdom Ø Jesus reveals the
mystery of the kingdom
2Cor 3,14-17
· (118g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Seeing through the eyes of your spirit Ø Blind
receive their sight
2Cor 3,14-16
· (70h) Authority Ø
Familiar with the truth-enemy of discernment Ø
With Jesus in the Spirit
· (74b) Thy kingdom come Ø
The heart Ø God wants a relationship with your
heart -- These verses go with verses 2-4
· (79e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Renewing your mind Ø If you don’t, you won’t
know truth
· (119k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Curse of sin is
broken Ø Curse of ignorance is broken
· (157j) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of being
hell-bound Ø Unable to know the truth
· (169a) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is
blind to God Ø Blind to Jesus Ø
Blind to the glory of God in Christ – We need to become spiritual people and stop
sinning as Paul told the Corinthian Church in his first epistle. God has
called us to be the salt of the earth, saints in light, people of this world
who are gifted to lead the nations into peace, but we refuse to do it, just
like Israel refused to live up to their calling, and has thus forfeited their
ministry to the gentiles. We have been running with the gospel ever since the
resurrection of Christ, but in these last days have dropped the ball. God is
about to pick it up and put it back in the hands of the Jews, who will lead
the gentile church into the greatest revival man has ever seen, making the
early church look like a twinkling star compared to the sun shining in its
strength. Are you ready to join the spiritual revolution that is coming? God
has every intension of judging the church for being unwilling to serve Him in
spirit and truth. The true church, their judgment will be the glory of God,
but those who claim to know God but refuse to serve Him, who know the letter
of the law but possess nothing from the Spirit, when God comes and knocks on
their door and calls them to carry the torch, to develop an anointing that
would shine for Him in this world, and they refuse to do it, calling
themselves Christians, God will pass over them just like He did in the days of
Moses. There will be another Passover of the new covenant in the last days
coming. He will pass over the contemporary church if they refuse to serve Him.
· (183h) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Spirit of error Ø
Spirit of the broad road Ø Spirit of unbelief
· (184d) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Darkness Ø
God controls darkness Ø God hides unbelief in
darkness
· (199i) Denying Christ Ø
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God Ø
Rejecting Christ Ø The world rejects God Ø
World rejects God because it does not know Him
· (207j) Salvation Ø
The salvation of God Ø Salvation verses Ø
The generosity of God’s salvation Ø Salvation
is the gift of God
· (221h) Kingdom of God Ø
The elusive kingdom of heaven Ø Kingdom hidden
behind the veil from the world Ø God hides his
divinity from man’s corruption Ø He hides
behind the veil – The mind of old covenant Israel was hardened,
for “at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains un-lifted,
because it is removed in Christ.” Without interpreting the old covenant
through the new there is no understanding it in so much as the new covenant is
the fulfillment of the old. Since Israel has rejected Christ it is impossible
for them to properly understand the first covenant, which they claim to
believe, let alone the new, suggesting that Israel is completely and utterly
lost.
· (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
2Cor 3-14,15
· (203a) Denying Christ Ø
Running from God Ø Wicked men cannot approach
the throne of God Ø God chases them away from
His presence
2Cor 3,15-18
· (109d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Revelations of the Holy Spirit Ø Revelation of
the children of God -- These verses go with verses 2-11
· (234c) Kingdom of God Ø
Pursuing the kingdom Ø Seeking the glory of God
Ø Seeking the glory of His Spirit --
These verses go with verses 5-12
2Cor 3-16
· (156h) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of
salvation Ø Understanding wisdom is evidence of
salvation
2Cor 3-17,18
· (118l) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø
Law of the spirit Ø Spirit delivers you from
the desire to sin – Jesus said in Jn 8-32, “You shall know the
truth and the truth shall make you free,” while Paul used the word
“liberty” in this verse. What did he mean by liberty and what did Jesus
mean by freedom? The Jews responded to Jesus by denying they had ever been in
bondage to anyone, but Jesus was talking about being slaves of sin. Jesus
wants us to be free from sin. Paul was talking about liberty to live a
righteous life. God has given us power to abstain from sin and thus conquer
its addictions through the Holy Spirit, not through our efforts in the flesh,
for it is the deeds of the flesh we are trying to conquer. Attempting to
conquer the deeds of the flesh through its own weakness is like asking the fox
to guard the henhouse, or like picking up ourselves by our own bootstraps, or
like asking the flesh to kill itself, but the flesh doesn’t want to die. The
sinful nature is sown in our flesh and is therefore what we are trying to
surmount; the flesh is the enemy of our spirit; it is what holds us in bondage
to sin, whose fruit poisons our faith. It is the spirit of God apart from the
flesh, who dwells in us, willing to kill the deeds of the body. God’s Spirit
and our flesh are opposites of one another; there is a war raging inside us.
The Holy Spirit provides us the liberty to become the children of God and to
live as such. In so doing we will shine with the glory of God, “we all, with
unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image.” Paul said that this happens, “as from
the Lord, the Spirit.” That is, just as Jesus was transformed from a
physical man to one who now dwells in the Spirit, so we too are being
transformed from fleshly creatures to those of a more spiritual nature. As we
focus on that part of us that is spiritual we are elevated to various levels
of glory.
2Cor 3-17
· (119e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Manifestations of faith Ø Freedom Ø
Fences of freedom Ø Freedom in Christ --
This verse goes with verses 2-4
· (254j) Trinity Ø
Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son Ø
Jesus is equal with the Holy Spirit Ø Salvation
of Jesus’ Spirit
2Cor 3-18
· (35h) Gift of God Ø
God gives Himself to us Ø The anointing
· (38e) Judgment Ø
Jesus defeated death (Satan) Ø Resurrection
anointing
· (43c) Judgment Ø
Satan destroyed Ø Conform to the character of
Jesus’ image
· (99n) Thy kingdom come Ø
Perseverance (Working to keep in motion)
Ø Persevere in faith
· (103j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Purifying process Ø God purifies His church Ø
We go through Jesus’ purifying process
· (104j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Pure in heart shall see God Ø Shall see Jesus Ø
We shall see His face
· (108k) Thy kingdom come Ø
Revelation of Jesus Christ Ø Revelation of the
glory of God
· (111i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Spirit and the word Ø Kingdom of God revealed Ø
Manifestation of truth
· (112d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Jesus light in us overcomes darkness Ø
The light of His power -- This verse goes with verses 2&3
· (118h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Eyes of your spirit Ø Giving God your attention
Ø Resolutely focus on the glory of God Ø
Focus on Jesus -- This verse goes with verse 13
· (132e) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Holy Spirit is
in God’s people Ø God gives his spirit as a
pledge Ø Spirit pledges the presence of God
· (137g) Temple Ø
Building the temple (with hands) Ø Maturity Ø
Maturing in Jesus is hard work Ø Maturity is
the process of growing
· (155g) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Witness of the
believer Ø Holy Spirit bears witness of the
believer
· (208h) Salvation Ø
The salvation of God Ø Personal relationship Ø
Being the friend of God Ø Relationship with God
by the Spirit
· (213g) Sovereignty Ø
God is infinite Ø Jesus owns you Ø
We are his instruments Ø We are reflectors of
His glory – Moses put a veil over his face so that the
sons of Israel would not see the glory of God fading from his countenance,
otherwise they would have expected his face to shine always with the glory of
God as their new standard of leadership, but Moses knew that God would not
reveal His glory to him like that again; his mountaintop experience was a
one-time deal. God called him to Mount Sinai and gave him the law of
commandments written on stone. In the process, Moses was close enough to God
that His glory transferred to his countenance. Paul testifies in an earlier
verse that Moses’ experience is something we can all duplicate, not just
once, but often as we wish by combining the word of God with prayer and
seeking God’s face by living according to Paul’s example. This is the
great and awesome benefit of the new covenant that Jesus bought for us with
His own blood. We have access to the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts,
similar to the access Moses had with God. You could almost say that Moses was
a prototype of Christianity. God ministered to him through the covenant he
made with Abraham, but God ministers to us through the covenant He made with
His Son. We enter His covenant with God when we believe in the sacrifice of
His body on the cross to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and one of the
benefits of that covenant is direct access to the Holy Spirit. The covenant
that God made with Abraham is embedded in the covenant we have with Christ, in
that God spoke to Abraham and he believed and obeyed His voice. Jesus walked
with God in the same way, and now God expects us to walk in the manner of
Paul’s example. God’s promise is that when we seek His face and find Him
in prayer, it will change our lives. We need to seek God on a regular basis to
give Him an opportunity to transform us from glory to glory and to help us
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
· (226j) Kingdom of God Ø
Illustrating the kingdom Ø Rewards of heaven Ø
Levels of reward Ø Rewarded by levels of glory
in our spiritual bodies
· (229h) Kingdom of God Ø
God’s kingdom is a living organism Ø Kingdom
grows by itself Ø Kingdom assumes the mind of
Christ Ø Kingdom grows into the likeness of
Christ
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