Book: 2 Corinthians

Outside Conflicts, Inside Fears

Have you ever had a conflict with someone? Have you ever battled fears? Of course you have! Everyone has. In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul admits to “outside conflicts and inside fears.” He dealt with physical distress on the outside from those who were opposed to him or his message, and he also battled emotional distress […]

The Yoke’s on You

The Bible encourages us to befriend unbelievers so that they might hear about Jesus and see Him in our lives, but the Bible also discourages us from forming partnerships, unions, or bonds with unbelievers. Paul warns us about this for two reasons: incompatibility and influence. Christians and non-Christians have different views, values, standards, and perspectives […]

Don’t Disgrace God’s Grace

God’s grace is His unmerited, undeserved favor toward us. We are the recipients of God’s grace in various forms. Someone once defined “GRACE” with the acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. In 2 Corinthians 6:1, Paul warns us that it’s possible to receive God’s grace “in vain.” In other words, we can treat God’s grace with disgrace or contempt […]

Reconciliation

The word “reconciliation” means “to restore harmony.” We typically use the word in regard to either accounting practices (reconciling financial statements) or, more commonly, in regard to relationships. Whenever a friendship or marriage becomes strained or broken, but then an effort is made to repair the relationship, we say there has been “reconciliation.” Paul used this word to […]

Judgment is Coming

The Bible tells us that there are three occasions of judgment from God. Which one you will face depends on who you are and what you have done (or not done), but the Bible says “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The three Judgments to come are (1) […]

Trading Up: Earth to Heaven

It’s always important to keep an “eternal perspective” in life. As Christ-followers, we must remember that this life is only temporary. We are only passing through. Our ultimate reward is heaven, where we will trade our earthly bodies for glorified ones, our present sufferings for future glory, and our earthly dwellings for a heavenly home! In today’s […]

Step into the Light

There is a lot of metaphorical language in the Bible about “light” and “darkness.”  Paul uses that language in 2 Corinthians 4 to describe the Gospel of Christ as light that came to shine in a dark world.  Jesus even said about Himself, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall […]

Spreading the Fragrance

In 2 Corinthians 2:14–17, Paul compares our life in Christ to a Roman victory parade honoring a general after a successful military campaign. Such a parade in the first century A.D. would have included priests carrying censors with burning spices to fill the streets with a wonderful fragrance. In this analogy, Paul says Jesus is […]

Suffering Well

If you have ever felt so discouraged that you despaired even of life, you are not alone. That’s exactly what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1. Hardships had taken a toll on Paul, and he felt despondent. Yet he revealed his secret to “suffering well” and wrote about God’s comfort in the midst of his […]