2 Corinthians Week 15

Day 1 

READ 

2 Corinthians 9:13-15 

13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. 14 And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God has given to you. 15 Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words! 

Paul described how the Corinthian believers would cause the persecuted believers in Judea to glorify God. Paul also saw their gift as an obedient act to the gospel of Christ. This gift would cause the recipients to pray for those who had remembered them and sent a gift. This would draw Jewish and Gentile believers closer to each other. Historically the two ethnic groups had been enemies. Paul saw the gift as “too wonderful for words!” 

REFLECT 

Have you had the privilege of seeing people from different ethnic backgrounds being brought closer by an expression of a Christian act? 

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about how one’s actions can be a Christian witness to others. Read Colossians 3:22-24 to see how your work speaks volumes to others.  

Day 2 

READ 

2 Corinthians 10:1-2 

1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. 2 Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives. 

Paul sought to warn the Corinthian believers that he would be as bold in person when he visited them as he had been in the letters he sent them. He wanted the believers to be aware of that as he wrote so he would not have to be so bold when he arrived. His motivation came from spiritual motives not human ones. 

REFLECT 

Do you express a different personality when you write letters than when you see someone in person? Paul wanted to be the same whether writing or face to face.  

RESPOND 

Be sure your motives are right as you address problems. See what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:2-4 about his motives. Talk with a friend about having the same motives Paul had. 

Day 3 

READ 

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 

3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. 

Paul realized the real battle was not a physical one but a spiritual one. His desire was to destroy the heretical arguments of false teachers. Those false teachers were preventing people from coming to God. Paul wanted to be sure the Corinthian believers were obedient before he waged warfare against false teachers. 

REFLECT 

Have you realized that the most important battles are spiritual and not physical? 

RESPOND 

With a friend, examine Ephesians 6:10-18 to see what Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus about the spiritual battle and what they should do. Talk about following these instructions. 

Day 4 

READ 

2 Corinthians 10:7-8 

7 Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. 8 I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority. 

Paul wanted believers to realize that he belonged to Christ just as others were claiming to belong to Him. Paul also distinguished what accurate teaching about Christ would do: it would build up people. False teaching would seek to divide them and cause them to be angry at each other. Paul’s authority came from the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was not ashamed to use it. 

REFLECT 

Has your heart and soul been built up as you have heard the Scriptures exposed to you? 

RESPOND 

The word “edify” means “to build up.” See 1 Thessalonians 5:11 for what Paul told the believers in Thessalonica to do.  

Day 5 

READ 

2 Corinthians 10:9-11 

9 I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters. 10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” 11 Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away. 

Paul reminded his readers that his in-person meeting with them would be as bold as his letters had been. Those who thought there was a significant difference will learn differently. The distance, whether near or far, would not change his tone.  

REFLECT 

Think about using the same tone whether it’s in a letter or in a person-to-person meeting. 

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about the importance of how you approach others. See verses such as 1 Peter 3:15-16 and Ephesians 4:32.