1 This is the third time I am coming to visit you. By the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter will be established. 2 I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak toward you but is powerful among you. 4 For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Gus Cameron

If you were with us at church earlier last year, you’ll remember our “Growing in Holiness” sermons. We finished the series by thinking about three deeply personal topics: sex, money and our words. What’s your reaction when the Bible challenges your behaviour in these areas of life? Do you question what the Bible says? Do you feel it’s outdated or even offensive?

As we heard yesterday, the Apostle Paul had rebuked people in the Corinthian church about their sexual behaviour, and it sounded like some people in the church were questioning his right to tell them how to live. In today’s passage Paul responds to those people by reaffirming his authority as an apostle appointed by Christ Jesus.

Paul quotes the Old Testament requirement for two or three witnesses. His “two or three witnesses” are his visits to Corinth. He’s saying, “You’ve seen me twice already and I will come a third time – and each time you’ve heard me speak with Christ’s authority”. He acknowledges that he looks weak, but then, he reminds them, so did Christ Jesus on the cross. And yet, Christ rose from the dead by God’s mighty power. Since Paul speaks with the authority of the powerful risen Christ Jesus, the people in Corinth had better listen to him and accept his rebuke.

We too must listen to every word of the Bible. It has come to us from God by his appointed prophets and apostles. Pray that God would help us learn to accept it as his word to us and so listen to what he is saying to us. When we find that the Bible challenges what we want to do, pray that God would humble us to accept it as both true and good so that our first reaction becomes, “How can I live the way God wants me to?” Pray that he would work in us by his Spirit to live lives that are more like Christ Jesus.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gus is one of our Assistant Ministers.