Episode Synopsis:

Paul expressed concern that the Corinthian church would not have their offering ready upon his upcoming visit to Corinth.  As we saw last time, this offering had two important purposes.  The first was that there was a genuine need in Jerusalem as a result of an extended famine.  Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia were spared from the famine and had the means to send a significant gift to the struggling church in Jerusalem.  The second reason this mattered was that once the debate over justification had been settled at the Jerusalem Council, Jewish Christians accepted Gentile believers as their brothers and sisters–but there was still tension between the two groups who had a long and mutual history of distrust.  An offering from Gentile Christians during a time of great need in the mother church would go a long way to alleviate these tensions.

But as we read in chapter 9–a continuation of the previous section of 2 Corinthians–it became clear that although the Corinthians planned to collect such an offering previously, they never followed through on their promise to contribute.  Paul was in Macedonia when word came from Corinth that the offering was not ready.  Apparently, Paul’s critics and opponents in Corinth raised questions about both Paul’s integrity and the true purpose of the offering.  Meanwhile, Paul had been telling the Macedonians (literally boasting) that the Corinthians promised to do likewise.  The Macedonians gave beyond their means assuming the Corinthians would do the same.  The Corinthians hadn’t yet given at all.  This was shameful and embarrassing to all concerned.

In chapter 9, Paul discusses the proper motives behind Christian charity.  He does away with the tithe and reminds his readers that Christians are to give as much as they can–if they can do so freely and joyfully.  He tells the Corinthians that Christians do not “give to get”–no prosperity gospel here.  Rather they are to give what they can when there is a genuine need.  The model for such giving is God’s grace as manifest in the cross of Jesus Christ, the proof that God loves us and cares for us.  Christian giving does not appease an angry god (as the pagans taught), it does not ensure that we’ll prosper financially or regain health (as the prosperity gospelers claim), and giving is always to be done simply because it is good to give–especially to those in need.  While there is a spiritual blessing for the cheerful giver, the Christian offering is but an act of gratitude in response to the inexpressible gift God has given to us in the person of his son. 

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

About the time Paul began his second missionary journey, a serious famine swept through Palestine–greatly impacting the Jerusalem church.  Those who lived in the region knew how serious such things could be and so they prepared for it–stockpiling grain, spices, and animal feed, etc.  But as soon as a church was organized in Jerusalem–after Pentecost–Jewish Christians found themselves cut off from the synagogue and its well-established relief system.  Now on their own, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were apparently suffering horribly and were in desperate need of relief–specifically funds to buy food and supplies locally.

Tensions between Jewish Christians and recent Gentile converts to Christianity were apparent from the moment the gospel spread into Gentile regions–as indicated during the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).  At that council, the church renounced the Judaizers and affirmed that God had blessed Paul’s efforts to take the gospel into Gentile regions–which began in earnest after the Macedonian vision (Acts 16:9).  Paul planted churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth.  While these new churches aided and encouraged each other, Paul understood that if the Gentile churches–who had means–took an offering for the Jerusalem church, it would go a great way toward helping fellow Christians in genuine need.  It would also de-escalate the worry and anxiety that Jews felt toward Gentiles who were until quite recently godless pagans and often persecutors of the Jewish people.

When Paul arrived in Macedonia, he tells us that there was some unspecified serious trouble and that he would strive to get things cleared up before he traveled south to Corinth.  Despite the troubles in the churches in Macedonia, they had taken up a surprisingly generous offering for the Jerusalem church–so much so that it was a major sacrifice, even beyond their means, which Paul describes as an act of grace.  Now he gets word from Titus that the Corinthians (who had been collecting a similar offering for a year) and had not followed through with their collection.  As a congregation they were far better off materially than the Macedonians, but were so distracted by divisions, the subterfuge of false apostles and other matters, the offering had not been finalized.  In chapters 8-9 of 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses this matter head-on.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

When Paul left Ephesus to visit Corinth in what is known as the “painful visit,” he became the object of a personal attack from an unnamed party.  This was bad enough, but what made the matter worse was the fact that the Corinthians had done little if anything to support the apostle.  This forced Paul to send the so-called “severe letter,” the text of which is lost to us.  We may not have the letter, but we know the effects it had upon the congregation because they are explained to us in chapter 7 of 2 Corinthians.  In the severe letter, Paul called upon the Corinthians to discipline the party who attacked him and caused so much disruption in the Corinthian church.  It is also implied that he addressed the fact that some of the Corinthians were still engaging in practices which were not consistent with their profession of faith in Christ–sexual immorality and pagan idolatry.

Paul was forced to wait for word from Corinth to learn of the letter’s impact.  Apparently he was on pins and needles until Titus brought word of the letter’s impact.  Titus’s report gave Paul joy and comfort, especially when he learned that the letter brought about the desired result–“godly sorrow,” which he contrasts with “worldly sorrow.”  The latter is the disappointment of failing to attain worldly things, while the former produced a  sense of grief within the congregation that they had not done the right thing and needed to make things right.  As difficult as this was for all concerned, the “severe letter” led to the repentance of the Corinthians, which was the best possible result.  

Once Paul learned of the outcome, there was a great sense of relief that the Corinthians stepped up and did what was required.  Therefore, when Titus brought news of this to Paul, both he and Paul were greatly comforted by this circumstance.  Paul is now able to boast both in Titus’s work in Corinth, as well as in his own efforts in dealing with this issue.  He can boast that the Corinthians were doing the right thing as difficult as that was.  Paul had to confront the Corinthians–which required a painful visit and a severe letter.  But things have changed.  Now he can boast about them.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

Paul continues his defense of his apostolic ministry and office.  In chapter 6, verses 3-10, he lays out an incredible catalog of those hardships which he has endured so as to preach the gospel, along with evidence of how God has sustained both Paul and his Gentile mission throughout each of these difficult trials.  He has been slandered and praised and has experienced just about every possible human emotion along the way.  He is not bragging as his opponents are doing, but pointing out the ways in which God has enabled him to conduct a ministry faithful to the gospel as centered in the cross of Christ and the message of the reconciliation of the holy God to sinners.  None of the false teachers and braggarts in Corinth have such a track record of faithfulness.

Paul lets the Corinthians know that he has no secret agenda, nor is he withholding anything from them as their father in the faith.  But he does regard them as children in need of instruction and warning.  He challenges them to consider what it means to be numbered among the people of God.  The Corinthians are to be careful not to ally themselves with those so-called Christians who claim to be believers, but whose conduct shows them to be otherwise.  Paul also reminds the Corinthians not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers since Christians compose the temple of the Lord as indwelt by his Spirit.  The Corinthians are to break all ties to paganism and separate themselves from it.

As the living temple of the Lord, Christians are to strive to demonstrate godliness and holiness of life which reflects their status before God.  As is his practice, Paul distinguishes between the imperative mood (what believers are in Christ) and the imperative (how their conduct should reflect the fact that they are the temple of the living God), and as such are to avoid the defilement of the body typical of Greco-Roman paganism–such as sexual immorality and idolatry.  Christians are to strive to bring holiness to completion–part of which is to embrace Paul as an apostle of Jesus Christ, just as he accepts them as those for whom he cares deeply.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

I am reluctant to say that one portion of Scripture is more important than others.  But there are biblical passages packed with theological content and which have stirred much debate among the people of God across time, as does our text for this episode, 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2.  In this section, Paul lays out what might just be the big picture thesis statement for Paul’s Gentile mission–and perhaps even for the entire New Testament–1 Corinthians 5:19- “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”  Christ’s redemptive mission is made clear–he came to save sinners, not help us become better people nor transform culture.  He also gave to the church our marching orders–preach the message of reconciliation, the basis for all Christian hope–the knowledge that God is no longer angry with us.

Reconciliation is an important matter for Paul.  The term refers to removing the ground of hostility between two parties so that they might be reconciled.  In this case, the human race, fallen in Adam, is estranged from the holy God because of the guilt of our sins.  But Paul’s emphasis falls upon the fact that we have been reconciled to God through the saving work of Christ.  This raises questions about the nature and extent of the atonement–a major point of contention between Calvinists and those who hold to some version of a universal atonement.  How can Calvinists affirm that Christ died for the elect only when Paul says Jesus died for the world?  But then how can those holding to a universal atonement (as do Arminians) affirm that Christ’s death does not avail for all those for whom he died?  People can and do perish eternally (on this view), after Christ has died for them.  We’ll discuss the debate over the nature and extent of the atonement in this episode because our text raises these important questions.

A second issue raised by Paul is eschatology.  His “two Adams” doctrine (cf. Romans 5:12-21) and his eschatology of new creation culminating in a day of final judgment is set out in these verses.  In Paul’s federal or representative categories, Adam represents the entirety of the human race (all), while Christ represents those truly in the new covenant (for our sake).  Paul ties the new creation to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (v. 17) and sees it as a present reality to be fully realized on the day of salvation, when our Lord Jesus returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and usher in the fullness of new creation–a new heaven and earth.  This leaves no room for a future millennial age as many assume.

When Paul speaks of a favorable time before the day of salvation, he’s referring to the mission of the church as assigned here.  Christians are ambassadors for God, and are given the assignment of taking the message of reconciliation (the cross of Christ) to the ends of the earth.  Paul’s instructions not only define the church’s mission and evangelistic endeavors, but he also defines the church’s message– “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself.”  Any message proclaimed by the church other than that specifically assigned by Paul will inevitably reflect pagan influences such as those against which the Corinthians found themselves struggling.  We are not to be gospel-peddlers, but preachers of Christ and him crucified!

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

C. S. Lewis brought a biblical expression from Paul into the broader evangelical world in his influential 1941 sermon “The Weight of Glory,” based upon 2 Corinthians 4:17.  Lewis points out that glory, as used by Paul, is a not a ‘flimsy” thing, but something substantial and abiding.  Unlike the shadows of affliction, the denseness of heavenly glory is something real and solid.  Since his sermon was widely read and discussed, Lewis made the phrase “the weight of glory” one of the most significant and well-known themes in 2 Corinthians, along with other well-known phrases from Paul, such as “jars of clay” and “he made him who knew no sin to be sin.”  The former is Paul’s description of human weakness (which we covered last time), while the latter is tied to Paul’s discussion of Christ’s reconciling work upon the cross–a matter which we will address next time (2 Corinthians 5:21).

If our bodies are mere jars of clay or tents, as Paul puts it, then our outer selves (our bodies) are destined to grow old and eventually fail–as a clay jar crumbles and as a tent wears out.  Paul uses Greek categories (which his audience would understand) to speak of an inner and outer self, yet without the dualism typical of Platonic philosophy.  Paul sees such things through the lens of Christian eschatology–this age and the age to come, as well as through the categories of seen (our current existence) and the unseen (our heavenly existence).  The unseen remains just over the horizon where we cannot see nor experience it until we enter the Lord’s presence.

While we experience all sorts of afflictions and troubles in this life, Paul’s point in our text for this episode (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10) is that our inner self is simultaneously being renewed in anticipation of the weight of glory–even as our outer self wastes away.  Despite what Paul has been through in his dealing with the Corinthians, the difficulties he has faced throughout the Gentile mission must be seen in light of the glory yet to come.  Since the Christian knows that our faith is grounded in the fact of Christ’s cross and empty tomb, so the Christian hope is immediate entrance upon death into the presence of God (ensured by the indwelling Holy Spirit) followed by our own resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  So even as we live this life in the midst of death, we anticipate the “weight of glory” yet to come since we are given a foretaste even now through the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

In chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses a subject no one likes or wants to talk about–the frailty and weakness of the human body.  We have all seen images of great athletes with robust and fit bodies–the Greeks and Romans idolized the human body in their art and sculpture.  But think of those magnificent bodies at their peak (say in their 20-40s) in contrast to those instances where we see the same person much older–with weight gain, joint and muscle deterioration, baldness, crepey skin and wrinkles, and the onset of illnesses and various maladies.  That is what Paul is getting at here.  We are all “jars of clay” destined to die.  This is the inevitable outcome of Adam’s fall into sin.  

Given his experience as an apostle, preaching the cross of Christ (as unpopular a message as one can find in the ancient world), Paul knows what it is like to suffer for Christ’s sake, as well as sacrifice his own body and health in the service of Christ’s church.  Paul is not a masochist nor a whiner.  But he has suffered greatly for the cause of Christ, especially in his work in Corinth–a church where many now belittle his work because of his physical weakness.  We get hints in this letter of the emotional toll this took on Paul, as well as the impact of illness and bodily trauma.  Paul recounts these matters to explain to the Corinthians why things have taken the course they have.  

Paul is not a stoic who strives to “keep calm and carry on.”  He is not a peddler of God’s word.  Paul trusts in God’s providence through the power of the resurrected Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit to bring about deliverance from the source of all of these problems–human sin.  Paul reminds the Corinthians (and us) that eternal things are indeed ultimately far more important than temporal things.  The cross is a divinely-revealed message which speaks to these ultimate concerns, whereas Greek and Roman paganism is a mere figment of the sinful human imagination and does not–indeed cannot.  In fact, Paul attributes the latter to the work of Satan–the blinder of minds and the thief of souls. 

In response to the challenges he faces in Corinth, Paul does not stress fitness, diet, supplements, or exercise as we are apt to do and which are, no doubt, important to our quality of life.  Knowing that bodily frailness will eventually overcome us all–Paul directs the Corinthians (and us) to the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and entrance into the glory of God.  We may be afflicted and suffer now, but the glories of Christ and eternal life in his presence is our future.  

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

As Paul finds himself facing a serious situation with challenges to his apostolic authority and attacks upon his person and reputation, he defends himself and his apostolic office by pointing to God’s saving work among the once pagan Corinthians.  Through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, the believers among the Corinthians now have hearts of flesh through which they have become “letters from Christ.”  This is not only proof of the effectiveness of God’s work among them through the labors of the apostle Paul, but as the apostle will go on to spell out this is a sure sign of the superiority and glories of the new covenant–something the old covenant can never match.

Paul draws three important contrasts in chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians.  First, he explains the glories of the new covenant which makes it vastly superior to the old which it has superceded.  Second, Paul contrasts the flesh and the Spirit, in which the distinction between the law and gospel is made explicit.  Third, Paul draws out the superiority of Christ to Moses by illustrating the fading glory of the old covenant.  In making these contrasts, Paul explains how properly understanding the course of redemptive history is one of the key features of his apostolic ministry through which hearts of stone are transformed into hearts of flesh.  None of the false teachers and opponents of Paul can make such a claim.  Their self-aggrandizing efforts to undo the work that God has done in their midst through the labors of Paul is nothing but a dead end and can do nothing to transform the sinful human heart.

At the end of chapter 3, Paul discusses the glory upon Moses’s face as recounted in Exodus 34.  While Moses was forced to veil his face because the Israelites were terrified after Moses had been in the presence of YHWH, Paul described how that fading glory actually reveals the shortcomings of the old covenant and that as a result the hearts of the Israelites were hardened.  But the work of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant takes away the need for veiling as required after Moses was given the law at Sinai.  Under the new covenant, our faces are unveiled as we are transformed unto glory in anticipation of being in God’s presence through the work of the Spirit under the new covenant.   

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Paul is under attack by some in the Corinthian church who question his intentions and his ability–he will later identify them as “super” or “false” apostles who are agents of Satan.  These men claim to exercise charismatic gifts but which call attention to themselves in a manner unlike Paul had taught the Corinthians.  They claim that although Paul is tough when he picks up his quill, he is weak in person, and a poor public speaker to boot.  He tells the Corinthians he’s going to come to them, but he doesn’t.  They say Paul is wishy-washy and unreliable.  Instead of coming himself, he sends his lackeys, Timothy and Titus.  Things in Corinth were so bad that one of Paul’s critics caused such great harm to Paul’s reputation and challenged his authority to the point the entire congregation was severely impacted.

But as we have come to expect of him, Paul takes the high road.  As the founder and spiritual father of this congregation, he will not let the situation get out of hand.  He will defend himself and explain his current circumstance.  He begins by calling God as his witness so that everyone understands that Paul is a truth-teller and not an excuse maker.  As he explains, he did not come to Corinth because he did not want a repeat of his previous “painful visit,” which he feared would only bring additional stress to the congregation and greater distance from himself.  It grieves Paul to have to say as much, but since the matter has caused so much pain, it was best not to come then.  Since the Corinthians have disciplined the offending party, and since he had apparently repented and was restored to fellowship, this opens the door for Paul to make his promised trip to Corinth after visiting Macedonia.  Meanwhile, there have been many tears shed and if the Corinthians have forgiven the offender, Paul has too.

Paul explains that his plans for his visit evolved due to the ever-changing circumstances in Asia Minor, including his missed connection with Titus–a matter of great frustration to Paul, who pressed on to Macedonia.  Using the image of the triumphal procession led by ancient rulers–including the Roman Caesars–Paul speaks of himself as a servant in the royal train of Jesus Christ.  As a great leader ensures his presence is manifest in a fragrant scent covering the stench of his defeated foes, who march in chains and filth at the end of the processional, so too Paul speaks of the gospel as the most pleasing aroma, covering the stench of human sin.  Paul flips the royal image so as to remind the Corinthians, that he is captive to the king of kings and Caesar’s lord, Jesus Christ, and no amount of flower petals and incense can match the wonderful aroma of the gospel.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

For those of us who regard Paul as one of the primary figures in all of the New Testament, it is hard to comprehend a time when the apostle was under siege to the extent we find in 2 Corinthians.  His authority was being challenged, and he was being compared to men whose rhetorical ability and charismatic gifts surpassed his own.  Paul must open his letter to the Corinthians by defending both his apostolic office and authority against a group of false teachers who had infiltrated the church in Paul’s absence.  The strained relations between Paul and the Corinthians must be remedied and the Corinthians need to deal with the presence of the false teachers who have done so much harm during Paul’s absence.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that the Lord draws near in times of suffering.  In fact, God uses suffering to further his purposes for Paul as well as the Corinthians.  In the midst of it all, God is indeed “the God of all comfort.” 

Paul recounts his difficult time in Asia Minor (specially while in Ephesus) facing death at the hands of an angry mob.  The apostle felt as though the sentence of death was hanging over his head, but this forced him to rely not on himself or anything within his power, but to instead trust God to deliver him from such deadly peril.  In turn, Paul directs the Corinthians to do as he had done–seek the God of all comfort–and trust that he will turn around the current situation in Corinth so that the church continues its witness to the pagans around them.  Paul even appeals to the Corinthians to pray to this effect since this is God’s means of blessing them while at the same time enabling Paul to continue his work.

Paul addresses the importance of boasting in the right way and for the right reasons–so as to oppose those in Corinth who were boasting about personal achievement, status, a false spirituality, and who thought little of Paul by way of comparison.  Paul hopes that the Corinthians understand that his conscience is clear.  He has done those things he has said he will do.  He has done nothing for personal gain, but only that which furthers the gospel and which brings blessings to God’s people.  To see this work continue, the Corinthians must reject worldly wisdom but look toward the grace of God which is revealed solely in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/