Good morning and welcome to Hackberry House and to the Word of God. Father, it is your Word. I pray for grace again to speak that which is yours to your people in Jesus' name. Amen. Hackberry House is merely a website. It is a place where you can come and find many manifestations of the Word of God. There are things that I've written and things that ex-priests and ex-nones and so on. We have especially a lot of Bible studies there now. We started quite some time ago going through the entire Bible. We're almost finished with it now. Another eight written lessons after this one. And if you want to know where this one is, it's lesson 44. You go on to myheartcry.net by just putting My Heart Cried.net into your keyboard and you'll get to Hackberry House. Go to the library page once you get there. Scroll down to our Bible lesson, lesson 44. Print it out and you can work out the different questions with us. Right now we're on number 20 on the back side of that sheet. We finished the portion of Acts where 2 Corinthians is probably from. And then we started 2 Corinthians. We went from 1 to 19 last time. As far as questions, we went from 1 to 5 in the book itself. And we're going to start with chapter 6 right now. Now, I tried to explain to you before that 2 Corinthians is not like 1 Corinthians in a lot of ways. The main way being it's not as much issue-oriented, but he's dealing with a lot of personal matters, especially his defense of his ministry. And he starts talking in chapter 4 about how the ministry that we have is in these earthen vessels, our bodies. And then he goes from there to talking about how our bodies die, you know. And then he talks about resurrection. And then he talks about the judgment that comes from that resurrection. And that leads him right back to where he started, which was evangelism in chapter 5, because of the terror of the Lord, because of the judgment that's coming. We ought to be persuading people. And we ought to be telling others about the Lord. And we shouldn't have to commend ourselves to you because we've been doing this. We've been doing these kinds of things. And he gets back to where he wanted to be, which is defending his ministry. And in chapter 6 then, he begins to describe the ministry a little bit more. Chapter 6 of 2 Corinthians. He says, Don't receive the grace of God in vain. For, he says, in an acceptable time I have heard you and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Now is that accepted time. Now is that day of salvation. He says the ministry that we're involved in right now was foretold by God. And this is the very hour. This, he says, is our hour. This is our time to get done. what needs to be done, and we're doing it. And so we don't give offense to anybody in anything, we don't want our ministry to be blamed, but we are ministers of God. We've got patience, that's a mark of a minister of God. We've got trouble, a lot of trouble, that's another mark. We have needs, we have distresses, we have stripes, and he goes on and lists all the things that you can expect as a minister, a true minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. We just mean a servant of the Lord. That's all minister is. Don't capitalize minister when you think about it in your mind. Don't exalt the servant. The servant is the one that's the very lowest of all in the eyes of the Lord and in the eyes of men. He'll lift us up. He'll give us what we need and he'll bring us to glory eventually, but not now. The glory is not now. We do what we do by the Word of Truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness. We've got honor, we've got dishonor. We've got evil report, we've got good report. As deceivers, yet true. As unknown, and yet well known. So, all the way through verse 10, he gives all these contradictory descriptions of what a true minister is. It's hard to define, because a minister has God in him and it's impossible to define God. So just when you think you've got the ministry all figured out, here comes someone else that needs discerning. Verse 11, Corinthians, you Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you. Our heart is wide open. We want your heart to be open to us. And look what he says in connection with this. We have used 2 Corinthians often in telling people not to marry unbelievers and so on. And that's true, you shouldn't. But he wasn't talking about marriage here. He was talking about the ministry. He was talking about the church and the holiness of the church and his desire to be truly doing the perfect and holy will of God. Don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Fellowship, that is righteousness and lawlessness, can't fellowship. If you've got people there in the church that are unholy and bringing in false things, don't fellowship with them. If you've got people in other churches like that, you're tempted to go over to fellowship with these other churches because they seem to be growing. No. No fellowship like that. There's no agreement that the temple of God has with idols. That was a major issue in that day. The people who were calling themselves believers, but were still playing around with the idolatry of this present world. He says, you stay away from that. Stay away from that. You are the temple of the living God. And you're not going to mix your temple with their temple. And God has said, I am going to live right inside of you and I will be your God. So you can't take what is His and mix it with what is the devil's. That's why verse 17, we're to come out from among them. Be separate, says the Lord. Don't touch what is unclean. I'll receive you. I will be a father to you. You shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord. He's telling them to come totally out of that which is created by man as far as when they worship. Now, He does not tell them to leave the world altogether. He tells them in another place, you've got to hang out with some of these folks. It's your job and so on. You can't leave the planet. But when it's time to worship, when it's time for the Word, when it's time to Be the people of God in the truest sense. God says, I want a holy people. The world will get holy one day. One day the whole world will be His. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord when He comes. But not now. Oh, you've got the gospel going all over the world for sure. But this is not a godly world yet. But he does want a godly church as a picture of what is going to come. He wants a holy and perfect church. And our job is to come out from among the unholiness in the church and be a separate people unto him. It's going to make your church a little smaller. You might not get to be a part of that big thing that seems to be going on. You find out what God is doing. and be with God's people. God will be a Father to you Himself. By the way, if you try looking for this quote, verse 17, it looks like it's quoting, but it doesn't actually, you can't find the quote anywhere in the Old Testament. And you can find 16, but you can't find 17. And it looks like Paul himself is receiving a very clear revelation from God right here. Come out from among them. This is from Paul. From the Holy Spirit through Paul. And then the ending of this whole thought is in chapter 7-1. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let's cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. What promises? The promise that God is going to be our Father. the promise that we are really going to be true sons of God. Because God is calling us to Himself, because we have a promise that He Himself will be our Father if we will do what He says, then let's get rid of all this fleshliness in our lives and all around us. Let's be separate unto God. Do it. Do it. Let's see where we are with some questions here. What is Paul saying about his ministry in chapter 6 verses 3 to 10? Nothing to be ashamed of is basically what I put down for that answer. Number 21, what does he expect in return from them? Be as open to us as we are being to you. Number 22, what is hindering the Corinthians from their walk? They're yoking together with unbelievers. Again, that's not just a marriage verse. That's for any fellowship that supposedly is Christian fellowship that really isn't holy. Get out of that! Number 23, is there a temple in our day? Yes, there is. You are the temple of the living God. I believe in this passage, he's talking about the church. In another passage, he talks about the individual. But both are places where God lives, so they're holy. Alright, let's go back to the text in chapter 7, verse 2. He says, open your heart to us. We are opening up to you. Now open up to us. We didn't wrong anybody. We're not trying to hurt anybody. We haven't corrupted anybody. My boldness is great, verse 4. I boast about you guys everywhere. I tell everyone how far you've come in the Lord. I'm on your side. I'm joyful in all of our trouble for you. I don't mind suffering for you." Verse 5, when we came to Macedonia, we were just troubled constantly. And you were part of that. We were wondering, when's Titus going to get back? When's Titus going to get back to bring a report from Corinth? How are my friends doing down there? Are they with the Lord? Are they serving God? Oh, I was crying about you. I'm on your side. Why are you against me? He says, God, verse 6 and 7, comforted me when He came back and told me that there's been a great revival down there, such zeal, even more than I said. Verse 8, even if I made you sorry with my letter, I'm not sorry now, because I see what it did. I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Yet it hurts you when God's Word comes to you, and yes, even has to come against you, My, that hurts! That hurts! But it only hurts for a while, because if you'll go to repentance, you'll see, you let go of that thing that's in your hand, and God gives you something so much better. You were made sorry in a godly manner, but godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, verse 10. Now, there's sorrow of this world, where you go pout somewhere, and you feel sorry for yourself, and that will produce death. But look at this, he says in verse 11. Look what it did to you. It cleared you. It made you indignant. It gave you fear, vehement desire, zeal, vindication. All these things started to just rise up on the inside of you. You wanted to do the right thing. You realized you were wrong. I'm thankful for that. I didn't just write the letter for the sake of him who had done the wrong. not just for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but that we might be doing what we were supposed to do through God and create a holy church. So we're confident. We're happy. If in anything I have boasted to him, Titus, about you, verse 14, I'm not ashamed. We said the truth. His affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you. You did the right thing. I have confidence in you in everything." And he can't seem to make enough of this. Almost all of chapter 7 is a praise of this church, that they did the right thing, and that's letting them see that he really does love them, care for them, appreciate them when they do the right thing. But there's some other things to deal with in this church. Let's do the questions on chapter 7. What caused Paul great joy? Well, that was the coming of Titus with the great report about their repentance, about this man that was living in sin. And he had been actually rebuked then by the church because of Paul's response to it all. And just repentance all around had been a good situation. Well, what's the difference between godly and ungodly or worldly sorrow? Godly sorrow produces repentance. and worldly sorrow produces death. And number 26, what had Paul told Titus about the Corinthians? Well, he boasted about them, how wonderful they were. Let's go to chapter 8. Let's talk about giving. It just seems to jump around here, doesn't it? He begins to think about the churches of Macedonia. He's thinking about how poor they were. Corinth is not in Macedonia, understand. Macedonia is up north. Corinth is in the south, in actual Greece. He starts praising, just like he praised Corinth to other churches, now he's praising the churches of Macedonia. These people, you just won't believe what they did. They're so poor, verse 2 he says. They're so poor. And yet, verse 3, they gave more than they could give. They didn't look at their ability to give and say, we'll give according to our ability, according to your need. That's a nice rule. He says, they gave more than they could. They said, we're not only going to give this, we're going to give more. We're going to hurt ourselves. We're going to sacrifice. And first, verse 5, of course, this is the first thing you have to take into account whenever there's giving. They gave themselves. They gave themselves. So, we told Titus, when we sent him to you, that he would share what Macedonia did, share that with you, so that you would have that same grace. We want this to happen. We want you to abound in this grace. And there's something he's getting at here, and you'll see it starts to develop, something he's getting at, that they're not quite where they need to be in the area of giving, even though he's trying to be positive with them. He says, I'm not commanding you. This is not a matter of you better give so much. Oh, no. But I want to see where you're at. I want you to see where you're at in your love. Because you know about Jesus, remember? We talked about Him. Jesus is not just into all those gifts He's giving you. It's not about you receiving. Remember, Jesus was rich. He had all of heaven. But when He came here, He became absolutely poor. For your sake, He did that. And through His poverty, you're becoming rich in all these spiritual things. And He's blessing you in every way. And I just want to remind you, verse 10, that what you wanted to do a year ago, go ahead and do it. That's verse 10. Finish what you start. And you folks who need to hear this, hear it well. Finish what you start. complete it. You talk a good talk, and I think it's in your heart, but you've been distracted. You didn't do it. You said you were going to do this. You had a great zeal to desire it to beginning, but you never really got it going and kept it going. So, I don't want other people to be eased and you burdened, no. No, there's an equality here. You're not asking you to do anything else that somebody else hasn't done, but there's an equality here. Your abundance could supply their lack. You have so much. And I believe, he says, that the church ought to be equal in their blessing. If you have a lot that's not really yours. You need to remember that that was given to you for somebody else. He who gathered much had nothing left over. He who gathered little had no lack. That was right from the Old Testament story of the manna, you remember? And I'd like to go into greater detail on this because it's such a big principle, but we've got to keep skipping on. It's a very important thing. Meditate on this. If you have a lot, it's not yours. You just give that away so you'll have what you need. If you don't have enough, Somebody else who had too much will give to you. That's how God has made the church equal in all things. All over the world it's supposed to be that way. Americans have perhaps too much. American Christians, born again, need to hear what this Corinthian church needed to hear. But God put that same care for you into the heart of Titus. And we sent another brother, maybe Apollos, with him. And we sent some people along to be sure that you were hearing this message. Avoiding this, that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which was administered by us. Perhaps the ascending of all these people there. Providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. And then maybe Timothy is mentioned here in verse 22. A lot of key players in the church were sent to Corinth. Verse 23, by the way, if anyone wants to know about Titus, he's not Jewish, you know, and Jewish enough for you. He's my partner. He's my fellow worker. The other brothers, these are all messengers of the churches. These are all good guys. Treat them well. Respect them well. Show them the proof of your love and of our boasting, too. The boasting. that we've been talking about in terms of financial things, too, how you were ready. Chapter 9, verse 2, he goes back to that same thing. I know your willingness, and I boast about that to the Macedonians. Willingness to do what? Verse 1, the ministering to the saints. Finances, money. This is giving. I shouldn't have to write this to you. I know that you, Achaia, Corinth was in that portion of Greece called Achaia. He says, I know that Achaia was ready a year ago, saying the same thing he just said in chapter 8. You had so much zeal that everybody else was being stirred up to give, but you haven't given. Oh, ever heard a good sermon on this and then watched and then realized, no, they're not giving anything. So I sent the brothers, verse 3, so that our boasting wouldn't be in vain. You see how he is. He's praising them with one side of his mouth and the other side he's warning them, you can't just talk about this. We don't want any Macedonians to come and find that you have been unprepared because we've been boasting about you. Don't make us look bad to the Macedonians. And remember the Macedonians and how much they gave and how poor they were. So I sent some brothers ahead a time, verse 5, to prepare your bountiful gift. You talk to bounty, we're going to come and receive bounty. Because you promised it. He wasn't just trying to demand something. But they promised it and Paul knew they had it to give, but they just hadn't done it. Remember verse 6, He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. Okay? He who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. In case there are some of you out there, Corinthians, who are having second thoughts about all this generosity, you are on the right track. Give as you have already proposed in your heart. You made a commitment. Do that. Not grudgingly, not necessity, I got to do this. No, no. God loves it when you want to do it. Now just stir up that want to again. Stir it up. The joy that you had about giving, go ahead and give. And God, don't take this verse 8 in isolation ever. What have we been talking about for chapter 8 and chapter 9? Giving. Giving. In that context, God is able to make all grace abound toward you. as you are giving out of your abundance or even giving sacrificially. God's going to take care of you. God's going to bless you too. But you'll always have all things in abundance for every good work. And why do we have abundance for good works? It's not for yourself. It's not for those material things that Americans and Western Europeans love. It's not for that at all. That's just what you thought. God gave you that abundance because there's many believers in the world who don't have much at all. That's why you have abundance. As it is written, He has dispersed abroad. He has given to the poor. Jesus has done that and He does it through us. His righteousness remains forever. Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown. I know that TV preachers have gotten a hold of this, but there is truth to it. When you sow like that, you do reap. I don't want you to send it to them or send it to me. No, no, no, no. Not where this is going at all. But wherever God asks you to send something, wherever God asks you to give something, when you give it, that is a true planting of a seed. And God doesn't forget that. Okay. Verse 12. The administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but is abounding. Well, he goes on to list several things that this does. The saints are helped. God is praised by those saints. And not only that, those saints are going to lift their heads to heaven and say, God, bless this man, this woman, who gave this gift to me. And will God hear that? Yes, He will. Do you see what's happening? You're giving, God's being praised, and you're being blessed again because those people are praying for you. But above all, verse 15, thanks be to God for His indescribable gift. That's the bottom line of all of this. God gave so much. He gave it all. There's no way we could ever catch up. But we are to give in gratitude and thankfulness for what He's already done. 27. List some of the churches of Macedonia. I said you'd have to have a map to do this one. Well, Berea is one of those. Thessalonica and Philippi. Those are those Macedonian churches that he's talking about. 28. What act of theirs is praised by Paul? Liberal offering for the saints. 29. Once you decide to give, your gift is based on what? On what you have. on what you have. You're not responsible for what somebody else has. Number 30, who do you think is the brother of chapter 8, verses 18 and 19? Perhaps Timothy? Perhaps Apollos? Number 31, who set the example for Macedonia? That was Achaia. They set the example. They started out well. Chapter 9, 1-5. Number 32, how is Paul motivating the Corinthians, that is, Achaia, to give properly. Well, he says, I know you want to. And he uses shame compared to the Macedonians. He talks about their bountiful gift. He talks about sowing and reaping, that God will repay, that God loves a cheerful giver. He talks about the righteousness and how it helps the saints and how God is going to be praised through all of this. the blessing's going to return on their own head. What happens after we give from the heart? Well, God's grace abounds. And what is this gift really doing? As I said, it's helping the saints, giving God glory, and then prayers coming back to you. Let's go to chapter 10. Well, talking here now about some warfare things. I'm pleading with you. I'm lowly among you when I'm there, but I want you to know when I'm filled with the Spirit and I'm talking to you in the Spirit, I have boldness. I'm begging you. When I come, I don't have to bring a rod. I intend to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. He's got some problems in that church. There are some folks there that are not totally with him. He's talking about them. who are criticizing his ministry, saying he's just fleshly, and so on. Verse 3, though we walk in the flesh, he means we have these human bodies, these human vessels, we do not war according to the flesh. It's not a physical thing that's going to happen. If I come to you, we're in human bodies, but the Spirit of God is powerful in us. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty. the weapons of our warfare, that's the Word of God that comes through me. You better be careful when I show up because God's Spirit works in me. And God in me will cast down your arguments. You need to use the Word of God inside of you to cast down any arguments or any high thing mentally exalting itself against the knowledge of God. the false doctrines and teachings that were already in the church. He says, we have something that will come against that. It's the very Word of God. And by coming into us, every thought is brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. So be careful. I'm just a fleshly man. I'm man and a body, but God is in me. And God is going to punish all disobedience. Be careful. Verse 7, don't look at things according to the outward appearance. Don't look at just me on the outside. No. Just because you think Christ is in you, and He is, well, He's in me too. I belong to Christ too. I know people are trying to say that I don't, but I want you to know that I do. It's too bad that Paul already has to defend that he's even a believer. Verse 8, there's a lot of things I could boast about our authority, The Lord gave us that to build you up, not to tear you down. But I've got to say something here, because people, verse 10, are saying that, well, I write big, powerful words, but when I'm there, I'm all weak and contemptible. The man, he talks big, but he hasn't got anything. You need to realize in verse 11, what we are in word, we will be in deed. Yes, I walk meekly. I'm learning that from Jesus Christ. I don't look like a whole lot when I'm with you. But you need to understand that the words I'm speaking on this paper are powerful and I can say those words when I come to you too. You better be careful. God will judge some of you through me if you're not careful. That's what He's trying to get across. But He's trying to compel them to think first. We're not going to try to compare ourselves, verse 12, to some of your false apostles who go around bragging about themselves. No. They measure themselves by themselves. They look at other of their false apostles and other people and they compare themselves and they glory in each other. No, we're not like that. We're not going to boast beyond measure, but we do have to do some boasting here within the limits of the sphere that God has appointed us. There's something that God has given me that is not like any of them. And we are not extending ourselves beyond our sphere, for it was to you that we came with the gospel." We're not going too far with this. Now, when we're too pleased with ourselves, we ignore those who are greater. When we compare ourselves with greater people, it's better because that way we stay humble. not boasting of things beyond measure, verse 15, in other men's labors. No, none of that. We want to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, not to boast in somebody else's sphere of accomplishment. We're not in competition with these men as far as getting the word out, as far as establishing churches. I'd rather go someplace where nobody else has ever preached anyway. so that the one that glories, glories in the Lord, he comes to a new territory, it's totally demonic and Satan-filled, and the gospel goes in, and only God can save and change that situation. But, he goes into chapter 11, I hate to be a fool here, I hate to act like a fool, because these men are doing some of the same stuff. But, I've got to say something about myself. And it's hard for a humble man to speak his own praise. Paul is having a difficulty here letting this all come out. He doesn't want to defend himself. But God inside of him seems to be saying he has to do this because, verse 2, I'm jealous for you. I have a godly jealousy for you. See, the Bible says, Paul said it's God working in you to will and to do of his good pleasure. And so when God says you've got to do something, you've got to do it. And it's coming from deep within. I've got to say this. I've betrothed you to one husband. I am so worried about you that you're falling for foolishness. There's a serpent there deceiving you just like the serpent deceived Eve. I know how you are. I know how people are. And you're falling away from the simplicity of Christ. You're falling into the lap of another Jesus, if it could be possible. A different spirit. A different thing altogether. A different gospel, which I didn't preach. Remember in Galatians, he cursed people who would do that. But I just gotta let you know, even though I don't like to do this, verse 5, I'm no worse than the most eminent of the apostles. Peter, James, these good guys. I'm one of them. I'm not trained in speech. not in knowledge. Now that's more humility because he did receive training from Gamaliel, the best. But you know, you know what I've done. Verse 6, verse 7. Is it wrong for me when I come among you to be very meek and humble and not to be all exalted like all these other men walking around in their pride? Was that wrong of me? Was it wrong of me not to charge you money? when they were charging you? Was that wrong? I'm so sorry. Verse 8, you know what I did for you? I loved you so much, I went around to all the other churches asking money from them so that I could minister to you. And when I was present with you, did I burden anyone? Did I bother anyone? Did I ask for money? No. I deliberately tried not to do that. so that I can keep my boast like this up, that I glory in God, that I trust in God, that God has provided for me. Do I do all these things because I don't love you? Oh, come on. God knows I love you. But what I do, verse 12, I'll cut off the opportunity from those who want an opportunity to be regarded like we are, you see? They want to say, well, we're just as good as Paul, but they're not. They're asking you for money. I'm not. They're in their pride. I'm not. I came in weakness. I asked for nothing. Look at it, Corinthians. These are false apostles. They transformed themselves into apostles of Christ. They look like you think apostles are supposed to look, but I'm telling you, I'm what an apostle should look like. The devil transforms himself into an angel of light. Satan does that. and His ministers can do the same thing." Well, that's a pretty heavy statement. But He made it, and we need to make it today. That there are men who are being transformed into angels, messengers of light. And I speak not according to the Lord here, verse 17. Foolishly I'm speaking. God didn't tell His servants to go around boasting around. But I know that He wants me to do this now. It's like a little fool I've become. So many people going around, verse 18, boasting according to their flesh. Well, I'll do it too. I'll boast in the Spirit. Put up with me a while. You put up with them. Listen to me a while too, will you? I've got something to say. These people are bringing you into bondage, but you listen to them. They're devouring you, but you're listening to them. They're taking from you, but you're listening to them. They're exalting themselves as though they're some mighty thing, but you're listening to them. They're striking you on the face in the spirit. That's how it is. They're hurting you, but you don't even care. But verse 21, he says, you know, I'm so ashamed. I never hurt you. I'm so ashamed. I never brought you into bondage. I never took anything from you. I'm so ashamed. I was too weak to do any of that stuff. I was thinking only about you. Oh, so they're saying they're Hebrews, verse 22. Well, I'm a Hebrew, too. Oh, yeah. Seat of Abraham, of course. I am. They say they're ministers of Christ. Now, listen, I know I'm talking like a fool here, but I've got to. I do more than that. I work harder than they do. I have more strikes on my back than they do. I go to more prisons than they do. I come close to death more than they do. Five times the Jews have hit me on the back 40 times. Three times. Beaten with a rod. I was stoned. I was shipwrecked. Left to drown in journeys, perils of all kinds of people, robbers, my own countrymen trying to kill me, Gentiles trying to kill me, everywhere I go they hate me, I am a weariness, I don't sleep, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm fasting deliberately and sometimes not deliberately, cold, naked, besides all that caring about you and all the other churches every day of my life, no, if I've got to boast, I'll boast in this. You see, the Lord said from the beginning, He's going to show me how many things I must suffer for His namesake. I'll boast in that one who brought me to that level. I was number one. I was numero uno one time. I was killing Christians myself. I was causing them to have great pain. And God turned it all around. And I'll glory in Him for what He did. I glory in that. I'm not lying. Wow, what an apostle. Let's go back to some questions. Number 35, what warning does Paul give? Keep disobeying, you're going to be punished. 36, what attack had been made on Paul's personality and character? Well, he's weak looking, he can't talk. 37, what mistakes were the accusers making in their comparisons? Measuring by human standards. Whom the Lord commends is commended, not whom man commends. 38. What motivates Paul to defend his apostleship? The other apostles preach another Jesus. He's so worried about that. How had Paul, quote, lowered himself? Taking money from other churches to give to them, preaching free. 40. What comparison between his enemies and Satan? They're transformed. into apostles, into angels of light. 41, most of the list of qualifications demonstrates what? That Paul is weak. And yet, it's in this weak servant that God is being magnified. A couple more chapters. He goes on. He says, okay, this isn't profitable for me. I know this is just going to hurt some things for some of you. But I want to tell you one more thing that I will glory in. Some visions and revelations of the Lord. And when he talks about, I know a man, verses 2 and 3, most people agree that he's talking about himself. You see, he doesn't want to talk about himself. He doesn't like this. This is his last resort to these Corinthians so that they'll get the point. I know a man that was caught up to the third heaven. Verse 4, into paradise. He heard words which are not lawful to utter. Not lawful for a man to utter. I'm assuming that we're talking about the law of God there. It could be that it was so powerful in the Spirit that it came against the nations of the world. And therefore, legally, you wouldn't want to say, as a Roman citizen, to say how the kingdoms of our Lord will become the kingdoms of God and of His Christ someday. Why, to some, that would be looking for the word treason. Treason. So it's not lawful to speak these things. But I received it. I'll boast about that person. He's talking about himself, I believe. but of myself, my own natural man who has nothing, nothing to boast about, oh no, except the weaknesses. I'll boast about that because those came from God too. And I'm not going to boast about myself in regard to these visions because I didn't do that. God gave those to me. No, I'm not going to be a fool. I'll speak the truth. I'll speak the truth to you. In fact, it got so glorious So wonderful when I went to paradise that I had to have in my flesh something even beyond all the things I've told you so far. An actual messenger of the devil. An angel. Listen to this. An angel buffeting me. What does that mean? It means beating. Beating me. Beating me. Were these the beatings he received here? I don't think so. Why don't we just take the Bible, literally, when there's no reason to go figurative, why don't we just do that? What if, indeed, an angel of God, from time to time, the time when the angel chose, would take Paul aside and just begin to flog him and to bring him down, to remind him, to remind him that his natural man is never, ever to be exalted. Never. What if that would happen to us when we try to exalt ourselves? Now, if you were looking at this happening, you might not see the angel, but you might see him lying on the floor, writhing around. Some people accused him of having epilepsy. as they looked at this passage. And it might have looked like epilepsy. This is a messenger of Satan! Demonic! A demon was given authority in Paul's life. What does that tell you? Well, it was totally under the sovereign rule of God. But it was real. Something happened to him, and he didn't want it. Oh, he hated it. Paul prayed three times, please God, you've done all these wonderful things for me, please let this go. He says, no. No, my grace is enough. My grace is enough. So he says, I boast in my infirmities. Because that is a picture of God's grace upon me. Because when that grace is there, that weak grace, then the strength is going to be there too. So I take pleasure in all these things because when I'm weak, I'm strong. Well, you made me boast. You made me into a fool. Oh, this is a very wise fool, isn't it? I should have been praised by you. I should have been lifted up by you. I came and did some wonderful things. I'm not behind those other apostles. The signs of an apostle were right there. You saw it all. You didn't say a word. You just took it all in. found somebody else and took that all in too. Oh, my. Verse 14, I just want you to know I am coming to you. I won't be a burden to you. I'm not looking for yours. I'm looking for you. Children shouldn't be caring about the parents in terms of laying up stuff for them. I should be still laying up things for you, providing for you, and I'll do that. I'll be a parent to you. But I want you to love me, verse 15. Well, verse 16, 17, maybe a little sarcasm here. He says, Being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? You know, I sent all these good people over to you, kind of caught you, you know, unaware. He was a little guile, a little trickiness when he sent all these big wigs into the church. I sent Titus and the brother, maybe Apollos, maybe Timothy. Did they take advantage of you? Didn't we walk in the same spirit? Do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? No. I sent them because I'm telling you a very strong message that I'm not ashamed of. But I'm worried, verse 20, that when I do come, I'm not going to find what I had hoped for. And you know what? You ought to be thinking the same thing, that when I do show up, maybe you're going to find something that you hadn't hoped for, too. And in fact, verse 21, that thorn may take off. When I show up, God, I fear He's perhaps going to humble me among you. I think that He means that that demon spirit, that angelic thing is going to come into Him and knock Him down and beat Him right in their presence. And I will mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness." Or this humbling is just that normal humbling of sorrow. Just a spirit of grief is going to come over him. He says, I'm just afraid. I don't know what to expect when I come to you this third time, he says in verse 1 of chapter 13. But I'll tell you what, in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established. I'm going to find out exactly what was happening, and I'm going to act accordingly. Told you before, and I tell you before now. As if I were present that second time, and now being absent to come the third time, I write to those who have sinned before. I'm just warning you. If I come again, I'm not going to spare you this time. Enough is enough. There's got to be repentance in that church. And you want to see some power? You seek a proof of Christ speaking in me? You're going to see it. Even Jesus Himself was crucified in weakness, and I've been crucified with Christ. But He lives by the power of God, and so do I. Yes, I'm weak through that crucified body. But you need to understand that God will Do what He needs to do when I come. You need to examine yourselves to see whether you're truly in the faith. Are you? Test yourself. How are you going to do that? In the light of the Word that I've given you. In light of the Word of Scripture. All the Scriptures that you already have and the things that are already circulating and what I've said to you. Get down on your knees before God and let these thoughts all go through your mind and examine yourself. Christ is in you. unless you fail the test. When you're listening to all these words that go through your mind and none of them apply to you, nothing's happened in your own life, there's been no changes, well, you're failing the test. But I want you to know, verse 6, we're not disqualified from that test. We're passing the test. We're doing exactly what God wants us to do. Please, Corinthians, Stop your evil ways. Stop your evil ways. Do what is honorable. Even though we may seem disqualified to some of you, we're not. We're in this race. We're running it and we're winning it. Please. We're glad when we're weak and you are strong. It's okay. It's okay if we're weak. We want you to be complete. Oh, that God's people today had a heart like this. It's okay how much I spend. It's all right how much time I give to you. It's all right how much I lay down my life for you. I want you to make it. I want you to make it. If that heart is in you, what could you not do for the Lord? I write these things being absent, less being present. I would have to be real sharp. I don't want to give you the tough stuff as much as possible right now, because I do have authority in Christ. Again, it's for building you up, not tearing you down. Well, brothers, goodbye. Be complete now. Be perfect. Be mature. Grow up. Be comforted in the Lord as you grow. Be of one mind. Live in peace, and God's going to be with you. And then he gives his regular closing. Wow. What a strong message. How would you have liked to have received that in your church? Well, guess what? You did. That letter's to be circulated, and your church is to read it. And if you've got somebody living in sin in your church, or thinks that the Word of God, that these apostles were not truly God's apostles, you've got a problem there, don't you? Let's look at some questions as we wrap this up. Knowing their hardness, Paul uses what one last proof? Well, a vision of paradise. 43, why the thorn for Paul lest the revelations exalt him? 44, what must we learn about even fervent prayer? That God's grace is sufficient and sometimes he does have to say no. I said sometimes. Don't let that Don't let that mar your faith. Keep asking God until he says no. 45, what had Paul hoped for? He had hoped for acceptance, commendation as an apostle. 46, what was the only thing Corinth did not have? Well, they didn't have Paul as a burden. And he apologizes sarcastically. Gee, I'm so sorry that I didn't give you this burden. 47, what is Paul's fear now? That when he comes, They're going to be in their carnal ways and that he will be humbled in some way. Now, he's not worried about his own pride. He's worried about them. Since they're looking for proof, what proof might we have to give? Might he have to give? Well, he won't spare the rod this time. He'll work under the power of God to see some people dealt with severely. Number 49, why the sharpness in this letter? So he doesn't have to be sharp in their presence or angry. And it's for their edification, not for their destruction. Thus we end 2 Corinthians in our trek through the Word of God. Hasn't it been wonderful? It's still wonderful. We're not finished yet. In fact, we've got just a little bit of time today. Let's go to the next lesson just to introduce the book of Romans. This book of Romans, and by the way, we don't go back to the book of Acts right now because It seems to have been written right around the same time as 2 Corinthians. This book combines a comprehensive theology of Christ's death with a practical exhortation of how to live out the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. There's two sides to this book. You'll see very clear division when we go from part 1 to part 2. It's Paul's best, some people say. aptly addressed to all who are in Rome. The Romanists of our day would do well to give it a hearing. Think of all those who are in Rome today who need to hear this. Neither Paul nor Peter started the Church of Rome. Let's get that down. It was well established by the time of this letter, obviously, he wouldn't be writing a letter to them, probably due to the gospel preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. Remember, there were visitors from Rome there. They took it back. Tacitus refers to the persecuted Christians in Rome under Nero in 64 AD as an immense multitude, many, many Christians in Rome by 64 AD. Gentiles predominated in that church, but there were Jews there too, as you will see. The letter is written in A.D. 57 from Corinth. You see, he did go back to Corinth. And while he's there, he has another church on his mind. Can you imagine living a life like this, that all you have on your mind is the welfare of the people of God? That's your life. It was near the end of Paul's third preaching tour. His listing of mutual friends in chapter 16, just like in the book of Colossians, is a suggestion that Paul had never been to either Rome or Colossae. It would seem that the motivation for the letter is found in chapter 15, where Paul encourages Jews and Gentiles to receive one another. and magnifies his ministry to those who before had been considered outside the love of God. Will Paul ever be in Rome? Oh, yes. Peter being there is tradition. Paul is fact from God's Word. What about Rome itself? According to Halle, the city of seven hills was the queen city of the earth, the very center of history. For two millenniums, It's been the dominating power of the world, still called the Eternal City today. The population then was 1,500,000. Half of that, half of that number was slaves. It was the capital of an empire extending 3,000 miles east and west, 2,000 miles north and south. We know that when Papal Rome fell, when pagan Rome fell, it fell into the hands of the Popes, who continued it, and in one sense have never let it go. We talk about the Roman Catholic Church, more apt to call it the Roman Catholic System, the Roman Catholic Empire. It's still with us. One out of every five people is involved with it, and politically, a lot more than that. Well, that'll do it for today. Next time we will start the actual book of Romans and that whole lesson will be given over to the 16 chapters in that wonderful book. May God bless us as we do that. And may God bless you today as you go about your life filled with some of these concepts from the Word of God. That's exactly how God wants you to go about your life. Have a good day in the Lord.