Second Corinthians 1:1-24
This letter (epistle), which we refer to as "Second Corinthians," is the
Apostle Paul's second letter, which he wrote by revelation, to the
holy-people in Corinth, and this time he also includes the holy-people
throughout Achaia. Corinth was the capital city of the Roman province of
Achaia which was in the southern part of modern-day Greece. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter (epistle) in accordance with the
information that God and the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to him.
II Corinthians 1:1:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of
(the) intention of God, and Timothy, the brother – to the
church of God, the (church) being in Corinth, together with
all the holy-people, the (holy-people) being in (the)
whole of Achaia;
Paul begins by identifying himself by name, and then he states his
working or service relationship ("apostle") with Christ Jesus. Paul's
work/job function within the one spiritual body of Christ was an
"apostle" – he was sent forth/away from the Lord Jesus Christ on a
specific mission or assignment to someone else. He was an apostle of
Christ Jesus who had sent him forth on a mission, and so while Paul was
carrying-out this mission he was not doing and saying things on his own
behalf but on behalf of Christ Jesus!
Christ Jesus is God's son whom God raised up from among the rest of the
dead-people and he received his spiritual body.
The word "Christ" means the "anointed-one" or "Messiah." In the lands and
during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured
on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God, and it was also
used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil
to signify their making holy (sanctified) for a specific purpose, etc,
which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (refer to Exodus
30:22-33; Acts 2:36, and 4:27, and 10:38).
The word "Jesus" is explained in Matthew 1:21 by the Angel Gabriel when
he spoke to Joseph:
Matthew 1:21:
.21She [Mary] will bring-forth a son and
you [Joseph] will call his name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins."
The word "Jesus" means "God saves / Jehovah (Yahweh) the Savior." The
Lord Jesus Christ was given that name "Jesus" because he is the one who
carried-out God's will to make it available for people to be saved, to
be made-safe. It is by means of Jesus, the Christ, that people are able
to be saved and thereby have a true and vital spiritual relationship
with the only true God. Christ Jesus is now at God's right-hand side,
second-in-command to God.
Returning to verse 1 of II Corinthians, whose intention was it for Paul
to become an apostle of Christ Jesus?
II Corinthians 1:1:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of
(the) intention of God…
Paul was Christ Jesus' apostle through God's intention (will, active
volition and desire). The will of God was the action or agency by way of
which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach its
accomplishment; it was interposed between the start and the result of
him being an apostle of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus did not apostle Paul
without this being God's will. Paul makes it clear to the readers that
he had not decided this all by himself, nor was there some "unknown
force" which was driving him to do the things which he was doing, nor
was he deluded into thinking that he was somebody else, nor did he
decide that he was "good enough" to be an apostle to his neighbors or to
the whole world, nor was there a committee involved in this decision,
nor had he "forced" God or Christ Jesus into making him an apostle!
Paul was an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of the intention of God.
Isn't it noteworthy that in the opening few words of his letter, Paul
makes it quite clear who he was and why he was doing and saying what he
was doing and saying from God's point of view which is the truth, and
this also explains his writing of this letter!
And, Paul writes that this letter is also from Timothy "the brother."
Whose brother? Was this man named Timothy Paul's brother plus the
brother of everyone to whom Paul addressed this letter? Yes he was. Paul
is not referring to the biological/natural state of having the same
mother and/or father, nor is he referring to the fact that everyone has
the same blood flowing through their veins passed-down from Adam and Eve
and then via Noah. But, he is referring to Timothy's spiritual
relationship with all holy-people because he had received the same gift
of holy spirit from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ when he first
believed what God has given mankind to believe regarding Himself and His
son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Timothy, Paul and all those holy-people were
brothers in the holy spirit category, they
were all children of God.
The foundation of what Paul had previously taught those to whom he was
writing and which they believed (and every other holy-person believed in
order to become a holy-person, a sanctified-person, a Christian, a
saint, a child of the only true God) is written in the Book of Romans
chapter 10:
Romans 10:8-10:
.8…This is the spoken-matter of belief which
we herald-forth
.9that if-ever you may
express-agreement in your mouth (regarding the) Lord
Jesus Christ and you may believe in your heart that
God raised him up out-from dead-people you will be saved,
.10for with (the) heart it is believed
into righteousness and with (the) mouth
agreement-is-expressed into salvation.
All of the people within the church of God in Corinth and living
throughout the area of Achaia were sanctified to God; they were saints.
The word "saints" is another translation of the same word that is
translated as "holy-people" or "sanctified-people." A person does not
have to wait until he/she dies to become a saint! That would be
ridiculous for when a person dies then he is dead, a dead body without
holy spirit inside of it and indeed without
any soul/breath-life in it either! A person is a saint when he is alive
right now, today, with the spirit of Christ in him/her which is God's
gift of holy spirit – it is not up to a group of people or a certain
committee to determine whether a person is a saint or is not a saint
while that person is physically alive or dead.
II Corinthians 1:1:
1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by means of
(the) intention of God, and Timothy, the brother – to the
church of God, the (church) being in Corinth, together with
all the holy-people, the (holy-people) being in (the)
whole of Achaia;
Returning to the letter of II Corinthians, it was from Paul, an apostle
of Christ Jesus by means of the intention of God, and Timothy, the
brother – to the church of God which was presently and actively being in
Corinth during that time-period, in conjunction with all the holy-people
being in the whole of Achaia.
The word "church" comes from the Greek word
ekklesia, which comes from two words meaning "out from" and
"called," so together it means "called out from." A church is an
assembly of people called out from other people for any reason. It does
not refer to a particular type of building or a house, even though the
church may meet in a particular type of building or in a house. In this
letter, Paul writes exactly why these people were called out from-among
other people - the church he is referring to is the church that belonged
to God being in the city of Corinth. Paul wrote "church of God" in this
letter to distinguish it from any other church in Corinth that did not
belong to the only true God.
This letter was addressed to the church of God in Corinth consisted of
all the holy-people living there, and including the holy-people who were
living throughout the whole surrounding region of Achaia. All of these
people had become holy (sanctified, set-apart from the state of being
common, defiled or unclean against God, having come into the state of
corresponding to the essence of God). This did not happen because of the
type of clothes they wore, or the type of hairstyles they had, or
whether they used a certain computer software program or not, whether
they spoke with an accent or not, whether they used e-mail or not,
whether they drank decaffeinated coffee or whether they drank regular
coffee or perhaps they did not drink any coffee at all but drank tea
instead, and so on! These people were set apart from other people
because they had believed what God has given to be believed regarding
Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ – they had received holy
spirit-life.
[Reference: Acts 2:1-4, 16:1-3, 18:1-18, and 20:1, 2; Romans 1:1-5; I
Corinthians 1:1, 2, 4:17, and 16:10 and 11; I Timothy 1:2.]
Verse 2:
.2grace
to you and peace from God our Father and (the) Lord Jesus
Christ.
Grace is what is freely bestowed without any merit on the recipient's
part; it includes reference to the attitude and quality of the one
giving something favorable to another. Grace is not bestowed because
somebody deserves a wage that is owed for something they said or did,
nor because they begged so hard, nor because they forced the giver to
give! Grace is bestowed because the giver wants to give by his own
freedom of will to the recipient - it is completely unmerited favor from
the giver to the recipient. Here, grace is being given to the
holy-people of the church of God in Corinth and all the holy-people
being in the whole of Achaia from God "our" Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ.
And peace! Oh, how everybody talks about peace and of wanting peace,
striving for peace, fighting to get peace or on behalf of peace, etc!
Paul writes that peace is given to these holy-people from God "our"
Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace is a tranquil-harmony
without strife. We may think of peace as the opposite of war, the
opposite of conflict, the opposite of being at odds with the other
party. Who are the other parties involved as far as holy-people are
concerned? God and the Lord Jesus Christ. All
of God's children (the holy-people, Christians) are at peace with God
our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ because it is given to us from God
and the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore all Christians should behave
peaceably with one-another too.
God was the Father of the holy-people to whom Paul was writing because
they had received holy spirit from Him by
means of the Lord Jesus Christ which made them God's children in the
spirit category. This holy spirit-life is God's own essence because God
is Holy and God is Spirit. God has previously revealed this information
and it is written down in many parts of the writings of what God wanted
written:
Leviticus 19:1 and 2:
And the Lord spake unto
Moses, saying,
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of
Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be
holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
John 4:24:
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him
must worship him in spirit and in truth.
God is Holy and God is Spirit. Since the day of Pentecost, when a person
believes what God has given to be believed regarding Himself and His
son, the Lord Jesus Christ (refer to Romans 10:8-10 and Acts 2:1-4),
that person receives holy spirit by means of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore God becomes that person's Father - spiritually. That person
still has his own body and soul-life so that he breathes and lives in
the physical realm too. The difference between this person and other
people who have not believed what God has said is that this person has
holy spirit-life within him/her and the other people do not have holy
spirit-life within them. This person is a child of God and the other
people are not children of God. God is this person's Father but God is
not the Father of the other people who do not believe what He says
regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In believing what God says, these people willingly make the Lord Jesus
Christ their Lord/Master. The word "Lord" refers to a master or an
owner, one who has the authority, authoritative-power, the one from whom
the directions and instructions are given and who is to be obeyed, the
one who has the dominion over and exercises his lordship in relation to
that-which his title of "Lord" or "Master" is being associated (refer to
also Acts 2:36).
We have learned why Paul was allowed and able to extend this kind of
greeting to the church of God being in Corinth together with all the
holy-people being in the whole of Achaia – it was because he was an
apostle of Christ Jesus by means of the intention of God. He was
speaking on behalf of Christ Jesus, and therefore also speaking on
behalf of God; it was God's will for him to do this.
[Reference: I Corinthians 1:3.]
II Corinthians 1:3-5:
.3Blessed (is) the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of pities and God of all
encouragement, .4the (One) encouraging us on all
our pressure with-a-view-for us to be able to encourage the
(people) in all pressure by means of the encouragement which we
ourselves are encouraged by God, .5because according as
the sufferings of Christ exceed into us thus by means of Christ the
encouragement of us also exceeds;
God is blessed. The adjective "blessed" means: good-worded, well-spoken.
The spoken-account of God's inner-thoughts is good, well. The words that
come from God are good, well. God is in the continuing and lasting
standing and state of blessedness. God – blessed; this truth does not
change.
The only true God is the Lord Jesus Christ's God (his First, Superior or
Ultimate One, the One Who has power, executes judgment, and emanates
what He is, His power and light) and He is also his Father because: (a)
it was God who supplied the seed to Mary, plus (b) God gave Jesus Christ
holy spirit when he was baptized by John the Baptist during his earthly
ministry, plus (c) God gave Jesus Christ a spiritual body having holy
spirit-life when He raised him up from-among the rest of the
dead-people.
God is the Father of pities – He has fathered pities. The word "pity"
means: to subjectively tenderly feel unhappiness or distress on seeing
the ills being experienced by others. He is the One who first had true
pity, the true sense of unhappiness for our ills, our weaknesses, etc.
In this verse the word is in the plural form to give emphasis to God's
great pity towards His children. God has great pity because He witnesses
our situations in life here on earth before Christ comes to gather us
together.
And, God is the God of all/every encouragement (exhortation, a
calling-beside as a father and mother invites their children near them
to help them to do what is right). God is the One Who is presently and
actively encouraging us, the holy-people (His children), to do what is
right in His sight while we are going through all our pressure (every
compression or stress that afflicts us, whatever may be pressing-upon or
squeezing us whether it be physical or mental or spiritual).
God encourages us on all our pressure, with the view for us being able
(having the able-power, the capability) to encourage the people who are
within all/every pressure. How do we do this? By
means of (through) the encouragement which we ourselves are encouraged
by God. There is no other true way to encourage each other except
by means of the encouragement which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
It most certainly is not with our own feelings or by uttering the common
phrases so liberally used today, "Oh, you can do it, you'll be okay, it
will work-out, it will happen, don’t worry," even though the person
saying this has no idea as to the outcome of that particular situation!
It may sound encouraging, but the person saying such a statement,
without definitely knowing that the outcome will be successful, would be
guessing or lying and giving false information and false encouragement.
However, if the person giving the encouragement had received information
from God or from the Lord Jesus Christ as to the successful outcome of
that particular situation then he/she would be speaking words of
truthful information and encouragement from God to that person.
Paul explains that it is: according as the sufferings pertaining-to
Christ exceed into us (just as the experiences of things which affected
him during his life before he died and including things which presently
affect him during his resurrected, spiritual life, abound directed-to
us) – it is in this manner also that the encouragement (the exhortation)
also exceeds by means of Christ. Our true encouragement cannot come from
any other source except from God through Christ.
[Reference: Isaiah 51:12-15; Matthew 1:18-25, and 3:16 and 17; Luke
1:26-35, and 3:21 and 22; John 12:49 and 50, 17:1-4, and 20:17; Romans
1:1-4, 25, 8:18, 9:15, 12:1, and 15:5; Ephesians 1:3; I Peter 1:3, and
4:13.]
Verses 6 and 7:
.6but whether we are pressured (it is)
on behalf of the encouragement and salvation of you, whether we are
encouraged (it is) on behalf of the encouragement of you, the
(encouragement) being caused-to-in-work in patient-endurance
of the same sufferings which we also suffer, .7and
our hope (is) firm on your behalf, having known2
that as you are sharers-in-common of the sufferings thus also
(you are sharers-in-common) of the encouragement.
Paul continues about himself and those who were with
him at that time: whether we are presently caused pressure during the
everyday living of life endeavoring to do God's will,
it is in the interests of the encouragement and the salvation of you
Corinthian holy-people and all of you throughout the whole of Achaia.
Paul and those working with him endured the pressures for the purpose
that they would help giving other holy-people encouragement to also
carry-out God's will during the everyday living of their lives and to
look forward to receiving all that God promises by means of our Lord
Jesus Christ in the future.
On the other hand, Paul continues: whether I and those with me are caused
to be encouraged, it also is in the interest of you becoming encouraged,
that encouragement which is presently being caused to in-work (being
caused by God to do work within, to produce effects by being in work, to
be energized) in you within the sphere of action of and during
patient-endurance (a bearing-up, holding, enduring and remaining upright
relative to God and the things of God under any obstacles) regarding the
same sufferings which we also suffer. We are all experiencing the same
things while we live our everyday lives.
In addition, the hope (the expectation of something future
coming-to-pass) that we, myself and those with me, have is firm (sure,
steady, definite) in the interests of you also, for we already know
(perceive, see) that…
- as
all of you are presently and actively sharers-in-common of the
sufferings (partakers of/with/in the same thing, sharers, participants,
partners sharing what is common to both parties which are the
sufferings),
- it is in this manner also that all of you are sharers-in-common of the
encouragement that God gives by means of the resurrected Christ.
All holy-people are encouraged by God by means of Christ during
patient-endurance of sufferings, and so our hope is firm because as we
are sharers-in-common of the sufferings thus also we are
sharers-in-common of the encouragement. We now receive everything that
God has promised us in Christ Jesus, and in the future we will receive
everything that God promises us in Christ Jesus, which includes our
being gathered-together with our Lord Jesus Christ.
[Reference: Acts 9:1-5; Romans 5:1-5, and 8:14-18; I Corinthians chapter
15; Colossians 1:23-29; I Thessalonians 4:13-18.]
Verses 8-11:
.8For we do not intend you to not-know,
brothers, on behalf of our pressure, the (pressure) having
come-to-pass in Asia, that we were pressure-weighed according to a
super-throw over ability, so-as-for us to be caused to
utterly-despair even of life, .9but we ourselves
had2 the judicial-sentence of death in ourselves in order
that we may not be having been persuaded2 on ourselves
but on God, the (One) raising-up the dead-people,
.10Who out-from so-great a death He rescued us and He will
rescue (us), into Whom we hoped2 even yet He will
rescue (us) – .11you also under-working-together
(as servants) with supplication on our behalf, in order that
in much face the gracious-gift into us may be the-cause-of-thanks by
means of many-people on your behalf;
Paul address the holy-people as “brothers” reminding them that they all
had received the same holy spirit-life from God by means of the Lord
Jesus Christ which made them all children of God, including Paul and
those with him.
In truth, we, myself and those with me, do not intend/will you to be
ignorant (to be un-knowing, unaware), brothers – about our pressure
which happened to us while we were in Asia (the compression, stress that
afflicted us, pressing-upon or squeezing us whether it was physical or
mental or spiritual) – that we were pressured with weight (weighed down,
with the emphasis being on the pressure and not on a physical heaviness
of a load or burden to be carried) in accordance with a super-throw over
ability (surpassing or extreme to a great-degree, as if throwing or
casting itself for an extreme distance or measure beyond the limits of
our fleshy or physical able-power, our capability to cope with it), so
that the consequence and result for us was to be caused to
utterly-despair even of life (to be wholly without resource or any means
of help as to finding a solution from our own ability even pertaining to
our own physical lives).
But contrary to losing our lives (dying) in Asia, emphatically we had and
still have in our fleshy bodies the judicial-sentence (the result of
having been judged and the decision made in answer to the charges) of
being deserving of death, for the purpose and result that we would not
be in the state of having been persuaded and still persuaded (convinced)
resting or basing our persuasion upon ourselves, but in contrast, we are
persuaded resting or basing it upon God Who is the One raising-up the
dead-people.
God has already raised-up the Lord Jesus Christ out-from among the rest
of the dead-people giving him his spiritual body, and this truth is the
foundation for our hope that the number of holy-people who will have
already died by the time that Christ will come to be present to gather
all of us together with him, will be raised-up from the rest of the
dead-people, and all of us holy-people will receive spiritual bodies
(Philippians 3:21; I Corinthians 15:51-58; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
We are persuaded on God Who is the One raising-up the dead-people, and
Who has rescued us (delivered us, snatched or
drawn us to Himself) out-from so-great a death in Asia, and God will in
the future rescue us out-from the people in Asia who desire to kill us.
We ought to remember that Paul is writing what he is writing here by
revelation from God or the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore when writing
regarding the future it is prophecy of a future event or events. He is
confident that God is able and willing to rescue him and those with him
if the people of Asia should arise in the future to attempt to kill
them.
Paul writes: it is into, directed-to God Whom we hoped and we still
hope, based on what God has revealed to us,
that also additionally He will rescue us in the future.
Additionally, you Corinthian holy-people and all the holy-people in the
whole of Achaia are under-working together as servants (working
together, cooperating with us as being in subjection to us and thus
helping us, as aids or servants behind-the-scenes since you are not
right-here with us) with/by supplication on behalf of us (specific
communication of prayer, expressing a needful-request, beseeching God
regarding our lack and thus having a specific-need in the particular
situation or circumstance) – with the result that in much face (a big
presence, very plentiful and greatly evidenced) the gracious-gift
directed into us by God may be the-cause-of-thanks by means of
many-people on your behalf.
A gracious-gift is something freely-given with/by the grace of God and/or
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the result, product, or effect of the
action of graciously giving so that the recipient may utilize it
appropriately. Every holy-person/Christian has already received the
free-gift of holy spirit, and any added information, assignment, etc,
given to any holy-person is given by grace (refer to I Corinthians
12:4). It is a gracious-gift to the recipient. It is unmerited or
undeserved on the recipient's part because it is not given as a wage or
a corresponding-reward for something he/she had or had-not done.
This gracious-gift is spiritual - emanating from the holy spirit-life
within them - in the holy spirit category, not originating from the
flesh/physical category. This gracious-gift was keeping Paul and those
with him alive at that time giving them the ability to do His will
carrying out their assignments throughout all of those situations.
You also under-working-together as servants with supplication on our
behalf, with the result that in much face the gracious-gift directed
into us by God would be the cause of many people expressing their thanks
towards God (their gratitude to the Giver of the grace given-to and
received-by us) on behalf of all of you (who prayed by supplication
requesting God to help us and we know that He did help us and He
continues to help us as I am explaining here).
[Reference: Acts 19:1-20:1; Romans 15:30 and 31; I Corinthians 15:3, 4,
20-28, 32, 50-57, and I6:19(b); Philippians 1:19, 3:3; II Thessalonians
3:1 and 2; II Timothy 4:17 and 18.]
Verses 12-14:
.12for our boasting is this, the witness of our
conscience, that we behaved in the world in (the) holiness
and genuineness of God, and not in fleshly wisdom but in
(the) grace of God, but more-exceedingly towards you, .13for
we do not write other-things to you but the-things-which you
read, but I hope that you will fully-know until (the)
completion .14according as you also fully-knew us
in-part, because we are your boast fully-as also you (are)
ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The word “witness” means: the attestation or declaration which is borne
bringing the subject-matter to light confirming it as authentic
information or knowledge.
In truth, the reason for the boasting (speaking justifiably loudly) of
myself and those with me, which is the witness of our conscience (of all
of our knowing-awareness, the perception of what is right which we put
together for ourselves in our minds as a result of all that we have
already been taught and learned in relation to the one whom we recognize
as our ruler, the One Who has authority, ultimately this authority being
the only true God), is this:
- that
we behaved (we were turned up in our mode of living, way/manner of
moving-about during everyday living) among the world (the
ordered-arrangement) within the sphere of action of
- God's holiness (sanctity, the quality of sanctification belonging-to and
proceeding-from God)
- and
His genuineness (the genuineness belonging-to and proceeding-from God,
as though being examined in the bright sunlight and found to be
sincere),
- and
not within fleshly wisdom (the skillful or expert application of
personal-knowledge, what to do concerning a specific situation or
circumstance - but this wisdom is belonging-to, proceeding-from,
relating-to, characterized-by flesh, the appetites of the flesh)
- but on the contrary, within God's grace (refer to verses 2 and 11 above for
details on grace).
Both Paul and those with him had freedom of will to decide what they
would allow to influence their minds, their thinking, their
decision-making, their planning, their living of everyday life - they
chose to do it God's way, not man's way without God, not "my" way – but
God's way!
Our boasting is this, the witness of our conscience, that we behaved in
the world in the holiness and genuineness of God, and not in fleshly
wisdom but on the contrary in the grace of God, but more-abundantly
(more than above the measure already attained) we manifest this towards
you holy-people. In truth, we do not write something else to you but the
things which you read (you are physically reading what we write to you
gaining the personal knowledge that comes from reading what is written).
There is nothing written "between the lines"! There are no hidden
meanings, no hidden messages, nothing written between the lines of
words, and this is so in the letter which I am now writing and in the
letter which I previously wrote to you; you can physically see and read
the words that are written.
Perhaps some people were attempting to influence the holy-people
(Christians) saying that Paul did not really mean what he said but that
he meant something different, something other than God's Word with
hidden messages, hidden meanings, etc! However, Paul, by revelation,
writes that this was not the case. He very clearly states that he and
those who are also mentioned as being senders of the letters did not
write any other things except what the holy-people can read in the
letters - if they could not see the words written down then there were
no other words written down, there were no other words between the
lines, there was no hidden message, no hidden meaning, no hidden agenda,
no hidden anything, no innuendo!
Paul continues: I hope that all of you will fully know until the
completion (will have full, clear and exact personal knowledge within
yourselves concerning the truth of the things that you read, what is
written, for the duration of time to the ending-issue, complete-thing,
the fulfillment, up to the time when all holy-people will be gathered
together with the Lord Jesus Christ and we will receive our new
spiritual bodies having eternal life; refer to Romans 6:22; Philippians
3:21; I Corinthians 15:51-57; I Thessalonians 4:13-17)…
- just as all of you fully-knew us partly (you had full, clear and exact
personal knowledge of us partly, one part away-from the other part, in
other words you didn't know everything concerning us but what you knew
you fully-knew it)…
…because (the objective cause being that) we are your subject or theme
for boasting (for speaking justifiably loudly so others can hear what is
said) fully-as also you are our boast in (during) the day of the Lord
Jesus, which begins with his coming to be present to gather all of the
church of holy-people together with him.
[Reference: Acts 23:1; I Corinthians 1:8, and 5:8;
Philippians 2:16; I Timothy 4:13; Hebrews 12:10.
For more details regarding the day of the Lord Jesus, you may also read
my studies on I Thessalonians, II
Thessalonians, and chapter 15 of I Corinthians.]
Verses 15 and 16:
.15And with this persuasion formerly I used-to
deliberately-determine to go towards you in order that you may have
a second grace, .16and by means of you to go-through into
Macedonia and again from Macedonia to go towards you, and by you to
be sent-forward into Judea.
It was with the persuasion (conviction, confidence, certainty and
reliance) of what I have just written that formerly (before, prior to
now, previously) I was purposefully-willing to go towards you
holy-people for the purpose and result that you would have a second
grace (that you would hold the grace that I bestow to you for the second
time by my being present with you), and then continue on my travels
after my visit with you through the area into Macedonia, and again when
I go away-from Macedonia to go back to you for another visit (which
would be my third visit to Corinth), and then to be sent on my journey
by you with provisions into the area of Judea.
As we read on we will learn more of the background as to why Paul by
revelation from God and/or the Lord Jesus Christ is telling them that
while he was in Troas he had intended to re-visit them with Titus (II
Corinthians 2:12 and 13) even before he went to Macedonia, which is
different to what he had told them at the end of his last letter when he
said that he would go to Macedonia first – there had been a change of
traveling plans.
[Reference: Acts 19:21 and 22; I Corinthians 4:19, and 16:5-7.]
Verse 17:
.17Therefore deliberately-determining this,
consequently (it was) not-something I used with lightness,
was it? – (no) – or do I
deliberately-determine the-things-which I deliberately-determine
according to flesh in order that it may be with me: "yes" and "no"?
Having told these Corinthian and Achaian
holy-people of his changed plans, Paul continues by writing regarding
himself and his actions as though responding to some accusations that
had been brought against him and the way that he lived his everyday life
carrying-out his mission as he was apostled to do by Christ Jesus by the
intention of God.
He writes: following on logically, when I was purposefully willing to
visit you at that time, in correspondence to that, it was not something
that I used with lightness (something that I made use of without any
weight or heaviness to it, just "off the top of my head" without
thinking, with levity and irresponsible, as though I deemed it to be
needful for a specific purpose, as a means to attain some goal I had in
mind), was it? The answer to Paul's question according to the Greek
sentence structure must be "No!" Paul did not deliberately-determine
this with lightness as a means to getting something done!
Or, do I purposefully-will the things which I purposefully-will in
accordance with flesh (as members of a council taking counsel,
consulting with flesh and making determinations based on things
pertaining-to and proceeding-from flesh, which is to the exclusion of
God Who is Holy Spirit, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the gift of
holy spirit within me, and of all the things of God) for the purpose and
result that it would be with me (at rest beside and in position with me)
in all that I say and do both "yes" and "no"?
If Paul were deliberately-determining to visit them and everything else
he said and did basing his will and purposes according to the counsel of
flesh, then these would most definitely be a mixture of "yes" and "no"
because there is no reliability in flesh but it is contradictory.
[Reference: II Corinthians 5:16, and 10:2, 3.]
The answer to Paul’s question:
Verses 18-20:
.18But God (is) believable that our word
towards you is not "yes" and "no" – .19for the son of
God, Jesus Christ, the (one) having been heralded-forth among
you by means of us, by means of me and Silvanus
and Timothy, did not become "yes" and "no" – but it became2
"yes" in him, .20for as-many promises of God (there
are,) in him (they are) "yes" and by means of him
(they are) "with-certainty" towards glory to God by means of us;
God was and is and will continue to be believable – He is faithful – He
is trustworthy! We can rely on the words that God, Who is our Father,
speaks and we can rely on whatever He doesdHej.
There should be no doubting of God's words which He gives us to believe
because He is believable.
God is believable, and so the objective cause from this is that the word
(the spoken-account of the inner thoughts of God), which we speak
towards you, is not "yes" and "no" – it does not contradict itself.
In truth, Jesus Christ who is the son of God – (the son originating from
God, first promised by God in Genesis 3:15 and who is the subject-matter
of the good-message; writing the name ‘Jesus’ before ‘Christ’ emphasizes
his obedience and service for/towards God; Jesus Christ who is the son
of God) – is the one who has been heralded-forth (proclaimed) among you
Corinthian and Achaian holy-people by means
of (through) us, specifically myself and Silvanus
(Silas) and Timothy, and he, Jesus Christ, did not cause himself to
become "yes" and "no" at any time either before his crucifixion and
death or after God raised him up from among the dead-people and caused
him to sit at His right-hand side.
But contrary to the word towards you being contradictory, it became and
it continues to be "YES" in him, within Jesus Christ who is the son of
God. In truth, how many of God's promises (the quantity of all of God's
proclamations, declarations of the message of His own intentions) there
are…
- they
are "yes" (with definite affirmation – yes) within the son of God who is
Jesus Christ,
- and it is by means of (through) the son of God who is Jesus Christ that
these promises are "with certainty" (amen, truly, surely!)
- for the purpose of approaching-towards glory to God (importance, splendor,
renown to God) by means of (through) us who heralded-forth the word
which is God's Word concerning His son, Jesus Christ.
God is to be glorified. God is the One Who
must be given the glory for all that He has accomplished by means of His
son, Jesus Christ – not Paul, nor those with him, nor the Corinthian and
Achaian holy-people.
Jesus Christ was dead but now he is alive. God marked Jesus Christ out as
the son of God by raising him up from among the dead-people
giving him his spiritual body. God gave him the name that is above every
other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ, and
his name includes the name – SON – God’s son; he inherits everything
that the firstborn son should inherit from his Father, the only true
God. The word ‘son’ emphasizes origin, quality, and essence. The spirit
of holiness is the spiritual essence of the resurrected Christ Jesus.
Refer to Matthew 3:17, 17:5; John 17:1; Acts 2:21 and 38, 3:6 and 16,
4:7-12 and 30, 9:20, 13:33, 26:23; Romans 1:3, 4 and 9, 5:10, 8:3, 29
and 32; I Corinthians 1:9, chapter 15; II Corinthians 1:19; Galatians
2:20, 4:4 and 6; Ephesians 1:19-23, 4:13; Philippians 2:9 and 10;
Colossians 1:13 and 18; I Thessalonians 1:10; II Thessalonians 3:6;
Hebrews 1:1-8, 3:6, 4:14, 5:5-10, 6:6, 7:3, 21 and 28, 10:29; II Peter
1:17; I John 1:3 and 7, 2:22-24, 3:8 and 23, 4:9, 10, 14 and 15, 5:5,
9-13 and 20; II John 1:3 and 9; Revelation 2:18.
[Reference: Acts 16:1-3, and 18:5; I Corinthians 1:9, and 10:13;
Colossians 1:13-28; I Thessalonians 1:1; II Thessalonians 1:1; II Peter
1:4.]
Verses 21 and 22:
.21but the (One) making us firm together
with you into Christ and having anointed us (is) God,
.22the (One) also having sealed us – even having given
the deposit of the spirit in our hearts.
Paul continues: the One Who…
- is
presently and actively making us firm (making myself and those with me
sure, steady, definite) in conjunction with you holy-people into Christ
(from outside-of to inside-of, the interior of Christ – referring to the
spirit category because every holy-person has received the spirit of
Christ within; this is not referring to the walk/behavior category
because every holy-person still has freedom of will whether to walk
according to God's will or not), and
- having anointed us (Who has previously anointed us, has already anointed
us; when we, you and I and those with me and all holy-people, first
believed what He has given us to believe regarding Himself and His son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, we were anointed – it is done, completed, past
tense)…
…is God.
Who? God – not Paul and those with him, nor the
Corinthian and Achaian
holy-people, nor anyone or anything else.
God is the One making all of us holy-people firm into Christ and God is
the One having anointed us.
The Greek verb chrio translated "to anoint" literally means to
touch the surface of a body slightly, to graze or rub something over
with something else. Here, Paul uses it figuratively referring to God's
having poured oil on all holy-people signifying that we were made holy,
sanctified for His specific purpose. It is interesting to note that the
word "anoint" comes from the same Greek word translated "Christ" which
means "the anointed-one." In the lands and during the time-period of the
writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to
begin his ministry for God; it was also used to anoint kings. Many
people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making
holy, sanctified for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in
many scriptures in the Bible (for example, Exodus 29:7; Numbers 6:5, and
7:1; I Samuel 9:16; Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27, and 10:38; Hebrews 1:9).
Christ Jesus is the anointed-one of God, the Messiah. All holy-people are
not all Christs individually, but all
holy-people are limbs of the one spiritual body of Christ because we
have all received holy spirit-life which is the spirit of Christ in us
(Colossians 1:27). All holy-people have already been
anointed by God because all of us who are true holy-people/Christians
have already received the gift of holy spirit
and it does not ever leave us.
Therefore it is not according to God’s Word that a holy-person would ask
God to anoint them because this would be telling God that they do NOT
believe what He says. If an unsaved person would ask God to anoint him
then he is telling God that he recognizes that he has not previously
believed what God says about Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ
– that person must believe what God says and do what God says in order
to receive holy spirit-life. See Acts chapters 2, 3, 4, and 10, and
Romans 10:8-13, etc.
God is the One Who is making all holy-people firm into Christ and He is
the One having anointed us. Paul continues:
- God is the One Who has also sealed us to/for/with Himself (He has sealed
us up, securely-fastened us, He has put His seal, His mark of
authentication and approval, ratification, He has made us fast, as when
using a seal to ensure something is secure, like sealing a letter so it
is not opened and read by anyone except by the one to whom the letter is
addressed).
With what and how did God make us firm into Christ and anoint us and seal
us to Himself? God has actively given us holy-people the deposit (the
earnest, token, the first-part of the whole to guarantee to us
recipients that we will also receive the remaining part of the whole of
the same kind) of, consisting-of and which-is the spirit (the gift of
holy spirit, holy spirit-life) within our hearts (the center of our
beings, the seat of our whole personal selves and life; refer to Romans
5:5; II Corinthians 3:3; Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:27 and 3:4).
The One making us firm together with
you into Christ and having anointed us is
God, the One also having sealed us – even having given the
deposit of the spirit in our hearts. All holy-people have already
received holy spirit from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ which is
the deposit of the great inheritance which God has promised to all of us
as part of the new covenant of spirit (refer to II Corinthians 3:6).
[Reference: Luke 4:18 and 19; John 6:27; Acts 4:26, 27, and 10:38; I
Corinthians 1:6-8, and 15:51-57; II Corinthians 3:6, and 5:5; Galatians
chapter 3; Ephesians 1:10-14; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I John 2:27 and
28.]
Verses 23 and 24:
.23But I call-upon God (Who is)
witness to-myself on my soul that (for the reason of)
sparing you I no-longer went into Corinth, .24not because
we are lord of your belief but we are workers-together of
your joy, for with belief you stood2.
Upon whom was Paul calling to be a witness for
himself with reference to what he has written in verses 15-22?
God! A witness is someone who has information or knowledge of what he is
attesting to, and can therefore confirm it on the strength of his-own
authority. Here - God is the Witness, and His authority is supreme.
Paul writes: emphatically I call-on God Who is a witness to-myself
down-on my soul (I invite Him by turning towards Him appealingly to
testify on my behalf regarding my soul/breath life, and figuratively
referring to my being, including my character and disposition as I am
living my life – emphatically mine, not anyone else) that my reason for
not having gone into Corinth anymore (since the last time) is I am
presently sparing you holy-people (I am abstaining from using or doing
things to/with you that may not be such a pleasant experience for any of
us).
Further clarifying what he has just written so that there should not be
confusion about what he means, Paul continues: the objective cause is
not that we (myself and those with me) are lord of your belief (master
of, have lordship or dominion over, lord-it-over what you believe, your
faith, trust) – but on the contrary, we are workers together of your joy
(co-workers, joint-workers, people who expend energy to effectively work
in conjunction with you of/with/in/for your rejoicing). In truth, it is
with/by belief of what we heralded-forth to you that you stood at that
time and you still stand today on the truth of what God has given us to
believe.
Paul and those with him did not control what the Corinthians and
Achaians believed, but as Paul and those
with him worked together carrying out their assignments given to them by
God and/or the Lord Jesus Christ among them, they were also workers with
these holy-people who had joy as a result of their work.
All holy-people stand in the spirit category with belief of what God has
given to be believed regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus
Christ (Romans 10:8-10). We do not fall from being children of God, from
being limbs/members of the one spiritual body of Christ, from being made
firm into Christ, from having been anointed, from having been sealed –
why? – because of having been given the
deposit which is holy spirit in our hearts. Once a person receives
holy spirit life from God by means of the
Lord Jesus Christ he/she is a child of God and this cannot change.
However, a holy-person's continued believing and obeying God's Word
behaving accordingly may change because it is dependent upon each
holy-person's willingness to continue to accept and believe and obey it.
But even if some Christians decide that they do not want anything else
to do with God in their future in the walk/behavior category during the
everyday living of their lives, they cannot get rid of holy spirit –
this is similar to the natural realm where a son or daughter cannot get
rid of his/her father and mother's seed-nature, genes, chromosomes, etc,
just because he/she decides to leave home and do things "my way"!
[Reference: Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:25; Romans 1:9, and 6:9; I Corinthians
3:9, 4:21, and 15:1; II Corinthians 2:1, and 13:2; I Peter 5:3. Note:
verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them
indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant
Notes" link of this study.]
The foundation for those to whom Paul was writing to stand on the
accuracy of God's Word is with belief of what God has said, not whether
Paul visited them or not, not whether Paul wrote them a letter or not!
And, the continuation of this train of thought has been put into the
next chapter….
