2 Corinthians 12:19-21

2 Corinthians 12:19-21

Do you all think that we are defending ourselves to you all?  We speak before God in Christ.  All things, brothers and sisters, are for your building up.  For I fear that somehow after coming that I should not find you all in a manner as I desire and that I should be found by you all in a manner that you all should not desire.  Lest somehow there be contention, jealousy, rage, resentful rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and open defiance.  Lest after I come again my Go should humiliate me before you all and I should grieve for many of the ones who have sinned in the past and who have not repented upon the immorality, the sexual immorality, and the lack of moral restraint that they did.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As Paul comes to the end of this letter, he makes a really important point.  Paul reminds the Corinthians that this letter has not been his defense to the Corinthians.  In fact, he has no desire to defend himself to the Corinthians.  Paul is worried about his position before God.  What the Corinthians think about him is not important.  What God thinks of Paul is of utmost importance.  I once heard it said of Abraham Lincoln that his counselors said to him, “I hope, Mr. President, that God is on our side.”  President Lincoln would always reply, “What I hope is not that God is on our side but that we are on God’s side.”  I believe that is the point that Paul is making here as well.  He does not need to defend himself to the Corinthians and prove that God is on his side.  Rather, he needs to make sure that he is on God’s side and then allow the Corinthians to figure out if they want to join the work that God is doing in Paul or not.

Do you ever worry whether God is on your side?  What does it say about ourselves to think that God would “pick our side?”  Why is it far more significant to stop thinking about God being on our side and making sure that we are on God’s side?

Second Thought:

Paul then talks about the spiritual sins that have been happening in Corinth.  Contention.  Rage.  Jealousy.  Resentful rivalry.  Slander.  Gossip.  Arrogance.  Open defiance.  None of these things are good.  None of these things demonstrate submission and humbleness before God.  Each of these conditions come out when a person is thinking of themselves first and not thinking of God and the other.  This is Paul’s concern.  The Corinthians aren’t thinking about the other person.  They are simply thinking about how they feel and how they want to react to it.

Do you think that this behavior is common among human beings?  Why is it difficult to routinely rise above such behavior?

Third Thought:

Finally Paul speaks about another concern.  There are the spiritual sins listed earlier.  But these spiritual sins are also being combined with fleshly sins.  Lust.  Sexual Immorality.  Lack of moral Restraint.  These are things that the Corinthians should have repented of because they are clearly spelled out as wrong in God’s Word.  Yet there are people in Corinth who refuse to repent.  Is there any wonder that Paul is concerned about the spiritual sin mentioned earlier when the physical sins listed here are allowed to go unchecked!

How good is our own culture at dealing with physical sin?  How good is the modern church at dealing with physical sin such as Paul lists here?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Corinthians 13:1-4