II Cor.13 Bible Study

And so we come to the end of this extraordinary letter.  Written almost 2,000 years ago, it – like all of Scripture – speaks profoundly and poignantly to today’s Church.  The universal (i.e. catholic) relevance is a characteristic of the Spirit-inspired Scriptures, and it should never surprise us that these ancient texts speak so powerfully and directly to us, in a different time, place and culture.  Christ speaks through His Apostle, and the life-giving power that called a Church into creation, speaks today by the Spirit.

And yet the Church at Corinth has been calling Paul’s ministry as an Apostle into question.  They have put their spiritual father (I Cor.4:15) in the proverbial dock.  They have presumed to act as judge and jury, demanding that Paul prove himself to them, authenticate himself as a minister of the Gospel.  All the way through Paul has played along, but now comes the sting in the tail: Examine yourselves (v.5).  There is a subversive irony at play here, one that has been lurking just below the surface all the way through II Corinthians.  If Paul passes their ‘tests’, he actually fails as an Apostle.  The Corinthians’ judgment is so skewed, their perspective so worldly and infantile (I Cor.3:2), their spiritual understanding so distorted, that if in their eyes Paul is vindicated, then his ministry is in real terms invalidated.

The weird position they find themselves in at the end of the letter is that if Paul does turn up with their longed-for display of power, it will be for rebuke and discipline.  But if Paul’s letter successfully leads them into full repentance and reconciliation with Paul (and therefore with Christ), then there will be no fireworks, no spectacular display of Spiritual authority.  That’s why he would be thrilled if he seemed to have failed (v.7).  Of course, actual failure would be if he had been unable to win them back to their Heavenly Bridegroom.  Then Paul would pass their test of demonstrating power, but it would be for their ‘tearing down’ (v.10). 

If they – by their refusal to hear Christ speaking through Paul (v.3, likely with John 10:4 in mind) – fail Paul’s test and it turns out they’re not ‘in the faith’, then Paul also fails…  for there was never a genuine Church at Corinth.  There are only two choices facing Corinth. recognize Christ’s voice and return to faithfully following Jesus as preached by the Apostles; or refuse to acknowledge that Christ speaks through Paul, thus proving they were never His sheep in the first place.  Of course, Paul knows better…

Questions:

Is Paul’s language in v.2 and v.10 abusive?  How would you react to a Christian leaders speaking like that to a congregation today? 

What does Paul (and the Corinthian Church) mean when they speak of Christ speaking through him (v.3)?  How does that affect how we read the letters of Paul (see similar claims at I Cor.2:10-13; Gal.1:11-12; I Thess.2:13 etc.)? 

How do you respond to the idea that Paul takes a step away from the teaching of Jesus, misrepresenting Jesus, or even that Paul is teaching something altogether different from Jesus?  

How does our weakness give space for God’s power to be at work?  How should that affect how we live, and how we share our faith?  How can MIE ‘boast’ in our weakness?

How should we ‘examine’ and ‘test’ ourselves?  What does that look like in our own experience?  Does this idea seem introspective, or spiritually unhealthy to you?  What do you think Paul envisages?  What should such self-examination lead to?

What would it look like for Paul’s prayer of v.9 (see also v.11) to be answered?  How would that affect the life, ministry and mission of the Corinthian Church?

How far can we expect Christians to ‘be of one mind’ (v.11)?  Why do you think that Christians who sincerely study Scripture arrive at different conclusions about so many key issues?  Is Paul’s exhortation here (see also I Cor.1:10, where Paul calls them to ‘be perfectly united in mind and thought’) naïve?  Why do you think he makes this point at the start and end of his correspondence with them?

Does the promise of God’s presence stand or fall with how faithfully we fulfil the conditions of v.11?  If we don’t encourage one another, if we aren’t of one mind, if we don’t live in peace, then is God not with us?

Should we obey v.12?

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

II Cor.12 Bible Study

The Third Heaven...  a quick bit of theological geography.  In the Bible’s view of the world there are three heavens (note how often ‘heavens’ is plural, Gen.1:1, 2:1, Is.13:13, Acts 14:15, Rev.20:11 to cite just a few).  The first heaven is what we would call the sky or the earth’s atmosphere.  The second is what we refer to as ‘space’, and the third heaven is God’s throne room, or what we colloquially actually call ‘heaven’ (or paradise, 12:4).  This is where Paul finds himself – though interestingly even when he feels he has no choice but to acknowledging this happened, he gives no detail and he insists on doing so in the third person.  That in itself should warn us against those who claim such experiences... and then write books, and make You-tube videos about it!  I’m pretty sure I read there that ‘no-one is permitted’ to speak of such things (12:4).  Just as an aside, my own thought is that this is why Paul is given the ability to speak in the tongues of angels (I Cor.13:1).  because, you know, when you’re in the Third Heaven, that’s what they speak with...

Anyway, we are clearly operating at the edge of what has been revealed in the Scriptures.  As such we should probably tread carefully.  Paul speaks of such things as ‘surpassingly great revelations’ (12:7), and left to his own devices, would gladly ‘place his hand over his mouth’.  It was something utterly beyond anything he had experienced, and almost beyond anything he could make sense of (12:2-4).  It is worth noting that when people confront – or are confronted by – the deep realities of creation response is one of trauma... and seemingly a deep unwillingness to speak of such matters.  And even if there was a willingness, there is both a prohibition to navigate, and the fact that they such things are basically ‘inexpressible’ (12:4).  By contrast, those who have seen little, speak much.  It’s easy to have dismissive opinions about realities you’ve never experienced.  It’s easy to drift from the Gospel when you haven’t seen the ‘Lamb, looking as if it had been slain’ (Rev.5:6), or heard the Church Triumphant worship at the throne of God: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language, and people and nation...’ (Rev.5:9). 

But perhaps if you had seen and heard such things, you’d fight for that Gospel, whether it was in the face of Super-Apostles at Corinth (II Cor.12:11); legalists at Galatia (Gal.1:6-9); or even those who simply didn’t seem to be sure that Gospel-people were holy people (I Thess.2:9-11).  And you’d spend and be spent in the furthering of that Gospel.  You’d be determined that at every opportunity it would be proclaimed, and you’d strain with every sinew against any attempt to distort, distract or silence that one glorious message.

Like Paul.

Questions:

How should you respond to those who ‘boast’ in their spiritual experiences? 

Why is Paul so reluctant to speak about his visions and revelations?  How would that undermine his whole argument in II Corinthians?

In v.6, Paul wants no-one to think more of him that is warranted by what he says or does?  Why would speaking about his experiences distort what others think of him?  What does this teach us about how to think about spiritual maturity?

What do you think the ‘messenger from Satan’ is?  And more importantly, why does God leave Paul to suffer torment from it? How does this shape how you will pray about suffering from now on?

What does it mean to say that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (v.9)?  Why is this an expression of God’s grace?  How can we capture this dynamic in our own discipleship?

In v.12 Paul says that ‘signs, wonders and miracles’ are the marks of a true apostle.  Does that exclude such phenomena in today’s Church?  Why / why not?

If Paul hasn’t been defending himself and his team (v.19), what has he been doing all this time?

Do Paul’s claims to ‘love’ the Corinthians so sacrificially (v.15), and to walk ‘by the Spirit’ ring true to you?  Does what you have learned about Paul through II Corinthians back that claim up?  What would you say to those who present Paul as being in some tension with Jesus?  ...or perhaps as being someone who simply got Jesus wrong?  ...or was blinded by his first century prejudices?

How many of the sins Paul lists in vv.20-22 have simply become respectable, or at least acceptable in the Church?  How can we enrich people’s vision of holiness, and raise their expectations of what the Spirit can achieve in them?

Read through John 11. Having studied II Cor.12, why do you think there is nothing in the Bible about Lazarus’ time in death, and what he would have experienced there?

II Cor.11 Bible Study

Can you imagine what it would be like to be involved with a Church that was actually overseen by Satan?  It sounds like a strange question, but humour me...  if Satan ran the Church, what would it look like?  Perhaps before you go any further it would be a ‘fun’ thought-experiment for the group to engage in...  If Satan ran MIE, what would happen?

We might think such an idea so utterly preposterous that it isn’t even worth the time and energy to ask the question.  That would be dangerously naïve.  Paul has spent 10 chapters preparing the Corinthian Church for the theological bombshell he is about to drop.  This is exactly the situation at Corinth – and alas in many Churches since.  That’s why II Corinthians is in the NT – because the issues it addresses are ‘catholic’ – universally applicable, irrespective of place in history or cultural context.  Satan is relentless in his desire to gain control in Churches.  Simply on verse count, it would appear that the Bible considers this the place where demonic activity is most focussed.

So what did it look like at Corinth when Satan held sway.  The truth is disarming...  it looked a lot like a Church.  There were preachers, who had ‘open Bibles’, there was talk of Jesus, and the Spirit, and the Gospel.  Unfortunately, that seemed to be enough to pull the proverbial wool over many eyes.  But Paul sees through the illusion.  Yes, there is a Jesus, but not the Jesus the Apostles preached; there is a spirit, but it is not the Spirit the Corinthians received through Christ; there is a Gospel, but it is not the Gospel they believed in to be saved.  Yes, there were preachers who masqueraded as ‘servants of righteousness’ but they were servants of Satan.  It may seem extraordinary to us that the Corinthians could be hoodwinked.  But let us not be so dismissive of the genius of our enemy.  What makes us so sure we would fare any better..? 

When Christians reject doctrinal preaching as ‘too intellectual’, or worry that their children will be put off Church if they are asked to study the Bible, because that might make it all seem a bit like school; or when Christians gullibly believe that everyone who talks about Jesus, or the Gospel, or the Spirit must all be talking about the same things; or when we confess we don’t really know our Bibles, or understand our faith, then we are frighteningly susceptible to making the same mistakes that the Corinthians made.  Paul has spent 9 chapters explaining the spiritual physiology of a healthy Church (the Body of Christ).   And our enemy prowls around, still looking for those he can devour (I Pet.5:8).

Questions:

Is Paul being sexist in 11:1-3?  Should such a passage be read or preached on in today’s culture?  ...or are we in danger of reading back into Paul something that isn’t there?  Why does Paul link to the story of Eve when talking about the Church?

Can you think of examples in today’s Church scene where people are using the same language of Jesus/Spirit/Gospel, but meaning different things?  Should we ‘judge’ between such groups?  How could we do that?  ...or should we simply assume that everyone who is talking about Jesus and the Gospel and the Spirit must be Christians?

How can we be confident that the Jesus we preach at MIE, or believe in ourselves, is the Jesus preached by the Apostles?  How can we know that when someone (or a Church) claim to experience the Spirit, it is the Spirit we receive from Christ? 

Why is the question of who pays for ministry in the Church an issue (vv.5-11)?  To what extent should Churches pay for the ministry of other Churches?  Isn’t the situation Paul is describing at Corinth at variance with the principle he laid down in I Cor.9:14, ‘?  What wider teaching in I Cor.9 helps us understand Paul’s decisions here?

As an Anglican Church should we pay (in our parish share) to support ministry in Churches that preach a different Jesus, Spirit or Gospel?

Is Paul being too harsh in describing the ‘Super-Apostles’ the way he does in vv.13-15?  What do we know of these ‘Super-Apostles’ from the rest of the letter that supports Paul’s allegations?  Is this something Paul could only have ascertained by some special ‘apostolic’ insight, or are there tell-tale signs that anyone should have been able to read?

What does it mean to boast ‘in the way the world does’ (v.18)?  Why does such boasting have no place in the Church?  Where do we see it anyway? 

Why does Paul, by contrast, boast of ‘the things that show my weakness’ (v.30)?  What does that prove?  And why is being lowered in a basket from a window the climax of the list?

Why does Paul spend so much time listing out his sufferings?  How is he building on what he has already taught in e.g. Chapter 4?  And why does this so powerfully show that the Super-Apostles are teaching a different Gospel?

How does this begin to help us understand God’s purposes in suffering?

What has kept Paul going through this litany of sufferings (Acts 9:16)?

II Cor.10 Bible Study

Get ready for a gear change.  Up until now Paul has been laying the foundations.  Throughout II Cor.1-9, he has been reminding the Corinthians of the view of (healthy) Church life.  He has been gently shepherding through the last steps of the journey he began in I Corinthians.  Their eyes are back on Jesus, and the Spirit is again doing the deep work of transforming them into the image of the God they are worshipping.  This has constructive elements, where Christlikeness is being built into their character and behaviour; and destructive elements, where through the pain of repentance non-Christlikeness is being broken down. 

Their repentance is public as they take their place again in the ministry and mission of the ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church’.  The specific form that has taken is in relation to the collection of the Church throughout Judea.  Having inspired the Macedonians, they now work with Titus to ensure that the gift they promised before their ‘detour’ is delivered against.  Fewer things testify to the authenticity of the Spirit’s work than changed decisions about what we do with our money.

But now Paul turns his attention to the ‘super-apostles’ (11:5) who have been the cause of so much trouble.  They have much to answer for, and once Paul knows that the Corinthians themselves are securely reconciled to Christ, he begins to tackle the root cause for the breakdown in relationship in the first place.  The change in the atmosphere is so stark that many scholars have wondered whether Ch.10-13 is actually from a completely separate letter.  There is no need for such groundless speculation.  The atmosphere is changing because the focus of Paul’s writing is changing.  He is addressing himself very directly to exposing the current incumbents as the charlatans they are.

But before he unloads both barrels Paul is explaining the rules of engagement, and his strategy for that engagement.  He doesn’t want the Corinthians to miss what he’s about to do.  By the time he’s finished he intends to have stripped the ‘super-apostles’ of all credibility.  He is going to make sure they can never do to another Church what they’ve done at Corinth.

Unfortunately, throughout the history of the Church, there are many congregations who have wanted what they have to offer.  Ignoring this Second Letter of Paul to Corinth, they have chosen to repeat the mistakes of history, and have suffered for it.

Questions:

Do you think Christian leaders should be at ‘war’ with each other in this way?  Doesn’t it simply add to the hurt and confusion when Christian leaders can’t get along?

What would the ‘weapons of the world’ be (v.4)?  How does the way Christians ‘fight’ differ from the way non-Christians ‘fight’?

How well equipped are you to ‘demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’ (v.5)?   In our own experience, what do those arguments and pretensions look like?  How can we ‘fight’ them?  

What does Paul mean when he talks about ‘taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’?

How does this sort of militant spirituality fit into Paul’s vision for Church leadership?  Why is he exploring this in Second Corinthians?  How does it fit into the overall argument and context of the letter?

What does Paul mean in v.6?  Does it even make sense?  Is this just a clever way of avoiding confrontation when he does eventually visit Corinth?

In v.8 (and again in 13:10), Paul is modelling himself and his ministry on Jeremiah (24:6; 42:10 etc.).  What is the similarity between these two immense spiritual leaders?  What is the point of Paul’s echoing Jeremiah’s (or the Lord through Jeremiah) language and imagery the way he does?

Why do you think there is such a disparity between Paul’s ‘persona’ in his letters and in person (vv.1-2 & 10-11)?  Is Paul being duplicitous? ...or cowardly? ...or is something more godly going on?

How does ‘the world’ judge success?  What does the world boast in?  Where do you see the Church making the same mistake as the Corinthians in judging / boasting in the way the world does?  Where do we find it tempting to do the same?

How should what we boast in, and the way we boast, be recognisably different from the world?

In v.15, Paul expresses his hope that the Corinthian’s ‘faith will continue to grow’.  What does that mean in terms of their experience as Christians and as a Church?  Why does Paul connect it with evangelism (vv.15-16)?  Can you be a Christian whose faith is growing if you aren’t involved in evangelism?

II Cor.8-9 Bible Study

It was C.H. Spurgeon who famously quipped that the wallet was the last part of us to be converted.  As we were hearing at DTP the other evening, our money (or at least what we often perceive as our money) is very much an extension of ourselves, and so what we do with it reveals what is actually important to us.  Our bank statement is a much surer guide to what we value that our rhetoric.

It is strange that we feel able to think of ourselves as Christians without ever really engaging with what the Bible teaches about money.  If we did, we would realise that there are very clear and unambiguous priorities concerning how Christians use the money God has put at their disposal.  We are no more at liberty to ignore the Bible’s teaching about how we use His money, than we are at liberty to ignore the Bible’s teaching about adultery or murder. 

One of the most extended sections of teaching about finance is the double-chapter we have before us this week, II Cor.8-9.  Paul tackles not just the mechanics of how we should give to support the Church elsewhere in the world, but also the much deeper and more complex question of our heart, and our motivation (see e.g. 8:7,12; 9:2,7 etc.).  Our love for the Church bring with it an inevitable sense of financial responsibility for other Christians in need.  This isn’t just taught about theoretically – we are shown that this shaped the life of the Church in actuality in the Book of Acts.  ‘All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need’ (Acts 2:44-45).  As we continue to read through Acts, we find this is not a one-off situation.  Acts 4 reiterates this as an ongoing part of the Church’s life: ‘there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need (Acts 4:34-35).  And in Acts 6, there is a dispute about the distribution of such support (vv.1-6).  We find that those like Barnabas, Dorcas or Cornelius are commended because of their gifts to the poor (Acts 4:36-37; 9:36; 10:4 etc.).  But perhaps the most famous and telling example of this is the collection for the Church in Jerusalem (mentioned in Acts 24:17; Rom.15:24-27, where it is considered important enough to postpone a mission trip; I Cor.16:1-4; and of course here in II Cor.8-9). 

This is what the teaching of Jesus looks like when put into practise.

Questions:

Can you be a Christian without it affecting the decisions you make about money?  How different should our budgets look to the budgets of those who aren’t Christians?

Does the Bible ever give Christians a mandate to give money to non-Christian charities?

As you read through Chap.8-9, do you feel Paul is being manipulative?  How would you feel if these arguments were used at MIE to encourage giving?

What do you make of the Macedonian Churches’ behaviour in 8:1-4?  Is this irresponsible?  Have you ever seen anything like this in your own experience of Church?  What does Paul mean in v.5 – and how significant is that in understanding their behaviour?

Do you think of giving as a grace (8:7)?  Is it a grace Christians today seek to ‘excel’ in?  Why do you think this is?

A critical part of this passage is II Cor.8:9. To what extent is Paul expecting us to follow Christ’s example?  Do you think he is teaching that our giving should be so sacrificial that it makes us ‘poor’?

What is it about Christianity that results in all Christians being ‘cheerful givers’?  How would you counsel someone who gives reluctantly, under compulsion, or not at all? 

Do you believe what Paul claims in II Cor.9:8?  How do you explain the experience of Christians who do not have all that they need?

What is the goal of God’s material provision?  Does God’s provision achieve this in you? 

How does it make you feel that other people will worship God and give thanks to Him, because of your generosity?...and that others will pray for you because of your gifts? 

What passages of Jesus’ teaching do you think Paul is drawing from and allowing to shape how he pastors the Corinthian Church through this crisis?

II Cor.7 Bible Study

In spite of everything that is going wrong at Corinth, Paul remains supremely confident that the Spirit will have His way in the Church.  But the path to holiness is often a painful one.  For the Corinthians, as for us all, there are aspects of their character, their relationships with each other, their worship and experience as Christians that are dissonant with authentic Spirit-uality.  There are places where they need to grow more fully into the likeness of Christ.  That will involve a recognition of where things have gone wrong, and the commitment to change, and where possible to put things right!  In the Christian life, that process is called repentance.

It’s born out of ‘godly sorrow’ (v.10).  I’m not sure if you’ve ever thought of sorrow as a critical part of Christian experience.  It’s the response of a genuine Christian when they are confronted with the reality of their sin.  Paul has exposed a number of such sins in his first letter to the Corinthians.  That had been an incredible painful letter to write (see II Cor.2:4), and he knew it had been equally painful to receive (7:8).  In fact, it had put such a strain on Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian Church he seems to unsure whether it would survive at all.  He is thrilled that Titus is able to reassure him that the Corinthians had in fact repented, and were looking forward to Paul’s visit.  Paul’s boast about the impact of the Spirit’s life and work in this Church was vindicated. 

This explains Paul’s rather odd sentiment of being comforted by the Corinthians’ sorrow.  But the sorrow is a godly one, a sorrow such that God intended, and that lead to repentance (v.9).  Almost nothing demonstrates spiritual authenticity more profoundly than genuine repentance.  It is the indisputable mark of the Spirit’s work in transforming us to the image of Christ.  And as long as there are aspects of who we are that don’t yet conform to that Image, repentance will be an aspect of our experience of Christian discipleship.  ‘Repentance is’, as Thomas Boston put it centuries ago, ‘a wound that bleeds till glory’.

Questions:

What are the promises Paul is referring to in II Cor.7:1?  How do they inspire us in our pursuit of holiness?

What does it look like to have ‘reverence for God’ (v.1)?  How can we cultivate that in our life together as a Church?

As you read through II Cor.7, it’s hard to miss the deep expression of emotions in all concerned.  Do you think that is appropriate, or is Paul being manipulative?  What does a redeemed emotional life look like?  Does Paul’s emotions seem sanctified to you? 

How would you help someone who felt that their emotions were out of control, so that they couldn’t reflect a Christ-like emotional life?

Do we feel emotion with regard to our own relationship with our Church?  Do you feel joy when you see people grow in Christ, or when relationships are restored (v.7)? …comforted when you see people repent (v.6)? …take pride in MIE (v.4)?  …affection for the Church (v.15)?

What does ‘worldly sorrow’ in response to the challenging of sin look like (v.10)?  Why does it lead to death?

How is ‘godly sorrow’ different from ‘worldly sorrow’?  How could you tell which kind of sorrow you were feeling when convicted of sin?

As you work your way through the characteristics in v.11 (earnestness, eagerness to clear yourselves, indignation etc.), can you describe how each of them work, and how they are produced by the godly sorrow that has produced repentance?

How has Paul boasted to Titus about the Church at Corinth?  How could he be sure that he could have complete confidence in them? 

Why did they receive Titus with ‘fear and trembling’?  How can that be an appropriate way for a Church to relate to their leaders?

II Cor.6 Bible Study

Paul is like a spiritual GP, who is able to diagnose disease in the Body of Christ.  He has learnt Biblical physiology, and so he understands what a healthy Church looks like.  A healthy Church is focussed on Christ, and as such, is filled with people who are being transformed – by the Spirit - into the likeness of the Jesus on whom their attention is fixed.

The Church at Corinth is not a healthy Body.  Its attention has been distracted by leaders who have turned the Church into a show, a performance with the spotlight on themselves as having the leading role.  Their eyes have been taken off Jesus, and as such the Spirit has stepped back and is no longer transforming them into the likeness of Jesus.  That’s a problem, if for no other reason than that’s what Jesus died to achieve in and for them.  But when He is not the focus, the whole project of making people actually like Jesus comes to a grinding halt...  Paul pleads with the not receive God’s grace in vain (6:1), i.e. not to be Christians who aren’t living into the vision of spiritual experience and discipleship Jesus won for them at Calvary.

Everything that hinders this great Divine project of renovation must be stripped away.  This is our glorious destiny, and the very purpose for which Christ died.  We can so easily have a minimalist view of the work of Christ...  as if all He sought to achieve was the forgiveness of sin.  But the Gospel is so much richer than that!  He seeks to re-forge in us the Image of Christ, so that like Him we might be the righteousness of God.  

But that is only going to happen if our eyes are fixed on Jesus – the Author and Perfector of our faith – and the Spirit is bringing all His power as God to bear on our being transformed into His image.  Pray for leaders and preachers who get out of the line of sight, so you can see Him without hindrance or interference.

Questions:

Have you ever been involved in a Church where it was more about the leader(s) that about Jesus?  What was it like?  

Read Is. 49 (which is cited by Paul in II Cor.6:1-2).  What difference does it make to how you read II Cor.6 when you realise that Isaiah 49 is actually a conversation between the Father and the Son (and the Church, but only in Is.49:14)?

And still in Is.49, what is the Father promising to do for the Son?  How does that affect our vision of Church? ...and our own experience of discipleship? ...and of (Global Mission)?

Why does Paul then re-assure the Church at Corinth that ‘now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation’?

How do you feel about Paul commending himself (v.4)?  Isn’t he doing exactly what he is criticising the Super-Apostles for doing in pushing themselves forward as the centre of attention?

Why do you think Paul starts by reflecting on his experience of suffering (vv.4-5 & 9-10)?  How does that strengthen the case that his (apostolic) Gospel is in fact truth and reality?

Do you think we can pick our way through all the different interpretations of the Gospel, and of the teaching of the Bible?  Can we really be expected to know which one(s) are right and which wrong?  How could we do that?  Does it matter?

In what ways can you see Paul making the claim to have been transformed into the image of Christ by the Spirit through his Gospel (see vv.3-11)?  How comfortable are you with the idea that our being transformed is ‘proof’ of the truth of the Gospel?

Is Paul being over-optimistic about the extent to which we can actually be changed through the Gospel?

What does Paul mean when he talks about the dangers of being ‘yoked’ together with unbelievers (vv.14-16)?  What does Jesus mean when he tells us to take His yoke upon us (Matt.11:29)?  How does being yoked with unbelievers undermine our ability to do that?

Is Paul being too extreme here?  If we withdrew from everyone who didn’t agree with us, we’d end up in a ghetto – how would that help anyone?

Why does Paul stop to cite the Old Testament in the light of his exhortations?

Look up each of the passages Paul cites in vv.16-18.  They are all passages to do with the return of the ancient Church from exile.  How does that flavour your reading of II Cor.6? 

Can you talk about New Testament Churches being ‘in exile’?  What would that look like?

II Cor.5 Bible Study

One of the things I love about Paul is that he cannot speak about any aspect of his experience as a Christian without celebrating, bursting into praise, or pausing to meditate and enjoy what God has done for him in Christ.  Having just mentioned the ‘eternal glory’ that awaits us in the New Creation, Paul camps out (no pun intended!) on the eternal hope we have in the Gospel.  If you were at our study day in August, you’ll be all over this!  Paul is underlining the physicality of our future.  We are not ultimately looking forward to a ‘spiritual’ (i.e. ethereal) destiny.  Yes, we will have to be ‘naked’ (without a physical body) for a period.  But only until the end of this age, when we will be re-clothed with our eternal resurrection, glorious body!  The contrast with the body we have now is as different as the contrast between a tent and a house (my hunch is Paul has in mind the Tabernacle and the Temple here).

Paul is shaped by a complex blend of realities that compound each other until he is overwhelmed by God’s grace, and pressed into an inevitable Christ-likeness.  He is caught in a kind of pincer movement of grace.  His past, present and future determine his character, his behaviour and his relationship with the Church.   His experience of God’s love, his fear of the Lord, his anticipation of standing ‘before the judgment seat of Christ’, his anticipation of participating in the New Creation, his experience of that New Creation embryonically right now, his grasp of all that Christ has achieved in the cross, the thrill of his being caught up in Christ’s mission of reconciliation... all this and more presses in on Paul, shaping him and pressing him forward into his being transformed into the image of Christ.  It cannot do anything but...

Questions:

How often do you think about the New Creation, and your resurrection body?  How does that help you live as a Christian here and now?   What difference would it make whether it was a ‘spiritual’ or a ‘physical’ future? 

Paul speaks with great assurance of his hope, using words like ‘guaranteeing’ and ‘confident’.  How important is that sense of spiritual security?  How would you help someone who didn’t share it?

Do you share Paul’s sense of ‘groaning’ (see also Rom.8:22), and of being ‘burdened’ in this age?  What underlies and causes this reaction?

What is God’s purpose in fashioning us in this way (v.5)?  How does it affect you to know this is His purpose for you?

How helpful is it for you to see Paul use appearing before the judgment seat of Christ as a motivation for making it your goal to please Him (vv.9-10)? 

If we are saved by faith alone, how come we get judged by what we have done (v.10)?   Does that prospect increase or decrease your hope?  Why?

What is Paul trying to persuade others about in v.11?  How does the fear of the Lord feed into that? 

Do you ‘know what it is to fear the Lord’?  How could we cultivate such a fear?

What is the logic of vv.14-15?  How can you deepen your awareness of having ‘died’?  What does Paul mean by saying that because ‘one died for all ... therefore all died’?  How does realising this help you live ‘for Him’?

How are you involved in ‘the ministry of reconciliation’ that God has given us?  Do you think of yourself as God’s ambassador?  How would bearing such a title change you?

What does Paul mean when he talks about Christ being made sin for us?  ...and of us becoming the righteousness of God?   

II Cor.4 Bible Study

If you have been around MIE for any length of time, you’ll have heard me talk about the ‘line’ we draw when it comes to evangelism.  We do it instinctively, and simply assume its legitimacy.  In any given situation or relationship, we are adept at recognising what we can say... and what we can’t.   My own experience is that we often get it wrong.  We can usually say far more than we think we can without people getting particularly angry, or even annoyed.  But that aside, our working model of evangelism is that we first ascertain what we think we can get away with saying (if anything) without upsetting people, and then we go to that line, but not over it.

We do this in our own personal life and circumstances, but we also do it in the mission of the Church.  Even in projects run by the Church, we find the ‘line’, worried that if we say too much about Jesus, people will stop coming.  Churches regularly run projects where Jesus is never mentioned...

Paul’s thinking is radically different.  He is committed to preaching the Gospel of Christ, irrespective of their response.  Speaking of Jesus is not an option, as if we could demonstrate the love of Christ without declaring it.  When he is warned by the Spirit that ‘prison and hardship’ await him, he doesn’t interpret that as a reason to not speak of Christ, but as an opportunity to prepare for what will follow when he does (Acts 20:22-24).  This is authentic Christian mission.  The Bible’s model is not for us to seek to speak of Jesus only when we think we can do it without provoking opposition or suffering discomfort.  It is to ‘set forth the truth plainly’ (II Cor.4:2), to deal with whatever comes as a result, to ‘not lose heart (II Cor.4:1), and to trust that even in our weakness and suffering, God is at work bringing others to share in an ‘eternal glory’ (II Cor.4:17) from which they would otherwise be shut out.

Questions:

What is ‘this ministry’ that Paul and others have (4:1)?  How does it contrast with the ‘ministry’ of the super-apostles that Paul has been critiquing in Chapter 3?   How should that ministry find expression in the life of Church like MIE?

Who is the ‘god of this age’ (4:4)?  How does he blind the minds of unbelievers?  How does Paul say we can give sight to such blinded minds?  in the light of what Paul teaches, how should we envisage the outreach of the Church?

What is Paul teaching when he speaks of Christ as the ‘image of God’ (4:4)?   What is the connection with Gen.1:3 (which Paul cites in II Cor.4:6?  How does the act of creation help us to understand what happens when someone becomes a Christian?  What do this two things have in common?

In 4:7, Paul likens the Gospel to ‘treasure’ and us to ‘jars of clay’?  How do these analogies demonstrate that ‘this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us?  How have you experienced that all-surpassing power in your own experience of telling others about Jesus?

Why does Paul seem to revel in listing his experience of suffering (vv.8-12)?  Can you explain the link he is making between his experience of suffering and his effectiveness as an evangelist (so v.15)?  Can we see spiritual fruit without experiencing suffering?

What does Paul mean when he says ‘death is at work in us’?  How does that result in ‘life’ being at work in others?  Where have you experienced this in your own involvement in Church and mission? 

Why do you think so many Christians are so timid in speaking about Jesus?  If someone says they are a Christian, but never speaks to others about Christ, would you say they ‘have that same Spirit of faith’ that compels Paul to speak (v.13)? 

What is your experience of being inwardly ... renewed day by day’ (4:16)?  How do you cultivate that spiritual dynamic? 

How compelling is your vision of the New Creation?  Does it shape your willingness and ability to suffer for the Gospel, and in sharing the Gospel here and now (so 4:17-18)?  Can you share how with the group?

II Cor.3 Bible Study

I remember listening to sermon once about how people should know when we’ve been in the presence of God.  One of the images used was taken from this passage (and the one that lies behind it, Ex.34), and the glory of God shining in the face of Moses.  Moses, we were told came down from the presence of God with a shining face, and so the sermon went, when we come out of God’s presence, the glory of God should ‘shine’ from our faces (in a metaphorical sense, I assumed).

It’s such a powerful image that it took me many years to see that this isn’t what either Ex.34, or II Cor.3 is teaching us about!  In fact, the whole point is almost the exact opposite – It is Jesus (pre-figured in Moses) who comes forth from the presence of God, and the glory of God shines from Him, not us.  We feature in the process by contemplating that glory, and through that being transformed by the Spirit from one degree of glory to another. 

In some ways, that is the point of preaching and teaching, and of reading and studying the Bible individually and in groups.  And that is true of Old and New Testaments.  When Moses is read today without a veil blinding us, then we are able to see Christ in His glory and in the Gospel shining forth from the pages (though technically we have to wait until next week’s reading to see Paul make that point explicitly for us, 4:4).

Questions:

How do you judge whether you’ve heard a ‘good’ sermon or not?  What makes a ‘good’ sermon?  ...or maybe more helpfully, what makes a ‘good’ (qualified/competent) minister of the new covenant (3:6)? 

The same question can be asked of ‘pastoral care’, if you prefer to have that conversation rather than focussing on preaching.  helpfully, it’s the same answer!

The language of something being written on our hearts is of course taken from passages such as Jer.31:31-34.  And this whole chapter (II Cor.3) explores the question of how the Old and New Covenants relate to each other.  It’s easy to read this ‘Old is bad / New is good’.  But Paul in fact is teaching that ‘Old is glorious / New is even more glorious’ (3:7-9).

What is glorious about the ministry of Moses?  What is even more glorious about the ‘new’ ministry of the Spirit?

If the ministry of Moses brought ‘death’ (3:7) and ‘condemnation (3:9) how could it be described as glorious?

In what sense is the ministry of Moses ‘fading’? 

According to Paul in II Cor.3, why does Moses veil his face?  What are the consequences of that veiling? 

Are people’s hearts still covered by a veil today?  What does the image of ‘veil’ convey for Paul? 

When people read the Old Testament today, how are they to see the true and permanent glory that was only ever reflected in the face of Moses?  How does that affect how you read the Old Testament?

How does ‘contemplating the Lord’s glory’ lead to us being transformed into His image?  What is the role of the Spirit in this process?

In light of your consideration of this passage, has your answer to the first question in this study changed at all?

II Cor.2 Bible Study

We saw last week that Paul had some loose ends to tie up for I Corinthians.  The first related to a visit he never made.  The second is altogether more complex, and challenging for us.  It relates to a situation that Paul addressed back in I Cor.5.  You might remember it (it’s hard to forget, but in case you’re not familiar with the incident, have a read of it before we get into this week’s study!).  It’s hard to know what caused Paul more angst: the actual sexual immorality, or the fact that the Corinthian Church so misunderstood the dynamics of grace that they were proud to have this going on in their midst!  Either way, Paul had to call them to address it in a very direct and uncompromising way.  ‘…hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh’ (I Cor.5:5).

The good news is that the Corinthians had – sort of - got their heads straight and their house in order.  But as is so often the way, they had over-corrected, and the pendulum had swung too far in the opposite direction.  Now they won’t welcome him back, even when he has repented!  They still weren’t quite clear about the dynamics of grace!  This will shape a good bit of the next couple of chapters, so more on that in the weeks ahead. 

What they hadn’t quite settled on is the idea that our dealing with one another are supposed to be motivated by heart of Christ-like love that is focused on other people growing as Christians.  We make the decisions we do in Church life based on the question of what is needed to help each other become more like Jesus.  This is where we’ll focus our attention in this study.  2:1-4 is the conclusion to last week’s train of thought.  Paul is waiting for the dust to settle on what he knows has been the devastating experience of receiving First Corinthians.  It had been a painful letter to write (2:4), and it had been a painful letter to receive (2:2).  But, it had been motivated by Paul’s love for the Church (2:4).  Have they had enough time to process what Paul had to say?  Paul thinks so and is already en route to Corinth for what he hopes will be a conciliatory visit (though he fears it might have to be otherwise, 13:1-4).  Either way, he wants to get on to the question of the point of being the Church in the first place – something he begins to explore in 2:12-17.

Read I Cor.5:1-12, & II Cor.2:5-11

How does someone’s sin cause grief to the wider Church?  When is our sin a personal and private affair? …and when is it a public and Church affair?

Do you see others in the Church as having the right to address patterns of sin they see in your life and character? 

Have you ever been in a Church that excommunicated someone?  Do you think this is the sort of thing Churches should do?  If so, under what circumstances?  What is it about the situation in I Cor.5 that sets it apart from everything else that is going wrong at Corinth?

Are you aware of other instances in the Bible where particular patterns of sin are addressed in this way?

What does it mean to ‘hand someone over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh’ (I Cor.5:1)?  How does this lead to their spirit being saved on the Day of the Lord?  Has the strategy worked?  What has it achieved?

Paul fears that Satan might ‘outwit us’ (2:11).  What do you think he has in mind?  What would it look like to be outwitted by Satan? 

Paul says we are ‘not unaware of his schemes’.  is he right?  Based on what is going on in this passage, what would you say were are Satan’s schemes?  How can we ensure we (a) not unaware, and (b) do not fall foul of those schemes?

…and if you still have time and energy, let’s take a quick look at 2:12-17

Normally when we talk of an ‘open door’ we mean an opportunity that we ought to take advantage of.  Why does Paul use this terminology about something he doesn’t do!?  When is it OK to not ‘preach the Gospel of Christ’?

Why does Paul talk of Christians as ‘captives in Christ’s triumphal procession’ (v.14)?  How does knowing this affect your experience of discipleship? 

What is the point of Paul’s ‘aroma’ analogy in vv.14-16 (maybe haave a look at Eph.5:2)?  The same aroma produces two very different consequences in its wake.  What is Paul teaching us about the nature of mission and the experience of the Church?

How can we get better at spreading the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere?  Think of an area of mission or ministry you are involved with.  How can you tweak that so that ‘the aroma of Christ’ is stronger?

note to rest of Homegroup: ask them how it is going in the weeks ahead!

How can you tell whether someone is speaking before God with sincerity?  In the light of passages such as Phil.1:15-18, does it really matter what motivates someone?

II Cor.1 Bible Study

You might think that II Corinthians is just another letter in the New Testament, but it is in fact a battleground for the survival of the Church.  In the weeks ahead we will be handling some white hot theology, that will push us to think through our own understanding of what constitutes authentic Christian experience and indeed, what constitutes an authentic Church.  Paul is generally a pretty irenic guy, willing to sacrifice wherever he can for the sake of unity (see e.g. Rom.14, I Cor.8-9 etc.).  But sometimes ‘live and let live’ will kill a Church, and if we can’t distinguish between those two categories, we’ll do a lot of damage very quickly.  The issues in II Corinthians are definitely in the latter category.  There are two ideas about what it means to be the Church vying for the Corinthians’ acceptance.  And if they choose the wrong one, the Church will die.  Of course, both claim to be genuinely Christian...  so how are they supposed to be able to tell which is which?  That’s what II Corinthians is about, and actually, it’s all very straightforward when you know how (1:13).

We’ll get into the details of what’s at stake in the coming weeks, but we already get a flavour of the coming battle in the first half of Chapter 1.  One of the key issues will focus on the place of suffering in the Christian life.  It is too easy to assume that being a Christian should somehow mean God protects us from suffering.  Paul knows he worships a crucified God.  Suffering has its place in the life of God, and so it has its place in the life of the Church.  More on that later.

But before Paul is able to get to the front line, he does have one or two outstanding issues to attend to, loose ends as it were, from his first letter to Corinth.  The first relates to I Cor.16:5-8, where Paul expresses the hope that he can visit the Corinthians.  But Paul never turned up, and that caused some hurt and confusion.  Worse, it is being used by his opponents to insinuate that Paul can’t be trusted...

Questions:

In 1:3-11, Paul begins to outlines some of God’s purposes in our experience of suffering – for us, and for others.  Can you identify them?  Can you think of other passages that help us understand what God is doing in our suffering? 

Is it right for Christians to pray to avoid suffering?  ...and if so, under what circumstances?  Why do you think Paul doesn’t seek to avoid the sufferings he’s relating in these verses? 

In Rom.5:3, Paul talks about how Christians glory in their suffering.  What does he mean by that?  Should we follow such masochistic thinking?

Do you think MIE is good at supporting each other in the midst of suffering?  Why are we so reluctant to share our suffering?  As a HomeGroup, are there ways you can help support each other more effectively?  How can we support each other in ways that ensure God’s purposes are realised?

Do you think Paul is talking about suffering that Christians uniquely experience, rather than the suffering that is the common lot of humanity (see e.g. v.5)?  Does the type of suffering affect how you answer these kinds of questions?

In vv.12-23 (actually Paul’s train of thought runs through to 2:4), why is Paul so concerned that the Corinthians understand he is acting with ‘integrity and godly sincerity’?   Should this be of equal concern to all Christians?  Is there really a Christian way to plan our diary?  What is it?

How does the way we make arrangements point to the Gospel?  What does it mean to say that all God’s promises are ‘Yes’ in Christ?  Is Paul stretching the point here?  According to Paul in this passage, how important is it that we can trust God? ...and those who minister in His name?

What does Paul mean when he talks of Christians ‘boasting’ in each other (v.14)?  Who will you boast in on ‘the day of the Lord Jesus’, and why?

What does this section of II Corinthians teach us about how to handle conflict in the Church?