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September 2 - 2 Corinthians 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's shown here. It is the 2nd of September.
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  It is springtime in this part of the world.
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  Happy spring to you, or autumn if you're far away.
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  But here we go. This, this is looking good.
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  This is the time of the year when things start to thaw out.
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  Unless you're in Tasmania, in which case, well, that's really
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  October. September's just kind of a, a
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  rude month that you expect things to get warm in a it
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  really doesn't, but that's OK. We know that in the fullness of
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  time, summer will come. So in the meantime, we will
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  enjoy the month of September. It is the second.
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  It is the beginning of a whole new book.
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  Well, this is a continuation of the previous book.
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  So we just finished reading the the letter of First Corinthians
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  that Paul writes to the church in Corinth.
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  And today we begin Second Corinthians.
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  And, well, there is a bunch of scholarly debate about Second
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  Corinthians. Most scholars tend to agree that
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  it's probably a number of letters which have been edited
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  together into this letter of Second Corinthians.
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  So as we're reading through it, you might think, my goodness,
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  the tone is changing pretty fast.
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  You know, Paul's a pretty switchable character.
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  Well, that may be the case, but more likely the truth is that
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  this was a combination of different letters that were
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  brought together as the editors thought, how do we communicate
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  the word of God most clearly in a book that we can add to our
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  Bible and canonise it? And this is what we have.
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  And you will hear as we read through that, a lot of what he
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  is trying to address is his legitimacy as an apostle.
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  So history will tell us that not long after he wrote First
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  Corinthians, he went back to the church in Corinth.
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  And it seems like he had a really difficult encounter with
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  someone who was really critical of Paul and his role as an
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  apostle, which unfortunately led to a relationship breakdown.
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  And since that time he has left and there has been communication
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  from the church saying that they realised that they should have
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  acted differently and they've apologised to Paul and Paul then
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  responds. So there is lots going on, lots
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  of relational challenges, lots of legitimacy challenges and of
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  course all the way through that Paul is just wanting to affirm
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  that it is through Jesus and his power that things are
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  transformed. So how about let's get down to
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  it, shall we? Let us, you and me, read
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  together Second Corinthians chapter 1.
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  This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an
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  apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
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  I'm writing to God's church in Corinth and to all of his holy
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  people throughout Greece. May God our Father and the Lord
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  Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
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  All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
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  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort
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  others. When they are troubled.
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  We will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
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  For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower
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  us with His comfort through Christ, even when we are weighed
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  down with troubles. It is for your comfort and
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  salvation, for when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly
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  comfort you. Then you can patiently endure
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  the same things we suffer. We are confident that you share
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  in our sufferings. You will also share in the
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  comfort God gives us. We think you ought to know, dear
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  brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the
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  province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed
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  beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never
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  live through it. In fact, we expected to die.
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  But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learn
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  to rely only on God who raises the dead.
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  And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us
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  again. We have placed our confidence in
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  Him and He will continue to rescue us.
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  And you are helping us by praying for us.
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  Then many people will give thanks because God has
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  graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.
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  We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have
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  lived with a God given holiness and sincerity in all our
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  dealings. We have depended on God's grace,
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  not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted
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  ourselves before the world and especially towards you.
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  Our letters have been straightforward and there is
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  nothing written between the lines and nothing you can't
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  understand. I hope someday you will fully
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  understand us. Even if you don't understand us
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  now, then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be
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  proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.
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  Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I
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  wanted to give you a double blessing by visiting you twice,
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  first on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned from
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  Macedonia. Then you could see me on my way
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  to Judea. You may be asking why I change
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  my plan. Do you think I make my plans
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  carelessly? Do you think I'm like people of
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  the world who say yes when they really mean no?
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  As surely as God is faithful, our word to you does not waver
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  between yes and no. For Jesus Christ, the Son of
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  God, does not waver between yes and no.
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  He is the one whom Silas, Timothy and I preached to you.
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  And as God's ultimate yes, He always does what He says.
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  For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a
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  resounding yes. And through Christ, our Amen,
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  which means yes, ascends to God for His glory.
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  It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for
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  Christ. He has commissioned us and He
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  has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our
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  hearts as the first instalment that guarantees everything He
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  has promised us. Now I call upon God as my
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  witness that I'm telling the truth.
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  The reason I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from a
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  severe rebuke. But that does not mean we want
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  to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into
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  practise. We want to work together with
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  you so you will be full of joy. For it is by your own faith that
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  you stand firm. Oh Jesus, we certainly
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  understand that life is complex, that our relationships are
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  complex. We know that even when we have
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  relationships with others who love you, it doesn't mean that
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  things are going to be straightforward.
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  But we see in this opening from Paul that when you give us your
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  Holy Spirit, that is a deposit, that what is imperfect now in
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  your revelation to us will be made perfect in time.
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  And so we look forward to a time when your Spirit will spill out
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  throughout us and it will transform us completely, that
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  together, shoulder to shoulder, we will stand before you in
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  absolute worship and adoration. And so we look forward to that
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  time when all the niggles of relationships right now will
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  pale in comparison to the glory that we will be exposed to in
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  you, our glorious God, our mighty King, and our generous
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  Saviour. We love you and we worship you
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  above all else. And we pray all of this in your
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  name, Jesus, Amen.