Turn with me, if you would, to
1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1. I'm going to remind us, give
us a little recap. This is what Paul had to say
to the Corinthians in his first letter. First Corinthians 1 verse 10. He said, Now I beseech you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the
same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that
you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same
judgment. For it hath been declared unto
me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe,
that there are contentions among you. And it struck me that he
just laid it all out on the table. He told them who told him. He
told them everything. He didn't hold anything back.
He said, the house of Chloe told me that there are contentions
among you, and I'm writing you that there be no divisions, no
schisms, because there are real problems among you. I've been
told some things, and there are real problems. Look with me at
chapter 3, verse 1. And I, brethren, could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto
babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and
not with meat, for hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither
yet now are you able. For you are yet carnal, for whereas
there is among you envying and strife and divisions? Are you
not carnal and walk as men?" He said, you've fallen into the
carnality of men. Sad, isn't it? Sad. Fallen. Just soaked up the wickedness
of this world like a sponge. And we know this flesh, don't
we? How easy is that for any of us? To just soak up the wickedness
of the world like a sponge. Envying, strife, division. Verse 16, right here in 1 Corinthians
3, he said, know ye not that you are the temple of God? I'm
telling you, if a believer ever got a hold of the fact that God
says, we are the temple of the living God. Know ye not that you are the
temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple
of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy,
which temple you are." And what he's telling them is, stop all
of these abominations. Does it matter what believers
do? Yep. Yes, it does. He said, don't
you know that you, God's people, we are the temple of the living
God? And he's saying all these abominations
that are among you, let's get them out on the table. Let's
acknowledge them and let's stop these things. Let's stop these
things. Look at chapter four, verse 14. I write not these things to shame
you, But as my beloved sons, I warn you, I warn you. He's saying there's danger in
this. You know, if we just continue on down this path and God doesn't
do something to convict us, oh, that's a terrible sign. And if
we continue down this path and God has chosen to convict us
over it, what a horrible thing. Lord, I don't want to be convicted
by you. Stop me from these things. Stop me. Verse 18. Now, some are puffed up as though
I would not come unto you, but I will come to you shortly if
the Lord will and will know not the speech of them which are
puffed up, but the power. I'll see it for myself. For the
kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. What will ye? Shall I come unto you with a
rod or in love and in the spirit of meekness? Chapter five, verse
one, it is reported commonly that there's fornication among
you and such fornication as is not so much as named among the
Gentiles. He's talking to the Jews. He
said, you don't even hear about this among the Gentiles, the
heathens. that one should have his stepmother,
his father's wife, and you're puffed up and have not rather
mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away
from among you. You've not taken a stand for
God's honor and God's glory. Verse six, he said, your glorying
is not good. Chapter six, verse five, he said, I speak to your shame. I speak to your shame. And we
could keep on going. I had a whole bunch of them and
I thought this is, we get the picture, we get the point, right?
It just continues like this, all through Corinthians. It just
continues like this. All right, now he writes this
second letter to the Corinthians and he tells them in 2 Corinthians
chapter 1. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 1. Verse 23, moreover I call God for a record
upon my soul that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. He's about to explain what he
means by that. And when we get into our text,
which is chapter 2, this is where we're picking up today, chapter
2, we'll understand why we went back through all this. He is
explaining what he means right there. In chapter 2, verse 1,
he said, but I determined this with myself that I would not
come again to you in heaviness. He said, I made up my mind that
I was not going to come to you as long as I was in heaviness
and as long as you were in heaviness. As long as either one of us were
in heaviness, I was not going to come. Verse two, he said,
for if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad,
but the same which is made sorry by me? He said, when I come,
if things haven't changed, my visit will have to be full of
rebukes. He said, I'm carrying God's word. He literally carried God's word. And he said, it'll have to be
full of rebukes. It'll be full of conflict. It'll
be full of grief. And he said, I've already delivered
the Lord's rebuke. I already gave it. I already sent it. And my prayer
is that the Lord will make it effectual and give all of us
peace. I want As I deliver these things
to you, my great desire is that God will let them come out of
my mouth and enter straight into my heart. I want to hear what
God has to say concerning us. I know you do too. All of God's
people do. And Paul is saying, I've delivered
what God has to say about it. Now we're going to wait and see
what God will do. We're going to wait and see if
God will make it sink into the hearts, make it effectual and
give us some peace. There's a bunch of conflict.
And he said, that's what I determined in my heart to give it some time.
We'll wait on the Lord. Verse three. And I wrote this
same unto you, lest when I came, I should have sorrow from them
of whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you all that my
joy is the joy of you all. He said, I'm confident in the
fact that we're all on the same page. He said, I'm confident of that.
He said, I believe that you desire God's glory just as much as I
desire God's glory. I believe Christ is your joy
just like Christ is my joy. And he's saying, I'm not against
you. I'm not against you at all. Verse four, for out of much affliction
and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears. Not that you should be grieved,
but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly
unto you." He's saying, I'm not trying to be a personal offense. And here I am repeating this,
alright? God gave Paul his word. And God has given us his word.
And now we repeat these things. And I can tell you from the depths
of my soul, I'm not trying to be a personal offense to anybody.
I'm not trying to be the lawyer. I'm not trying to be the disciplinarian. I'm not trying to be the anything. The anything. And that's what
Paul's telling them. I'm not trying to be I don't desire to
offend you. That's not my goal. That's not
the heart's motive in this. Never is it. He's saying, I don't
want you to lose sight of the true and living God. And I don't
want me to lose sight of the true and living God. And we need
to constantly, constantly be reminded and pointed to Him. Constantly. He is not trying
to whip anybody into shape, and that's not the call of God's
pastor. We are not called to pick up
the whip and start whipping anybody, sheep or goats. God's Word will do all the correcting,
isn't that right? And he's not trying to whip anybody
into shape. He's trying to guard their souls
as an under shepherd. He's trying to guard their souls.
Paul was with them for a year and a half. He was there in Corinth
with them for 18 months. When he left, these other men
started taking their eyes off of Christ. These other men, they
were false prophets, crept in unawares. Meaning the sheep didn't
see the wolf coming and they were a slow influence, subtle
influence. And it ruined them, it just ruined
them. They all became overtaken by
the flesh, they became overtaken by the world. And what Paul's
saying right here is that didn't make me mad, he said it made
me cry. It made me cry. Verse four, out
of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with
many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might
know the love which I have more abundantly to you. My purpose was not to grieve
you. It was to prove my love to you. If you love somebody,
you'll tell them the truth. Isn't that right? If you love
somebody, you'll tell them the truth. What if they hate me for
it? If you love somebody, you'll
tell them the truth. What if they never speak to me again?
If you love somebody, you'll tell them the truth. You'll tell
them the truth. Verse 5 says, But if any have
caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part, that I may not
overcharge you all, sufficient to such a man is this punishment
which was inflicted of many." He's talking about that man.
There's a reference back to where we just read in 1 Corinthians
5. He's talking about the man who committed fornication with
this woman his father married. And Paul told them, put that
man out of the congregation. How hard? How judgmental? How arrogant? How self-righteous? No. God's Word. God's Word. Paul is not speaking on his own
behalf, and neither does any other man who's declaring God's
Word. That's what God said. Put that man out of the congregation. And they did. And God blessed
it. It says in 1 Corinthians 5, you
do this, not so his soul shall be damned. You're not damning
him in doing this. You're doing this that his flesh
might be damned and his soul might find repentance to God
if that's his will. And that's exactly what happened.
They put this man out of the congregation and apparently it
truly broke and humbled this man and caused him to honestly
repent over it. And the reason we know that is
because Paul said in verse 6, sufficient is the punishment.
Sufficient is the punishment. Now, if the man was not broken, if the man was not humbled, if
the man did not repent over it, then the punishment would not
be sufficient and God will continue the punishment. He will. But this man was truly
broken, and he was sorry, and he was grieved, and Paul said
the punishment was necessary, and the punishment was sufficient.
And now he says, and here's the point of what he's trying to
get to. This is what he's saying. Now it's time to forgive him. That's the point. The title of
this is forgiveness. It's time to forgive him as God
for Christ's sake has forgiven us. Our punishment was sufficient
in Christ. Isn't that right? Sufficient.
That's a sufficient punishment. After that punishment was over,
God forgave us. Paul said because of that, it's
time to forgive him. Forgive that man. That was a
terrible thing he did. That was a terrible, terrible
thing he did. Forgive him. He's broken. He's humbled. God has humbled
him. God has turned his heart, given him repentance, a changed
mind about this whole arrogant path he was going down, and he
said forgive him. Verse 7, so that contrary-wise
you ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps
such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that
you would confirm your love toward him. You know, this is how it is with
God's people. They never stop loving. the brethren. They really don't. And you know
Paul's telling them you never stop loving them even when you
put him out. You don't stop loving. You don't stop loving. And now
he says, comfort him, forgive him, you confirm to him the Lord
has done something for him. You confirm to him and you ease
his sorrow and you welcome him back in the love and unity of
Christ, in the love of the brethren. Look with me at Galatians 6. Galatians chapter 6, verse 1 says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, ye which are spiritual, those that the Lord has done
a work of grace in your heart, called you to himself, given
you faith to believe on Christ, ye which are spiritual, restore
such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ." That right there is the law that
a believer is under. We're not under the law of Moses
anymore. But God has given us the law of Christ, and it's a
law of love. That's what it is. Love the Lord
your God, love your brethren. It's the law of Christ. It's
the law of freedom. It's a law of liberty and a law
of love. Verse 3, for if a man think himself
to be something when he's nothing, he deceiveth himself. What do we have to glory in?
What do we have to glory in? None of us deserve to be counted
among the brethren of Christ. I don't deserve to be here. Not
on my own. If we could be turned inside
out, if we wore our thoughts and the feelings of our heart
on the outside, none of us would be here. None of us would have
each other. None of us would want to be here.
But the Lord overrules, doesn't he? He mercifully made us to be counted
among the brethren. We've all sinned against him,
but he restored us. He bore our burdens in his own
blood. And that's all the reason a believer needs to forgive and
to forget. That's it. That's enough. He
did that for me. And that's the only reason I
need to do that for my brethren. Go back over to 2 Corinthians
2. Verse 9 says, for to this end also did I write
that I might know the proof of you, whether you be obedient
in all things. He said, I'm writing and I'm
not coming to wait and see if you're going to have a heart
to bow to these commandments that God gave in that first letter. And he said, it'll prove one
way or the other. whether God has given us a heart
to bow to those. Not only do God's people bow
to God's commandments, they love it. They love them. They want to. They see their
own error through God's commandments, and they're not offended by the
rebuke of God's commandments. We're not offended by them, are
we? They love God more than themselves. That's the reason. They love
God more than they do themselves. Those who are not God's people,
though, they hate the rebuke of God's word. They hear it and
they just hate it. They hate it. They won't heed
it. They won't obey it. They reject it. They're offended
by it. They hate the messenger for it.
You know, people say, don't shoot the messenger. Our Lord said,
and I don't turn for the sake of time, let me read these to
you. This is what our Lord said. Luke 10 verse 16 says, he that
heareth you, heareth me. All right, now he's not talking
to Gabe Stoniker, he's talking to the apostles who wrote this
word, but this applies to every man who declares God's word,
all right? Every single man who declares
God's word. He that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth
you despiseth me, and he that despiseth me despiseth him that
sent me. That's what's going on. If I'm declaring my own words,
if I'm standing up here and I'm giving you my own words, reject
me. Reject me. You got some places you can go
and hear a man tell you the truth. Reject me. But if I am simply
declaring God's word, then that's what God has to say about his
word. He that rejects what you have to declare is not rejecting
you, he's rejecting me. He's rejecting the one that sent
me. Men hate God's commandments. They hate the messenger who declares
God's commandments because they hate God. Straightforward. And it proves one way or the
other. It proves us. Over in, here's
the other one. I'll just read this to you. 1
John 4 says, this is 1 John 4, verse 6. It says, we are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error. Here's how we know. whether God
has given a person the heart to receive the things that God
has declared. I pray the Lord will give us
a heart to hear his word. Give us a heart to hear your
word, Lord. All right, now 2 Corinthians 2 verse 10 says, to whom you
forgive anything, I forgive also. Believers have a quick trigger
finger on forgiveness. Quick, quick. As soon as anybody
starts forgiveness, all believers start jumping on the forgiveness
bandwagon. All believers want forgiveness. Isn't that right? All believers
want peace. All believers want joy and love
and unity in Christ. And it's a good thing. It's such
a good thing. Christ forgave me. Who can I
forgive? Verse 10 says, to whom you forgive
anything, I forgive also. For if I forgave anything, to
whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of
Christ. I forgive for your sake. I forgive
for Christ's sake. We forgive. We forgive. Verse 11 says, lest Satan should
get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.
He'll use any means he can to create division in God's church.
Any means he can. Any means he can. He'll put an
unforgiving spirit in there. It'll just roll through the building. He'll put a heart of pride in
it. He'll cause God's people to be
easily offended by it. They'll hear something and immediately
go, well, what did you mean by that? And it just always button heads. He'll put self-righteousness
in it. And he'll cause everybody to believe they're doing that
for the glory of God. This is, you know, all for the glory of
God. Peter said, resist all that,
resist all that. How do we do it? Looking to Christ,
looking to Christ. If we'll keep our eyes on Christ,
beg him for his spirit, beg him that his spirit might reign among
us. Lord, would you in your spirit
roll through this building? Please descend down on this place."
If he'll do that, here's the fruit of his spirit. Love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,
forgiveness. Paul said, that's what I desire
to see among you. That's what he's telling the
Corinthians. That's what I want to see when
I come. This is how he ends where we're
gonna stop right here. This is what he's saying. When
I come, that's exactly what I expect to see among you. That's exactly
what I expect to see. These are the last two verses
we'll look at. Verses 12 and 13. Furthermore, when I came
to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened unto me
of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because I found not
Titus my brother, But taking my leave of them, I went from
thence into Macedonia. Now he originally told them,
when I go to Macedonia, I'm gonna come see you. I think this is
excellent, this is the best way to end this. He told them, when
I go to Macedonia, I'm gonna come see you. But he said, this
is what he's saying right here, when the time came for me to
go to Macedonia, I was so torn up over this, He's telling them,
I didn't come see you. I'm writing to tell you I've
decided not to come see you. Because I'm so torn up over this. And I just couldn't come. I just
could not stop in at Corinth. I just couldn't do it. But he
said it was because I hadn't seen Titus yet. I hadn't run
into Titus yet. After I met up with Titus, he
told me some things about you. And he listed them in chapter
7. We'll close with this. Go to
chapter 7. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 4, he said, Great is my
boldness of speech toward you. Great is my glory of view. This is a different tone he has
with the Corinthians here. I'm filled with comfort. I'm
exceeding joyful in all our tribulations. For when we were come into Macedonia,
our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side over
all this going on in Corinth. Without were fightings, within
were fears, nevertheless God that comforted those that are
cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus. And not by His
coming only, not just because He showed up, but by the consolation
wherewith He was comforted in you when He told us Your earnest
desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me so that I rejoice
the more. Titus said that letter was effectual
to their hearts, Paul. God's word pierced the heart
and it broke them and they started crying and they're in love with
God's messenger. They love you for telling, they're
not mad at you. They're not mad at you at all.
It has done wonders in that place. Paul said, I was so, I thank
God. Oh, I thank God. I thought we
were severed. Verse eight, for though I made
you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent, for I perceive that the same
epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
Now I rejoice that you were made sorry, not that you were made
sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance. For you were made
sorry after a godly manner that you might receive damage by us
in nothing." I'm sure Paul was second-guessing himself and all
these kinds of things and he said, no, God had his hand on
the whole thing. God mercifully had his hand on
the whole thing. Nobody is harmed. It's all good. Verse 13, Therefore we were comforted
in your comfort, yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy
of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. For
if I have boasted anything to him of you, I am not ashamed.
But as we speak all things to you in truth, even so our boasting,
which I made before Titus, is found a truth. And his inward
affection is more abundant toward you, whilst he remembereth the
obedience of you all." He's telling me how you desire to obey what
God has written. How with fear and trembling you
received him. I rejoice therefore that I have
confidence in you in all things." God is so good. God is so good. We shall all be taught of God. All of us. We are going to be
taught of God. God is going to send his word.
He's going to send the rebuke of his word. He's going to tear
down this flesh, and then he's going to send his spirit to start
sewing everything back up. And once he's finished with that
operation on the heart, everybody's going to be crying, thank God.
Thank God. Don't we love his law, his commandments? He will not leave us to ourselves. Isn't that wonderful? He will
not leave us. He is going to pour grace on
us. He's going to soften hearts. He is going to humble spirits,
and he's going to do it all for Christ's sake. Every bit of it.
All right, you're dismissed.