2 Corinthians chapter 1, this
letter, it's estimated that this letter was written roughly one
year after Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians. And
we went through 1 Corinthians and we finished it almost one
year ago. So about this same amount of time that passed is
when they received this second letter. And you may remember
in the first letter, Paul had to deal pretty harshly with the
Corinthians. Do you remember that? He had
to deal very harshly with them. They knew the gospel. They knew the gospel. They were,
and he addressed them as the children of God. That's what
he called them, the children of God. But they fell into all
kinds of wrong. That's the only way I know to
say it. Everything they did was wrong. It was just wrong. Fornication
was rampant. in the church, not even Corinth
was a huge city, it was a port between two seas. Lots of sailors,
lots of commerce, and it was terrible. It was a terrible place.
But fornication wasn't just rampant in the city, it was rampant in
the church. Because everything that was going
on out there, everybody got so used to it, they thought, well,
it's okay. Everybody's doing it. And it leaked in. There was
a case of incest. They were abusing their bodies
just every way, shape, and form. And God, through Paul, had to
deal very harshly with them. Paul wasn't doing it. Paul was
not doing it. God was doing it through Paul.
But they were the church of God. They truly were. And when God
deals with his people, he produces a heart of repentance. When they
see the rebuke of the word, the spanking of the word, they bow
to it. They do bow to it. So God inspired
Paul to write this second letter and he said this time I'm ready
to come to you in love. The first time he said a rod,
he said I'm coming with a rod. And he said, this time I want
to come in love. I want to come in forgiveness
and in the spirit of God, all of us just bowing to his will
and his word. And he said in verse one, he
starts it with Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of
God. As an apostle, it's important
that he puts that in there. Number one, they did not believe
he was an apostle. The false preachers were trying
to persuade the people that he wasn't. He said, I am. But the
other thing is, as an apostle, he is literally delivering the
word of God. Not the word of Paul. And he's
doing this, he says, by the will of God. In order to be an apostle,
You had to have seen Jesus Christ face to face. You had to have
been an eyewitness of his resurrection. And you had to have been taught
the gospel directly from him, directly from him. And Paul said,
I am an eyewitness of him. I was taught the gospel from
him, and he is the one who made me to be an apostle. I didn't
make myself an apostle, and no other man made me an apostle.
I told you before about the apostle that I met one time. I had a
store, and he came in, and there was another man in there who
kind of knew him from town and him talking, and he said, aren't
you a preacher? I asked that other guy, aren't you a preacher or
something? And he said, well, an apostle actually. He said, I was apostolized
in Russia for the work that I did with the orphanages there. Paul said, God made me an apostle. I've seen Jesus Christ. I was
taught the gospel by hymns, by the will of God. Verse 1, he
said, and Timothy, our brother, Timothy's here with me, a fellow
preacher of the gospel. He says, unto the church of God,
which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in Achaia."
God's Word is not written to everybody. You can buy a Bible in a bookstore. It's a free country. There was
a time in history when it was illegal to own a Bible, and God's
saints had to hide. Anybody can go in and buy a Bible,
but once they get a hold of that Bible, everybody needs to understand
it's not written to everybody. This word right here, he did
not write this letter to every soul in Corinth and every soul
in Achaia. It's written, he said, to the
church of God at Corinth. And he said it's written to the
saints which are in Achaia. God has a particular people,
doesn't He? He has a particular people that
He has chosen to save and call to Himself and to them. only to them, he says, verse
2, grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from
the Lord Jesus Christ. What good news that is. What good news that is. Grace
be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. This Bible study kind of has
two sections, two subjects. Here's the first one. And I hope
this is not only going to be a blessing to you, I hope this
is going to be a help to you on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I hope this will be a help. Charles
Spurgeon said, this is so simple. This is so, so simple. But if
you'll think about this, I just was able to think about this
for a minute. If we'll all think about this, we'll see this is
so deeply enlightening and it's so wonderful and it's so helpful. He said, where grace is, peace
will follow. Where grace is, peace will follow. That is so true. That is so true. Where grace is, peace will follow. Don't we want that? Don't we
want that? We have that in Christ. We have that in Christ. In the grace of Christ, we have
peace with God. The scripture says, Romans 5
says, where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound. Isn't that
right? Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. In what Christ did for us, in
just a minute we're going to read, he's going to talk about
mercies. That's what Christ did for us.
In the mercy that we found in Christ, God shed his grace on
us. Through the mercy we found in
Christ, God shed his grace on us. And where grace is, Peace
will follow. It will. Grace means gift. In the gift of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we have peace with God. In that gift, we have peace inside
this heart. All right? Now, where sin abounded,
you know where sin abounded? Right inside here. Where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound. Just knowing that brings
peace to this heart. It settles this heart down. We
have peace with God, we have peace in the heart. If God sends
his grace among his people, throughout his people, then peace will follow. It will. If God has his hand
on us, where sin abounds, when we let each other down and when
we provoke each other and when we disappoint each other, if
God will have his hand on us, if he'll keep his hand on us,
Where sin abounds, grace will much more abound. And where grace
is, peace will follow. I pray that's an exhortation
to us. I pray that's something we can
use in daily life. Where grace is, peace will follow. Let me show you an illustration
of that. Go to Colossians 3. Colossians 3 verse 16 says, Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in
your hearts to the Lord, with grace in your hearts. And whatsoever
you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit
yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Ladies, submit yourselves to
that ornery husband of yours who's always making you fit to
be tied. And I'm talking about myself, poor Hannah. Have grace in your hearts toward
us. Forgive us. Forgive us. We men, buddy, we
try, but a lot of times we get it wrong, don't we? We just get
it wrong. We need your grace. That's what we need. We need your grace. Somebody
has wisely told me for years, when your wife says take out
the trash, just take out the trash. But when I don't take
out the trash, forgive me. We need your grace. We need your
grace. Verse 19 says, Husbands, love
your wives and be not bitter against them. Don't be bitter
against them. Any married couple would be lying
through their teeth if they said they didn't know how to push
each other's buttons. Right? We know exactly how to push each
other's buttons. May the only button we push be
the button of grace. We have, there's all of those
buttons lined up. And then there's grace. And we
have an option in that moment. Let's go to grace. Let's just
go to grace. Let's go to grace. Let's just
provoke each other to love. And the reason is because. Here's
why. Young married couples. I haven't been in it long, but
I've been in it 13 years. I want to start learning where
grace is. Peace will follow. Where grace
is, peace will follow. Verse 20 says, Children, obey
your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing unto the
Lord. Our children are not in here
right now. They're in their own Bible class. But I say this in
regard to them, and more specifically, I say this on their behalf. I'm going to be our children's
advocate on their behalf. And I put a lot of thought into
this. I know who the parents are in this room. We have a lot
of young couples who may one day soon be parents. You get lumped into this. You
need to know this now. Some of you guys might end up
with 12 kids. I don't know. You need to know this now. You
need to be ready for this now. Start preparing now. Here it
is apparent now. Parents, let's discipline our
children. Let's discipline our children. Let's discipline our children. This is really, you know, a lot
of you young couples, this is one of the only times I can really
single you out without it being offensive and saying, discipline
your children. Discipline your children. The mindset of the world, this
wicked world, has left God's word. They've left God's Word. And all of the smart people out
there are saying, well, now you know, studies have shown that
if you, you know, if you discipline, if you spank, you can't say spank. Child services will get called
on you. You know what God says? Spare the rod, spoil the child. Spoil the child. Well, you know, you got to let
them become what they're going to become. Now you can't stifle
it. I tell you what they're going
to become. They're going to become the same thing that we all became. They have the same fleshly nature
in them that we have in us. I will not have that man reign
over me. That's all they're going to become. We will do them a great injustice,
a great injustice, if we don't teach them at a young, young
age. It's much younger than you think
it is. When you think they're still
too young, they're not. They're not. We'll do them a
great injustice if we don't teach them to bow to authority. Whatever you decide, do two things,
parents. Do it together. Don't let the
child pit one against the other one. Don't let them go back and
forth and work you. Do it together. And the second
thing is, whatever you say, stick to it. Stick to it. And here's the reason. If you
made a mistake, you'll fix it later. But they need to learn
that your word goes. A child learning to bow to the
authority of a parent could be, if God is willing, the precursor
to a child learning to bow to the authority of God. Well, let's just teach them obedience.
That's the key, is let's teach them obedience. This is why I
said I'm going to speak on their behalf. Children want to be disciplined. I can't count how many times
I was spanked. I couldn't even begin to count.
We had two for one at my house. If my mother spanked me, my dad
spanked me when he got home, just because. Just because I
gave my mom a hard time. And I don't begrudge one of them. I've told my dad, thank you for
obeying God and teaching me and teaching me. And they want to
be disciplined. They need to be disciplined for
their own good and for our own good. If we don't do it, God
will discipline us. God will spank us, and so we
must do it. But here's why I bring all this
up. Verse 21 says, Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest
they be discouraged. We must do it with grace. We must do it with grace. You
know, kids act up, and you see a child, and your natural thought
is, you know, jerk a knot in that child's tail. Don't jerk
a knot in his tail. Calm down first. Calm down first. Don't literally, it breaks my
heart to see a parent in anger snatch a child up and dislocate
his shoulder and all that kind of stuff. Wait. Wait. Calm down. And then discipline
according to the Word of God. And I'm on a little bit of a
soapbox here, but I feel it's necessary. Guilt trips are not
the way. Our Lord said it's the rod. You
know, let them go three days thinking I'm mad at them is not
the way. That psychological stuff is not the way. It's the rod.
And then once the rod happens, that child will love you and
hug you and kiss you and be your best friend. It's God's way. But it must be with grace. It
must be with love. So wives have grace towards your
husbands. Husbands have grace towards your
wives. Parents have grace towards your children. Look at chapter
4, verse 6, Colossians 4, verse 6. Let your speech be always
with grace. At work, at home, throughout the family,
believers, unbelievers, friends, let your speech Be always with
grace. It says seasoned with Christ. We could go through the scriptures
and see how salt is Christ. God said do not offer a sacrifice
without salt. It must have salt. And always
seasoned with Christ that you may know how you ought to answer
every man. How should we handle this situation
right now? Grace. Grace. It needs to be with grace. In every situation of our life,
this is so helpful. Thank you, Mr. Spurgeon. In every
situation of our life, where grace is, peace will follow. It will follow. Now go with me
back to our text. 2 Corinthians 1, his greeting is
over here and he's going to get into the heart of what he wants
to say to them. Verse 3, he said, Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God
of all comfort. How long could we spend on that
verse? Blessed be God. Blessed be God. That means praise
and thank and adore and give all glory to our eternal God. The Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ is what the verse says. Now, God the Father is the Father
of God the Son. He is. And God the Son is the Son of
God the Father. He is. But not by creation. Biological children are created. God the Father did not create
God the Son. He is not the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ by adoption. Believers, we chosen saints who
have been called to believe. We are children of God by adoption. A payment was made. The payment
was blood. And we were bought with a price,
right? And we are adopted. But God the Father did not adopt
God the Son. Their generations are eternal
generations. And what that means is they had
no beginning. They had no beginning. They did not become And this
was amazing to me. To think about this is amazing.
God is all-wise and God is all-knowing, but they did not assess everything
and become. They did not at some point put
in place this perfect order. It just always was. It just always
is. It is a perfect order. Christ is the heir, the seed. God said, all of the promises
are coming through the seed. We are joint heirs with him. While Christ was on this earth,
everything that he did was as a man. And this is what most
people do not enter into. In the word, you will see the
Lord Jesus Christ say, my God, he's my God. Everything he did was as a man. the perfect subject to God. We men and women are subjects
of God. He's our God. He was doing all
this for us. He was the perfect substitute
for us, the perfect subject to God. Let me show you something
though in 1 John 5. I'll be quick about this. Go
to 1 John 5. 1 John 5 verse 7 says, For there
are three, there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, that's our Lord, and the Holy Ghost. And these three
are one. Explain that to me. Explain that
to me. I cannot explain that. Are they
three? Yes. Yes. You know, I quote a lot
and I hold to, I and my father are one. You've seen me, you've
seen the father. Are they three? Yes. Are they actually one? Yes. I cannot explain that but I can
see how if this one God were only one person, God could not
show mercy to sinners. He could not show mercy to sinners.
God has to be satisfied. He must. And the only person
who can satisfy God is God. In order for any person to stand
in his presence, you have to be as perfect as God. That's what he demands. And the
only thing that his holiness can say to sin is no, sin can't
be in his presence. Absolutely not. At the same time,
the only one who could put away sin was God. Only one. How can God convict and acquit
a sinner at the same moment in time? Same sinner. Same decree. How can God sentence to death
and set free to life at the exact same moment in time? Same sinner. Not this one and that one. Same
sinner. How can God be just with a sinner?
and justify that same sinner with the exact same degree? The
answer is, blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. That's the answer. With one decree,
Christ was made sin and we were made his righteousness. He was
made sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. We died in him. Isn't that what we hold to? We
died in him. He lives in us. The thought of this is amazing,
but it's wonderful. God slew me in Christ. The only reason God killed Christ
on that cross is because he identified himself with me. He became me,
and God slew me in Christ, and God accepts Christ in me. The only reason I'm allowed to
come in is because when God looks at me, He sees Christ. That's the only reason. God slew
Him, God slew me in Him, and God accepts Christ in me. We're not going to go over to
Micah 7. It says, Who is a God like unto thee that delights
in mercy? Who is a God like this God? Some of you guys enjoy and
you delight in fishing. I don't. I enjoy boats. I enjoy being on water. I don't
enjoy fishing. I might enjoy catching, but I've
never experienced that. I enjoy playing the guitar. I
delight in playing the guitar. You know what he delights in?
You know what he enjoys doing? Showing mercy. That's what he
enjoys doing. Well, go with me back to the
text. We'll wrap this up. 2 Corinthians
1. Verse 3 says, Blessed be God,
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort. This one verse illustrates the
Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the God of all comfort. God's
Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. And the reason is because when
he comes to a sinner, he points that sinner to Christ. That's
all he does. He reveals the things of Christ. He brings faith to the heart,
and that faith rests in Christ. Verse 4 says, Who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them
which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God. You know, when we preach this
good news gospel, and this is the good news gospel, the gospel
of works is a terrible news gospel because people will find out,
I can't live up to this. They will find that out. It's
a terrible news gospel. This is the good news gospel.
And when we preach it, all we're doing is we're telling others
who are in tribulation how great things the Lord has done for
us. That's all we're doing. We preach as sinners to sinners. one beggar telling another beggar
where he found bread. There is only one message to
preach, that's it. He said in verse 4, who comforted
us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them
which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God. Same comfort, that's what he's
saying, the same comfort that comforts them comforts us. The
same comfort, the same message that comforts the hearer comforts
the preacher. Same message. That is proven
to me every time another man preaches the true gospel. I sit
usually right there and I am confirmed that there's only one
message I want to hear. I'll be honest with you, I'm
about to tell you something you've heard before. You sure you want to
come Sunday and Wednesday? Same message. Every time I hear
it, I think that's the only message that needs to be preached. That's
the only message that blesses my heart. Same message that comforts
the aged believer, comforts the babe. Same message. You never
get away from it. Same message that comforts the
poor man comforts the rich man. Same message that comforts the
uneducated man comforts the educated man. Same message, exact same
message. Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God
of all comfort. All right, you're dismissed.