About Jesus    Steve Sweetman

Home Page     

This Section - Chapters 2 and 3

ch. 2:5-11    ch.2:12 - 3:6     ch. 3:7-18

Previous Section - Intro. & ch. 1 

Next Section - ch. 4 & 5

Forgiveness For The Sinner (ch. 2:5 - 11)

In verse 5 Paul says that those who have caused grief have not really caused him to grieve, but has caused the church at Corinth to grieve.  From what Paul has said in the previous verses, you can see that he was grieved to a degree, which in turn caused him to write what he did, which in turn caused grief in his readers.  Thus in the long run, the grief that the Corinthians caused came back to them.  This is what I believe Paul is saying in this verse.  They were the ones really grieving. 

We are not sure who Paul is speaking about when he says, “the punishment afflicted on him…”  Could this person be the man who slept with his father’s wife as seen in his first letter to the Corinthians?   Maybe, or maybe not.  Some suggest that the lost letter between the two letters we have in our Bible would state whom Paul is talking about.  

Nevertheless, Paul says that the “punishment afflicted on him by the majority is sufficient”. If he was talking about the man who slept with his father’s wife, then the giving of that man over to satan was punishment enough.

One thing we should note here is that the church “afflicted punishment” on a particular man.  This is a form of church discipline which may not be seen too much in the modern church.  We tend to let things slip and not speak to such things.        

Paul now encourages the church to forgive and extend love towards this man so that “he would not be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow”.  It should be obvious that the man in question has come to his senses and has repented from whatever sin he was involved in.  I don’t think Paul would tell his readers to love and forgive if the man had not yet repented.  So once true repentance is proven and clearly demonstrated in a person, you bring him back into the fellowship of believers.

In verse 9 Paul states the reason why he wrote the previous letter, either the lost letter, or our 1 Corinthian letter, and that was “to see if they could stand the test and be obedient in everything”. I believe Paul told these people what should be done with this man.  If it was the man who slept with his father’s wife, then Paul told them to exclude him from fellowship and hand him over to satan.  This sounded severe, but it had to be done.  Paul was putting the Corinthian church to the test of obedience. They obviously passed the test after some sorrow.

Paul says in verse 10 “that if they forgive anyone, then he will forgive him as well”.  This was a matter of trust.  Paul’s trust in these people must have increased due to their obedience to what he told them.  So if they felt that the man repented, he would forgive him as they did.

The sin that this man committed was really a blemish on the Corinthian church, of which Paul was not really a part of since he did not live in Corinth .  This may be why Paul said, “if there was anything to forgive”.  This man did not sin against Paul personally, and in that sense Paul had nothing to forgive. Whatever the case, Paul will forgive anyway in the sight of Christ, “for their sake”.  Once again, you see Paul’s action was based on his love for the church.  He would forgive for their sake.

Forgiveness, and restoration of this individual was important “in order that satan would not outwit” them, “because we are not unaware of his schemes”, Paul says.  We can therefore conclude that Satan can enter into a church situation where there is not real repentance and re-acceptance of such a person.  It would seem to me that Satan might be just as involved in some churches as certain members.

Ministers Of The New Covenant  (ch. 2:12 – 3:6)

Paul was always looking for open doors to preach the gospel.  We noted earlier that he stayed in Ephesus because there was such an open door.  Yet when he arrived at Troas and saw that there was an open door, he had no peace.  You would think that he would be happy about such an open door, but he wasn’t because Titus could not be found, resulting in Paul leaving that open door to go to Macedonia to find Titus.

Whatever the case, Paul gives “thanks to God who always leads him in triumph…”  (ch. 2:14)  Even though Paul left that open door in Troas , he felt God’s leading in his life.  No matter where Paul went, he was used by God “to spread the fragrance of the knowledge” of Jesus.  Whether it was in Troas or Macedonia , Paul spread the gospel which was a sweet fragrance to those who were being saved.  Yet to unbelievers Paul and his company were the fragrance of death.

Paul tells us in verse 17 that “some preach the gospel for profit”, but not him.  He preaches with “sincerity” as one “sent from God”.  Even back in the early days of the church some chose preaching as a career because they could see financial gain in their job.  Paul did not view his work as a career with the reward of money.  He was a bond servant to the Lord.  He could do nothing else but preach the gospel whether he was paid or not.  What a challenge to some of today’s pastors and their CEO salaries.

Chapter 3 verse 1 says, “are we beginning to commend ourselves?”  By telling the Corinthians that he and his companions were not in the ministry of the Lord for the money, was not meant to be seen as Paul patting himself on the back.  He was merely stating the fact.  Paul does not need any “recommendations” from anyone.  His life and work tells the accurate story.  As a matter of fact the Corinthian church itself was a “letter of recommendation”.  They were a living letter to Paul’s ministry.  They were the proof that he was a real apostle of God, teaching and preaching for all of the right motives.

This living letter was not written by ink on “tablets  of stone, but by the Holy Spirit on tablets that were the hearts of the Corinthians.  It is the Holy Spirit in the lives of the individuals and the church as well that makes the church a living letter.  If we limit the Holy Spirit’s involvement, then we will not be a living letter that the world can read.                      

In verse 4 Paul tells his readers that he is very confident, yet this confidence is not in himself, but in the Lord He serves.  He goes on to say that God has made him and his friends in ministry “competent ministers of the new covenant.”  This new covenant is different than the old covenant in that it is based on the Holy Spirit and not on the letter of the Law, not on a written code of ethics. 

Paul says that the letter of the Law kills but the Spirit gives life.  To properly understand what Paul is saying here, you need a good understanding of how Paul views the Law as seen in his letter to the Romans.  In short, the Law tells us not to do certain things.  Once we know the Law does not allow for certain things, then we want to do these things more than ever.  We thus sin more than we did before we knew the law.  Then, because sin brings death, more sin brings more death in our lives.  This is why Paul says the letter of the Law kills.

Yet as seen in Acts 2, the reception of the Holy Spirit in a life brings life to people.  The new covenant is based on what Jesus did on the cross.  The sacrifice that Jesus made takes the place of any sacrifice that we can make.  But the story does not end there.  We need the Holy Spirit in our lives to make this new covenant work.  We cannot stop at the gospel story as told in the four New Testament gospels.  We need Acts chapter two in our lives as well.

The Glory Of The New Covenant (ch. 3:6 - 18)

In verses 6 and 7 Paul refers back to the Old Testament story when Moses presented the Ten Commandments to the people after being in the presence of God.  It was a glorious moment in Israel ’s history.  Moses himself glowed with the glory of God after being in His presence.

He says that if the presentation  of the Law that kills, or produces death in people was so glorious, how much more glorious is the “ministry of the Spirit”.  And it was, in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit was first introduced to Israel we see an even more glorious event than that of Moses’ day.  Yet Acts 2 was not the end of the glory.  Paul and others had the ministry of imparting the Holy Spirit to the believers, which continued this demonstration of glory.

In verse 9 Paul tells his readers that the Old Testament  Law brought condemnation to those under the Law, yet the Law and its presentation to the people was glorious.  But the giving of the Spirit that brings “righteousness” to people is even more glorious.  Note that the Law condemns but the Spirit brings righteousness, both imparted and imputed.

In verse 11 we see that Paul says that which “is fading away”, referring to the Law cannot be compared to the glory of the things belonging to the Spirit “that will last” forever.  This is one verse of many that shows us how Paul views the Law.  Paul believed that the Law has been replaced by Jesus Himself, and thus it is fading away.  The only reason for the Law now is to bring us to Jesus.  That’s it.

The laying aside of the Law of Moses, and how Christians should understand the Old Testament is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the church today. We pick and chose what Old Testament Laws we want to promote for our own benefit, not understanding they all have been laid aside. Churches like the tithing Laws found in the Law of Moses, but they don't apply Christians.  I won't discuss this here.  I've done that elsewhere.   

In verse 12 Paul says that he has “hope”, and as a result of this hope he can be “very bold”.  The Holy Spirit and His ministry and glory will last into eternity, giving Paul this hope of a better future.  With this in mind Paul casts off fear and timidity and lives his life with boldness. 

Paul continues by reminding his readers about Moses.  Because of the brilliance of Moses’ face after being in God’s presence, he had to put a veil over his head.  Not so with Paul, for he would preach boldly and openly the gospel of  Jesus.  He would not hide and hold anything back.

Moses had a veil over his head, yet Paul now speaks of another veil that is over the understanding of Israel .  Paul says that their minds were “dull” as the Law was read to them.  They were told to obey all aspects of the Law, yet their understanding concerning the Law was veiled, and is still veiled at the time of Paul’s writing. 

In verse 15 Paul says that the veil not only covers their understanding but it covers their “hearts” as well, and the only way to remove this veil is to give your life to Jesus.  He says, “only in Christ can this veil be taken away”.

Paul is saying that God Himself has covered Israel with this veil, but He did it because of the hardness of Israel 's heart.  The rejection of Jesus at the cross was the moment in time when this veil was placed over Israel .  The veil will be lifted at the end of this age when God Himself will pour out a spirit of repentance on Israel .  He has to do this on His own because Israel on her own will not return to God.  Thus, as a nation, Israel is now in a period of being veiled in their understanding of God.  I'm not suggesting that individuals Jews can't find their way to God, because they can.  I'm speaking of national Israel here.    

In verse 17 Paul says an interesting thing.  He says, “now the Lord is that Spirit”. What is Paul saying here?  The Lord obviously refers to Jesus.  Therefore he is saying that the Holy Spirit is actually Jesus.  “And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”. (ch. 3:17)  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, and He produces freedom in the life of the believer.  What freedom is Paul talking about?

One thing to note here is that the Holy Spirit is both the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of the Father, or, the Spirit of God.

From the context Paul  is talking about being free from the veil that covered our minds and hearts before coming to Jesus.  He has just told us that we are influenced by this  satanic veil, so it only makes contextual sense that the freedom is in reference to the removal of this veil. 

One thing that Paul is not speaking about is being free to clap or dance in a worship service.  So often this verse has been used to encourage people to be more vibrant in their expression of worship, but this is far from what Paul is telling his readers.  This is where the importance of good Biblical interpretation which is called hermeneutics comes in.  This is one sadly lacking subject in today's church.

Paul says as Christians, “we have unveiled faces that reflect the glory of God”.  We should not hide the glory that is within us.  Our lives should be a living testimony  to the glory of God, because the Holy Spirit lives within us.

As we are reflectors of  God’s glory, we are in the process of being changed into the likeness of Jesus Himself.  This is important because Paul believes that there should be a transformation that takes place in the life of the believer, but this transformation does not come about by obeying laws. It happens because of “the Lord, who is that Spirit”.  Once again, Jesus Himself is the Holy Spirit in another form”.