March 26, 2009 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

The Change in Paul's Plans
This is what we are proud of, and I can say it with a clear conscience: In everything we hav edone inthe world, and especially with you, we have had an honest and sincere heart from God. We did this by God's grace, not by the kind of wisdom the world has. We write to you only what you can read and understand. And I hope that as you have understood some things about us, you may come to know everything about us. Then you can be proud of us, as we will b eproud of you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. I was so sure of all this that I made plans to visit you first so you could be blessed twice. I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back. I wanted to get help from you for my trip to Judea. Do you think that I made these plans without really meaning it? Or maybe you think I make plans as the world does, so that I say yes, yes and at the same time no, no. But since you can believe God, you can believe that what we tell you is never both yes and no. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, that Silas and Timothy and I preacehd to you, was not yes and no. In Christ it has always been yes. The yes to all of God's promises is in Christ, and through Christ we say yes to the glory of God. Remember, God is the One who makes you and us strong in Christ, God made us his chosen people. He put his mark on us to show that we are his, and he put his Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all he has promised. I tell you this, and I ask God to be my witness that is true: The reasons I did not come back to Corinth was to keep you from being punished or hurt. We are not trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith. But we are workers with you for your own joy. So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another one to make you sad. If I make you sad, who will make me glad? Only you can make me glad--particularly the person whom I made sad. I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made sad by the people who should make me happy. I felt sure of all of you, that you would share my joy. When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart, and I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you. ~2 Corinthians 1:12-24~

The lesson from this passage is to trust in God's promises. There was a misunderstanding of Paul's visit to Corinth, and unfortunately, all his plans failed and he had to visit the Corinthians to take care of some matter. Meanwhile, a group of false teachers try to accuse Paul of doing wrong. They make stuff up and tell the Corinthians about them, then Paul has to respond to those accusations to prove himself innocent. In all this, the Corinthians still aren't spiritually mature enough to rely on solely God, so they struggle. Paul had mentioned earlier in 1 Corinthians, that he and Apollos are just human beings, being used by God, but the true leader is God, and that's who we all should rely on.

We need to not rely on our own feelings, on our wisdom, on other people, on other people's opinions, and etc. We need to just rely on God, and his promises...this is one of the most important ways to spiritual growth. We tend to rely on each other a lot...then when that other person lets us down, we get so disappointed that we throw away that relationship. For example in romantic relationships, and also with our spiritual leaders. We need to build our lives on the perfect relationship with Jesus Christ. Only He can meet our deepest needs, and therefore we can form perfect relationships with others who have the same base/foundation in their lives.

March 23, 2009 2 Corinthians 1:2-11

Paul Gives Thanks to God

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy and all comfort. He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us. We share in the many sufferings of Christ. In the same way, much comfort comes to us through Christ. If we have troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation, and if we have comfort, you also have comfort. This helps you to accept patiently the same sufferings we have. Our hope for you is strong, knowing that you share in our sufferings and also in the comfort we receive. Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the troubles we suffered in Asia. We had great burdens there that were beyond our own strength. WE even gave up hope of living. Truly, in our own hearts we believed we would die. But this happened so we would not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises people from the dead. God saved us from these great dangers of death, and he will continue to save us. We have pur our hope in him, and he will save us again. And you can help us with your prayers. Then many people will give thanks for us--that God blessed us because of their many prayers. ~2 Corinthians 1:3-11~



In this passage, Paul is acknowledging God for who He is. He starts off by praising God. Then he goes on to acknowledging the things God has done for him and the Corinthians. Furthermore, he goes on to telling the Corinthians about their sufferings and how, although they were suffering and gave up everything, God took that opportunity to show them that He is always with them, no matter what. That we need to trust not in our own understandings, but in Him. This passage is a simple passage of praise and gratitude towards God. But I believe it is a really important passage. Throughout our lives, we take many things for granted, we rely on ourselves, trusting in our own understanding...we forget to lean on God at times...we forget to thank Him and praise Him...and etc. We should always remember that God is with us no matter what. We need to constantly thank Him, and constantly praise Him in everything we do. We also need to learn to lean on Him, to trust in Him. And finally, we need to pray about these things, and have hope/faith in God.

March 11, 2009 1 Corinthians 16:13-24

Paul Ends His Letter ~1 Corinthians 16:13-24~

Be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage, and be strong. Do everything in love. You know that the family of Stephanas were the first believers in Soutehrn Greece and theat they have given themselves to the service of God's people. I ask you, brothers and sisters, to follow the leading of people like these and anyone else who works and serves with them. I am happy that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achiacus have come. You are not here, but they have filled your place. They have refreshed my spirit and yours. You should recognize the value of people like tehse. The churches in Asia send greeting to you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you in the Lord, as does the church that meets in their house. All the brothers and sisters here send greetings. Give each other a holy kiss when you meet. I, Paul, am writing his greeting with my own hand. If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be separated from God--lost forever! Come, O Lord! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.



This passage is of Paul saying his farewells to the Corinthian Church. It consists of a brief summary of all that happened throughout 1 Corinthians, words of encouragement, and also final farewells. Paul directs them to, "Be alert. Continue strong in the faith. Have courage, and be strong. Do everything in love." Those are all the points we covered in this book, that the Corinthian church lacked. He also encourages them to follow faithful leaders and to show love to newcomers, to be welcoming. Finally, he ends with reminding them of God's love and of God's grace. God loves us and he gives us grace, for this, we need to love him with all that we can. Just as Paul loved the Corinthian church.

March 10, 2009 1 Corinthians 16:5-12

Paul's Plans ~1 Corinthians 16:5-12~

I plan to go through Macedonia, so I will come to you after I go through there. Perhaps I will stay with you for a time or even all winter. Then you can help me on my trip, wherever I go. I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to stay a longer time with you if the Lord allows it. But I will stay at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a good opportunity for a great and growing work has been given to me now. And there are many people working against me. If Timothy comes to you, see to it that he has nothing to fear with you, because he is working for the Lord just as I am. So none of you should treat Timothy as unimportant, but help him on his trip in peace so that he can come back to me. I am expecting him to come with the brothers. Now about our brother Appolos: I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers. He did not at all want to come now; he will come when he has the opportunity.



In this passage, Paul explains his plan for his life. Even though he leaves, he wants the Corinthians Christians to continue to live for God. Three points: 1 make plans to live for God; 2 God's will may involve opposition; and 3 one person's desire is not necessarily God's will for you. He shares with them that they should take advantage of opportunities, in this case, ministry.

March 9, 2009 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

The Gift for Other Believers ~1 Corinthians 16:1-4~

Now I will write about the collection of money for God's people. Do the same thing I told the Galatian churches to do: On the first day of every week, each one of you should put aside money as you have been blessed. Save it up so you will not have to collect money after I come. When I arrive, I will send whomever you approve to take your gift to Jerusalem. I will send them with letters of introduction, and if it seems good for me to go also, they will go along with me.



In this passage, Paul instructs the Corinthians Church to do the same thing as the Galatian churches. This is to save up little bit of money each week in order to send them to other believers elsewhere. Overall what does this account to? Christian giving, all by the grace of God! The point is not to be like the Galatian churches, but to learn to give generously through the grace of God. And through that, the people receiving will also receive a message by the actions of those who give.

March 8, 2009 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

What Kind of Body Will We Have? ~1 Corinthians 15:35-58~
But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?" Folish person! When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. And when you sow it, it does not have the same "body" it will have later. What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else. But God gives it a body that he has planned for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body. All things made of flesh are not the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have another. Also there are havenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the beauty of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon has another beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty. It is teh same with the dead who are raised to life. The body that is "planted" will ruin and decay, but it is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. When the body is "planted," it is without honor, but it is raised in glory. When the body is "planted," it is weak, but when it is raised, it is powerful. The body that is "planted" is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body. There is a physical body, and there is also a spiritual body. It is written in the Scriptures: "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. The spiritual did not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual. The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. People who belong to the earth are like the first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. Just as we were made like the man of earth, so we will also be made like the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. Something that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. But look! I tell you this secret: We will not all sleep in death, but we will all be changed. It will take only a second--as quickly as an eye blinks--when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we will all be changed. This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that can never die. So this body that can be destroyed will clothe itself with that which can never be destroyed, and this body that dies will clothe itself with that which can never die. When this happens, this Scripture will be made true: "Death is destroyed forever in victory." "Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your pain?" Death's power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.

In this passage, Paul illustrates resurrection for the Corinthian Church. He uses an analogy for our bodies to seeds. Just as seeds are buried into the ground in the form of a simple seed and comes out of the ground (grows) into a healthy plant, totally different from the original seed, our bodies do the same thing. We are buried underground when we die, then something rises...not our physical bodies...we don't go walking around like zombies...but our spiritual bodies rise. Paul also mentions that Heaven does not allow flesh and blood to enter...those things are perishable, but because Heaven and all things in it are everlasting, the physical body cannot rise.

Another point that Paul comes across is that there will be a generation in the future, that will not have to experience physical death in order to exist eternally. That is the day the Lord comes back. We can only exist eternally because Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, has passed away for our transgressions and by this, He was the first man to die and rise. Following His example, as long as we have been saved...have stepped into salvation, we will also be able to do the same.

March 7, 2009 1 Corinthians 15:12-34

The Resurrection of the Dead ~1 Corinthians 15:12-34~
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

In this passage, Paul is discussing the resurrection of the body after death. The Corinthian Chrisitans did not believe in the body resurrecting. They thought of the after-life as only a soul thing, but Paul was explaining the truth. It is said, if our body is not raised, then Christ is not raised. If Christ is not rasied, preaching is useless. If our faith is futile, we are to be pitied more than all men.

Christ is the forerunner of all resurrections. He is the one and only that was raised from the dead, and never died again. Every single day, we go through turmoil as Christians. Although we may not receive physical hostility, especially here in the states, it's still hard for us to speak to non-Christians. Many people are still hesitant to listen to the words, or to open up their hearts to take in anything. But still, we should try and try and try.