30 2 2Through the Bible with Les Feldick, Paul, Our Apostle Defending His Apostleship: 2 Cor 1:

Описание: I think we can all appreciate that. We have all found ourselves in a position where maybe we've had some hard feelings with perhaps a family member and it's so much easier to just write our thoughts rather than try approach them face to face. And I think this is exactly how Paul felt. He felt he could do more by writing than if he would go and meet them personally and become possibly too stern. Now verse 15. Remember in our last lesson we were talking about how The Lord supplies all the needs of the believers.


II Corinthians 1:15

"And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;" In other words he wanted to come to Corinth and deal with their problems personally. Verse 16:


II Corinthians 1:16

"And to pass by you into Macedonia, (in northern Greece) and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea."


In other words Paul's itinerary was to leave Philippi, and come to Corinth, and then go back up into Macedonia and visit the churches and then come back to Corinth and head to Jerusalem. But Paul didn't make it. And because he didn't make it a lot of his detractors and his accusers would say, "Well you didn't come because you were afraid to." And Paul had to deal with these accusations. Remember, always put yourself in Paul's shoes. He was just as human as we are. Now verse 17. So he says, "Since I didn't get that accomplished...

II Corinthians 1:17

"When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? (did I say I was coming just to be saying something? No.) or the things that I purposed, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?"


If you looked that up in the Greek what Paul is really saying is this: "Did I come to you and talk in fickle language? Did I just say something to tickle your ears? No way. Whatever the apostle said he said it with full meaning but other things of course intervened. Verse 18:


II Corinthians 1:18-20

"But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, (Timothy) was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. (It was not fickle language, it was not something superfluous,) For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." In other words Paul is saying "Whatever I've said to you I can put it in concrete. I meant every word of it, it was from the depth of my heart and none of this was spoken with frivolity. Now verse 21.


II Corinthians 1:21,22

"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest (or the down payment) of the Spirit in our hearts."


Now there is another verse that is a perfect parallel with that and for that we have to go to the Book of Ephesians Chapter 1. Some of these days we'll be teaching this tremendous letter verse by verse. It's dealing with our position in the Body of Christ as believers.


Ephesians 1:13

"In whom (in Christ) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, (and the word of truth is) the gospel of your salvation: (I Corinthians 15:11-4) in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." Now that is part and parcel again of our salvation experience. We have been sealed, we have been marked by the Person of the Holy Spirit Himself. Now verse 14.


Ephesians 1:14

"Which is the earnest (and that means just exactly like we use the term today. He is the down payment. A sufficient down payment to make sure that the transaction is completed.) of our inheritance (which we will have by being joint-heirs with Christ, and that's going to hold it) until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."