2 Corinthians by Dennis McCallum (2005)

Paul was willing to share his faith in a culture that was full of immorality and greed. He knew God's message could speak to a people that was at the end of themselves. Paul wanted to win people to the Lord in this culture without giving way to the world system.

Paul explained that suffering is the occasion for faith and growth. God is with us in our suffering and He can use it for good. God chooses to comfort us in our suffering when we choose to endure it for His sake. When we view suffering in the bigger picture of eternity we are able to put it in a proper perspective and see the overwhelming victory that we have in the Lord.

Paul called the Corinthian church to practice loving discipline with one of the members of their church who had committed a serious sin. Biblical discipline is something the church does for the spiritual well-being of the person being disciplined, and not something done in judgement of that person. When the man who was disciplined had repented of his sin Paul called the church to invite him back and to comfort him.

Paul taught us that it is important when we face times of spiritual agony to look back at the message that God has carved into our hearts. God writes His message in our lives through the experiences that we have, where we see Him provide for us or use us in other people's lives. When we look at all that God has done for us, it becomes clear that He will continue to work in our lives, and that we are headed toward overwhelming victory in Him.

Paul explained that through Christ the veil of the law has been lifted and now we relate to God through grace. Christ died for all of our sins and now we can view our relationship with God as something where we draw near to Him and depend on Him, rather than trying to try to justify ourselves to Him. God's grace offers us freedom and peace as we work with Him.

Paul explained that our earthly bodies are temporary, but we will soon have eternal bodies. Christians will spend eternity in the new Heaven and the new Earth and it will be far better than our current lives. We should keep these truths in mind when we think about our lives here on Earth; everything here is so temporary. The afterlife is where our best life lies.

Paul explained that when someone accepts Christ's reconciliation for themselves they have a new identity. They become a citizen of heaven and a child of God; this new identity is something we can share with others. Christians who understand this are motivated to go out and share God's message of reconciliation as His ambassadors to this world.

Paul explained that as Christians we are ambassadors of Christ, we can either be a stumbling block to the watching world or we can reflect God's love to them. Being an ambassador for God is difficult, but is also deeply satisfying, because it is rich with meaning. God will empower us to do His work, the question is whether we are willing to do it?

Paul preached to the early church that they should give their money as a stewardship of the things God has blessed them with. Giving is an important way to invest in God's work, and He wants us to give out of what we have. God wants us to be open, honest with our finances, and to view our possessions as the things that He has given us.

Paul calls us to be good stewards of the money God has blessed us with. We are called to give voluntarily of own volition; God loves a cheerful giver. The best thing we can do with our temporary resources is invest in things that are eternal.

Paul explained that Christians are in a spiritual war against Satan and his forces. This isn't a war of swords and spears, but it is a war of truth. We are able to fight away Satan's lies with the Word of truth (the Bible).

Paul explained that the message of Christianity is quite simple. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and all we have to do is accept God's free gift of forgiveness through Jesus in order to start a relationship with God and go to heaven. There is no reason to add any unnecessary barriers to this message.

Paul lived a life dedicated to serving God and other people. People often choose to live a life that is self focused and care more about their own riches than the needs of others. As servants of the Lord we set our aim at leaving an eternal impact, and serving those around us.

Paul had a thorn in his flesh that God allowed to be there, this thorn was a reminder to Paul that God's grace is sufficient for him. God will allow us to suffer in order for us to see our need for him in our life. We need to choose to depend on God with our lives to experience the fullness of His love and to powerfully be used by Him.

Paul argues that God will search our hearts and bring things to the light as He sees fit. Christians can find themselves in a state of morbid introspection where they think too much about themselves and focus too much on solving their own problems. There is a biblical level of introspection, but often we go above and beyond that in our conceited self focus.