Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians

6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. A living relationship with the Living God; that is what brings life. And that is only possible if the barrier of sin has been dealt with properly.Continue reading “21Apr2008 2Cor 3:6”

5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. Near the beginning of the movie Shrek, Donkey is proud of the fact he has scared off the enemy. Moments later he finds Shrek standing behind him and his self-image is shot. Donkey thought for aContinue reading “20Apr2008 2Cor 3:5”

2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. How many letters do you have in circulation? I hope your children are your letters. Or should I say, I hope your children read the way you want them to be read. They are some of your letters. Your spouseContinue reading “19Apr2008 2Cor 3:2”

15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. Double odor. We ‘smell’ differently to different people. Our Jesus-acts are received as grace by other believers.Continue reading “18Apr2008 2Cor 2:15-16a”

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. We are on the winning team. We are riding in the victory parade. We are sitting in the convertible limousine waving at the crowd. I don’t know aboutContinue reading “17Apr2008 2Cor 2:14”

12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, When was the last time you recognized the Lord opening a door of ministry for you? I know you are probably not a “full-time” minister. Your ministry might take the formContinue reading “16Apr2008 2Cor 2:12”

11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Restoration of a repentant believer is necessary for OUR continued walk in Jesus. If we can not acknowledge the work of grace in another, then we are not living in the grace and certainly don’t understand it ourselves.Continue reading “15Apr2008 2Cor 2:11”

8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Here are two things we don’t do very well in the church today. The first is church discipline. When someone is involved in a sin and someone becomes aware of it, the Scriptures give a clear step-by-step guide about how it should be handled.Continue reading “14Apr2008 2Cor 2:8”

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Paul’s depression. Have you ever felt like you just want to get off the life train, andContinue reading “13Apr2008 2Cor 1:8”

6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. This is a strange formula, comfort producing patient endurance of suffering. Paul and the Corinthian believers were both undergoing suffering. Their livesContinue reading “12Apr2008 2Cor 1:6”