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For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich

  Good morning. Speaking of collecting money for the saints: I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also. Paul does not scold them or try to shame them into giving. By telling how the Macedonians not only gave, but did so with joy and liberality, he hoped to invoke the same attitude in the Corinthians. Giving with the wrong attitude might benefit the ones who receive the gift, but it does not benefit the ones who give the gift. Speaking of the ultimate Giver: for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. He willingly gave up everything for us. He was God (rich) and became man (poor). He not only became poor by becoming a man, He also became one of the poorest of mankind. Luke talks about when Mary and Joseph went to the temple to offer a sacrifice for her cleansing after the birth of Jesus, they co...
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Just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also

  Good morning. Paul then talks about how the churches of Macedonia had “taken up an offering“ to send to Jerusalem. In a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. A lot of times we give special offerings because everything is going great, and we have a little extra money. For the Macedonians, it was just the opposite. According to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us for the favor of participation in the support of the saints. They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. Sometimes today Christians give money to some special offering because they are “trying to buy indulgences” for the bad things they have done or that they want to do. Now Paul turns his attention to the Corinthians. Just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in thi...
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I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance

  Good morning. Paul tells the Corinthians to make room for him in their hearts. He talks about when he came into Macedonia that he was afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus. We don’t ever think about Paul being depressed or needing reassurances about the people in some church, but apparently he was. Titus reassured Paul about the Corinthians’ love for him. Though I caused you sorrow by my letter (possibly talking about the one who had his father’s wife), I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. Apparently he meant that by his letter they saw that it was wrong to allow this man to continue, and repented. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salva...
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What harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

  Good morning. Continuing where we left off about not being unequally yoked with unbelievers: or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God has said, “ I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate… And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me.” Of course it went over most peoples’ heads when God said “I will dwell in them”. That was absurd; God actually dwelling in humans? And so they dismissed or tried to explain away what was said. What should our response be? Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilements of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. That is what our response should be. Remember that God‘s holiness can have no place with unrig...
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And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain at the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you

  Good morning. And working together with Him , we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain - for He says, “at the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you”. Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. Christmas is the “acceptable time” and the “day” that salvation came to earth. Paul mentions a bunch of hardships that he went through. Do not be bound/unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Of course the most common application of this by preachers is that a believer should not marry an unbeliever; but it could also be in other areas. When you have a team of animals pulling a wagon/carriage/sled, they are yoked together in pairs. If one is stronger/faster/wants to go in a different direction than their partner, it can create an imbalance, and it makes it hard for smooth travel. The same is true with humans. If a...
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So God has committed to us the word of reconciliation; therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God

  Good morning.  So God has committed to us the word of reconciliation; therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Ambassadors represent a country/kingdom. They speak on behalf of the leader/monarch. When they speak, it is as if the leader/monarch is speaking. There is an interesting observation about Paul saying “we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God“. Since Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, one would assume that he is writing to believers. Why would he be begging believers to be reconciled to God? We now come to another interesting verse. The word “sin“ can be either a noun or a verb. In this verse both times that it is translated “sin“ it is a noun. He made Him who knew no sin “to be” (these words were inserted by the translators so that we would not think that the next use of “sin“ was a verb; that is, that God made Jesus to commit sin) sin, so that w...
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Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature/creation.

  Good morning. Another favorite verse: therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature/creation. It’s not that he/she is new like a baby of some species that already exists; it is like they are a brand new species that has never existed before. When God came to earth as baby Jesus, He was a brand new “species” too. As such we should not be acting like our old selves. The old things passed away; behold new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. When two people have disagreements/arguments with one another, even refusing to speak to the other person, they need to be reconciled. They could both be at fault. Even when there is “peace“ restored between them, the one offended may still hold a grudge - but not so with G...
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