HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1415
2 Corinthians
T H E J U D G E ’ S G AV E L FA L L S with a resounding thud; an innocent
man has just been sent to prison. A woman is fired from her job because
a dishonest coworker has been spreading lies about her. A father of three
is critically wounded, the victim of a stray bullet from gang warfare.
A husband and wife move to a new town and start a Christian bookstore;
then it burns to the ground. Arson is suspected.
Unfair criticism, attacks on innocent people,
What you will be
reading about
injustice. Does it make you angry? Does it make
you want to fight back? When it happens to you,
1:1-11
do you want to speak out, to vindicate yourself?
Paul’s reaction to adversity
Over the centuries, Christians have not been
1:12 – 2:13
strangers to these unjust attacks. As followers of
Paul explains his travel plans
and severe letter
Christ in a world currently influenced by Satan,
we can expect our share of injustice. Paul had his
2:14 – 7:1
Paul defends his ministry
share. After starting a church in Corinth, he saw
it begin to grow and bloom. Then trouble came,
7:2 -16
The joy that comes from
a potential division in the church over lifestyle
maturing in faith
issues. Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians to
8:1 – 9:15
address that problem. The church seemed to have
The benefits of generous
been helped by that letter; again it was moving
giving
forward.
10:1 – 12:21
But more trouble was on the way. False teachers
Paul defends his authority
sprang up in that same church, people who didn’t
13:1 -14
like some of the things Christ taught. They wanted
Paul’s final advice and
more personal power and authority in the church
greetings
and therefore twisted Christ’s teachings to make
them more palatable. They even affirmed those
who had fallen into sinful lifestyles.
Their next step was to attack Paul. If they could discredit him, they would be
in full control of the church. So they began spreading false rumors about him.
How do you think Paul reacted when these rumors reached him? There is
nothing more frustrating than to be unjustly accused but unable to refute your
accusers in person. Paul must have been angry; he must have been upset; he
must have wanted to fight back. But Christ had made him a new person inside
(5:17); he now had God’s grace to deal with any trial or adversity.
And so, in love, Paul penned another letter to the Corinthian church. It was
tough love. Paul had to defend his credentials as an apostle of Jesus Christ in
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