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THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs

2 Corinthians Lesson 7

Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.

Timothy Sparks:

“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (2 Cor. 10:17). I’m Timothy Sparks.

Ben Bailey:

And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of Second Corinthians. This lesson is brought to you by individuals and congregations of the churches of Christ. We hope that you will visit the churches of Christ in your area and let them know how much you appreciate their support of this broadcast. If you have a Bible question or a spiritual concern, they would be happy to help you with it. If you would like a Bible study, they also would be glad to help you with that. We, too, would like to be of service if we can. Visit us on our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, where you will find streaming audio and video lessons of our broadcasts. You may download these and use them to assist you in your study of God’s Word. We also are making available CDs of these broadcasts, as well as VHS and DVDs. We will be glad to send any of these to you completely free of charge. We also would be glad to send you the first lesson of an eight-lesson Bible correspondence course. You will receive it by mail, and after you have completed lesson number one, you can return it to us for grading. We then will send you back that lesson (graded), along with the next lesson, and so on. At the end of the course, you will receive a “Certificate of Completion.” We believe this could prove very beneficial to you in your study of God’s Word.

In this lesson in 2 Corinthians, we are going to learn that if we are going to “glory,” we need to do that “in the Lord,” and not in ourselves. Where is our real hope and joy? Upon what do we place real value? Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” His point was, Are we really placing our priorities in the right place? Do we think on spiritual things instead of just earthly things? Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10, is teaching us that we need to put our hope, our trust, and our confidence in God Himself. It is God Who saves us, not man. According to 2 Corinthians 11, it is the simplicity of the Gos­pel message by which God accomplishes that.

Timothy Sparks:

That simplicity is the very thing to which Paul appeals. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, he says, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” This comment by Paul—which is a reference the events that transpired in the Garden of Eden when Satan tempted Eve to par­take of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—is intended to help teach us that we should not let the devil deceive us. When the devil plants seeds of doubt in our minds, then he can deceive us, just as he deceived Eve (as we see from 1 Timothy 2:14). We are not ignorant of the devil’s devices. Rather, we should be fully aware of his tactics. We need to have our minds trained by the continual use of the Word of God so that we can recognize the source of the temptations that confront us or the error that attempts to lead us astray. In 2 Peter 3:17-18, Peter wrote, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and forever.” Satan will use a variety of methods to try to cause us to sin. He will use the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is exactly how he deceived Eve. Genesis 3:6 informs us: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” When Eve saw that the fruit was good for food [lust of the flesh], that it was pleasant to the eyes [lust of the eyes], and that it could make her wise [the pride of life], she ate it. Satan used all three on Eve. John wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Fath­er is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life —is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 Jn. 2:15-17).

In 2 Corinthians 10:17, Paul said, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” In Galatians 6:14, he wrote: “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Paul considered himself to have been “cruficied with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). Though he was still “in the flesh,” he refused to yield to the “lust of the flesh.” Eve provides the perfect example of what we should not do. God wants us to be fully informed of Satan’s tactics, and to “glory” or “boast” only in Him, not in such things as the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life.

Ben Bailey:

One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to try to present Jesus in a different light than people are used to seeing. In 2 Corinthians 11:4, Paul says to the Christians in Corinth, “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” Paul chastised the Corinthians for “putting up with” false teach­ing about Christ. Many people today try to present Jesus in a different light. They may pre­sent Him as a lunatic, or as a lunatic, or as merely a “great teacher.” What we need to do, however, is to go back to the Bible to see how Jesus is really presented to us. While through the ages some have tried to present “another Gospel” about Jesus, the truth of the matter is that there is only one Gospel of Christ. One example that springs to mind is the Book of Mormon. On the front of that book, it says, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” I cannot help but wonder what Paul’s reaction to that would have been, since he plainly stated in 2 Corinthians 11:4 that there is not “another Gospel.” In Galatians 1:6-9, he reiterated that point when he wrote:

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

There is no “other testament” of Jesus Christ. Paul teaches us clearly not to look to the ideas or books of men for such a testament. We shouldn’t be concerned about what Joseph Smith, or any other man, has to say about Jesus. Instead, we should open our Bibles and see what God and His inspired writers have to say about Jesus Christ. We need to learn, as Paul pointed out in Ephesians 4:4-6, that, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” We shouldn’t get caught up in the controversies of today which suggest that “Jesus really didn’t say the things re­corded in the Bible,” or “Jesus wasn’t really like the Bible depicts Him as being,” or “Jesus was actually very tolerant of sin,” and so forth. There is only one Gospel. We must pattern our lives after it, and be sure that we live according to God’s Word. It seems that one of the prevailing views today is that we can live however we want, and Jesus will ac­cept us. It will be fine with God, too. But that’s not what the New Testament teaches.

Timothy Sparks:

This is the idea of, “I’m OK, you’re OK.” In religion, it’s expressed as, “You have your in­terpretation of the Bible, and I have my interpretation.” Or, you might hear people in religion say, “We’re all heading toward Heaven; we’re just taking different routes to get there.” That isn’t what the Bible teaches. Where in the Bible do we find that there is “more than one way” to get to Heaven? Jesus plainly contradicted such teaching when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me” (Jn. 14:6). Je­sus is the only way. There is no “other” way besides Him. We can see from passages like Ephesians 4:4-6 that God wants unity. He said through Paul that there is “one body”—which is the church (Eph. 1:22-23). There is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Our task is to maintain the unity that is discussed in this passage. As we look at the context of 2 Corinthians 11, we see that there is only one Gospel. This reminds me of Paul’s discussion in Galatians 1 about the necessity of holding to “the one Gospel.”

Ben Bailey:

This is exactly right. Paul stresses that if he, or an angel from Heaven, should try to foist on us “another Gospel,” that person or angel is to be “accursed.” Paul even repeated him­self when he said, “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Paul’s point is that anyone who preaches “another Gospel” stands condemned. They ought to hold true to God’s Word, rather than trying to alter it or improve upon it. This ploy—of presenting “an­other Gospel—is just one of Satan’s tools. But Paul warned against it when he wrote, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” Little wonder, then, that Satan’s servants should do the same thing. They come across as quite appealing, with a lot of love in their hearts for those to whom they are preaching, and a good-sounding message, but is it the message of God? This is an instance in which we should be just like the Bereans in Acts 17, who searched the Scriptures daily to see if what they were hearing was the Word of God. We need to be checking what we hear by comparing it with God’s Word. Someone has suggested in regard to the Gospel, “If it’s true, it’s not new; and if it’s new, it’s not true.” We know that Satan and his coworkers can appear as “angels of light.” Light represents that which is good, true, and holy. Satan comes across that way, when, in fact, he’s not that way at all. This is part of the deceptive nature of Satan. He’s not going to approach us forth­rightly and say, “Hey, I’ve got a new Gospel. If you obey it, it will send you straight to Hell.” That’s not how Satan works. His ploy is to suggest that he has something “more modern,” “more relevant,” or “more beneficial.” We hear a lot of this same type of teaching from those who suggest that they have “another Gospel.” They denigrate those people who stand solely on the Word of God. But we need to return to plain Bible preaching and teaching.

Timothy Sparks:

Peter says, “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). Only the Word of God can save our souls (Jas. 1:21). It is the Gospel of Christ that is the power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul, who is devoting his life to preaching that Gospel, now, finds himself in a position once more of having to defend his apostleship. He says, “For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles” (vs. 5). Later in that chapter, in verse 13, he writes of some who are “false apostles, deceit­ful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.” We have numerous warnings about false prophets and apostles. In 2 Peter 2:1-2, Peter says, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.” John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1). Paul therefore found it necessary to defense his genuine apostleship against those who were false apostles, false prophets, and false teachers, and who, through their efforts were leading many astray. We are not to believe every one who comes along; rather, we are to “test them” against the Word of God to see if what they are teach­ing is correct. In Paul’s discussion of the genuineness of his apostleship, he says, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I” (2 Cor. 11:22). He then explains some of the physical abuse he has suffered as a result of his efforts on behalf of the Cross.

Ben Bailey:

Apparently, someone had been suggesting that Paul himself was a false apostle, and that his motives were less than pure. So, Paul says in essence, “Wait a minute. Let’s take a look at such charges.” In 2 Corinthians 11:24-26, he offers as proof of his apostleship the things he had to endure as an apostle: “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.” Paul’s point, of course, is that if he was a false apostle, why would he suffer such indignities? He con­sidered it illogical for his enemies to accuse him of being a false apostle, when he easily could have escaped such punishments and tortures by simply denying Christ. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that if he didn’t really love their souls, then he would have given up long ago. Paul’s argumentation is logical. If someone is truly dedicated to a position, they will stay dedicated to it, no matter what happens to them. But if someone is not truly dedicated, then when hard times come and they are expected to endure ridicule or physical harm, then they will abandon their previously held position—because it’s not something in which they truly believe. Paul says, “That’s not what I did.” Here, we see a great lesson from Paul on the topic of dedication. Exactly how dedicated was Paul to the Gospel? He was so dedicated that he was beaten with rods, endured shipwrecks, was left for dead af­ter being stoned, etc. Now, knowing these things, let’s make the appropriate application to our lives as Christians today. Sometimes, we as Christians seem to want to give up at the first sight of hardship. If a brother or sister mistreats us, or if something else presents a “light affliction” in our lives (2 Cor. 4:17), we are almost ready to give up without a fight and “call it quits.” We should learn from Paul about what dedication to the Gospel really is. We must remember the teaching of Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give unto you a crown of life.” Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:62). Paul’s teaching, and his example, both help us to see that, no matter what we have to endure, if we remain faithful, in the end, it will have been worth it.

Timothy Sparks:

That is exactly Paul’s point in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” In the closing verses of 2 Corinthians 11, we learn still more about Paul’s problems. “In Damas­cus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands” (vss. 32-33). We’re not told who provided the rope or the basket that allowed Paul to escape. But think about it. Some faithful brethren helped Paul. They provided the means of his escape, and very likely put themselves in potential danger by doing so. Yet by their actions, they saved the man who would write approximately two-thirds of the New Testament! We, today, can be like those unnamed brethren who helped Paul. While our names may never be written in the annals of history, we can be people who support the teaching and preaching of the Gospel from “behind the scenes.” All of us need to do whatever we can to (figuratively speaking) “hold the rope and provide the basket” that will allow faithful teachers of God’s Word to do their jobs. In Acts 3:6, Peter told a man, “silver and gold have I none, but what I have, I give to you.” That’s the same attitude we should have. We may not have any money to offer, but whatever we can give, we should give. Jesus spoke of a widow who gave only two mites—but it was all she had to her name (Mark 12:42-44)! This is the type of dedication we see in Paul’s life. Outside the city of Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead. Yet when he recovered, he went right back into the city to preach the Gospel once more. Throughout all of his suf­ferings, though, Paul continually expressed concern for the congregations of the church. In this, he provides us with yet another good example to follow. We, too, should be concerned about the church for which Christ died.

Ben Bailey:

Each member of the body of Christ is important. “Someone” held the rope. “Someone” low­ered the basket. Tasks that we might not think at first glance are very important, can be ex­actly that. Each task, and each person, is important. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul stres­sed this by comparing members of the church to parts of the human body. The hand can­not say to the foot, “Since you’re not a hand, the body has no need of you.” The eye cannot say to the ear, “Since you’re not an ear, the body has no need of you.” Each part of the physical body is important, and each part of the spiritual body is important, too. Sometimes things that we think might be insignificant can, in fact, play an important role in the spread of the Gospel. There are no “unnecessary” members in the Lord’s body. Sometimes, I think we cause people to feel unwanted or unneeded when we don’t express proper grat­itude to them for whatever they’ve done. In Luke 17, the story is told of Jesus’ healing of ten lepers. Yet only one of them returned to thank Him. Jesus asked the haunting question: “Where are the nine?” How long has it been since you said “thank you”—not just to God, but to members of the church who perform certain tasks? Part of our “building up” of the church lies in our ability to let members know how much we appreciate them and what they do.

Timothy Sparks:

Sometimes we need to ask the question: “Am I humbly grateful, or am I grumbly hate­ful?” As we learn from 1 Thessalonians 5:18, in everything we are to give thanks. Colossians 4:2 teaches us that we should “continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in thanksgiv­ing.” Psalm 92:1 instructs us that “it is good to give thanks to the Lord.” God wants us to be grateful, thankful people. Whenever we spend our time in thanks, we won’t spend it in com­plaining. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without complaining and dis­puting.” We serve a gracious God. And because that is true, we need to show our ap­preciation for all that He has done for us through our love and concern for others. In 1 Co­rinthians, Paul told the Christians that a big part of their problem was their lack of love for one another. You cannot be loving if you are not concerned for others. If you are self-centered and self-focused, then you cannot esteem others more important than yourself. One of the reasons that Paul was able to “keep on keeping on” was because He re­alized that Jesus had given His life, and God had given His Son, to establish the church. Paul not only loved the church, but he also loved the lost. In Romans 9 and 10, Paul said that he loved his brethren (in this context, he’s speaking, not of his Christian brethren, but of his Jewish brethren) so much that he said he was even willing to be “accursed” if it could mean their salvation. In Romans 10:1, he wrote, “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” That’s why Paul spent his life in trying to come to a knowledge of the truth, that they might be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). Paul’s commit­ment should inspire us to great service for the Lord, as Paul expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Whatever we do for God, will not be in vain. It will be of great worth and value.

Friend, we want you to know that God loves you, and that we love you. We love your soul, and want you to become a child of God. If you’re not, if you’ve never obeyed the Gospel plan of salvation, we would like to hear from you. We would like to sit down with you, or put you in touch with a member of the church of Christ in your area, to study God’s Word and the plan of salvation. Jesus teaches us very plainly what that plan of salvation is. In John 8:24, Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” We must believe that Jesus is Lord of our lives, and is the risen Savior Who died for our sins. We must believe that so much that we are willing to change. Jesus demands that when I become His child, I change from the world to Him. In Luke 13:3, Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish.” So, we must believe. And we must repent. Plus, we must make the good confession that Jesus is the Son of God, and then we must be baptized in water for the remission of our sins. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we read, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” How important is baptism? Without baptism, you cannot be a member of Christ’s body. From 1 Corinthians 15, we learn that Jesus is coming back to redeem the body. If we aren’t a member of it, then we will not be going to Heaven. Baptism is what puts us into that body. Today, it is our hope and prayer that you will continue in your study of the Word of God. Do not take our word on any of this, but search the Bible. And if the things we are saying are true, they are true because God said them, not because we said them. If you would like to have a copy of this broadcast, we will be happy to send it to you completely free of charge. You can log onto our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com and send us an e-mail, and we will be happy to send you a DVD, VHS, or CD of this lesson or any others. Also, on our website, you can view these lessons, or listen to them, via streaming video and/or audio. We also make available a Bible correspondence course at no charge. It is our prayer that you will continue to study with us as we endeavor to uncover more of “the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

 

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STUDY QUESTIONS FOR 2 corinthians lesson 7

  1. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 that wherever our treasure is, that is where our heart will be as well. Then, in 2 Corinthians 10:17, Paul said that if we are to glory, we are to glory “in the Lord.” What is the point of these two passages when considered together?

  2. Give two examples of how Satan might tempt someone with the “lust of the flesh.”

  3. Give two examples of how Satan might tempt someone with the “lust of the eyes.”

  4. Give two examples of how Satan might tempt someone with the “pride of life.”

  5. The Book of Mormon claims to be “another testament of Jesus Christ.” Using such pas­sages as Galatians 1:6-9 and 2 Corinthians 11:4, explain how we know that is wrong.

  6. According to Ephesians 1:22-23, there is only “one body.” According to Colossians 1:22-23, the body is the church. What is the logical implication of linking these passages together?

  7. What did the Christians in Berea do that was so commendable (Acts 17:10-11)?

  8. In 2 Corinthians 11:5, Paul said that he was “not at all inferior to the most eminent of the apostles.” Was Paul bragging? If not, why did he make such a statement?

  9. In 1 John 4:1, John told Christians to “test the spirits.” Why was that necessary? Incor­porate 2 Peter 2:1-2 into your response.

10. Paul listed in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 some of the things he had endured as he had traveled to preach the Gospel. What was his purpose in listing his “sufferings”?

11. In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul said that all those who live righteously in Christ will suffer per­secution. Discuss Jesus’ statement in Luke 9:62 in light of Paul’s comment.

12. In Mark 12:42, Jesus saw a poor widow who put a mere “two mites” into the temple treasury. Why did the Lord commend her?

13. Sometimes, it may be that all we, personally, can do is “let someone down in a basket” (see 2 Corinthians 11:32-33). Discuss that concept in light of the teachings found in this lesson.

14. Paul wrote in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” What did he mean?

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