Paul’s pneumatology in summary: The Lord who has become life-giving Spirit fills him. The Lord, the Spirit transforms him from glory to glory as he gazes at the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Since the glory of Jesus is the glory of the cross, Paul’s translation into glory means . . . . Continue Reading »
2 Corinthians 5:16: From now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. It’s not too much to say that the truth expressed in our sermon text is the heart of Calvin’s understanding of the . . . . Continue Reading »
“From now on,” Paul says in today’s sermon text, “we know no man according to the flesh.” Paul defends his ministry against Corinthians who find him unimpressive and weak. Paul understands this fleshly perspective because he once shared it. Before Jesus revealed His . . . . Continue Reading »
In his commentary on 2 Corinthians ( The New American Commentary Volume 29 - 2 Corinthians ), David Garland asks what “in Christ” means in 5:17, and answers: “This phrase, ‘in Christ,’ can mean several things that are not mutually exclusive: that one belongs to Christ, . . . . Continue Reading »
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul gives his apostolic resume, his reason for boasting, and it is mostly a catalog of suffering and opposition. It is also a rhetorically and symbolically rich catalog. He begins with a fourfold summary of his privileges and status, and at each point he emphasizes that he . . . . Continue Reading »
AE Harvey exaggerates, but his suggestion is provocative:,. Speaking of Paul’s meditation on suffering in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, he wrote “For the first time in his extant letters, and possibly for the first time in the entire philosophical and religious tradition of the West, we find . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Parenting is future-oriented. You are raising children to be faithful disciples of Jesus in the next generation. We can do that well only when we parent in the Spirit, since the Spirit is the Spirit who makes future. THE TEXT “For we know that if our earthly house, . . . . Continue Reading »
At the end of 2 Corinthians 6, Paul quotes a series of Old Testament texts in support of his exhortation, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers.” God’s temple has no agreement with idols, and the Christian and the church are temples (v. 16). The church fulfills Yahweh’s . . . . Continue Reading »
2 Corinthians 2:15-16: For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? The world was created to be a holocaust to its . . . . Continue Reading »
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