We have another example in the New Testament of how suffering results in God’s glory. In John 9 we have the story of the man who was born blind. The disciples saw this man who had been begging by the gate. They assumed that sin was the cause of his blindness, and so they asked Jesus whether it was the man’s sin or that of his parents. Since the man was born blind, perhaps the disciples were wondering if God had foreseen that the man was going to sin and punished him before he committed it. Jesus replied in a very profound way. He said that the man’s blindness was not caused by sin, but that the glory of God might be revealed.
We have another example in the New Testament of how suffering results in God’s glory. In John 9 we have the story of the man who was born blind. The disciples saw this man who had been begging by the gate. They assumed that sin was the cause of his blindness, and so they asked Jesus whether it was the man’s sin or that of his parents. Since the man was born blind, perhaps the disciples were wondering if God had foreseen that the man was going to sin and punished him before he committed it. Jesus replied in a very profound way. He said that the man’s blindness was not caused by sin, but that the glory of God might be revealed.
As I have studied this, it seems to me that there are a variety of reasons why different forms of suffering come into our lives. One is that such things are just common to humanity in our sinful world. Job was expressing that idea when he wrote, “Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward” (5:7).
When they met in Macedonia, Titus told Paul that the church had dealt properly with the man whose sin had caused a significant problem (2 Cor. 2:5-11). Paul’s letter was well received, and the Corinthians were encouraged in that. But Titus would go on to inform Paul that apparently people had come to Corinth who were telling the church there that Paul was not really an apostle.
Every one of the letters of the apostle Paul, and indeed all of the books of the Bible, have their own particular appeal, and that is no less true of this great second epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. What is the appeal of this book? I suppose it appeals to different people in different ways. When we read the Bible through the context and turmoil of our own lives, there are things that speak to us and we appreciate the material for that reason.
The third point he makes is to be men of courage, and fourthly, to be strong. It is so easy to lose courage or to be weak because we look out and we see the enemies that are arrayed against us. We say, “Well, we can’t stand against that. We’re just weak, insignificant, and small in numbers.” What we need is to have our eyes opened like the servant of Elisha to see the hills filled with the chariots of fire and the angels of the Lord (2 Kings 6:17). The strength of the Lord is our armament. That is how we stand, and Paul is telling the Corinthians to do that.
In verse 13 he has a series of statements in which he is encouraging the Christians at Corinth. There are five statements there: 1.) “Be on your guard”; 2.) “Stand firm in the faith”; 3.) “Be men of courage”; 4.) “Be strong”; and 5.) “Do everything in love.” That is a good challenge for any group of Christians at any time because it speaks of our work in Christianity as a warfare, which means that there are enemies. Paul speaks of those he was facing. He mentions that there were those who opposed him in Ephesus. In the power of Christ, Christians are to stand firm against them.
Paul was the great apostle, the dynamic leader. Timothy was quieter, and seems to have been regarded less by some because he was not like Paul. So when Paul is writing to these churches, he tells them to receive Timothy, to be kind to him, and to accept him. And when Paul writes to Timothy, he tells him not to feel inferior because of his youth, but to set an example to the believers in all the various Christian graces.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
PO Box 24087, RPO Josephine
North Bay, ON, P1B 0C7
