In yesterday’s devotional, we looked at the third thing Paul does with respect to attacks, which is to evaluate his relationship to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. There are three aspects to this, and they are related to each other. The first aspect was Paul’s union with Christ.
The second aspect of Paul’s evaluation speaks of being sealed, which is often used for the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal on us, indicating ownership. When an important document was signed in antiquity it was often attested by a seal. After the document was written, it would be sealed with wax. One would then take his ring, which bore the sign of his authority, and would press it into the wax. This showed that the man who wears the ring stands behind the contents of the document; he owns up to it, as it were. The contents of the letter could not be broken. That is what the Holy Spirit is for us. God has put us into Christ, and the Holy Spirit is God’s seal on the fact that we are His and belong to Him.
The third aspect that Paul mentions is that the Holy Spirit is a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Again, Paul is talking about his union with Christ. As he examines his life that is the thing that matters most. We can make the mistake of trying to go ahead with our own plans as if we were our own master. Instead, what we need to do, as Paul did, is to try to live in such a way that what Jesus does, I do. Our union to Him, manifested by the seal of the Holy Spirit, is to be apparent to all the world.
Having re-examined himself, his relationship to God in terms of divine sovereignty, and his relationship with Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, the fourth thing Paul now considers is his relationship to other people. Paul said that the reason things worked out the way they did was that if he had gone to Corinth when he had planned, when the church was in its unrepentant state, he would have had to come to them in judgment. He would have needed to exercise his authority as an apostle. He would have had to discipline the people who were involved in the offenses that we read about in 1 Corinthians, as well as to deal with the problem that had caused Paul such personal pain. Rather he wanted to advise them about what was right and then to have them search out how their conduct was offensive to the Lord. On the basis of what they know about God, and that they are God’s children and want to please Him, they are to repent of their sin and begin to lead and develop the church in a way that honors Jesus Christ in all respects.
From having met with Titus prior to writing this letter, Paul had become aware that the church had actually done what he wanted them to do. Thus, he can now write with joy. Where did Paul learn to do that? Well, he had learned that from Jesus Christ Himself, which is what he indicates. As he says, he did not come in order to lord it over them (1:24). But wishing to imitate Jesus, Paul works with the Corinthians, wanting them together to bring glory to His name, in part by having other people come to know Christ as their Savior.
You see, when God changes our plans it is for those reasons. It is not because He does not care, or not because He delights in upsetting something that we might have planned to do. It is because God loves us and cares for us, and because God loves others and cares for them, and the Lord wants to work through these changes in our lives to be a blessing to others for whom He also died. We need to trust God in that, and as we trust, we will grow.
