2 Corinthians 1:23-2:13

David Hassan

 

Every Mum here in the room knows all about it.  About having to say hard words to one of their kids, even the hubby who’s a little hard of hearing lately, you know, the kind of hard of hearing, that hearing aids don’t fix!

 

What happens for you when it comes to peace making? Do we fake the peace, or break the peace?  In the household I grew up in we had a saying,  “Us Hassan’s would rip the band aid off!”  That is we would break the peace and go at each other like gunslingers at 10 paces.  So what was your household like at having the hard conversations? (In fairness my Mum had a household of 2 boys and my dad around her)  So I’ve learnt I have to watch my tongue.  I can come at things just ripping the band-aid off , which means I can break rather than make the peace

 

 

How do we have hard conversations you know you have to have?

 

You know how it goes, you want to have the conversation about something simmering away inside, and you’re a volcano ready to erupt.  So you open your mouth and out comes all the hurtful words we can’t unsay that all start with YOU SHOULD or WHY DON”T YOU…

 

Hardship and conflict show up what we’re really thinking.  It’s just shocking when it comes out.  At the heart of most conflicts are desires – either good or bad – that have become controlling demands.  We can break free from conflict by renouncing those desires and asking God to help u find all our security, joy and fulfillment in Jesus Christ.[1]

 

In building a culture of peace as a community of believers, witnessing Christlikeness to each other is God’s deep desire is to see unity demonstrated among us a s church family which involves: God, Me, You and Us.

 

Paul had a few hard conversations with the Church family at Corinth and it all had to do with a sorrowful letter. As we read in 2 Corinthians 1:23-24

 

23  I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.  24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

 

 

Paul speaks with candid honesty, speaking as a responsible person, about building a culture of peace here.  Can you see the hardship of the strain on this relationship Paul was aware of? Paul widens the lens to be about God’s glory or what God’s sanctification agenda in us is instead.

 

God here wants the Corinthians Christians to create a climate of redemptive love

to model after Jesus who with his disciples served them regardless of his own circumstances without self pity.  The model of Jesus who served and bore burdens regardless of whether or not the recipients of his service were worthy and who bore burdens regardless of his own stature

 

At some point when Paul was living in Ephesus when he made up his mind not to make another painful visit to Corinth. The reason he gives is pastoral; he wants to spare them further unnecessary pain. (What that pain was we’re left guessing about.)  The best we can gather about it is that a particular man had caused some sort of conflict in the church. We can surmise that in some way he has been aggressive or immoral or caused some great injustice against someone who was also part of the Corinthian Church.  Our problem is, we just don't know what it was, but whatever it was it was hurtful to the whole church, stained everyone around him

 

What we do know is that Paul thought the situation bad enough in Corinth that he deemed it necessary to make an unscheduled visit to try and resolve the matter.   The result was it seems that while many in the Corinthian Church agreed with Paul’s views about the painful problem they weren’t prepared to do anything about it. Listen in to how Paul describes it - 2 Corinthians 2:1-2

 

2:1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?

 

Paul the Apostle of Jesus, the man who on the Damascus Road, who personally saw the risen resurrected ascended Christ, and who was set apart to be a missionary to the Gentiles to the ends of the earth. The same Paul who is the evangelist and church planter of the Corinthian Church, whose affections for them ran deep, shows us his pastoral care.  That is, he is not self sufficient but dependent, and so are they.  Paul is transparent and open and seeks restoration in the church and fellowship with the people.  Here Paul acknowledges his growth in grace and in Christ is very much a community experience – widen the lens he tells us, as what he shows us is humility of love.  In humility we have a great capacity to move towards others, showing the same level of grace we ourselves have received.  Paul is aware Jesus had shown to him.  As we read in verses 5-11

 

5  If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely.  6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient.  7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.  9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,  11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

 

 

We develop grace in community.  So what does Paul urge?  He urges that the Corinthians move towards the man who caused this grief, and aware of his need for restoration.  This is the first step.   The second is the awareness that we are also capable of the same sin this requires a level of humility and love. Look back over verses 5-10 what is the one word Paul keeps on repeating? That would be forgive which leads to restoration; and restoration begins with acknowledgement of sin, owning to that is to our own sin.

 

Paul tells the Corinthians to forgive the now repentant man.  This man who’d owned his sin, acknowledged his remorse, and was now seeking restoration with the Church family.  So Paul widens the scope – at church when one suffers we all suffer.  It all relates to the impact of a “sorrowful letter”   Read verse 4.

 

4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

 

This is about a letter now missing, yet we get some clues on what Paul wrote.  This was deeply personal letter to the Corinthians. A letter written with tears expressing a depth of love, and a desire not to grieve them with unnecessary pain; along with

his determination not to weaken godly standards for life in the church.

 

Paul’s sorrowful letter achieved what his painful visit failed in.  What we see is that when God is most present in the midst of conflict, the Church gathers around the one who has sinned with unity, one mind that seeks for God to be glorified, and for Jesus to grow deeper in each of us.  So often in conflict we don't forgive because we live with the belief “I can’t believe they did that” or “I would never do that: We put ourselves in another category of I’m not as big a sinner as you, [2] or in the case of some sins we have done we think forgiveness is beyond us because we don't think our sin is forgivable either by pride or struggle or shame or feeling unclean.

 

The shock of the gospel is that Christ when we were full of our sin and utterly despised and who had rejected God demonstrated the grace of God.  It is here that Jesus shone the light of his mercy to bring about the transformation of our soul.  In our church how we see and speak to each other provide the best way for our growth in looking more and more to Jesus as enough[3]

 

In Corinth with this mans repentance opened the way up for restoration in the relationships that had been stained Paul here calls for his forgiveness and comfort.  Also see here the spiritual warfare on view as we do battle not only in the way sin impacts our relationships, but also how Satan tries to tear churches apart; or how he will try to foster lovelessness, or bring about bitterness and division.  Come always to the feet of Christ for his mercy and love.  To be grounded in godliness holiness and repentance

 

Let’s pray…

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