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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
October 5
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Today's Pathway:
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The book of II Corinthians was written by Paul about a year after I Corinthians. It is a very personal letter, and is the most autobiographical of his epistles. Because of this, the letter deals extensively with suffering in the Christian life. Sidlow Baxter wrote,
"While others of Paul's epistles may be more profound, scarcely any could be more precious than this second heart-outpouring to the Corinthians. It was written with a quill dipped in tears, from the apostle's 'anguish of heart', and contains more of human pathos than any other of his letters. Yet there is a lovely rainbow shining through it all, for in his dire distress and deep disappointments he is discovering more than ever before that 'the Father of mercies' is the 'God of all comfort',and that the heavenly Master's strength is made perfect in His servant's weakness. If the full force of such a letter is to register itself in our minds, we must see it in the context of the agitations and cogitations which precipitated it."
In verse 1 Paul immediately states the fact that he is an apostle "by the will of God". One of the things about Paul that the false teachers in Corinth attacked was his apostolic authority (II Corinthians 11:5). He wants the church to know that he is an apostle, and that he did not simply decide to take on this responsibility, but that he had a call from God. Those who opposed him had no such divine calling, and thus their doctrines which contradicted his must be rejected. This is not to say that Paul was infallible, for no man but Jesus ever could be. However, his personal relationship with God (Galatians 1:11-12) and his calling from God (Galatians 1:15-16) gave authority to the doctrines and principles that he taught. The letter is addressed to the "church of God" at Corinth. Paul may have been an apostle and carried the authority that belonged to that office, but he always knew that the church belonged to God. It wasn't Paul's church: it was the Lord's. Sometimes those who are in spiritual leadership within a local church can forget that truth. The church does not belong to the pastor or the congregation. In Acts 20:28 Paul instructed the elders (pastors) of the church at Ephesus to
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."
Pastors are overseers of the church, but they are not the owners of the church. That right belongs to God alone. In addition, because the church at Corinth belonged to God, the church had a responsibility to do exactly what God said to do. No church ever has the Biblical right to change its doctrine or practice away from the clear dictates of the Scriptures. The church of God must follow the Word of God. This truth was not limited to the church at Corinth, for the epistle was to be circulated to all the believers (saints) throughout the entire province of Achaia.
In verse 2 Paul gives his standard greeting. In each of his thirteen epistles he mentions both "grace and peace" in one of the opening verses. Grace always precedes peace. If someone has not received the grace of God in salvation they will never know peace. But the giving of grace does not end at the moment of salvation. According to Hebrews 4:16, God, our Heavenly Father, gives us "grace to help in time of need", and when we accept that grace it will give us peace during the struggles of our daily lives. Paul had experienced that, and he desired for his readers to experience it as well.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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