seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Corinthians 2:12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
2 Corinthians 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
OK... here's the commentary on the first few verses.I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother: Even though there was an open door, Paul felt he could not do all that he needed to if he did not have Titus there. Paul did not regard himself as a one-man show; he knew he needed other people with him and beside him.
To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life: The scent of incense burnt to the gods in a Roman triumphal parade smelled wonderful to a Roman. The same aroma was a bad smell to a captive prisoner of war in the parade, who would soon be executed or sold into slavery.
We speak in the sight of God in Christ: Paul was always aware that his first audience in ministry was God Himself. Every word he spoke, he spoke in the sight of God.
And here's the commentary from the first few verses of chapter 3.Epistles of commendation: Such letters were common and necessary in the early church. A false prophet or apostle could travel from city to city and easily say, “Paul sent me, so you should support me.” To help guard against problems like this, letters of recommendation were often sent with Christians as they traveled.
I would strongly advise everyone to read the commentary. I know a couple of ladies from the Mormon church. One was a teacher in the Mormon church there in Maryland... and now she says the whole thing is a fake... including the Bible. The other lady, who has always been here in Arizona, has never read anything from the Bible. Her study is written in the Book of Mormon. They are good Mormon women.
Then there are the friends from Jehovah's Witness. I don't know what book they read. I haven't figured them out yet. I know they have a lot of rules that I just don't understand. One huge difference, Witnesses believe only the preachers or priests can properly interpret the Bible. I was raised Baptist and I believe the Spirit helps me interpret. Witnesses do not believe in the trinity?
I told y'all about the Baptist church around the corner, where the men openly carry their firearms in church. None of the Baptist churches in town have a food bank. The Methodists, however, have a good food bank, and they are always happy to help the homeless and the desperate people who visit them. On the other hand, the food bank and housing assistance at the Catholic Church shut down during COVID and has not reopened.
My point is.... Paul says what he preaches is straight from Jesus. No one can verify his wild story about being knocked down and blinded by Jesus. There were men all around but no one but Paul saw or heard anything. Paul was famous for holding the coats of the men who beat Stephen to death. Paul was famous for arresting Christians and imprisoning them. Then, to top everything off, Paul preaches we can toss some of the "inconvenient" traditions like circumcision and kosher restrictions, but save the tithe to pay the self-appointed apostles.
Paul says "I don't need a recommendation". Paul says "the size of my church is my recommendation". Paul says "look at all these people".
Paul says "Come see... we've got a Gospel Show second to none". Paul says "don't forget to bring your tithe".
Brother Paul's traveling salvation show......
