New Testament Bible Study by John Stanko

2 Corinthians Study 11

I had a busy day today touring Rome, but it's my pleasure to present this eleventh and final study from our work in Second Corinthians.  It was a pleasure to work on this series, which totals 26 when we add in the work on First Corinthians.  There will be no study posted next week; we will begin looking at First Timothy the first week of November.

Paul ended this letter still battling to preserve his place in the minds and hearts of the Corinthians.  He was trying to remind some (and convince others) that he was doing his work in the power of Christ.  From that statement, I reflected and wrote:

v. 4 – Paul knew that he lived and worked in Christ’s power.  His work was to serve God’s people with that power and it was resurrection power.  That’s the same power that you and I have.  We have the same Spirit who raised a dead man back to life living in us.  Not some token of that Spirit or a replica, but the same Spirit.  When we work in Christ, we have that resurrection power that works in and through us. 

That’s why we should produce supernatural results in whatever we do.  The problem is that we too often limit those supernatural results to healing the sick and raising the dead.  When few of us produce those miracles, we stop expecting supernatural results.  Jesus said:

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). 

What could be greater than raising the dead?  Raising more dead than Jesus did?  That’s one way of interpreting that verse.  There’s another way, however, that I think you should consider.  Jesus never opened an orphanage, built a church building, published a book, found a cure for a disease, started a school or founded a missions organization.  Why not?  He could do all that, and in some sense He does, but He does those things through you and me.  Why can’t those things be considered part of His promise for greater works?  If that’s true, then what can you do in the power of the Spirit that is greater than anything Jesus ever did?  When can you do it? 

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study: Download 2_corinthians_study_11.doc

2 Corinthians Study 10

Dear Student of the Word,

I am in Seattle heading home.  Below is the next to the last study from Corinthians.  Why not send a gift subscription for these studies to someone as we end Corinthians and begin Timothy.  Just go to the site where these are posted and enter the email address for the gift on the right side.  Then send that person an email to let them know so they can click on the confirmation link that will be sent to them.

As we finish Second Corinthians, we see that Paul continued to struggle with his position in the church there.  He had founded the church, yet some considered him a failure and too weak to have any additional influence.  As Paul tried to convince them that God was with him and his work, he wrote about his thorn in the flesh.

This week I wrote:

Once again, we see that Paul was “low ego.”  That is quite a contrast to many today who are “high ego” and even egomaniacs.  How would Paul have done on Christian television?  Probably not very well.  I wonder if the truth that John wrote hasn’t carried over into ministry, including my own: 

For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17). 

I like the translation from The Living Bible for those verses:

Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires-the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance-these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever (1 John 2:15-17).

v. 7 – There has been much debate over Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.”  Some have felt it to be a sickness or disability.  I had a seminary professor who made a case that it was the persecution, particularly those who followed Paul, urging people to ignore Paul and follow the Law of Moses.  I like that interpretation, although we will never know for sure.

What we do know is that God blessed Paul, by His grace, to see and do magnificent things.  For Paul’s own good, God afflicted him with some unknown problem so that Paul would remember that he was human, just like everyone else.  Does this sound reasonable? 

If 1 John 2 that I quoted above is true, and it is of course true, then we can slip into sinful habits even when we are doing righteous things.  Paul’s revelation could have caused him to think that he was someone special.  He was, but his special-ness was due to the grace of God, not his own worthiness.  I have often heard people slip into this subtle mindset: “I have what I have because I pray or because I give a lot of money or because I fast.”  No, you and I have what we have by God’s grace.  Even the disciplines that we follow, like giving, fasting and praying, are a result of God’s gracious work in our lives.

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_10.doc

2 Corinthians Study 9

Dear Student of the Word,

We are approaching the end of our Corinthians study.  After this week, there are only two more installments remaining. I think we will move on to Paul's letters to Timothy after that, but for now, we still have a lot more work to do in Second Corinthians.

My admiration for Paul is well-documented.  In a few weeks, I will participate in a cruise that retraces the steps of Paul through Greece and modern Turkey.  I can't wait.  One of the places we will visit is Corinth, where I have been on three other occasions.  To subscribe to the updates from that trip, I urge to subscribe to my regular blog updates.  Go the site, enter your email address and you will receive what I write about 4-5 times a week.  Or send me your email address and I will add it for you if you don't have access to the Internet except for email. 

This week I wrote: 

v. 30 – Paul determined to talk and write about his weakness, and his “weakness” was certainly manifest in his ability to pastor and oversee churches over a long distance in the midst of intense personal pressure.  When Paul mentioned “weakness” here, it is in the context of his terrible external pressures and challenges and not his internal failures and shortcomings.  This discussion of weakness in these verses has caused many people to justify, glory in and focus on things that they aren’t gifted and graced to do. 

This is the wrong conclusion from this and the following verses.  Do you think Paul did what he did by not using every strength and gift that he had, rather relying on the things he wasn’t gifted to do?  Absolutely not! That's absurd! He suffered greatly because of what God called him to do and it was in that weakness that he accomplished his task. 

Please don’t think that God is going to give you work to do that will be unsuited to your personal gift mix.  If you can’t sing, God isn’t going to put you in charge of the choir, so you can boast of your weakness!  Do you need to rethink this whole concept of weakness from this context?  Has it caused you to be sloppy about your work?  Has it caused you to deny what you can do so that you won’t seem strong?  We’ll discuss this more in the days to come.

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_9.doc

2 Corinthians Study 8

Dear Student of the Word,

It's time once again for your weekly dose of God's word.  I enjoyed working on this week's study; for some reason, insight came quickly and easily this week.  That isn't anything I did; it's the grace of God.  Yet we have to make ourselves available to the Word if the Word is going to speak to us.  I hope that these studies help you do just that.  It is so unimportant what I say in these studies; it is so important to heed what God says to you from these studies.

If these studies have been helpful to you, why not go to the site where they are posted and enroll some friends?  Why not start a Bible study using the notes I send you? 

This week I wrote:

v. 15 – Paul understood that God had used him to start the work in Corinth.  If the work was to expand, however, it would require that those in Corinth help make that happen.  Their faith would need to grow if the work was to increase.  I know many church leaders, and I was among them, who worked harder and harder to get results.  As I did, the church became increasingly dependent on my efforts.  Instead of equipping the saints for ministry, I was doing the ministry for the saints!  I was borderline burned-out my entire time as a pastor. 

What’s the answer?  I think it is team ministry.  Paul had already written about this to the Corinthians in his first letter:

What then shall we say, brothers?  When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church (1 Corinthians 14:26-27). 

I don’t think this principle only pertains to the public meetings of the church.  People have something to say, do and contribute no matter what the job or meeting.  The pastor and leaders are only one among many members of the body of Christ.  They are not the body of Christ in its entirety.

Are you doing your part to see God’s work expand in your fellowship? As a leader, are you doing all you can to incorporate others in the work of the ministry?

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_8.doc

2 Corinthians Study 7

Dear Student of the Word,

Forgive me again for not sending a study last week.  I was in the midst of a Leadership Summit last week that took up most of the days and some evenings.  Then I packed for home and visited with friends in The Netherlands for a few days.  But I'm back home and happy to send this new study from Second Corinthians for your use.  We will finish up Corinthians in the next few weeks and then move on to another book.

In this week's study, we read Paul as he finished his instructions for the Judean offering.  Then he moved on to what seems like another defense of his leadership and apostolic work.  It is fascinating to see how much opposition Paul encountered.  We know him as Saint Paul, but those working with him didn't quite see it that way!

At any rate, this week I wrote:

v. 7 -- There must have some who were questioning (again) Paul's credentials while confident in their own.  They saw themselves in Christ, but perhaps weren't so sure about Paul.  That seems to be part of human nature.  I think I am right in the things of God and that makes everyone else wrong, or at least less spiritual than I.  God is not like you and me, He is like Himself!  When I think that I have figured God out, then I am guilty of arrogance and that attitude carries over to my relationships.  This was true among Old Testament believers as well:

You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son. These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you.  But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face (Psalm 50:20-21).

When God is silent, it isn't necessarily because He agrees with you or your thinking; it's because He is giving you room to repent!

Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:4).

Are you mistaking God's kindness or silence for approval?  Perhaps you need to reassess how you feel about other believers who don't think or believe all that you do.

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study: Download 2_corinthians_study_7.doc

2 Corinthians Study 6

Dear Student of the Word,

I missed sending you our lesson last week.  When you go to Israel, your days start early and end late.  Touring the Holy Land is no place for the weak.  I had good wireless connections in all the hotels; I just had no time to finish this sixth study.  But now I am back in Zimbabwe and I finished this lesson on the plane on the way back from Israel. 

This week we begin the study of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, which may be the best teaching on giving in the New Testament.  There is so much in these chapters, and this week I wrote:

v. 19 -- The church chose this trusted and proven servant, whoever he was, to accompany Paul and the offering to its designated recipients.  Paul was administering and overseeing this gift for two reasons.  The first was to honor the Lord Himself.  The goal of everything Paul did was to honor God.  It wasn't to build his kingdom but God's kingdom.

I have watched more than a few telethons that raise money for Christian television.  Those who come in to raise these offerings are paid big money to do what they do best, and that is to "lift" offerings from God's people for their worthy cause.  They usually promise tremendous returns for those who give these special gifts.  This is absurd.  Paul did not receive any personal gain from this special offering.  The offering was to glorify God. 

The second reason was to show both the givers and the recipients that Paul and his team were eager to help the Jewish believers.  This was in part due to the fact that Jerusalem and Judea didn't trust Paul because he worked with so many Gentiles.  I think he wanted to show them that he could be trusted and had their best interests at heart.

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.  Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located.

Download this week's study: Download 2_corinthians_study_6.doc

2 Corinthians Study 5

Dear Student of the Word,

I apologize for not posting a study last week.  The two days I was in the air coming to Africa and my schedule when I arrived didn't allow me to do so.  This week I've had challenges getting a reliable phone connection, but today looks like it will be possible to send this through.  I hope you enjoy it and used last week to catch up on some previous studies.

Paul was a great man, but he wasn't a perfect man.  He had challenges and did God's will in spite of his weaknesses.  This week I wrote:

v. 5 – By his own admission, Paul was afraid!  He had conflicts outside and fears inside.  I find that remarkable and encouraging at the same time.  If Paul was afraid and learned how to face his fears to be effective and productive, then maybe I can, too.  Too often I felt that courage is action without fear, but it’s really action in the midst of fear.  I am learning how to control my fears and not let them rule me.  How are you doing with your fears?  Don’t think that fear means you are unspiritual.  It just means that you are human! 

Paul was doing God’s work and still he faced fatigue, harassment, conflicts and fears.  If that was the norm for Paul, what do you think your norm will be?   It is so important that you not maintain a false standard of spirituality that states that you will always be on top of every situation. 

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.  Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located.

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_5.doc

2 Corinthians Study 4

Dear Student of the Word,

It's time once again for your dose of God's word in the form of the attached study.  I hope you are enjoying these as we look at Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Paul was certainly a fabulous leader and, this week, we look at the price that Paul paid to be an apostle.  It is hard to believe that anyone would have opposed Paul.  Today we put a halo around Paul's head; back then some wanted to put a noose around his neck! 

But one thing stood out in this week's verses that you will study, and about that I wrote:

v. 1 – Paul urged them not to receive God’s grace in vain.  That means it must be possible—to receive God’s grace and do nothing with or waste it.  We have been made the righteousness of God.  We are seated in high places with Him.  We have access to God’s throne of grace and mercy.  So given all those truths, what are you doing with those magnificent privileges?  Are you making the most of your standing before God in Christ?  Do you live to the fullness of your stature? 

Notice too that Paul referred to himself and the others as God’s co-workers.  You and God are co-workers.  You and God work side-by-side when you are pursuing the work of reconciling others to God.  You have a purpose and, when you fulfill it, you are working alongside God.  You can go to God for help just like you would someone you work with on the job.  Are you taking advantage of that relationship?  Are you doing things that can only be done with God’s help as your co-worker?  Simply put:  What are you doing with the grace of God that is in your life?

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located.

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_4.doc

2 Corinthians Study 3

Dear Student of the Word,

Below is another installment from our study of Second Corinthians.  I always marvel at God's word, how well-written it is, how consistent it is, how practical it is.  The Word is worthy of our constant study, but not as an end to itself, but as a means to an end.  That end is God.  I hope that these studies are bringing you closer to God and helping you apply the Word on a daily basis. 

This week I wrote:

v. 5 – Here Paul mentioned again what he wrote about in chapter one:  the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of what is yet to come. What proof do we have that we will live forever with Christ?  The same Spirit that raised Christ to life lives inside you and me!  He is there to provide the witness, the assurance by faith, that God’s promises to us are true.

God made us to be whole only in and through Him.  There is no other substitute that can do the job.  God made us for fellowship with Him.  We were made for God.  Hallelujah!  God is so good.  My desire for Him is something He put into me.  Then He helps me fulfill that longing by giving me His Spirit to live inside me. 

What a deal!  There is no other “religion” or “God-system” that can offer that kind of transaction.  All others have man pursuing God.  Christianity is God pursuing man and, when He apprehends him, gives that man all he needs to love and serve God.  Such a deal!  What grace!  What love!

What are you doing with this great transaction, this deposit on the things of God?  Are you making the most of His living in you?  What more can you do?  If Paul did the great things he did for God with no more or less than you have, what can you do?  I know it is more than you doing now.  So why wait?  Go for it!

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_3.doc

2 Corinthians Study 2

Dear Student of the Word,

I apologize that this week's study is a few days late.  My travel schedule kept me from finishing on time.  I hope this didn't inconvenience you in any way.  This week we continue with Paul's second letter to Corinth, in which he continued some of the themes that were introduced in his first letter. 

One of the major battles that Paul fought was the issue of the Law in the life of the Gentile believer.  He mentioned it in almost every one of his letters and he continued this theme in this second Corinthian letter.  About this I wrote:

vs. 9-11 – The Law was holy but it condemned men to bondage because there was no way out of their sin.  The Law was given to make us conscious of our sin.  Now the new covenant has arrived in the person and name of Jesus and it is much more glorious than the previous covenant.  Yet we see many who prefer to live under new covenant terms but act like the old covenant is still in existence.  Rather than have me comment, read what Paul wrote to the Colossians:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (Colossians 2:16-23). 

So which do you prefer?  The former glory of the old covenant or the present, greater glory of the new?  Don’t answer too quickly.

Remember that the Bible study archives of 14 other New Testament studies can be found on my website along with The Faith Files, a study of every verse on faith in the New Testament.  You can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.  You can give a gift subscription by going to the site where these studies are posted every week.

Feel free to add your comments or insights to this study at the end of this post on the site where it is located. 

Download this week's study:  Download 2_corinthians_study_2.doc

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