2 Corinthians 13 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Second Corinthians chapter [music] 13
2. 0:02verse 1. This is the last chapter
3. 0:05that Paul writes to the Corinthian
4. 0:07church.
5. 0:09And it is in a sense
6. 0:12his pivot
7. 0:13where he's basically appealing to them
8. 0:15directly and personally and telling them
9. 0:19exactly what they need to do
10. 0:21to fix what has been wrong in both the
11. 0:24letters that he's written. What he has
12. 0:26showed is wrong in their in their midst.
13. 0:30This is the [music] third time I am
14. 0:32coming to you.
15. 0:34Every fact is to be confirmed by the
16. 0:37testimony [music]
17. 0:38of two or three witnesses.
18. 0:41So he tells them in the previous verses
19. 0:43[music]
20. 0:43of the last chapter
21. 0:46I hope I don't find
22. 0:48something that's going to embarrass
23. 0:49[music] me. I hope I don't find
24. 0:50arrogance, jealousy, slander, gossip,
25. 0:53strife. I hope that's not what's there.
26. 0:56I hope I don't find sins that haven't
27. 0:58been repented of. But every fact is
28. 1:00going to be [music] confirmed in the
29. 1:01mouth of two or three witnesses.
30. 1:04I have previously said
31. 1:06when present the second [music] time,
32. 1:08and though now absent, I say in advance
33. 1:11to those who have sinned in the past and
34. 1:14to all the rest as well
35. 1:16that if I come again, I will not [music]
36. 1:18spare anyone.
37. 1:22He's saying, "I am going to confirm that
38. 1:24what you are doing, you're actually
39. 1:26doing, and I won't spare you."
40. 1:29Which means I'm going to put you under
41. 1:30discipline.
42. 1:31I'm going to put you out of the church.
43. 1:33I'm going to bring sanctions against
44. 1:35you.
45. 1:36Since you are seeking for proof of the
46. 1:39Christ who speaks in me and who is not
47. 1:42weak toward you, but mighty in you.
48. 1:45That's why he's not going to spare them.
49. 1:46Since [music] they want proof, he's
50. 1:48going to bring authority. For indeed, he
51. 1:51was crucified because of weakness.
52. 1:55Yet he lives because of the power of
53. 1:58God.
54. 2:01Jesus was crucified because of human sin
55. 2:04and because he accepted the weakness of
56. 2:07his human frame, God living in in
57. 2:11[music] a man. That's why he was
58. 2:13crucified, to show the the weakness of
59. 2:16sin and to show God's judgment on sin.
60. 2:21For we also are weak in him, yet we live
61. 2:24with him because of the power of God
62. 2:26directed toward us. So, he's saying in
63. 2:29the same way,
64. 2:30we're walking around with the flesh on
65. 2:33the cross of weakness, but the spirit in
66. 2:36the resurrection of the of the power of
67. 2:39God.
68. 2:41Here's what he gets to.
69. 2:42Test yourselves
70. 2:45to see
71. 2:47if you are in the faith. Examine
72. 2:49yourselves. Exclamation mark.
73. 2:52He says, "When I come, I'm not going to
74. 2:53spare you.
75. 2:55But, I want you to do this before I get
76. 2:56there.
77. 2:58I want you to be honest with yourselves.
78. 3:01Test yourselves to see if you are in the
79. 3:03faith.
80. 3:04Examine yourselves.
81. 3:07Or do you not recognize this about
82. 3:09yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you?
83. 3:12Unless indeed you fail the test."
84. 3:16So, he's not saying,
85. 3:18"Just remind yourself of what you
86. 3:20already assume."
87. 3:22That's not what he's saying at all.
88. 3:23He's saying, "If you're in these sins,
89. 3:27you're not in the faith.
90. 3:29But, you can find that out before I get
91. 3:31there
92. 3:32and have to bring authority against some
93. 3:33of you.
94. 3:35You can test yourself. And what you're
95. 3:37what you're supposed to be testing is if
96. 3:39Jesus Christ is in you.
97. 3:42Is the power of the Holy Spirit alive in
98. 3:45your life?
99. 3:47But, he holds out the distinct
100. 3:48possibility, unless you fail the test.
101. 3:52So, we're not supposed to just look at
102. 3:53ourselves and remind ourselves of
103. 3:55something we already assumed. We're
104. 3:57supposed to look at ourselves and see is
105. 3:59the spirit of Christ in us.
106. 4:02And if it is not, then we can come to
107. 4:04repentance and we can get back in the
108. 4:06faith and Jesus can get back in our
109. 4:09lives so that when Paul arrives, he
110. 4:11doesn't have to put us out of the
111. 4:13church.
112. 4:14That's what he wants.
113. 4:17Unless indeed you fail the test.
114. 4:21Writing to saved, baptized, born again
115. 4:24Christians, they can fail the test.
116. 4:29But I trust that you will realize that
117. 4:32we ourselves do not fail the test.
118. 4:36He says, "You're going to discover when
119. 4:38we get there, we're still in the spirit.
120. 4:40The power of God is still working in us.
121. 4:44Now, we pray to God that you do no
122. 4:46wrong.
123. 4:49Not that we ourselves may appear
124. 4:51approved,
125. 4:53but that you may do what is right even
126. 4:56though we may appear unapproved.
127. 4:59We want you to We want you to get out of
128. 5:01these sins. We want you to get clean. We
129. 5:03want you to get right. Not so that we
130. 5:06stop being embarrassed. We don't care
131. 5:08about that. We want you to be whole.
132. 5:10That's what he's saying.
133. 5:12For we can do nothing against the truth,
134. 5:16but only for the truth.
135. 5:19What a powerful statement.
136. 5:22He's saying, "It doesn't matter how we
137. 5:23appear.
138. 5:24The truth is strengthened no matter what
139. 5:26we do.
140. 5:27If we act against it, that proves the
141. 5:29truth. If we act for it, that proves the
142. 5:31truth. You can do nothing against the
143. 5:32truth.
144. 5:34Truth is going to be revealed.
145. 5:36For we rejoice
146. 5:38when we ourselves are weak, but you are
147. 5:40strong. This we also pray for that you
148. 5:44may be made complete.
149. 5:48He's praying that they will be complete.
150. 5:51And that word means whole or perfect.
151. 5:54And it doesn't refer to the completeness
152. 5:56of one person reaching perfection.
153. 5:58That's not attainable. Paul says, "I
154. 6:00have not attained." Right?
155. 6:03It's referring to wholeness as [snorts]
156. 6:05in among many people.
157. 6:08A completeness
158. 6:09where they're not fighting each other,
159. 6:11but they are united.
160. 6:14For this reason I am writing these
161. 6:16things [music] while absent
162. 6:18so that when present I need not use
163. 6:22severity
164. 6:23>> [music]
165. 6:23>> in accordance with the authority which
166. 6:26the Lord gave me for building you up and
167. 6:28not for tearing you down.
168. 6:30He says, "I'm writing you so that you'll
169. 6:33examine yourself and you'll get your act
170. 6:35together before I show up
171. 6:37cuz I don't want to use authority to
172. 6:39tear you down. God gave me this
173. 6:41authority to build you up."
174. 6:44Finally, brethren
175. 6:46rejoice.
176. 6:49Be made complete.
177. 6:52There's the second time in three verses
178. 6:55where he says he's praying for them to
179. 6:56be complete and he's telling them to be
180. 6:59complete.
181. 7:01Finally, brethren rejoice.
182. 7:03Be made complete.
183. 7:06Be comforted.
184. 7:08Be like-minded.
185. 7:11Live in peace.
186. 7:14And the God of love and peace
187. 7:17will be with you.
188. 7:19Now, what does that resolve?
189. 7:22He tells them to see whether Christ is
190. 7:24in them.
191. 7:28He says you might fail the test.
192. 7:30But then he tells them how not to fail
193. 7:32the test.
194. 7:34Rejoice.
195. 7:36Be made complete. [music]
196. 7:38Be comforted.
197. 7:40Be like-minded.
198. 7:42Choose peace,
199. 7:44and the God of love and peace
200. 7:46will be [music] with you. You'll find
201. 7:48that Christ is in you.
202. 7:52Greet one another with a holy kiss.
203. 7:55All the saints [music] greet you.
204. 7:57The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
205. 8:00and the love of God, and the fellowship
206. 8:02of the Holy Spirit
207. 8:04>> [music]
208. 8:04>> be with you all.
209. 8:07That's the end of 2 Corinthians.
210. 8:11>> [music]