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

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1. 0:00Second Corinthians chapter 2. Paul has
2. 0:03been saying in [music] the end of the
3. 0:04previous chapter
4. 0:06that he was not wobbling back and forth,
5. 0:09[music]
6. 0:10yes, yes, I'm coming, no, no, I'm not
7. 0:12coming, that it was God who prevented
8. 0:13him from coming. And the reason he
9. 0:15didn't come is because he was afraid he
10. 0:17was going to deal with them very
11. 0:19sharply. And he didn't want to have that
12. 0:21unpleasant [music] exchange.
13. 0:24Isn't it notable that even a great man
14. 0:27of God, a father
15. 0:29of our faith like the Apostle Paul finds
16. 0:32discipline so unpleasant that he could
17. 0:35avoid a relationship and skip out on a
18. 0:37trip just [music] because he doesn't
19. 0:39want to confront it.
20. 0:43Second Corinthians chapter 2, verse 1.
21. 0:45But I determined this for my own sake
22. 0:49that I would not come to you in sorrow
23. 0:51[music]
24. 0:51again.
25. 0:54For if I cause you sorrow
26. 0:56who then makes me glad?
27. 0:58But the one whom I made sorrowful.
28. 1:02He says, I don't have any fulfillment
29. 1:05if I make the people miserable who are
30. 1:07my only source of joy.
31. 1:10He's just [music] told them above that
32. 1:12they should be proud of him and he
33. 1:13should be proud of them.
34. 1:16This is the very thing I wrote you
35. 1:18so that when I come I would not have
36. 1:21sorrow from those who ought to make me
37. 1:24rejoice
38. 1:25having confidence in you all that my joy
39. 1:29would be the joy of you all.
40. 1:32So he's saying, I wanted to be made glad
41. 1:34by you and I wanted you to be made glad
42. 1:36when I was happy,
43. 1:37>> [music]
44. 1:37>> when I was thankful, when I was
45. 1:39approving of what you were doing.
46. 1:42For out of much affliction and anguish
47. 1:45of heart I wrote to you with many tears
48. 1:49not so that you would be made sorrowful
49. 1:52but that you might know the love
50. 1:54which I have especially for you.
51. 1:59But if any has caused sorrow, he has
52. 2:01caused sorrow not to me, but in some
53. 2:03degree, in order not to say too much, to
54. 2:05all of you.
55. 2:07And the one that he's talking about here
56. 2:09is the sinning brother whom they were
57. 2:12not putting out of the church.
58. 2:14And apparently they don't like that Paul
59. 2:17was rebuking them and telling them,
60. 2:18"You're not handling church discipline
61. 2:20correctly.
62. 2:21This needs [music] to stop."
63. 2:23And that caused them sorrow, but he's
64. 2:26saying, "Actually, I'm not the one who
65. 2:27did that.
66. 2:28It was the guy who was sinning."
67. 2:31But he says, "Sufficient for such a one
68. 2:34is this punishment which was inflicted
69. 2:37by the majority.
70. 2:40So that on the contrary, you should
71. 2:42rather forgive and comfort him.
72. 2:44Otherwise, such a one might be
73. 2:46overwhelmed by excessive sorrow."
74. 2:49So when Paul wrote them in the first
75. 2:51instance, he told them, "Your boasting
76. 2:53is not good. There's an immoral guy in
77. 2:55your midst who won't stop practicing his
78. 2:57sin, and yet you're accepting him in the
79. 2:59church." And he says, "That's leaven,
80. 3:02and it's going to work through the whole
81. 3:03lump of dough. Get him out. Okay? And
82. 3:07when Paul treated them that way and
83. 3:09exerted that authority, it hurt them.
84. 3:11They were offended.
85. 3:13But they did obey.
86. 3:15They did it.
87. 3:16And so now he's saying, "Okay, I'm not
88. 3:20really the cause of your sorrow. He did
89. 3:22that to you. I just had to deal with it,
90. 3:25and you think my dealing of it is the
91. 3:27problem, but it's actually the sin.
92. 3:29Okay? But he says, "Okay, but now
93. 3:32sufficient is the punishment that this
94. 3:34guy got. He's been out of the church now
95. 3:36from spring to fall.
96. 3:38Now it's time to bring him back in, cuz
97. 3:40he quit. He he he repented. He turned
98. 3:42from his sin.
99. 3:45So he says,
100. 3:46"On the contrary, you should rather
101. 3:48forgive and comfort him."
102. 3:51Back to the theme of the first chapter.
103. 3:55Otherwise, such a one might be
104. 3:57overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
105. 4:00He was a sinner. He was a filthy immoral
106. 4:02person, but Paul loves him.
107. 4:05Don't overwhelm him through excessive
108. 4:07sorrow. Bring him back in.
109. 4:10Wherefore, I urge you to reaffirm your
110. 4:13love for him.
111. 4:15In his first letter, he's saying, "Your
112. 4:17boasting is not good."
113. 4:19In the second letter, he's saying, "Hey,
114. 4:21restore your love."
115. 4:24For to this end also I wrote, so that I
116. 4:27might put you to the test whether you
117. 4:30are obedient in all things.
118. 4:35There
119. 4:36all these trials that are hitting
120. 4:38Corinth
121. 4:39are actually to test
122. 4:41whether they can be obedient
123. 4:44or whether they're
124. 4:46going to be independent.
125. 4:49But one whom you forgive anything, I
126. 4:52forgive also.
127. 4:54For indeed, what I have forgiven, if I
128. 4:57have forgiven anything, I did it for
129. 4:59your sakes in the presence of Christ.
130. 5:04Amen. So, the forgiveness has to be the
131. 5:07anointing. It has to be the presence of
132. 5:09God saying, "This guy's repented."
133. 5:12And we can bind and loose.
134. 5:15We can bind the sin. We can loose the
135. 5:17forgiveness. We can bring this guy back
136. 5:20into the church.
137. 5:22He says, "I did it for your sakes in the
138. 5:24presence of Christ, so that no advantage
139. 5:28would be taken
140. 5:29of us
141. 5:31by Satan,
142. 5:33for we are not ignorant of his schemes."
143. 5:38He's saying, "In the first letter, get
144. 5:40this guy out. Your boasting's no good."
145. 5:42In the second letter, he's saying,
146. 5:44"Forgive
147. 5:46in the presence of God.
148. 5:49Why?
149. 5:50So that in your unforgiveness, you won't
150. 5:53be taken advantage of by the devil. But
151. 5:56he doesn't use the word devil, he uses
152. 5:58the word Satan, which means accuser.
153. 6:01Satan.
154. 6:04So there's a mechanism in the church
155. 6:06that is too permissive to sin. And then
156. 6:08there's a mechanism in the church that
157. 6:10becomes too vigilant towards sin.
158. 6:13And too reluctant to forgive.
159. 6:15If we don't forgive once the discipline
160. 6:18has had the effect, we just got
161. 6:20outwitted by Satan.
162. 6:22Satan is going, "Okay, great.
163. 6:25I couldn't get them in permissiveness,
164. 6:27but now I'll get them in unforgiveness."
165. 6:31That's being outwitted by Satan.
166. 6:34Which is how the NIV translate this, so
167. 6:36that we would not be outwitted
168. 6:38by Satan.
169. 6:40>> [clears throat]
170. 6:41>> For we are not ignorant of his schemes.
171. 6:45His scheme is to get you to neglect sin,
172. 6:49and then to overreact.
173. 6:52Now when I came to Troas for the gospel
174. 6:55of Christ, and when a door was opened
175. 6:58for me in the Lord,
176. 7:01I had no rest for my spirit.
177. 7:04Not finding Titus my brother, but taking
178. 7:06my leave of them, I went on to
179. 7:09Macedonia.
180. 7:10He's explaining why he didn't come. He's
181. 7:13still defending himself.
182. 7:16I came to Troas,
183. 7:18and I couldn't find Titus.
184. 7:21We couldn't connect, and so I went on to
185. 7:23Macedonia.
186. 7:24But thanks be to God, who always leads
187. 7:27us in triumph in Christ, and manifests
188. 7:31through us the sweet aroma of the
189. 7:33knowledge of him in every place. So he's
190. 7:36basically saying, "I had plans, I got to
191. 7:38the city, I couldn't find Titus,
192. 7:42and everything going differently. I went
193. 7:45on to Macedonia, but you know what? I'm
194. 7:47thanking God because everywhere we went,
195. 7:50Jesus was using us to bring hope and
196. 7:54truth and help to people.
197. 7:56He's saying Jesus uses the things we
198. 7:58think are mistakes.
199. 8:00Jesus uses the the change of plans if we
200. 8:05take them in stride and grace.
201. 8:08Does that make sense? So, it's kind of
202. 8:10the converse of not being outwitted by
203. 8:12Satan.
204. 8:14He's saying God knows how to outwit
205. 8:16Satan's plans if you'll flow with him
206. 8:19even when things get disrupted.
207. 8:23Paul said everywhere I went, we were
208. 8:25given the good smell of Jesus
209. 8:27and helping people.
210. 8:29He says, "For we are a fragrance of
211. 8:33Christ to God
212. 8:36among those who are being saved and
213. 8:39among those who are perishing."
214. 8:42So, he says, "We're sending a smell up
215. 8:44to heaven.
216. 8:46We're sending an aroma." This is
217. 8:47language that remembers Old Testament
218. 8:50sacrifices.
219. 8:52Incense and aroma, these were things
220. 8:56that were part of very special
221. 8:58sacrifices in the Old Testament. And
222. 9:00those sacrifices were sending a pleasing
223. 9:03smell, aroma up to God.
224. 9:07It was acknowledging that we were
225. 9:09remembering our sin, that we were doing
226. 9:11our proper service, that we were in his
227. 9:14sanctuary, okay? And so, Paul is saying
228. 9:18even in a life filled with disruptions
229. 9:21and pain and discomfort, we're keeping
230. 9:24the good attitude. And as we go through
231. 9:27this life, we're giving a good smell to
232. 9:29God. We're letting our disruptions turn
233. 9:32into a sacrifice that makes God smell
234. 9:35from us what he got from Jesus,
235. 9:39which is a life laid down in love, a
236. 9:41life lived in faith. And then he says,
237. 9:44"We are the fragrance of Christ." And he
238. 9:46said, "The people who are being saved
239. 9:48are smelling it, too. Not only that, the
240. 9:51people who are lost are smelling it,
241. 9:53too."
242. 9:55We are a fragrance of Christ to God
243. 9:59among those who are being saved and
244. 10:02among those who are perishing.
245. 10:04To the one,
246. 10:06the aroma from death to death.
247. 10:12To the other,
248. 10:13an aroma from life to life.
249. 10:18And who is adequate for these things?
250. 10:22So he says,
251. 10:25"The way we're living smells to some
252. 10:28people
253. 10:29like a stench of death
254. 10:32that's being sent up to death.
255. 10:35And among other people,
256. 10:38the way we're living smells like
257. 10:41that's life. It's like walking into the
258. 10:43garden and smelling the
259. 10:46green bean
260. 10:48sprouts and smelling the jasmine on the
261. 10:50fence and smelling the blossoms of the
262. 10:52tomatoes and smelling the peas in full
263. 10:55bloom and
264. 10:57that's an aroma.
265. 10:59God's doing something. Life is bearing
266. 11:01fruit in this garden.
267. 11:03It's life to life. But he says, "The
268. 11:07same people who haven't submitted
269. 11:09themselves
270. 11:11to the design of God, who aren't being
271. 11:13saved, they walk into that garden and
272. 11:15say,
273. 11:15'It stinks in here.
274. 11:17This is nasty. This is a bad smell
275. 11:20leading to a bad smell. This is death to
276. 11:22death.' No, no, no. It's life to life.
277. 11:24And what you experience in the body,
278. 11:27when you walk into a a church and you
279. 11:29go, 'Oh, this is so repressive.' And I
280. 11:32wonder why they have to do that.
281. 11:34You can't smell the Jasmine.
282. 11:36You can't smell the buds of the
283. 11:39tomatoes. You can't see that fruit and
284. 11:42love and joy and flourishing is
285. 11:45happening in this because you're still
286. 11:47living for the flesh.
287. 11:49And you don't understand that the place
288. 11:51that crucifies the flesh is the place
289. 11:54that gives fruits of the spirit.
290. 11:57But if you're
291. 11:59if you're pursuing the fruits of the
292. 12:00spirit and you're trying to crucify your
293. 12:02flesh, you walk in among Paul and you're
294. 12:04like, "Woo, I love this. This is great."
295. 12:08Whether you smell death or whether you
296. 12:10smell life is up to the condition of
297. 12:12your heart.
298. 12:13And he says, "Who is adequate for these
299. 12:15things?"
300. 12:16Like it's a real special privilege.
301. 12:20For we are not like many
302. 12:23pedaling [music] the word of God,
303. 12:25but as from sincerity,
304. 12:28but as from God, we speak in Christ in
305. 12:32the sight of God. Do you know what he
306. 12:34means when he says pedaling,
307. 12:35>> [music]
308. 12:36>> Aaron?
309. 12:37What does he mean?
310. 12:39To pedal the word of God means
311. 12:43we don't sell our gift to you.
312. 12:46So, that means that some people were
313. 12:48going around saying,
314. 12:50"Uh I could come
315. 12:51give you the inside of the resurrection,
316. 12:53but that'll be
317. 12:55$500 an hour."
318. 12:57And he says, "We're not actually doing
319. 12:59that."
320. 13:00They need to support Paul. They need to
321. 13:02help Paul, but Paul's not setting up
322. 13:05speech [music] speaking engagements by
323. 13:07the hour, by the hourly price. That's
324. 13:09pedaling the word of God. Pedaling in
325. 13:11this doesn't [music] refer to a bicycle.
326. 13:13It refers to selling the word of God.
327. 13:17We're not doing that. But he says, "What
328. 13:18we are doing
329. 13:20is we're giving something
330. 13:21>> [music]
331. 13:21>> from sincerity.
332. 13:23We're giving something from God.
333. 13:26We're speaking Christ."
334. 13:28Which is a phenomenal grammar construct.
335. 13:31He says we're speaking Christ.
336. 13:34That means the anointed [music] one is
337. 13:36still manifesting through what's coming
338. 13:39out of their mouth.
339. 13:41And we're doing it in the sight of God.
340. 13:44We're doing it for his pleasure. That's
341. 13:46the aroma. Jesus, do you smell [music]
342. 13:48this sacrifice?
343. 13:49God, do you accept this aroma?
344. 13:52Are you saying over our lives what you
345. 13:54said over Abel's life?
346. 13:56Or are you doing what you did with
347. 13:57Cain's?
348. 13:59Not so much. Let's pray that he's
349. 14:01accepting our sacrifice and we're
350. 14:03feeling [music] his acceptance. That's
351. 14:05his grace. That's his favor. That's his
352. 14:07pleasure.
353. 14:10>> [music]
354. 14:20[music]