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2 Corinthians 4 - Where O Death Is Your Sting?

2 Corinthians 4 - NIV   Enduring Word Commentary Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Many times when I am going through a tough time or troubling trial, it seems like I am the only one who has ever gone through this. I might be tempted to become dramatic and lose perspective on what is really happening and its severity. While at the time, this suffering is real for me, it is only when I look back am I able to put it into perspective and see it for what it was.This is not to diminish anyone's suffering, but Paul's teaching here helps us to put our light and momentary afflictions into perspective.   David Guzik gives some really helpful commentary on what Paul sa...

2 Corinthians 3 - What Does True Transformation Look Like?

2 Corinthians 3 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Paul spends time here comparing the Old Covenant God made with Moses to the New Covenant He has made in Christ. The Old Covenant was written on stone tablets, as summarized by the Ten Comm...

2 Corinthians 2 - What Kind of Gospel Did You Accept? Was It Watered Down?

2 Corinthians 2 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary 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. Paul uses the metaphor of a triumphal procession, which would have been a visual that was vivid for the Corinthians. It is the picture of a Roman general coming home after a victory in war.  “In a Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol… First came the state officials and the senate. Then came the trumpeters. Then were carried the spoils taken ...

2 Corinthians 1 - The Power of Compassion!

2 Corinthians 1 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Background on Paul's Letter Written by the Apostle Paul around A.D. 55-57, 2 Corinthians is an intensely personal letter where Paul reconciles with the church in Corinth, defends his apostolic authority against false teachers, and encourages the congregation to complete their promised financial gift for the impoverished church in Jerusalem. - Bible Hub Praise to the God of All Comfort 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, becau...

1 Corinthians 16 - Who Should I Give Money To As A Christian?

1 Corinthians 16 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary The Collection for the Lord’s People 16 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. As Paul concludes his first letter, he addresses a very practical question. How should the church give to the needy and the poor? Paul had asked the early church to collect money to be delivered to the mother church in Jerusalem. We are not exactly sure what the need was, but most likely it was because of the famine there, and the persecution of the believers.  Paul taught them a systematic way to collect this special offering for them to...

1 Corinthians 15 - Either Jesus Did Rise From the Dead Or He Didn't!

1 Corinthians 15 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary The Resurrection of the Dead 12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. Paul has addressed many important issues facing the Corinthian church, and now he addresses the most import...

1 Corinthians 14 - What Is the Proper Place of Speaking Tongues in the Church Today?

1 Corinthians 14 - NIV I would highly recommend you read the commentary for this chapter. I found it helpful in understand these verses.  Enduring Word Commentary Intelligibility in Worship 14 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue[a] does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,[b] but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,[c] unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified. As Paul closes out his teaching on spiritual gifts, in chapter 14 he focuses exclusively on two gifts, speaking in tongues and prophecy. First of all,...