WITHOUT HIM THERE WOULD BE NO CHRISTMAS

II CORINTHIANS WEEK 14

2 Corinthians 13 (By Associate Teacher, Jerry Blankenship)

Verse 1: Paul warns them that he is coming to them. Two or three witnesses must prove that someone has done wrong things. During the ‘painful’ visit, he said this: He would punish those who had done wrong things. Now he says that he will do this. This will happen when he comes for the third time. His purpose was to make them better people. This would prove to them that he comes in the power of the *risen Jesus. Christ appeared to be weak while he was on earth and especially on the *cross. His followers share that weakness. Now he is alive in the power of God. The Christians at Corinth will see that power in Paul’s life.

Verse 5-14: He ends with a final warning. They have been testing him. Now they should test themselves. They should see that Christ is in them. That is unless they fail the test. But no real Christian would fail this test.
Examination:

1. Keep Christ’s commandments 1 John 2:3-5

2. Love other Christians 1 John 3:14

3. Experience the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence 1 John 3:24

Paul had not failed the test. The proof of that was that they had become Christians. They must do what was right. Then Paul would not need to show his authority or to punish them. He did not need to do anything against what was true (right and proper). He wanted the Christians at Corinth to do the right things. Then he would be glad to be weak (not to have to show his power). He would be glad that they were strong. He prays that they may be perfect. The word ‘perfect’ here has a special meaning. It describes how people repair an object. Then they can use it again.

The word often referred to *fishermen who mended their nets. He hoped that by warning them he would not need to be severe with them. He wanted to encourage them, not to punish them.

Verse 11: So he says goodbye to them. He encourages them to change their ways. They should listen to his appeal. They should live in peace (that is, calm) and greet one another in a friendly way.

"Be perfect" - Greek verb: katartizo - to be fit, completely furnished
"be of good comfort" - Greek passive verb: parakaleo - be comforted i.e. receive this exhortation
"be of one mind" - a call for unity
"live in peace" - another call for unity

The result? "...and the God of love and peace shall be with you." Can't you just all get along?

His final prayer is that they may know the power of the Trinity. (The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the *Holy Spirit. God describes himself in this way. But there is only one God.) He refers to it in the order that we know about it. We first know the kindness of Jesus by the *cross. This leads us to the love of God resulting in the *fellowship of the *Holy Spirit. So we can have *fellowship with God and with each other.

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS INFLUENCE IN AMERICA

WHAT IS THIS "CHRISTMAS" STUFF, ANYWAY?

Many people think that the word "Christmas" means "Christ's Birth."

While it can mean that by tradition, its real meaning is a little bit different.

The word Christmas originated as a compound meaning "Christ's Mass".

Let's take a look at the two parts of the word.

Eric Snow writes: "...the meaning of the word "Christos" (Greek: Χριστός, Strong's Concordance #G5547) (is) in relation to Jesus being called the Messiah. Both the Greek word Christos as well as the Hebrew word that comes out "Messiah" mean the same thing: "The anointed One."

An allusion to the title of Christos is made when a person is anointed with oil in order to be made king. Samuel did this with David when he was first chosen to be king while the prior king, Saul, was very much still alive (see 1Samuel 16:12-13). Hence, being the Anointed One meant, among other things, that Christ was to be a king (John 18:37; Luke 1:31-33). However, in the Gospel of John (John 18:36), He explained that His kingdom was not of this world, meaning, derived from it. So he wouldn't make Himself king by human means, such as when He withdrew from a crowd that wanted to make Him king by their force (John 16:15). Instead, Jesus will be made king by divine fiat when He returns during the Second Coming as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:14-16).

So being the Messiah or the Christ indicates that Jesus will have royal prerogatives, and be able to rule the earth as king when He returns (Daniel 7:13-14; 2:44.) All human governments, whether kingdoms, democracies, or dictatorships, will be abolished then, and the world will have a true direct theocracy (not merely humans ruling in God's name, such as in Iran's "Islamic Republic.") Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, it should be noted, not literal oil (see Acts 10:38 and Luke 4:18).

Another allusion to Jesus' title here (Christos) comes from the high priests being anointed in the Old Testament when being ordained (Leviticus 8:2, 10, 12). Jesus was also to be the high priest for Christians after His death and resurrection (Hebrews 5:5-6, 10; 7:20-28). He intercedes for their sins with God the Father. So here there would be a union of church and state, of the king and high priest roles in the divine Person of Jesus under the rule of the kingdom of God.

A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The 'Christ-Mass' service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset (and before sunrise the next day), so people had it at Midnight! So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.

So, technically, "Christmas" has a deeper, more significant meaning than just the celebration of the birth of Christ.

It is really a celebration of the meaning of the gospel, and the incarnation, which we celbrate at Christmas is only its beginning.

In the end, it is all part and parcel of the essence of being a Christian.

We celbrate His birth, not as the beginning of Jesus, but as the time when God became a man for the very purpose of dying a substitutionary death for man's sin and for the resurrection, which in effect "sealed the deal."

A Study in II Corinthians Week 13

II Corinthians 12:1-21

Experience does not prove the ways of God. We can have many experiences, good and bad, many of which have nothing to do with God’s way of doing things. If our experience does not conform to the Word of God, it is not the way of God, whether it is successful or unsuccessful.

1-6 Paul relates an experience here and he cannot tell us whether it is an actual experience or a vision. A man is caught up into the “third heaven.” (The 1st Heaven is the atmosphere. The 2nd Heaven is space. The 3rd Heaven is where God the Father resides.) This one returns to earth and is not allowed to give us a report of what the 3rd Heaven is like.

Three people have ascended into heaven: Jesus; John, in the book of the Revelation, and this one here. None of them has given us a full report of what it is like. We have only bits and pieces. But we will know just when we need to.

If it had been only his own reputation at stake, it would have mattered little. But it was the gospel itself that was in jeopardy.

7-10 Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” has been the topic of many theological discussions. What was it? Here is the definitive answer: we don’t know. Anybody who tells you they do know, watch out for them…they’ll lie to you about other things, too.

God’s grace is sufficient for every circumstance. His power is shown forth in our weakness. We should delight in our weaknesses.

11-18 This is the second time in these chapters Paul has avowed that he is in no way inferior to the "super-apostles," who claim to have the power of the Spirit at their disposal (11:4; 12:12) and extraordinary visions and revelations to their credit (12:1).

Paul is drawing the Corinthians' attention to the fact that this will be his third visit. His first visit was an eighteen-month stay that saw the establishment of the Corinthian church (Acts 18:1-18). The second visit was a painful one for Paul. While he was there, someone in the congregation
publicly insulted him and challenged his authority, demanding proof that Christ was speaking through him (13:3).

19-21 Paul asserts that he has the best interests of the church at Corinth in his heart.

He fears, though, that when he gets there, he will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

Do we find any or all of those in our churches today?

So what do we do about them?

The answer is that we submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ…the one whose birth we celebrate in this glorious season!

The Spirit of Christmas is not shopping or giving, it is God’s Holy Spirit reminding us of why He came…to die for our sins.

Thought for the day: Works don’t lead us to Heaven; they follow us to Heaven. Dr. Adrian Rogers.

REMARKABLE!

DNA only has 5 different atoms, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorous.
There are about 204 billion atoms in each DNA molecule.

DNA can be divided into 23 paired chromosomes, 22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes. There are about 3 Billion nucleotide pairs packed away in there.

Here is a more detailed accounting of the elements making up DNA.

The story is that some millions (or billions...or maybe even trillions) of years ago, in some far, far away primordial stew, a lightning bold caused the appropriate molecules to come together to form amino acids, "the basic building blocks of life," and that somehow those amino acids took the required 204 billion atoms and arranged them in just the right order to create the first DNA molecule of life.

Because you see, no matter what form life takes, it must have DNA and its billions of properly arranged atoms to define it particularly.

Have you ever played your state lottery?

In most states, there is a card on which you select 6 of 50 or so numbers to win...just 6.

That should be easy, right.

Wrong.

The "odds" of winning the lottery are much worse than those of being killed by a lightning strike.

And that's just 50 numbers.

Think of trying to arrange 204 billion atoms just right to form life.

What are the "odds" that that could happen by accident?

Indeed, what are the "odds" that all of the brain power of all of the geniuses that have ever lived could have figured out how to accomplish that deliberately?

What are the "odds" that, knowing how DNA is structured (a relatively new discovery), scientists could construct one by properly arranging the atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorous today.

Even by today's standards, that would take unimaginable intelligence.

Even given the materials to work with, even knowing how its molecules are arranged, science still cannot actually construct a DNA molecule using its raw materials.

That would take more intelligence than we possess.

Yet many of you still believe that life came into being by accident.

There is not one shred of real scientific evidence that that is possible...not one.

Besides...if a scientist could build DNA from its raw materials, wouldn't that require that intelligence was involved?

Or maybe you don't consider scientists to be intelligent.

An open minded person might think of another possibility.

A Study in II Corinthians Week 12

II Corinthians 11:1-33

One of the issues in the church is “false apostles,” those who claim Christ but teach a “different gospel.”

In Galatians, you remember, Paul wrote: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all.” (Gal. 1:6)

The Verses

1-6 What looks like bragging at first blush, turns out to be Paul’s way of getting the point across that until we understand that there is only one Christ, one gospel, one way of salvation, one right doctrine, we are doomed to remain un-reconciled both to God and to each other.

There are plenty of “super-apostles” in today’s “Christian market,” those whose message is other than salvation in, and only in, the finished work of Christ at the cross of Calvary.

Paul admits to being an untrained speaker (although I have to tell you I would have loved to have heard him), but insists that he has plenty of knowledge about Christ.

7-15 Paul did not let the Corinthians give anything to him. The Macedonians supplied his needs. He asked nothing of the Corinthians. Who were those false apostles? Satan disguises himself as an angel of light…beautiful…and Paul says these false apostles belong to Satan. They are attractive, but they are deceitful. They glorify themselves, not God, even when they use the “right words.”

16-33 Paul “apologizes” for his “boasting,” which isn’t really boasting at all. Then he engages in a little sarcasm again pointing out how the Corinthians consider him a fool and themselves wise when the opposite is true.

He says in verse 20, “You even put up with folks who preach the Law to you,”(enslaves you) exalting themselves and “slap you in the face” with their piety.

Paul backs up the “quality” of his background: Hebrew; Israelites; Abraham’s descendants SERVANTS OF CHRIST. (That one he just slipped in there to make a point: He was more of a servant that all of them put together). Then he lists the things he went through just because he WAS a servant of Christ.

How much do we sacrifice in order to put forth the gospel of Christ? Who strikes us down for the glory of Christ? When have we suffered a raging storm in a little boat for Christ’s sake, or a rough air plane ride?

Which of us is in danger whether we are going about our daily lives for Christ’s sake? Who among us have gone hungry, or sleepless or been stripped of our clothes and thrown in a dungeon for Christ’s sake?

OK. If we have suffered none of these things, what is holding us back from being the most powerful group of Christians in the city...or the county…or the state…or the country…or the world? WHAT IS HOLDING US BACK?

In verses 30-33 Paul is very clear that we have no excuse. Our weakness before God is the very thing that should make us stronger that strong in the propagation of the gospel.

We are God’s army! We are the church! Hell’s foundation should be quivering at our presence in Lehigh Acres!

I say it is time to put him in his place and for us to march into triumph!

Do you say that?

Thought for the Day: We are free to make choices. We are not free to choose the consequences of our choices.