2nd Corinthians, chapters 5 - 8

Chapter 5 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

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Now We know that if the earthly tent (mortal body) We live in is destroyed, We have a building from GOD, an eternal house in Heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile We groan, longing to be clothed with Our heavenly dwelling, because when We are clothed, We will not be found naked. For while We are in this tent, We groan & are burdened, because We do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with Our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is GOD who has made Us for this very purpose & has given Us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore We are always confident & know that as long as We are at home in the mortal body We are away from the LORD. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, & would prefer to be away from the body & at home with the LORD. So We make it Our goal to please HIM, whether We are at home in the body or away from it. For We all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each 1 may receive what is for the things He has done while in the body, whether good or bad.

<2>

Since, then, We know what it is to fear (respect) the LORD, We try to persuade men. What We are is plain to GOD & I hope it is plain also to Your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to You again, but are giving You an opportunity to take pride in Us, so that You can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart. If We are out of Our mind, it is for the Sake of GOD; if We are in Our right mind, it is for You. For Christ's love compels Us, because We are convinced that 1 died for all, & therefore all died. And He had indeed died for all, that Those who now live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for Them & was raised again.

So from now on We regard no 1 from a worldly point of view. Though We once regarded Christ in this way We do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from GOD, who reconciled Us to himself through Christ &, more-fully, gave Us the ministry of reconciliation: that GOD was reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's sins against them. And HE has committed to Us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though GOD were making HIS appeal through Us. We implore You on Christ's behalf: Be this more-fully reconciled to GOD--

• in ministry: not just as in having your sins discounted, & not just as in righteous living when "it fits with the crowd". Rather, as in living for HIM-- as a consistent/dependable living testimony-- in the face of all adversity;
• in message: not just as in wholesome living/speaking/writing when convenient, as when an opportune time occurs. Rather, as in living/speaking/writing for HIM in sharing the Gospel-- in the face of all adversity.

GOD made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in HIM we might become the Righteousness of GOD.

Chapter 6 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

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As GOD's Fellow Workers We urge You not to receive GOD's Grace in vain. For HE says, In the Time of MY Favor I heard You, & in the Day of MY Salvation I helped You (Isa 49:8ab). I tell You, now is the time of GOD's Favor, now is the time of GOD's Salvation. We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that Our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as Servants of GOD We commend (submit to God & remain pure in) ourselves in every way:

• whether in great endurance;
• or in troubles, hardships & distresses;
• or in beatings, imprisonments & riots;
• or in hard work, sleepless nights & hunger;
• or in purity, understanding, patience & kindness;
• or in the Holy Spirit & in sincere love;
• or in truthful speech & in the Power of GOD;
• or with weapons of righteousness in the right hand & in the left;
• or through glory & dishonor, bad report & good report;
• or genuine, yet regarded as impostors;
• or known, yet regarded as unknown;
• or dying, & yet we live on;
• or beaten, & yet not killed;
• or sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
• or poor, yet making many rich;
• or having nothing, & yet possessing everything.

I.e., we continue steadfast in hope (& in service); no matter the state-of-affairs, we remain confident that we are saved (& yes, being saved-- living as saved); we do not shift over to terrorism, e.g., considering that to be laying up treasure in Heaven. We do not consider laying up treasure in Heaven to be about earning our salvation, neither about assisting God-- it is about rewards for obedience. Most importantly, we always ascribe to God's depth of love, that God's will is that none should perish, but that all come to eternal life.

We have spoken freely to You, Corinthians, & opened wide Our hearts to You. We are not withholding Our affection from You, but You are withholding Yours from Us. As a fair exchange-- I speak as to My children --open wide Your hearts also.

<2>

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For:

• what do righteousness & wickedness have in common? Or
• what fellowship can light have with darkness?
• What harmony is there between Christ & Belial?
• What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
• What agreement is there between the Temple of GOD & idols?

For We are the Temple of the Living GOD. As GOD has said: I will live with Them & walk among Them, & I will be Their GOD, & They will be MY People (Lev 26:12; Jer 32:38; Eze 37:27). Both Jer 32:8 & Eze 37:27 appear to only refer to the time Judah returned from the Babylonian captivity-- but note that Jer (v.40)goes on to say, "I will make an everlasting covenant with Them: I will never stop doing good to Them"; Eze (v. 26) has: "I will make a covenant of peace with Them; it will be an everlasting covenant." Therefore come out from them & be separate, says the LORD through the prophets Isaiah & Ezekiel. Touch no unclean thing, & I will receive You (Isa 52:11b; Eze 20:34a,41ab). I will be a Father to You, & You will be My sons & daughters, says the LORD as HE promises David to be his father, that David would be ruler over MY People Israel (2ndSa 7:8e, 14a).

Chapter 7 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

Since We have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body & spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for GOD. Make room for Us in Your hearts.

• We have: wronged no 1, corrupted no 1, exploited no 1.
• I do not say this to condemn You; I have said before that You have such a place in Our hearts that We would live or die with You.
• I have great confidence in You; I take pride in You.
• I am greatly encouraged; in all Our troubles My joy knows no bounds.

For when We came into Macedonia, this body of Ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn-- conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God comforts the downcast, comforted Us by the coming of Titus, & not only by His coming but also by the comfort You had given Him. This mention of Titus indicates this was during the 3rd Missionary trip. Paul was only halfway thru the 2nd trip in 1stCor 15, where we see about Ephesus (see 1stCor 15 & 16 Chapter 15 end of <2>). And he was maybe 2/3rd thru that 2nd trip when (in 2ndCor 2:13) it was said that Titus was not even in Troas (of Mysia of Asia), that Paul went on to Macedonia. But now (repeating): when We came into Macedonia, God comforted Us by the coming of Titus. BTW, in case you missed it, the wild beasts that Paul encountered in Ephesus (of Lydia of Asia; 1stCor 15:32) was just the tip-of-the-iceberg of the hardships alluded to above in Chapter 6 <2>-- hardships throughout Asia, & perhaps into Macedonia. He told Us about Your longing for Me, Your deep sorrow, Your ardent concern for Me, so that My joy was greater than ever.

Even if I caused You sorrow by My letter, I do not regret it-- I see that My letter hurt You, but only for a little while --yet now I am happy, not because You were made sorry, but because Your sorrow led You to repentance. For You became sorrowful as God intended & so were not harmed in any way by Us. Reportedly, Paul wrote a total of 4 letters to the Corinthians-- 2 of which are now lost. Of these 4, the 2 not lost (1st & 2nd Corinthians) were #2 & #4. Conjecture might be that Paul's sorrowful/harsh letter mentioned here was #1 or #3-- however, we've already seen that 1st Corinthians (the 2nd letter) was rather harsh, as Paul dealt with the various beliefs & divisions in the church. Sometimes a preacher must preach matter-of-factly! Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation & leaves no regrets, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in You:

• what earnestness,
• what eagerness to clear yourselves,
• what indignation, what alarm,
• what longing, what concern,
• what readiness to see justice done.

At every point You have mended your ways & proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to You, it was not on account of the 1 who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before GOD You could see for yourselves how devoted to Us You are. By all this We are encouraged.

In addition to Our own encouragement, We are especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because His spirit has been refreshed by all of You. I had boasted to Him about You, & You have not embarrassed Me. But just as everything We said to You was true, so Our boasting about You to Titus has proved to be true as well. And His affection for You is all the greater when He remembers that You were all obedient, receiving Him with fear & trembling. I am glad I can have complete confidence in You.

Chapter 8 Paul writing (Timothy possible scribe)

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And now, brothers, We want You to know about the grace that GOD has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, together Their overflowing joy & Their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that They in all the churches gave as much as They were able, & even beyond Their ability. Entirely on Their own, They urgently pleaded with Us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And They did not do as We expected, but They gave themselves 1st to the LORD & then to Us in keeping with GOD's Will. So We urged Titus, since He had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on Your part. But just as You excel in everything-- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness & in Your love for Us --see that You also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding You, but I want to test the sincerity of Your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For You know the Grace of Our LORD Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for Your sakes He became poor, so that You through His poverty might become rich.

And here is My advice about what is best for You in this matter: Last year You were the 1st not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that Your eager willingness to do it may be matched by Your completion of it, according to Your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what 1 has, not according to what He does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while You are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what They need, so that in turn Their plenty will supply what You need. Then there will be equality, as it is written--another "Living Prophecy": He who gathered much did not have too much, & He who gathered little did not have too little (Exo 16:18bc).

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I thank GOD, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for You. For Titus not only welcomed Your appeal, but He is coming to You with much enthusiasm & on His own initiative. And We are sending along with Him the brother who is praised by all the churches for His service to the Gospel. What is more, He was chosen by the churches to accompany Us as We carry the offering, which We administer in order to honor the LORD himself & to show Our eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism of the way We administer this liberal gift. For We are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the Eyes of the LORD but also in the eyes of men.

In addition, We are sending with Them Our brother who has often proved to Us in many ways that He is zealous, & now even more so because of His great confidence in You. As for Titus, He is My partner & fellow worker among You; as for Our brothers, They are representatives of the churches & an honor to Christ. Therefore show these men the proof of Your love & the reason for Our pride in You, so that the churches can see it.