Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Corinthians 1-4.

There are a couple of minor points I want to highlight out of what Paul writes in today’s passage.  Paul begins by mentioning that he had gone through some terrible troubles in Asia, troubles which were so severe that they were more than he could withstand.  Paul writes that he experienced such troubles in order to experience God’s comfort in such troubles and to teach him to rely on God rather than on himself.  His experience gave him confidence that God would carry him through any future troubles which he might experience, and it gave those who witnessed it comfort from knowing that God had rescued him and would do likewise for them in similar circumstances.  Paul transitioned from that to speak about why he did not visit Corinth as he had originally planned.  As I read what Paul wrote, he did not visit Corinth as planned because he was not sure that he would be able to control his anger over the situation and might have said something he would later regret.  We should follow his example and avoid allowing our emotions to influence us when we debate in the Church.

Later in today’s passage Paul writes that his confidence comes from Jesus and that he has no competence in and of himself to claim anything.  Any competence which he has to accomplish anything comes from God working through him.  As a result of this knowledge, Paul refuses to use any deception or distortion to convince others of the gospel.  I think that his point here is one of utmost importance.  We are not smart enough, knowledgeable enough, or wise enough to know how to “massage” the facts in order to get others to make the right decision.  Therefore we should present the facts and the truth plainly about whatever subject we are discussing.  Let us trust God’s Spirit to make clear to those who hear us what is the right decision for them to make.  We must not make the mistake of thinking we are enough smarter or wiser than those to whom we speak to make their decision for them by distorting the facts which we present to them.  This is important on whatever issue we discuss, but even more so when presenting the Gospel.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.