II CORINTHIANS: MINISTERING TO BELIEVERS FACING FALSE TEACHERS

I. Paul’s Relationship With The Church, 2 Corinthians 1-7

B. The Traits Of The True Communication Of God’s Truth

(2 Corinthians 1:12-22)

I. Introduction

A. False teachers, claiming to be apostles, had entered the Church at Corinth, and tried to promote their own views while discrediting the person and message of the Apostle Paul. (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 552)

B. This was a difficult situation for Paul: his readers were immature believers who had been saved out of corrupt backgrounds in a city known for its vice, so they were easy prey for false teachers, and Paul had to be careful how he handled the situation lest his readers think he was being unjustly defensive and so discredit himself.

C. Thus, the first seven chapters dealt with Paul’s relationship with the church, and 2 Corinthians 1:12-22 gave the traits of Paul’s true communication of God’s truth to his readers. We view it for insight and application:

II. The Traits Of The True Communication Of God’s Truth, 2 Corinthians 1:12-22.

A. To explain the reason for Paul’s comments in 2 Corinthians 1:12-22, he had “intended to visit” his readers “twice, going to and returning from Macedonia, but he” had “changed his plans. This change was dubbed vacillation and unspirituality (according to the flesh, v. 17) by his opponents, charges he” denied in this section of the epistle. (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 2 Corinthians 1:16)

B. Accordingly, Paul explained how his ministry of God’s Word in 2 Corinthians 1:12-22 was of God, providing invaluable insight into the traits of a godly messenger’s true communication of God’s truth (as follows):

1. Paul’s ministry with his readers had been with “simplicity in the sense of singlemindedness” (haploteti) and “sincerity” versus self-serving, “fleshly” (i. e., human) wisdom, v. 12. (Ibid., B. K. C., N. T., p. 556) Paul’s intent had been to give his message with humility and clarity, 2 Corinthians 1:13-14.

2. Consequently, Paul clarified that his two changes of plans first to visit his readers and then to cancel those plans had not been due to deception on his part, for that would have been inconsistent with his initial candidness with them, v. 15-18. Indeed, Paul’s Gospel message had not been both a “Yes” and a “No” in the sense of being inconsistent with itself, but always the affirmative “Yes” in Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:19.

3. Paul added that ALL of God’s Old Testament promises, what constitutes the Abrahamic Covenant and the Palestinian, Davidic, and New Covenants that grew out of that Abrahamic Covenant, find their affirmative “Yes” in Christ, 2 Cor. 1:20a. (Ibid., B. K. C., N. T., p. 557) This claim affirms premillennial theology:

a. All of these covenants that grew out of God’s initial covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, when interpreted literally and “studied analytically,” provide “seven great features.” They are “(1) a nation forever, (2) a land forever, (3) a King forever, (4) a throne forever, (5) a kingdom forever, (6) a new covenant, and (7) abiding blessings.” (J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come, 1972, p. 128, citing Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. IV, p. 315)

b. Thus, Paul held to the premillennial view of prophecy (Ibid., Pentecost, p. 82), that the Church does not replace Israel in God’s plan, that Christ will then rule the world on David’s throne in Israel for a literal thousand years! (In contrast, amillennialism holds that the Church replaces Israel in God’s plan and that there is no literal thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on David’s throne over the nation Israel.)

4. Paul added that God leads godly believers who hear the premillennial view of Scripture prophecy communicated to respond with the “Amen” to the glory of God, 2 Corinthians 1:20b. [Paul added the truths that God has established believers with the apostles in Christ, anointing them and sealing them with the Holy Spirit as His guarantee of their future physical salvation at the rapture, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.]

Lesson: The traits of the true communication of God’s truth by God’s messengers are (1) single minded simplicity and sincerity to communicate a clearly understood message instead of using proud, self-serving, worldly wisdom, (2) communicating a dogmatically affirmative “Yes” message about Christ that settles godly hearers, (3) teaching the premillennial view of Bible prophecy that interprets God’s Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New Covenants to Israel literally so that the Church does not replace Israel in God’s plan, making Israel the eternal recipient of those promises, and (4) what produces the “Amen” response in godly hearers by the Lord’s working.

Application: (1) May we use these descriptive traits to evaluate the messengers we hear. (2) May we who function as God’s messengers adhere to these traits by the Holy Spirit’s power for God’s glory. (3) May we be sure that if Paul held that all of God’s promises find their “Yes” in Christ, the premillennial view of prophecy is the right view.