2 Corinthians 7 – Brandon Hatmaker “Promises”
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
I hate to keep beating the same drum... but for some reason, I keep hearing the same theme in Paul's heart for the Corinthian Church. I think it was a foreshadow of a common struggle that was to come in the modern church... they simply were missing the heart of the matter. Of all the churches mentioned in the OT, they seemed to have the most "issues"... I don't think it's a coincidence that they also seemed to struggle most with matters of the heart.
Enter Chapter Seven.
“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1
Through the closing words found in Chapter 6, Paul referenced Jeremiah and 2 Samuel to remind us of the promises of God: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” He goes on to say, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, say the Lord Almighty.”
These are amazing promises made from a Holy God to a simple and sinful people. Yet we’ve seen the glory of God through the person of Jesus. We’ve been given the gift of the Spirit. He has called us sons and daughters. And the Spirit of the Lord continues to live among us. In light of these promises, Paul calls us to Holiness. Not just out of thanksgiving, but out of reverence for God. Then, in light of the current issues facing the Corinthian church, Paul puts skin on his thoughts… the same thought Christ gave us as a “New Command”… to simply love.
In verse 2, he leads with this plea: “Make room for us in your hearts.”
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I'm sitting here watching the player introductions before the All-Star Game in NYC and I'm noticing the youthful exuberance on the faces of some of the players. Grady Sizemore grinning big, Papi playfully shadow-boxing to a chorus of boos, and Josh Hamilton doing a really bad job of fighting back a huge smile. Even some of the old-timers have this twinkle in their eye when they doff their cap with their old colors. Like they're alive again - just so happy to be there.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's funny because most of these guys, if not all of them, are there because they were surrounded by coaches, parents and teammates that believed in them and loved them tremendously. So much so, at times, that it probably seemed like they were out to break them.
All this is a long-winded way to say that when I read Paul's letters to the Corinthian church, I see a "coach" who sees tremendous potential in this body of believers...
I read this chapter of 2 Corinthians and I hear Paul saying, "Guys, I come down hard on you because I know how amazing you can be."
Paul loved this church - and he wanted to squeeze as much out of them as possible. It's like any coach or teacher that drove you absolutely crazy at the time...yet looking back, you realize how truly instrumental they were in your formation.
How badly could we use some of this tough discipling in our own walks sometimes? We can never be afraid to push, challenge and encourage each other to become more Christlike. Similarly, we need to be brave enough to welcome that kind of coaching. It's going to hurt and bruise our fragile egos sometimes, but, done in love and with the right intentions, this iron-sharpening-iron ultimately makes us stronger in our faith - and is absolutely essential in our spiritual development.
Brandon, I think you are on the right track with Paul's driving theme. The church seemed like they were just "playing church". They were going to the meetings. They were reading the books. They may even have been memorizing the words. It is an entirly different thing to let the words take over you very life. It is one thing to say, "I should love men the way Christ loves me." BUT, it is a huge step to actually live that thought out. I think that is where we as "modern" believers and the modern church find oursleves like this early church. We know the "Sunday School" answers but, do we live ous lives with the convictions these answers should bring to us?
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