Paul the apostle told
the church members in Corinth, “For
we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of
sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ”,
and in chapter three and verse one of
Second Corinthians, Paul asked the church members,“do
we begin again to commend ourselves?”,
where we read:
epistles
of commendation to you, or letters
of commendation from you?
The
verse begins, “Do we begin again to commend
ourselves? or need we, as some others,...”
Paul began with the words, “do
we” which
refers to “does Paul and his companions”
“begin again” which
means “start, be chief leader and ruler another time and anew”
“to commend”
or “to present, introduce, prove, establish or exhibit”
“ourselves”
which refers to “Paul and his companions”? “or
need we”
which means “is it of necessity that Paul and his companions”,
“as some others”
or “in the same way like other people”.
Paul questioned the church members as to whether he and his
companions needed to “prove and validate” themselves again.
The verse goes on to say,
“...epistles of
commendation to you, or letters
of commendation from you?”
Paul added the word, “epistles”
which means “letters” “of commendation”
or “of
introduction or recommendation” “to you”
which refers to the church members, “or
letters of commendation” or “of writings
containing introduction or recommendation” “from
you” which means “on behalf of” the
church members? Paul wondered if the church members thought he and
his companions needed “letters” that would “introduce or
recommend themselves” to the church members or others.
When we think through
these words of Paul, we understand how he questioned the church
members who were seeking validation from Paul and his companions. He
asked them whether they thought he and his companions not only needed
“proof and establishment” to them, but also from them so they
could share the gospel with others. Although Jesus Christ calls
people to the ministry of His gospel, not everyone is convinced they
are. Paul was no exception as some within the church of Corinth
doubted him. Paul knew who he and his companions were in the sight of
God, and that was all that mattered, and when we receive Jesus as our
Lord and Savior, we too shall need no “letters or epistles” of
proof of what God has already done.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and see Paul
ask the church members, “Do
we begin again to commend ourselves?”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then,
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment