Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “having
therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God”,
and in chapter seven and verse two of
Second Corinthians, Paul instructed the church members to, “receive
us; we have wronged no man”
where we read:
Receive
us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have
defrauded no man.
The verse begins, “Receive
us; we have wronged no man,...” Paul began with the
words, “receive us”
which means “go forward,
advance, proceed, succeed and have space or room for holding Paul and
his companions”; “we have wronged” or
“Paul and his companions have acted wickedly, sinned, were as a
criminal, hurt, damaged and violated” “no man”
which means “not one person”. Paul determined that the
church members should “make space” for he and his companions
because they had not “hurt, damaged or violated” any of them.
The verse goes on to say,
“...we have corrupted no man, we have
defrauded no man.”
Paul continued with the words, “we have
corrupted”
which means “Paul and his companions destroyed, defiled and
damaged” “no man”
or “not one person”, “we have
defrauded”
which means “Paul and his companions acted superior to, excelled,
surpassed, gained, overreached and took advantage of”
“no man” which
refers to “not one person”. In
addition to not “violating” the church members, Paul and his
companions did not “defile, damage, take advantage of or act
superior” to the church members.
When we consider
these words of Paul, we see how important it was that the church
members “receive”
he and his companions, and his reasons were because they had not
“harmed or violated” them in any manner. Jesus Christ desires for
His “ministers” to serve His children, and there should never be
any actions that “damage, hurt, violate or take advantage of”
them. Christians should “receive”
ministers, and “ministers” should not “wrong, corrupt
or defraud” anyone.
Next
time Paul tells the church members, “I
speak not this
to condemn you”,
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.
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