 Good morning. Before we begin with one of you be willing to open us in prayer. Jai Lundi Father, we come here under the name of Jesus. We thank you for this, Dave. Thank you for the class we are about to have. For we just pray that He'll help us to understand the subjects as Smitham teaches his Lord. Give us your wisdom and understanding, Holy Spirit. You've been in the midst of our classes. There's nothing to be a distraction for us, God, but help us to grab the truth and store it in our heart, treasure it in our heart so that we can live an amazing life for you so that we can bring people towards your kingdom so that we can be a blessing to others. We just give you all the glory and honor and Jesus' name I pray. So we're at the last two weeks of the semester. We're a little bit behind, so we're going to have to try and cover seven chapters. I think in the next two weeks, so we try and go a little bit quickly. I will be posting your final quiz this week, so just be on the lookout for that. I'll post it online and you can submit it any time before the end of the semester. And then that'll be the last of the assignments, so the final paper and the final quiz. Any questions on assignments, anything you're going to address before we go into the second part of the quiz? Okay, let's go back to, we're going to start with chapter 7, so we will skip our recap for today, but we will have to look just briefly at some things that Paul talks about in chapter 6 to understand what he starts with in chapter 7. So let's begin with chapter 7. If somebody can read for us, just open that up. We can begin with chapter 7, just the first few verses if someone can read that for us. Yeah, let's just read the verse 1 and then we'll discuss that and then go into the rest of the chapter. So having these promises delivered, it is cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Thank you, John. So we see here Paul is kind of looking back at chapter 6 and he says, therefore having these promises. So chapter 6 in verses 16 to 18, he talks about putting away all sinfulness, putting away all idols, coming out, separating themselves from all sin and God will receive them back as sons and daughters. And so here he's saying we have this promise that we will be received back as sons and daughters. And so he says, therefore let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, then perfecting holiness in the fear of God. So there is a call to action here and that is that act of cleansing ourselves is actually something that we should take responsibility for. It is not something we can passively just say, okay, we've received Christ and now we leave the rest of Christ. He has to work out our sanctification for us. That's not the way we look at it. Rather, we take steps to examine ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. And this truly is a work of the Holy Spirit. So with the Holy Spirit, we pray for exposure of sin within our lives. We allow God to remove those things within us. We take steps to step away from sin. So we have to take active participation in that to cut away sin from our lives. And then we allow the Holy Spirit to continue to give us grace in all of that. So it's us working with the Holy Spirit to move away from sin. So Romans 8.13 says, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So a reminder that even as we're called to that life of holiness, we're doing it by the power of the Holy Spirit. And then Paul ends with this perfecting holiness in the clear of God. Perfecting holiness, perfecting means to bring to completion or to bring something to its perfect end. And holiness, of course, is the majesty and purity and complete otherness of God. And so to come to that place of complete purity, complete perfection in Christ, that is what we are working towards. When we do that, we pursue that Christ likeness through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let's go on from there. We read verses 2 and 3. Someone can read that for us. Open your heart to us. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have cheated no one. I do not say this to condemn, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to live together and to live together. So here again, Paul, we saw Paul earlier in chapter 6 calling them back to this place of openness to Paul. And we talked a little bit about that, about there being some degree of estrangement between them because of some things that Paul had written in a letter to them, correcting them that caused a lot of grief. And today we'll be looking a little more at that in this chapter, chapter 7. So here again, he's calling them back to that place of openness to him. And based on the fact that they have wronged no one, they've corrupted no one and cheated no one. So they've not done anything to, they've not sinned against anyone. They've not done anything unjust against anyone. They've not let them away from God rather they've let them to God. We have not corrupted no one and we have cheated no one. So we have not tried to take advantage of few in any way. So look at that and that is evidence that you can track them. And so this is something for us also in ministries to be keeping in mind that we do not wrong anyone. We don't corrupt people. We don't cheat people. If we can say that about our ministries, then that is a beautiful testimony of our hearts before God and that we as ministers of God can be trusted. And then he says, I don't say this to condemn you for I have said before that you are in our hearts. So he hasn't explicitly said exactly what he says here, but he has referred to his sufferings that he has been willing to undergo for their sakes. So we see that in chapter six he talks a lot about all of the sufferings that they have experienced. He talks about dying yet continuing to live for their sakes. And so he's referring back to that and saying, we are willing to both die and live with you. Let me move on to verses four to 12. If you could read that things versus four to 12. Great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort and exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side, outside were conflicts, inside were fears. Nevertheless, God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you. When he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoice even more. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner, what diligence it produced in you, what clearing of your sins, what indignation, what fear, what bad men desire, what zeal, what vindication. In all things you proved yourself to be clear in this matter. Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, not for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. Thank you. So, here was Ford, he is saying, not only is my speech towards you, so when I'm speaking to you, I speak boldly, but also when I boast about you, I boast with so much confidence. And he's now moving into this part which actually will give us a better understanding of this whole letter of why he stopped so much about opening your hearts to us, come back and receive us, all of those things he's addressing in this chapter. So, he started talking about this in chapter two, we look a little bit at chapter two and so he comes back to it here, kind of bringing a conclusion to what he started in chapter two. So, he says, I'm filled with comfort, I'm exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. And then in verse five, he says, for indeed we came to Macedonia. So, this goes back to 2 Corinthians 2.13, so let's just go back to 2 Corinthians 2 and we can read from verse 12 and 13 in chapter two. So, we remember what he was talking about there and we can connect this to that. Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. So, here he was talking about going, so he had gone to Corinth, he met with the Corinthians. He actually had a difficult time with them because he had brought correction to them, we see that in the beginning of chapter two. And from there he went on to Troas and then from there to Macedonia. So, in verse five of this chapter, chapter seven, he's saying, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had invested. We were continuing that journey. So, he stopped there in chapter two and he's continuing here. But we were troubled on every side, outside were conflicts, inside were fears. So, he's talking about the challenges that he faced there while there was a lot of fruit in the ministry that they were doing in Macedonia. He also had challenges, persecution of just dealing with things in the church and so he's not afraid to talk about those things. He is secure enough in who he is in Christ and as a minister of God that he can talk about the challenges openly. He doesn't have to pretend like everything is perfect. So, outside there were conflicts and inside he had to deal with his own fears, the challenges that he faced as a minister in serving the people. So, he's not only carrying the ministry of Macedonia, all of those challenges in his heart. He's also carrying this Corinthian conflict that is happening in his heart. So, it's a lot of his own emotional struggles that are happening while he's also doing ministry and facing those challenges. Verse six, nevertheless, God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus. So, we see this language of comfort again. He talks about it in chapter one. He says, praise be to God, the Father of compassion, the God of all comfort. And he talks about how God comforts us in our suffering so that we can comfort others. So, he goes back to that theme here in verse six, talking about how God comforted them because he met Titus. So, he was waiting to meet Titus because Titus was not in Troas. He went on to Macedonia to meet Titus. And why was he anxious to meet Titus? One of the reasons was because Titus was coming back from the Corinthian church to give him a report of what had happened. Now, to understand what the issue was here, we look at a little more at chapter two. The first few verses, if we can read from chapter two, we just open that up. Yeah, let's just read chapter two verses one to four. Someone can read that verse please. But I determined this within myself that I would not come again to you in sorrow. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad, but the one who is made sorrowful by me? And I wrote this very thing to you, lest when I came, I should not have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy. Having confidence in you, all that my joy is the joy of you all. Out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote to you with many tears. Not that you should not be grief, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. Okay, thank you. So we have that context of Paul had made a painful visit to Corinth in verse one, chapter two verse one, we read that. And that visit had been to address some issues that were going on there. Now it isn't clear what the issues were, but it seems that there was something that he wanted to address in person. So he went there in person, he met with them, and that was not a visit that ended well. So he left there with great distress and anguish and many tears. So there was a lot of heavy burden that he was carrying from that issue and how it had been addressed, how they had together worked through it, it had not been resolved. And so he leaves Corinth and then he sends Titus to go back to find out how they are responding to what has happened. And so we'll go back to chapter seven verses eight to twelve to read what happened once Titus visited them. Chapter seven verses eight to twelve. For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it, for I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner. What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of your sins, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what seal, what vindication. In all things you proved yourself to be clear in this matter. Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered the wrong. But that I'll care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. So here we see what happened. So Paul sent Titus back with the letter and that letter made the church again quite upset. It affected the church. And Paul actually regretted sending the letter because he knew that that had brought them sorrow. But that sorrow eventually led to repentance. And so he differentiates here between a godly sorrow versus a worldly sorrow. And seeing what is the fruit of godly sorrow versus a sorrow that comes from the world. So godly sorrow leads to repentance because there is a conviction of sin. There is repentance and there is hope and there is change that comes from a godly sorrow versus a sorrow that comes from the world where there is no hope. Instead it leads to hopelessness, it leads to condemnation, it leads to death. And so it's important here to differentiate between the two. When we are bringing correction to people when we are addressing things, what are we trying to do? What do we want to see happen as a result of that correction? We want to see conviction. We want to see repentance. We want to see change. If that is the result of what we have done when we are bringing correction, then it is a good thing. On the other hand, if there is hopelessness, if they are feeling condemned, if they actually are going away from God, then that kind of correction we'll have to reflect on whether we've corrected in the right way or if they have responded in the wrong way. So what is the problem here? Have we done something wrong or have they responded incorrectly though we've brought right correction to them? And so here, although Paul regretted sending the letter when he saw the results of what he had written and saw that there was repentance, there was change, he recognizes that what he did was right and it was the best thing for them. And so we see here there is a list of eight things that the Corinthians did as a result. So the fruit of that correction, so one is diligence. That is they were spotted with an earnest, eager desire to change, a clearing of oneself. So a desire to make things right, indignation. That is recognition of something that was wrong and they were also upset by what was wrong. Fear, that is they were alarmed by the things that were going on in the church. So until that time, they had not been affected by it. But when Paul sent that correction, he sent that letter. They also felt that same level of discomfort or unhappiness with what had happened. Five is a vehement desire, so a longing to change, a zeal, a passion, vindication. So taking whatever actions and needed to make things right and then proving themselves to be cleared. So proving that they wanted to do the right thing. And so because they've taken those steps, they've done all of those things. Paul now knows that they were truly sorry and they truly trusted him. And so he says verse 12, although I wrote to you, I didn't do it for the sake of the person who had wronged, who had done the wrong or the person who suffered the wrong. So here it seems that Paul himself was the one who suffered the wrong. It seems from chapter 2 that there was a conflict between him and somebody else. And so we look at chapter 2 when I had done the recording in that video. The second part of chapter 2, after he talks about his grief or visit, he talks about this correction that he talks about. So some people think it refers back to the sin that was mentioned in 1 Corinthians, right? About the person who was having sex with his father's wife. But this is a different, some people say that this is a different conflict that he's talking about, which was something else that happened after 1 Corinthians was written and before 2 Corinthians. So something in between those two letters. And so that is the thing that he's addressing here. So with that we move on to verses 13 to 16. If someone can read those last few verses in chapter 7. Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort and we rejoice exceedingly more for the joy of Titus because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all. How with fear and troubling you received him. Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything. So Paul closes this chapter with explaining this is what he found comfort in. So although he was having challenges in Macedonia and he was already burdened by what was happening in Corinth. Once Titus came back with this report, Paul was comforted. Not only because of the good news of how the church had responded, but also because Titus himself had been blessed by his time with the Corinthian church. And then Paul also is comforted in the fact that he knows that his boasting in the church was found to be true. It proved to be true because of how the church responded. And he talks about their obedience and how they had shown respect and love towards Titus and had received him with that kind of love. And so this is what brings Paul greater is that he can have confidence in this church. There will be those kinds of challenges where sin needs to be addressed, where correction needs to be brought, and we don't know if it will always be taken well. So our job is to do that, to correct people, to call them to righteousness, holiness, to doing what is right before God. We have to be faithful to do that as Paul did right. He did that even though it was a difficult thing. And if it was a challenging thing and he himself was wondering whether it was the best thing that he had done. But because he was faithful to do it, the church was able to repent. They were able to set things right and they were able to come to a place of right standing before God because of that. And they had to go through this period of sorrow. They had to go through this period of grief. Paul and the church had to go through those challenges in their relationship. But the end result was a church that was stronger and a relationship that is restored. And that is what brings Paul joy, knowing that their response was proof of their love and respect for him as their leader. But also that they were truly now in a good place spiritually as well. So that's something for us to take away as leaders, as ministers, how do we deal with conflict? How can we best address issues? So we see also how Paul, he visits them, he talks to them. And then his plan was to go back and visit them, right? From Macedonia, he was supposed to go back. But because of how difficult that first meeting was, he chose to send a letter through Titus. So even in that, how did he navigate the issues? Recognizing that sometimes it's better to meet in person. Sometimes it's better to have somebody else go on our behalf. And how do we address the issues that are there? So sending that letter, addressing it through a letter, then send and having Titus there to work that out with the church on his behalf. And so after this is when Paul goes back to Boris, after he receives this report, after he hears about how the church is doing, he goes back and he'll start to talk about that in the following chapters about going back to receive the collection for the saints. So chapter eight, we see here now, chapter one was talking about Paul's visit to the church, what he had planned to do, how the plans changed because of all of this conflict. Chapter two, we saw more about that, about the conflict. And then from chapter seven, Paul was talking about, he was defending himself, his ministry. He was calling the church to open their hearts to him, to be receptive of him, proving by his, the way he had carried out his ministry that he had done it with a heart that was fully pure towards them, his motives were pure towards them. And so chapter seven kind of concludes all of that. And from chapter eight onwards, he moves into this, talking about the collection that we saw in first Corinthians, where they were collecting money to contribute to this church in Jerusalem. And so he will start to talk about that in chapter eight. So we'll just read this a little bit from first Corinthians 16.14, where he talked about the collections. He says, now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also on the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there may, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whoever you approve by your letters, I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me. So this is where he had actually asked them to start setting aside money for the church in Jerusalem. From here, we can start in chapter eight, if someone can read verses one to seven, please. Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Mesudonium, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep property upon that in the riches of their liberty. For I bear witnesses that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints, and not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. So we are status that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all religions, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. Thank you. So let's just, I'm not sure if all of you have your notes open. I'll just share this map just so we know where. So on the map you see in the south here is where Corinth is, and Macedonia was up there. So Paul had traveled through Corinth, he had gone to Trois and then gone to Macedonia. And so he's writing from here. And he, in Macedonia, these were the three Philephite, Thessalonica, and Beria were the three places where we know that he mostly was ministry. So he's talking about these churches that these churches were the ones who had given generously towards the church in Jerusalem. And Corinth was in the region of Achaea, so we will hear him referring to Achaea, a little later. So Achaea was in southern Greece and Corinth was a capital of Achaea. So here in chapter eight, he's talking about the Macedonians and how generously they gave. He also talks about the fact that they were actually facing a lot of challenges. So in the midst of their trials and in the midst of their poverty, so it was not that they were very rich. It was that they were poor, but even then they gave generously out of their poverty. Two helped churches in Jerusalem that was having both financial struggles and there was a famine. And so to help out the people there are the believers in Jerusalem. So in chapter three, verse three of chapter eight, I bear witness that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they were willing to give. So why is Paul Scherring the city wants to encourage the Corinthian church by giving the example of the Macedonian? So he wants to say that look at how the Macedonians gave. They had all of these the trials that the church itself was facing, the difficulties, the persecutions that they were facing. And they were poor, but they still gave generously with willing hearts. And not only did they give, they actually begged Paul. So we've seen verse four imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministry in the same. So that they that Paul would take that gift and would give them the opportunity to minister to the saints in Jerusalem. So by giving to these saints, there was a sharing in their suffering by sacrificial giving from whatever they had. They were able to share with the saints in Jerusalem. So that fellowship was there in the suffering of the people in Jerusalem. And then verse five, not only as we hope, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. And this is an important thing that it was because they had given themselves to the Lord that they were able to give in this way towards the church. So they were able to give themselves to what Paul and Timothy and Titus were doing to the ministry through being surrendered. We are giving, we are doing a good thing. And almost this notion of that is where salvation will come from, from our good works. But that's not the right way of thinking. On the other hand, people may give because there is a sense of guilt or there is a sense of they want to make up something that they've done. So all of those ways of giving are not what God is looking for. It is first a heart that is surrendered to God. And then from that place of surrender of finances are an outpouring of that heart that we have towards God. We look at verse six, we urge Titus as he had begun. So he would also complete his grace in you as well, referring back to what they had started in when he wrote the first letter to the Corinthians. And then verse seven, but as you abound in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all religions and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. So just to say we see that you are excelling in your faith, in speech and knowledge. So in all of these ways in your work with God, you excel and also in your love for us. So let this area of financial giving also be an area in which you excel and in which you abound. We have a few more minutes. We can just start with verses eight to fifteen. Maybe we can read it and then we can come back and discuss it after the break. Someone can read verses eight to fifteen. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. That you through his poverty might become rich. And in this I give advice. It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago, but now you also must complete the doing of it. That as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack. That their abundance also may supply your lack, that there may be equality. As it is written, he who gathered much had nothing left over and he who gathered little had no lack. Thank you. We still have a few minutes so we start discussing this. So here Paul begins with saying I'm not commanding you to do this. So this is not something that I am forcing you to do, not using my authority over you to make you do something. Rather I wanted to see if your love is genuine. So I'm testing your love for the other believers by comparing it to how other churches have responded. So now the Macedonian Church is responding this way and I want to see if your love also is genuine as the Macedonian Church has shown genuine love. I want to see if your love is genuine. And then verse 9, we know the grace of our Lord Jesus that though he was rich. So going back to the example of Christ. So Paul is not using his own life as an example or saying you should give because of me, you should give because of who I am, nothing like that. He's saying look at Jesus himself. Jesus became poor that you might become rich. And by his example, if we want to be like Christ, this is something that we should be willing to do. And then he says verse 10, you already began doing this. So they had already started to put away the funds a year previously. But this letter is to encourage them to complete that process. So verse 11, you must also complete the doing of it. So you had this readiness, you had the desire to give. But now we want you to move that desire to actual action and put that to action and complete what you wanted to do. And then verse 11, if there is a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have. So in your giving, we are not asking you to give what you actually don't have. So we're not asking you to somehow sacrifice more than you actually have, but we're asking you to give out of what you have. So there are some lessons for giving here. We look more in detail at that. We'll just cover all of these verses and then we look more in detail in that about giving specifically. Verse 13, I do not mean that others should be eased in your burdens. That is not the way to give where you are giving so much that you yourself are then in a place of lack or you have extra burdens on yourself. But that there should be equality that when you have abundancy, you give to those who lack and that when they have abundance, they will give to you. So it is that kind of mindset where we want to be equal. We're not trying to be richer, more successful, more in a better place than others. Rather, we are trying to be in a place of equality where we recognize that somebody doesn't have something. We want them to have it and we want to be equal rather than competing with one another. So we'll just stop here and we take a 10 minute break and come back.