The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Corinthians 2:5-8,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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"If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him."
The response of the community of believers to a brother caught up in sin is to bring him to a change of heart. Although there was a consequence of punishment, the purpose of that punishment was to bring the errant brother back into fellowship – a fellowship broken by his sin. Restoration was the objective, not a quid pro quo punishment. In this instance the church at Corinth put out of their fellowship this brother. Now that he has experienced sorrow, the fellowship is directed by Paul to forgive and comfort him.
The church in the day of the apostles recognized the potential for sin but the apostolic teaching in our bible clearly describes sin as something aberrant for one who is a new creation, one who is now redeemed and indwelt with the life-changing Holy Spirit. As John says, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him… No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:6, 9-10.
This is the normative life-change that takes place in the hearts of those who become believers. It is difficult to imagine that the Holy Spirit could possess a believer – to take up his abode in a believer and that very presence of God not have an impact on that person! And so, a believer caught up in sin is an aberration, a non-normative lifestyle requiring action on the part of his fellowship to bring about restoration.
This is one of the many wonderful things I love about my God. He places us in fellowship with other believers where the one guiding principle, the driving force, the rule - is love. Love builds up, love carefully and gently (but firmly) corrects, love guides to maturity; love binds us in a fellowship of care and watchful eye for one another. As John points out in his same letter, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." What a wonderful fellowship the Lord has placed us in!
On a side note, can you imagine what the experience of fellowship was like for those early believers – the quality of that fellowship if being put out of it generated "excessive sorrow"? What joy those believers must have experienced from day to day as they shared in their fellowship together! This same joy of fellowship is for us today as well, made possible by our Lord of boundless love!
The response of the community of believers to a brother caught up in sin is to bring him to a change of heart. Although there was a consequence of punishment, the purpose of that punishment was to bring the errant brother back into fellowship – a fellowship broken by his sin. Restoration was the objective, not a quid pro quo punishment. In this instance the church at Corinth put out of their fellowship this brother. Now that he has experienced sorrow, the fellowship is directed by Paul to forgive and comfort him.
The church in the day of the apostles recognized the potential for sin but the apostolic teaching in our bible clearly describes sin as something aberrant for one who is a new creation, one who is now redeemed and indwelt with the life-changing Holy Spirit. As John says, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him… No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:6, 9-10.
This is the normative life-change that takes place in the hearts of those who become believers. It is difficult to imagine that the Holy Spirit could possess a believer – to take up his abode in a believer and that very presence of God not have an impact on that person! And so, a believer caught up in sin is an aberration, a non-normative lifestyle requiring action on the part of his fellowship to bring about restoration.
This is one of the many wonderful things I love about my God. He places us in fellowship with other believers where the one guiding principle, the driving force, the rule - is love. Love builds up, love carefully and gently (but firmly) corrects, love guides to maturity; love binds us in a fellowship of care and watchful eye for one another. As John points out in his same letter, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." What a wonderful fellowship the Lord has placed us in!
On a side note, can you imagine what the experience of fellowship was like for those early believers – the quality of that fellowship if being put out of it generated "excessive sorrow"? What joy those believers must have experienced from day to day as they shared in their fellowship together! This same joy of fellowship is for us today as well, made possible by our Lord of boundless love!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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