Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12) can be the gateway to some important and profound truths—and none of them have anything to do with identifying what his infirmity was! Whatever Paul’s “messenger of Satan” (v. 7) was is unimportant. What matters was God’s purpose in allowing it and Paul’s response to it. EverythingContinue reading “Life Among the Thorns”
Category Archives: Opening the Bible
Letters and Life
Moses comes to the forefront of Paul’s thoughts in chapter 3. He’s already present in 2:14-17 to a limited degree in the triumphal procession and then to a greater measure in the aroma of life and death (Numbers 16). Still, both of those are more subtle than chapter 3 where he rises above the waterContinue reading “Letters and Life”
I Can Only Imagine
In the second half of 2 Corinthians 3, Paul continues to use Moses as he speaks to the Corinthians. It seems likely that the false teachers opposing Paul were overemphasizing Moses and the law and underemphasizing the covenant brought by Jesus. This would explain why Paul continues on the Moses track as he contrasts theContinue reading “I Can Only Imagine”
God’s POV
Paul has something to say in 2 Corinthians 10! It was something he had been building toward the entire letter. It concerned a problem that had been brewing at Corinth for quite some time. Things weren’t as they should have been because there were some people who weren’t as they should have been. They complained,Continue reading “God’s POV”
Don’t Miss the Treasure
Paul had addressed the Corinthians’ tendency to exalt certain messengers of Christ in 1 Corinthians 3:1ff. As he writes the letter we know as 2 Corinthians, it doesn’t seem as if his words had their desired effect. The Corinthians still seem caught up with the messenger rather than the message. The situation has been exacerbatedContinue reading “Don’t Miss the Treasure”
Death Row Discipleship
In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul speaks to the Corinthians about an extreme crisis he and his companions were delivered from while in the province of Asia as an example of his experience living under “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (v. 3). While we might be tempted to think of theContinue reading “Death Row Discipleship”
Caring and Committed
In 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, we have a minister to the Gentiles raising funds for Jewish people. That might sound a little strange to us, but it is totally consistent with the biblical principle that we are people first and everything else (all of the adjectives we choose to describe ourselves) is a distantContinue reading “Caring and Committed”
2 Peter 3–End of the World? (2)
Peter speaks in 2 Peter 3 of a coming/day of the Lord/day of God where the heavens and earth will be destroyed and replaced by a new heaven and earth. In a previous post, I laid the groundwork for concluding that this day of the Lord is not the return of Jesus at the end of time because the objection fromContinue reading “2 Peter 3–End of the World? (2)”
Being a Woman is a Wonderful Thing (1)
Janice and I are blessed with two adult daughters and one granddaughter. We also have an adult son and four grandsons, but this little piece is not about the boys—it is all about the girls. It should pain our hearts deeply whenever women are mistreated—all the way from a failure to be recognized and appreciatedContinue reading “Being a Woman is a Wonderful Thing (1)”
To Believe or not to Believe
In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t. It was the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who spoke those words. They call to our attention to something that is too often overlooked—God doesn’t force faith on anyone. Nobody is overwhelmed into believingContinue reading “To Believe or not to Believe”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 