Title The road to becoming a character
< The road to becoming a character >
1. A clear sense of identity
The apostle Paul makes it clear that he became “an apostle of the Lord by the will of God” (v. 1). Paul identifies himself as an ‘Apostle’ in all of his epistles except for Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon.
2. Faithful co-workers
Paul mentions Timothy as a co-sender of 2 Corinthians (v. 1). Timothy faithfully cooperated with Paul's missionary work and served as an important messenger for Paul, visiting various churches whenever necessary. He was also a lifelong companion who accompanied Paul to the end when he was martyred in a Roman prison. Timothy was also referred to as a co-sender not only in 2 Corinthians, but also in Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. That is why he was faithful to Paul to the end.
Find and nurture Timothy. Be the holy big hand that secretly supports those who run towards the holy vision. It's good to do God's work yourself, but it's just as good to support someone who does God's work and make him like Paul. Finding a good co-worker and building him up is the most blessed thing. If you destroy your co-workers, your life will be destroyed, and if you raise your co-workers, your life will be built up.
3. God's Grace
The apostle Paul refers to the recipients of the book of 2 Corinthians as “the church of God in Corinth, and all the saints in all Achaia.” ‘Achaia’ is the region where Corinth is located, and the capital of the Achaia region is Corinth. The first words the Apostle Paul spoke to them were words of grace and peace (verse 2). The church in Corinth was the church that broke the heart of the Apostle Paul the most among many New Testament churches, but the Apostle Paul still prayed for them grace and peace.
Paul's epistles almost begin with grace and end with grace. What people need most is grace. A person cannot live without God's grace. Also, without grace, you cannot become a character. Paul said that he became himself because of the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10). In John 1, the grace of Jesus' incarnation is called "grace over grace." You can become a character only when God's grace like that leads you ahead.
4. God's Comfort
The word “comfort” appears a lot in the text. Paul praises the God of comfort (verse 3). How was the Apostle Paul able to carry out the gospel ministry even in difficult times? It is because they experienced the God of comfort during tribulation (verse 4). The more we take up the cross, the more the comfort of the Lord abounds (verse 5). Why does God allow tribulation for faithful ministers? To see their tribulation and to be comforted by the fact that tribulation is not necessarily caused by sin.
Why can a saint have a firm hope? Because we believe that those who suffer in the Lord are comforted to the same extent (verse 7). The Apostle Paul sincerely wanted the saints of the Corinthian church, who had hurt him the most, to receive the Lord's comfort. He can become a character because he has the peace of mind to receive God's comfort and comfort someone. Now try hard to comfort someone. Then God's overflowing comfort will be with you as well.