TEACHING

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2021
10:30 AM (ONE GATHERING, In-person + livestream, kids!, IBC campus)
NEW 2 CORINTHIANS SERIES:
Down Payment 2 Corinthians 1:12-21
Buying a home is a process. Negotiating a major or life-changing purchase often requires a down payment, a significant amount of money or collateral to indicate the seriousness of the full purchase to come. Following Jesus is not “blind faith” but instead is responding to the down payment he offers you/us. In this case, though, he desires a relationship. As God, he has to hold back so we're not overwhelmed or absorbed. He chooses to be weak in front of you, which is the very opposite we are generally told it means to be God. This text calls us to understand relationship as the revelation of the one-of-a-kind God we get in Jesus. Down Payment creates space for the relationship and resources to be developed and shared.
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REVIEW: Trauma of ministry and the clergy killers

OUTLINE: Witherington’s Rhetorical Structure

1. The epistolary prescript (2 Corinthians 1:1-2)
2. The epistolary thanksgiving and exordium (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). “the beginning or introductory part, especially of a discourse or treatise.”
3. The narratio (2 Corinthians 1:8-2:14), which explains some of the facts that occasioned the letter and climaxes with a further thanksgiving and transition (2 Corinthians 2:15f.).
   1. The context or background of the topic.
   2. “The narratio gives a brief account of the situation your paper addresses. Include anything that is necessary to  bring the reader up to date on the topic. What is the current situation? What created the situation? The narratio can also include the “Who Cares?” of your topic. Who is affected by this? Who is researching this?  What is the current academic conversation about the topic?”
4. The propositio (2 Corinthians 2:17), which states the basic fact under dispute.
5. The probatio and refutatio (2 Corinthians 3:1-13:4), which includes:
   1. Paul’s defense of his ministry and of his anti-Sophistic rhetorical approach (2 Corinthians 3:1-6:13),
   2. A deliberative digression (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1), in which Paul puts his audience  on the defensive, urging them to stop attending temple feasts with pagan friends.
   3. Paul’s defense of the severe letter (2 Corinthians 7:2-16)
   4. A largely deliberative argument concerning the collection (chs. 8 and 9)
   5. A rhetorical synkrisis (comparison) of Paul and his competitors in Corinth, the false apostoloi, with a strong emotional appeal.
6. The peroratio (2 Corinthians 13:5-10).
7. The closing epistolary greetings and remarks (2 Corinthians 13:11-13).

FLIGHT THROUGH THE TEXT
12 For our reason for confidence is this: The testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives and sincerity which are from God—not by human wisdom but by the grace of God—we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more toward you.  13 For we do not write you anything other than what you can read and also understand. But I hope that you will understand completely  

What we use to draw people to Jesus is what we end up forming people as. So if it's Jesus + very specific music, then we’ve gone off the track. Or Jesus + very specific furniture and buildings... Or Jesus + certain programs...

14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.  

“If our decisions flow from an honest attempt to reflect God’s work in our lives, not from the ways of the world, then we will not need to hide our actions or motives behind a cloak of secrecy, even when we are wrong (1:13). This combination of humility before others and confidence before God becomes the strength and boast of those who know that Christ is their judge” (1:14)(Hafemann).

15 And with this confidence I intended to come to you first so that you would get a second opportunity to see us, 16 and through your help to go on into Macedonia and then from Macedonia to come back to you and be helped on our way into Judea by you.  

17 Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him.  20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 

TRAVEL PLANS CHANGE  “Paul finds it incredible that any at Corinth could really have thought that a change in plan pointed to a change in character” (NICNT, Hughes, 34). 

“Decision making: in turning to the Bible, we must not pervert it into some kind of “Ouija-board” filled with secret messages for our future” (Hafemann).

All of God's promises find fulfillment/affirmation in Jesus.

21 But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us,  22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

LANDING

FINAL WORD

​For Reflection and Discussion

1. Where was the last place you traveled to? Where would you like to go next? Have you ever had travel plans interrupted or had to cancel a trip?
2. In v. 12 of the passage “confidence” is also translated as “boast”. What is good vs. bad boasting/pride in your mind?
3. 12-14 What may have prompted Paul to defend his actions and motivations?
4. What can we learn from this about when it may be appropriate to defend ourselves?
5. How can we reconcile Paul’s actions here with Jesus’ model of being silent and meek in the face of insults?
6. 15-20 What might his opponents in Corinth have said about Paul’s canceled trip?
7. Are there any lessons we can learn from this passage about communication?
8. How can you avoid lying when you make plans or commitments?
9. Before you agree to something, what should you do first?
10. 21-22 Anointing and Seal, What does this tell us about the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation and unity?