2 Corinthians 13-1-14
As Paul brings to a close this his second letter to the Corinthians, he sums up what he really desires to see happen in their lives. I believe that this is what God wants to see happen in all of our lives as we walk with Him in this world. May God give us the grace to follow these principles.
GOD WANTS US TO EXHORT ONE ANOTHER: Paul has been doing this with the Corinthian believers for the last two books, and he promises to continue to do it as long as he is alive. Exhortation is a ministry of the body of Christ that, unfortunately, is seldom exercised. Many times we become so self-centered and self-absorbed that we don't even notice others in the body of Christ. We are called to correct our brothers when we see that they are being disobedient, encourage them when we see that they are discouraged and spur them on to greater effectiveness in their walk with the Lord and their service to Him. Christ has strengthened and equipped us through the Holy Spirit that we might be effective in this ministry.
GOD WANTS US TO EXAMINE OURSELVES: We are not only to look at the lives of others, but we are to watch our own lives and make sure that we are living obedient lives before the Lord and to test our own faith. It may be easy to fool those around us with an external conformity to certain standards but our hearts may still be very cold towards God and far from Him. We may be able to fool others and it is even possible for us to fool ourselves but we will never fool God. It is a healthy and necessary thing to examine our faith and make sure that we are living as believers and following the principles of Scripture. We must inspect the spiritual fruit and desires of our hearts that we not be found amongst those who have learned to look like believers but have never fully trusted Christ.
GOD WANTS US TO EXPERIENCE GROWTH: Paul's desire for the Corinthians and God's desire for us is that we continually grow in our spiritual maturity and in our conformity to the image of Christ. Believers are to know, love and obey the Word of God. We are to live in harmony with one another and be involved in the lives of one another so that we can all be transformed in our walk with the Lord. This can only be accomplished by the grace of Christ, the love of God and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. True growth occurs in our lives as we exercise disciplined determination to obey the Word of God and as we recognize our utter dependence on the work of God in our hearts. May God give us the wisdom and discernment to practice this disciplined dependence on the Lord.
GOD WANTS US TO EXHORT ONE ANOTHER: Paul has been doing this with the Corinthian believers for the last two books, and he promises to continue to do it as long as he is alive. Exhortation is a ministry of the body of Christ that, unfortunately, is seldom exercised. Many times we become so self-centered and self-absorbed that we don't even notice others in the body of Christ. We are called to correct our brothers when we see that they are being disobedient, encourage them when we see that they are discouraged and spur them on to greater effectiveness in their walk with the Lord and their service to Him. Christ has strengthened and equipped us through the Holy Spirit that we might be effective in this ministry.
GOD WANTS US TO EXAMINE OURSELVES: We are not only to look at the lives of others, but we are to watch our own lives and make sure that we are living obedient lives before the Lord and to test our own faith. It may be easy to fool those around us with an external conformity to certain standards but our hearts may still be very cold towards God and far from Him. We may be able to fool others and it is even possible for us to fool ourselves but we will never fool God. It is a healthy and necessary thing to examine our faith and make sure that we are living as believers and following the principles of Scripture. We must inspect the spiritual fruit and desires of our hearts that we not be found amongst those who have learned to look like believers but have never fully trusted Christ.
GOD WANTS US TO EXPERIENCE GROWTH: Paul's desire for the Corinthians and God's desire for us is that we continually grow in our spiritual maturity and in our conformity to the image of Christ. Believers are to know, love and obey the Word of God. We are to live in harmony with one another and be involved in the lives of one another so that we can all be transformed in our walk with the Lord. This can only be accomplished by the grace of Christ, the love of God and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. True growth occurs in our lives as we exercise disciplined determination to obey the Word of God and as we recognize our utter dependence on the work of God in our hearts. May God give us the wisdom and discernment to practice this disciplined dependence on the Lord.
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