Getting Through Trials

2 Corinthians 4: 7-18 ⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”^] Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This passage is about trials. And it tells us that we get through them with God’s power. We are just jars of clay. Ordinary everyday pots! But we have a treasure in us! And that’s Jesus.

Paul had been through more trials and hardships in his life then any six people put together. Yet he can say that he’d been hard pressed, but not crushed. He had been perplexed (why is this happening kind of thing), but not in despair. Persecuted (he’d been flogged and stoned!) But he says he was not abandoned. Struck drown, but not destroyed.

Paul says one of the reasons for our trials is because if we get through them showing Christ’s patience, His faith, His calmness, it draws people who see us closer to God. It spreads the Gospel. If we get through a trial right we glorify God!

So he’s saying there are reasons for our suffering and therefore we do not lose heart. Our light and momentary troubles will be forgotten in Heaven. And Heaven is what our eyes should be fixed on. Not the trials of this life.

Sometimes our trials are caused by our own actions. But sometimes God is acting. And when He does it’s always for our good:

Seven Purposes of Our Trials

1. To inspect us. James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters^] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
2. To direct us. Proverbs 20:30 Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.
3. To correct us. Psalms 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
4. To connect us. Psalms 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
5. To protect us. Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
6. To perfect us. Romans 5:3-4 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope.
7. To project us. Philippians 1:12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.

Ministry with Others - Part 1

This lesson covers Acts 18:1- 19:10

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."

Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.

Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus. When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.

After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.
Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

On Paul’s missionary journeys, he rarely stayed in one city for any length of time. This was mostly because his preaching the gospel often resulted in hostility and he was chased out of town!

In this story he heads to Corinth, about 50 miles west of Athens. I always thought Corinth must have been a wonderful church because it had 2 books of the Bible named after it and there are churches today named Corinth, but the city Corinth back then was known for 2 things; greed for material gain and sensual lust.

The Roman writer Horace said that Corinth was a town where “no one but the tough survives.” It was a center for the cult of the goddess of love, Aphrodite, and the Greek geographer, Strabo, reported there were love priestesses(prostitutes) attached to her temple. In fact, prostitutes of the time were known as “Corinthian girls”!

Corinth was a major transfer port for traffic and commerce moving between Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea in the east and the Western Mediterranean and Rome. It was an ancient city that fell victim to the Romans in 146 BC. The consul, Mummius, butchered its men, sold its women and children into slavery and burned it down.

For 100 years it lay abandoned. Then in 44 BC Juslius Caesar re-established the city as a Roman colony and named it Colonia Lous Julia Corinthiensis (or Corinth, the praise of Caesar.)

In 27 BC Augustus carved Achaia out of Macedonia and made Corinth its capital. And after that Corinth boomed.

By Paul’s time Corinth had surpassed Athens in culture, trade and interchange of ideas. It was a cosmopolitan city of about 500,000 inhabitants and its hustling, bustling urban streets attracted characters hawking their wares, negotiating the transportation of their goods across the isthmus or taking a break from their travels.

These “breaks” often turned into debauchery. Eventually the Greeks coined a new verb, “to Corinthianize” which meant to practice immorality.

We usually think of Paul as being strong, bold and brave in his preaching, but he had had limited success in Athens and he was alone as he set out for Corinth. These facts, along with the notoriety of Corinth itself led him to confess later to the Corinthians, “I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.”

But, he ended up staying there longer than any other city on his missionary tours except possibly Ephesus.

Through out his ministry he returned twice to the city and he wrote them at least 4 times, 2 or which became the books in the Bible.

If the gospel could succeed in Corinth it could succeed anywhere! But, Paul needed much patience, firm admonition, persistent correction, moral guidance, liturgical direction and clear teaching to minister to them.

But Paul came to Corinth, alone.

Thoughts from reading 1 Corinthians

Thought from 1st Corinthians

Christians must not first consider their rights, but how best shall they act in situations to glorify God and reveal Christ’s life in them.

Our all-absorbing preoccupation is to be holy in all matters of life and to come to a mature understanding of God’s will for us and our place in church life.

From 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We should look at ourselves to see if we truly reproduce Christ’s love in inward emotions, mental attitudes and outward actions. Am I: patient for a long time? Kind? Not jealous? Not boastful? Not arrogant? Not rude? Not insisting on my own way? Not irritable? Not resentful? Not happy over another’s fall or over wrong? Do I rejoice over another’s good? Or over right?

Love in view of eternity! God wants us to love!