AUGUST 5 READING…2 CORINTHIANS 7
Chapter 7 starts out with “Therefore, having these promises.” We immediately must look back to Chapter 6 to find the Old Testament promises that God will treat us like His children provided that we cleanse ourselves, separate ourselves from the idolatry and anything that would defile us, in general, that we obey Him. We see Paul’s heart for the Corinthian church in verse 3 as he reminds them that they “die together and live together”. Paul is with them in every way to encourage them to do this, the very thing needed to maintain that healthy relationship with God.
And then in verse 4 Paul begins to express his overflowing joy for the Corinthian church because of the positive news that he received from Titus regarding the situation in Corinth. Paul had written a corrective letter to the church and the majority had responded exactly as Paul had prayed that they would. They repented of the sin and the damage that had been caused to the church and to their relationships with both God and Paul.
We find in verse 10 two very different kinds of sorrow. There is sorrow “according to the will of God” in vivid and stark contrast to the “sorrow of the world”. One brings true repentance because of being sorry for your sin. The other is only a sorrow for getting caught. The contrast is between repentance and remorse.
The Chapter closes with some encouragement to continue as Paul emphasizes the comfort, love and joy that both he and Titus experienced because of the Corinthians response to the corrective letter, which was exactly what Paul told Titus that they would do.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READING…2 CORINTHIANS 8.
Devotional written by Dan Peña