2 Cor 2:7-8

2 Corinthians 2:7-8

Introduction: Read 2:7-11

Throughout human history, men have tried to conquer kingdoms with the aid of vast armies and weapons. Not Jesus though… for the last 2000 years, that baby whose parents could barely afford to give birth to him in a barn in some backwards hick town in the most obscure country in the world- he’s quietly been conquering the Kingdoms of men- through love.

Shouldn’t we be like our master in the way that we pursue our goals? D.L. Moody once wrote,
Show me a church where there is love, and I will show you a church that is a power in the community.
….
If only we could make the world believe that we loved them, there would be fewer empty churches, and a smaller proportion of our population who never darken a church door. Let love replace duty in our church relations, and the world will soon be evangelized.
Moody’s Anecdotes, pp. 71-72[1]

I. Paul’s Reversal:
Instead of carrying out the punishment on the man who had wronged him, Paul begged the Corinthians to turn from their wrath and instead forgive the man by comforting and restoring love to man before he is overcome by too much grief.

What a picture of how to live out the gospel. Isn’t that what God did for us when he turned from his wrath and provided the saviour Jesus Christ? (Christmas is meaningless if not). Can we not do the same in this small way by forgiving the one who has wronged us?

Actually, so far, I’ve been applying this text in more of a general sense as if it could apply to any offender –believer or not— who has wronged you… and it does! But I’ve only been drawing that principle out of a specific case from the Corinthians. But if we want to be specific here, I need to draw your attention to the fact that, in the case of 2 Corinthians, Paul is dealing with discipline and division in the church.

(That’s why I have to laugh when people tell me that they do church the way it was done in the first century, as though there’s ever been ideal church. The truth is that the church in the first century had its own set of problems and every church since has had to deal with issues of doctrine and purity and order. You can’t escape the realities of human nature by retreating into some mythical past.).

There was division in the Corinthian church— if you don’t believe me, just read 1 Corinthians. The presence of division in 2 Corinthians will become more certain as we read on in this book, but has already been implied by Paul when he mentions “the punishment that was inflicted by the majority” in verse 6. That implies that there was a minority who did not approve of the punishment. To this man’s credit, he appears to have submitted to the will of the majority and underwent church discipline.

So much for democracy in the church though! So much for the rule of the majority— Paul was saying, “let the minority have their way; you were right to punish him, in fact, I wrote you the letter of tears in order to test you to see if you’d actually do it. But I’ve received so much comfort from you and I want him to benefit from it too. So go with the minority and turn from the punishment to forgive him by comforting him and restoring love.”

In fact, Paul underlines his command to them by saying, “I beg you”, “I exhort you” to restore your love to him. The phrase literally means “I urge you with comforting words to restore the man.” It means ‘to preach.’ Paul is preaching to them. His sermon might as well be this: “Live out your faith by following the example of Jesus and forfeit the justice to which you were entitled and instead freely and eagerly and lovingly agree with the minority not to punish this man.”

WOW! What a great church to be able to do that. Can we be a church like that? We don’t have a choice! I think we are commanded to be a church like that, both implicitly and explicitly throughout the scriptures; by example and by command. Don’t you want to be a church like that?

II. The Oxymoron:
Paul sneaks in this legal term right smack in the middle of his exhortation. He says, “reaffirm (confirm) your love for him”. The chief meaning of this word is to enforce or ratify and it’s a term that is used in reference to the enforcement of laws.

These are alien terms: on the one hand Paul is talking about a moral motive which is love and then on the other hand he is talking about a legal obligation. The phrase would be an oxymoron to a Greek speaker; like describing the payment of a debt as charity. But Paul does not do this accidentally, the Theological Dictionary of the NT explains it this way,
The congregation has now to make another decision in the case of the [one who did the wrong] (7:12; Cf. 2:5) whom [they have] punished (2:6) and who now sincerely repents of his fault (2:7). Paul desires a decision [from the majority] whose content is love. [Rights are] to be replaced by [what is] right as pardoning love dictates and crowns the final legal decision.

So Paul urges them with comforting words saying that they have a legal duty to disregard the majority decision (actually Paul uses his apostolic right to vetos the majority) and instead restore love to this man who had wronged Paul so hurtfully.

III. Agape Love:
Paul invokes the Greek word Agape, which is translated love.

The Greeks had three words for love: Eros, agape and Philo. The first love has to do with sensual love, but the other two have more to do with emotional love. Until the first century, philo and agape were virtually synonymous, kind of like the French words aimer and Amorer. But J. I. Packer explains that the Christian church reinvented the meaning of agape. He writes, that the meaning of agape is pretty much
…a Christian invention—a new word for a new thing…. Agape draws its meaning directly from the revelation of God in Christ. It is …a supernatural fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is a matter of will rather than feeling (for Christians must love even those they dislike—Matt. 5:44–48). It is the basic element in Christlikeness.

Perhaps the most famous occurrence of this word is in the conversation between Jesus and Peter after the resurrection. John’s gospel records that Jesus restored Peter after Peter denied Jesus during his trial. Twice Jesus asked Peter, “Peter, do you agape me?” and twice Peter replied, “Yes Lord, I philo you”. But the third time Jesus lowered his demand and asked “Peter, do you philo me?” Then Peter said,
…“Lord, You know all things; You know that I [philo] You.”

Jesus [replied] “…Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.

I think that what Jesus was trying to say to Peter was, “Okay, I will accept your philo love for now, but you are going to learn agape love. In fact, agape love will become so strong that you will never deny me again, even when it costs you your very life.” Peter was eventually crucified in Rome… upside down!

Would you be willing to do that? Die for someone you once denied? Agape love can do that.

The appearance of the Christian use of the word Agape as Jesus defined it by his example signifies a change in the universe because of God’s forgiving love, our relationship with Him and with another is different. We now have access to divine love— not only for ourselves and our own enjoyment satisfaction, but also to distribute it to others! And guess what, we are just as undeserving of divine love as they are- its given by grace— grace to us, grace for others from us.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails.
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:1-8,13)
[1]Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002; 2002).