Lesson 35: “Be Ye Reconciled to God”

2 Corinthians

Purpose: To encourage class members to be true disciples of Jesus Christ through applying Paul’s counsel in 2 Corinthians.

Lesson Outline

1. Overcoming tribulation
2. Forgiving others
3. Feeling godly sorrow for sins
1. The “outward man” and the “inward man”
2. Ambassadors for Christ

Scripture Reading and Application

Today we’ll be talking about some ideas found in 2 Corinthians. This is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the Saints at Corinth. We call it “Second” Corinthians, of course, because our New Testament contains an earlier letter, First Corinthians, addressed to the same people. It’s clear from references in the epistles, though, that Paul wrote more than two letters to the Corinthians, so we don’t have everything he said. And of course we have only Paul’s side of the conversation, so we have to read between the lines to try to understand what problems Paul was addressing and why he chose the particular subjects of his letters. Still, by carefully reading this epistle, we can recognize both its general theme and the specific examples by which Paul taught that theme to the Corinthians.

Those Saints in ancient Corinth knew Paul personally – he had visited and taught in their city at least twice, and planned to return. We have no clear indication that Paul ever visited Joseph Smith in the course of the Restoration, like John the Baptist and Moses and Peter, James and John, and others did, but we have one intriguing clue that suggests Joseph did know Paul. When William Clayton, one of Joseph’s secretaries, took notes of a sermon Joseph gave early in 1841, he reported that Joseph had talked about the apostle Paul.

[5 January 1841] He is about 5 foot high; very dark hair; dark complection; dark skin; large Roman nose; sharp face; small black eyes, penetrating as eternity; round shoulders; a whining voice, except when elevated and then it almost resembles the roaring of a Lion. He was a good orator … (Source)

I have to caution you that this is not proof that Joseph and Paul ever spoke face to face. Joseph had in his personal library a copy of New Testament Apocrypha – writings that some branches of the ancient Church accepted as scripture, but which did not end up in the New Testament as we have it today – and there are some similarities between this 1841 description of Paul and the one in that book. We cannot know for certain what was the source of Joseph’s description of Paul, only that this is what he taught in that sermon. So that is how I try to picture Paul in my mind’s eye as I read his writings in the New Testament.

Let’s start at the very beginning of 2 Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 1:1-7

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

7 And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

What word or words do you notice being used over and over again as Paul addresses the Saints at Corinth? So if you had to guess, what do you suppose might be the theme of this letter to the Corinthians?

The Greek word, the word that is translated as “comfort,” is one we have talked about before: Paraklete. We talked about this word when Jesus told his disciples

John 14:15-18

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

You might remember that we learned that there is no one English word that means exactly the same thing as the Greek word Paraklete. The translators of the King James Version of the Bible used “comfort” or “comforter,” but they also used other words in other verses. So as we talk about “comfort” in 2 Corinthians, remember that it isn’t limited by the English word to, say, physical ease or emotional support, but extends to all of the ways in which the Holy Ghost blesses and teaches and guides us in life.

One of the most well-known phrases in 2 Corinthians may be Paul’s reference to his “thorn in the flesh,” something that sounds painful enough, and a case where we can easily understand that he might seek for comfort. Let’s read that:

2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

There has been a lot of speculation over what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was, but there isn’t enough evidence to be sure what his difficulty or disability was. Does it matter? Why not?

How did Paul wrestle with his infirmity, whatever it was?

Paul sought multiple times to have this thorn, whatever it was, removed from his life – a clear case of Paul seeking relief, or comfort. Did he get the relief he sought?

This reminds me of another verse in scripture.

Ether 12:27

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

This is Moroni, recording what he had learned from Jesus Christ during the years Moroni wandered alone after the destruction of his people. Do you ever wonder what life was like for Moroni during those years? Any thoughts on what weaknesses might have become strengths during his experiences?

His response to the Lord:

Ether 12:29

29 And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith;

How do you think about faith – is it something you receive as a gift of the Spirit? is it something that depends on you to develop through your own effort and experience? is it something else?

Sometimes when we talk about our lives, or especially when we write our life histories, there is a tendency to talk only about our successes, to present our stories as if we had always known the Gospel was true, or that we had always been successful in keeping the Sabbath day holy, or whatever the issue is. Yet here Paul tells us that he struggled with his “thorn in the flesh.” He didn’t find it easy to accept that his trials would not be removed by prayer.

What value is there in admitting that we have struggled, or that we continue to struggle, and allowing those struggles to be part of our life story?

Can you recall Church leaders in our own dispensation who have candidly shared their own struggles with “thorns in the flesh”?

Jeffrey R. Holland, October 2013:

“At one point in our married life when financial fears collided with staggering fatigue, I took a psychic blow that was as unanticipated as it was real. … With the grace of God and the love of my family I kept functioning and kept working, but even after all these years I continue to feel a deep sympathy for others more chronically or more deeply afflicted with such gloom than I was.”

“In striving for some peace and understanding in these difficult matters, it is crucial to remember that we are living — and chose to live — in a fallen world where for divine purposes our pursuit of Godliness will be tested and tried again and again.

“Of greatest assurance in such a plan is that a Savior was promised, a Redeemer, who through our faith in Him would lift us triumphantly over those tests and trials, even though the cost to do so would be unfathomable for both the Father who sent Him and the Son who came. It is only an appreciation of this divine love that will make our own lesser suffering first bearable, then understandable, and finally redemptive.”

Spencer W. Kimball, One Silent, Sleepless Night

I learned something about the Comforter this week while preparing this lesson, something I had never heard before but which seems quite important to me. I’m writing three scripture references on the board, and would like some of you to look up each one, please.

2 Corinthians 1:22

22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts

2 Corinthians 5:5

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

1 Ephesians 1:14

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Those three verses are incomprehensible in isolation – don’t worry about that right now. If there were time to read the context and understand Paul more easily, we would recognize that in each case Paul is telling us that God has given us the Comforter, his Spirit, the Holy Ghost, as an “earnest” of the blessings that he has prepared for us in times to come.

An “earnest.” The word appears in all three places, but there are no cross references, no Topical Guide links, no helps given to understand its meaning.

What various meanings do you know for the word “earnest”?

[Acknowledge all ideas; if necessary, ask one of the lawyers in the room what the word means in legal transactions.]

Paul is telling us that the Holy Ghost, the blessings of the Comforter, are the “downpayment,” the assurance given by God, that he will keep the covenants he has made.

I hope there are times in the lives of every one of us when we have felt the Spirit and known without any doubt that it was the Spirit. It may have been some time when you knew without doubt that some teaching was a true principle of the gospel. It may have been some time when you needed to now you were not alone, and the Spirit whispered that God knew and loved you. It may have been when you felt clean after repentance, or when your child was born, or when you knew that all was well with someone who had passed away. It may have been any other moment of revelation or reassurance or guidance. Chances are that the most intense and meaningful of those experiences are not ones you want to share in class – they may even have been so sacred that you have never spoken of them to anyone.

Think about those moments. You may not be able to do that right this minute, but sometime when you do think of them and dare to let yourself remember how you felt and what you knew, remember that those moments are only a downpayment of an eternity to come, a reassurance that God will keep his covenants – and that we need to keep our own – and let the memory of those moments remind you of all the blessing and glory that the Lord wants you to enjoy. As Paul said in his first epistle to the Corinthians:

I Corinthians 2:9-10

9 … Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit …

-ooOoo-

Thanks to Ben Spackman at Benjamin the Scribe for that insight into “earnest.”