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2 Corinthians 6:1-7:1 Living In Harmony

by fol CHURCH on February 22, 2020

Having spoken about God’s reconciliation with us we can live to please God in every way. Paul is now addressing the relationship between him and the Corinthian Christians. This is also very relevant to us, since different opinions arise in every church and we always have to work hard at being reconciled to one another, so that our lives continue to be effective for the Lord. Paul is at pains to point out: ‘We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act...’ Even in hardships and difficulties of the severest kind, Paul and Timothy have remained ‘true ministers of God’, open and honest with the Corinthians. It seems that some have accused them of being imposters, but with the Holy Spirit’s help they managed to respond in a loving, pure and patient way. And now they are extending their arms of friendship and love towards the Corinthians, wanting to be reconciled to those opposed to them and longing to see relationships restored.

How about us? How do we respond to criticism, difficult circumstances, or even crises? Oh that we would follow Paul’s example of proving ourselves ‘by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness,... our sincere love’ - and it is possible, since the same Holy Spirit is within us (v.6)! That’s why we can also keep preaching the truth faithfully, because ‘God’s power is working in us’ (v.7; NLT) and we can ‘serve God whether people honour us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us.’ (v.8; NLT) And we can always respond with love, seeking to be reconciled to one another! We cannot control the way others are going to respond, but we can choose to love and treat others the way we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12).

Paul emphasises this living in harmony with one another by drawing a picture of believers in Christ together being a holy temple. Not only is our body,  a temple of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Cor. 6:19), but together as the church of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit we are being built into the living temple of God. Paul invokes Old Testament imagery and language to emphasise his point that as followers of Christ we need to be separate from the world and growing together as one.

 

 

 

 

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Holy Spirit, please help us to live in harmony with each other, being reconciled quickly when differences arise. May we live in unity, cleansing ‘ourselves from everything that can defile our body and spirit” (2 Cor 7:1). Amen!

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