Reliance Upon God

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Salutation

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"Paul, an Apostle, by the will of God." Paul did not want to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He certainly did not set out to be one. He felt very secure in his efforts to destroy this new cult that was called the Followers of the Way. He really believed that he was doing the will of God in persecuting them. So Paul did not choose to be an Apostle, God chose Paul. This is important. No one comes to the Father unless and until he is chosen.

Now Paul's credentials were being questioned at Corinth. Here in his first statement of truth, he establishes the foundation of his calling to be an Apostle. The only foundation that any one can have. All other foundations are false.

Paul notes in these first few verses that Timothy was with him and was probably writing the letter as Paul dictated. Then he indicates to whom he was writing the letter. "The church of God that is at Corinth, and to all the Saints in Greece (Achaia)." Most of the problems that Paul was going to deal with in this letter were wide spread. False Teachers were active through out all of Greece.

To them, Paul sends two of God's greatest gifts, "Grace and Peace." Remember that the church at Corinth had been greatly gifted by the Lord but there was still two gifts the they needed, God offered, but they seemed to decline, Grace sufficient for their needs and Peace that brings fullness of joy in this life. Both were gifts from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

In these verses, Paul thanks God whom he refers to as the "origin" of all mercies and all comforts. Now remember that Paul had much that he could have complained about. He certainly had very little of this world's comforts. He had been persecuted, stoned, imprisoned, and even despised by the very ones whom he sought to help. He had suffered from hunger, the cold, and all the effects of the elements. Surly he had reason to complain but instead, he thanked God for being able to share in the sufferings of Christ. Why? Because Paul knew that were suffering abounds, Grace much more abounds.

Paul believed that suffering help establish his credentials. Certainly, it allowed him to speak from experience. Paul spoke of the "goodness" of God because he had experienced it. His affliction allowed him to speak of their affliction, his experience with God's comfort allowed him to assure them that it was there for the asking. Therefore, he had great hope for them during this time of trial, dealing with false teachers and other problems from within.

Paul Asks for Prayer

Persecution had taught Paul a great deal. He knew beyond a doubt that there was but one "deliverer". This did not come easy for Paul. He was very self sufficient, had a strong will power, and was not really subject to the weaknesses of other men. Perhaps this was why God had to "crush" Paul in order to get him to rely on His mercy as he often has to do with you and I.

It appears that Paul had been unbearably crushed to the point that he sought to die. But Paul says,as we often do, "It was done to make us rely, not upon ourselves, but upon God." Again we see the hand of God in Paul's life thus establishing more of Paul's credentials.

Paul reminds them that they had a part in his ministry. "You must help us, by your prayers, that many will give thanks, on our behalf, for the blessing granted us in answer to those prayers." Being actively involved in prayer for someone or some cause will bring you a lot closer to it. Paul sought that closeness and concern from these folks at Corinth for his ministry. He knew that they would be blessed as he was blessed, for it.

Paul's Integrity

What more could Paul have said to these people, in an effort to show them his integrity and sincerity, accept to tell them how he was able to do this and to publicly acknowledge it? Notice how Paul was able to do this, "By the Grace of God." The only way any of us can do anything of any value.

How did this integrity and sincerity manifest itself toward the Corinthians? It manifested itself in Paul's teachings and his writings to them. It made his teachings and his writings understandable, authoritative and dependable. Paul said in his first letter that a minister must not be a stranger to his congregation. He must speak their language in a way that they understand. In verse 13, Paul says, "For we wrote you nothing but what you could read and understand fully." Why? What was Paul's goal in doing this? Verse 14, "That you can be proud of us as we can be proud of you on the "Day of the Lord", the Lord's Second Coming.

Why might they be proud of Paul on that Day? They did what Paul told them was necessary, believe on the Lord Jesus, and on the Day of the Lord, they found their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. (Rev. 20:11-15)

Paul knew the reality of Hell. His mission was to show how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was an escape from it. If he succeeded in this, then on the Day of the Lord, he could be proud that the Lord had chosen to use him in this way. The only way that Paul knew to do this was to make the message easy to understand. This, he believed, he had sincerely done.

Problems with Scheduling

Paul says that because he believed that he had made the Gospel understandable to them, both in his teachings and in his writings, that he wanted to visit them again and have them send him on his way back to Jerusalem. "But," Paul asks, "Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this?"

Lets look for a moment at that word "vacillating". That's the word that is used in the R.S.V. and the New American Standard. The K.J. uses the word "lightness", Williams's translation uses the word "Fickleness". Beck says "Trifling", the Living Bible says "hadn't made up my mind". What exactly did Paul mean? All we have to do is take a good look at Paul's life to know exactly what he was asking. Paul lived a "hectic" life. He never knew where he was going to be from one day to the next. He never knew when the Lord was going to send him someplace to preach the Gospel. The weather, his health, the temperament of others and need of others, always had an influence on Paul's travels.

Paul was asking, did they think that he was being naive, in light of his difficulty to schedule his travels, to think that he would be able to be with them at any certain time? You may recall that in his first letter that he had planned to be with them by winter. He certainly was sincere in these plans but he had been unavoidably detained.

So Paul may have been jokingly referring to his plans versus God's plans and the plans of others. He was trying to get them to separate the validity of his teachings from the validity of his travel schedule, after all, he had told them that he would be in their city by now, but he wasn't there. "I wonder if we can believe anything else he says?" We put great emphasis on punctuality. What so called "weighty reasons" could have delayed Paul's going to Corinth. As we have listed before, there was much in Paul's life that regulated it, most were out of his control. Some have suggested that he delayed, hoping that the problems that he wrote about in his first letter would be settled before he got there and that his visit would be one of pleasure and not censor.

Paul assured them that he had no more dominion over his life than he had over their faith. Christ, only, had dominion over their faith, for it was God who had established Paul with the Corinthians. It was God who had put the seal upon them and gave them the assurance of His approval, the Holy Spirit.

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