This Way Up - A Study in 2 Corinthians (June 2009 - May 2010)

Following his first letter to the church at Corinth (where Paul addressed a number of problems; see 1 Corinthians Series), Corinthian believers began to question Paul’s sincerity and apostolic authority. Paul wrote his second letter to address this and other issues in order to encourage the spiritual growth of Corinthian believers.

In this very personal letter, Paul "boasts" of the sufferings he endured for the sake of serving Jesus Christ. In this portion of inspired scripture, we see that things like affliction, conflict, persecution and weakness accomplish something far better than our natural sense of reasoning would indicate. In fact, God uses difficult times in a marvelous way to take us to where He wants us to be. Without afflictions, we cannot experience what it is like to truly live in the resurrection power of Christ.

This epistle gives us insight into "the mystery of suffering" - an issue that the entire human race wrestles with (see Study in the Book of Job). As we study this book, we will see that the path of spiritual growth in Christ is one that our flesh (the natural mind) resists. In fact, the way "up" (growth in the character of Jesus Christ) is through faith in the way of His cross - death ("down") to our self-centred, sinful ways that come naturally. This truth is embodied in key verses such as 1:9, 4:11 and 12:10 and is consistent with teaching in other Pauline epistles.

Jun 14, 2009	The Source of True Comfort (1:1-8)
Jun 21, 2009	Why Suffer? (1:9-11)
Jun 28, 2009	Confident in Christ (1:12-16)
Jul 12, 2009	Certainties (1:17-22)
Jul 19, 2009	Paul's Anguish (1:23-2:4)
Jul 26, 2009	Sufficient Punishment (2:5-13)
Aug 9, 2009	The Aroma of Christ (2:14-17)
Aug 16, 2009	Living Tablets (3:1-3)
Aug 23, 2009	Law vs. Spirit (3:4-11)
Aug 30, 2009	The Veil Removed (3:12-18)
Sep 20, 2009	The Light of Christ (4:1-6)
Sep 27, 2009	Death Before Life? (4:7-12)
Oct 11, 2009	Don't Lose Heart (4:13-18)
Oct 18, 2009	Our New Heavenly Body (5:1-10)
Oct 25, 2009	We're Completely New! (5:11-17)
Nov 8, 2009	Ambassadors of Reconciliation (5:18-21)
Nov 15, 2009	The Marks of a True Servant of Christ (6:1-10)
Nov 22, 2009	Don't Be Unequally Yoked (6:11-18)
Nov 29, 2009	Genuine Repentance (7:2-13a)
Dec 6, 2009	Paul's Confidence (7:13b-16)
Jan 3, 2010	Generosity - Giving Freely to Others (8:1-15)
Jan 10, 2010	Policies in Giving (8:16-24)
Jan 17, 2010	Preparations for Giving (9:1-5)
Jan 24, 2010	Promises in Giving (9:6-15)
Jan 31, 2010	Mighty in Christ (10:1-10)
Feb 14, 2010	Boasting in the Lord (10:11-18)
Feb 21, 2010	False Teaching (11:1-6)
Feb 28, 2010	False Teachers (11:7-15)
Mar 14, 2010	Boasting about Weakness (11:16-33)
Mar 21, 2010	Weak, Yet Strong (12:1-10)
Mar 28, 2010	Sacrificing for the Good of Others (12:11-18)
Apr 18, 2010	Appeal for Repentance (12:19-21)
Apr 25, 2010	Crucified, Yet Alive (13:1-10)
May 2, 2010	Conclusion (13:11-14)