2 Corinthians 1-15 thru 2-11 -Corps 25
Publication Date: April 6, 1983
Walter J. Cummins graduated from the Power for Abundant Class in 1962.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Ohio State University in 1968 and his Master of Education degree in Secondary School Administration in 1978 from Wright State University.
He was ordained to the Christian by The Way International in 1968. He has studied at The Way International under Victor Paul Wierwille and K.C.Pillai. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he was director of the Research department of the Way International and served as assistant to the president.
April 6, 1983
Twenty-sixth Corps Night
UII Cor. l:12
"rejoicing," = boasting
"testimony," = witness "
conscience," = mental habit patterns
UII Cor. l:13, 14
"rejoicing," = boasting. He looks at them as his boasting, because he has worked with
them and taught them the Word to the point they are growing up so he can boast about
them when Christ returns. They were walking not by fleshly wisdom but by the grace of
God, having their behavior in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity rather than all
the intellectual wisdom of the world and human insincerity.
UII Cor. l:15
And in this confidence - or, UwithU this confidence. "confidence," = Aramaic = thuklana -
has the basic idea of confidence or trust. Greek = peopithēsis - comes from a word that
means to obey. The root idea of this word is obedience; often translated trust or
confidence. Question is — what is this type of trust or confidence as opposed to other
words. Since this has the root idea of obedience - it is interesting that trust is an active
obedience. The reason you obey someone is because you trust that individual. The reason
you obey God is because you trust God. You can always trust God, but you cannot always
trust people. This is all covered in SNS #1038.
Trust is an active obedience that gives you confidence. The reason you can obey is
because you trust. God is always faithful. If a person is faithful you will trust him. Used
6 times in N.T.; 4 of the times are in II Corinthians: II Cor. 1:15; 3:4; 8:22; 10:2; Eph.
3:12; & Phil. 3:4.
"before," = previously
"minded," = intended - Paul's intention was to come and bless the Corinthians
"benefit," = grace (both in Greek & Aramaic); which is favor; favor to the end of benefit.
Benefit is a good translation, but realize that the root idea is grace.
The first time was in Acts 18, when Paul, Silas & Timothy were there teaching the Word
for 18 months. Now, he's intended to come a second time.
UII Cor. l: 16
Macedonia is the area above Greece. He intended to go to Greece, then up to Macedonia,
then back to Greece. Paul planned to go but never did. The fact that he did not go,
brought questions to people's minds and were concerned about his genuineness (when
circumstances change, revelation may change.)
UII Cor. l:23
Did not go in order to spare them - because of the grief that was going on - their
discouragement and sorrow. Paul had to believe the epistle would help them. He had to
believe in his people, that they would bounce back.
UII Cor. 1:17
"minded," = boulomai, = to will. This is not just desire, or intense desire. It is an absolute
determination. Minded = willed to the end of doing it.
"lightness," = fickleness would be a better translation. Or vacillate in his faithfulness.
This is what they were accusing Paul of — that Paul was not always speaking the same
thing — saying "yes," today, and "maybe," tomorrow and then "no," the next day. But he
said, "I'm not vacillating!" "I'm not fickle!" "When I willed - did I use fickleness ?"
"purpose," = boulomai; - "Did I learn some things via the flesh, so I decided not to go to
Corinth? Do I walk according to the flesh?" "Yes," to the yes-group; and "No," to the nogroup;
or "yes," today and "no," tomorrow.
Two figures of speech:
1) Minded, purpose and purpose = all the same word - boulomai. The same word in
different forms repeated is the figure of speech, UpolyptotonU. Emphasizes his will; his
absolute determination to come (In order to spare them the revelation changed.)
2) Yea, yea, nay, nay. He could have said "yes and no," but he said, "yes, yes, and no,
no." Repeating the same word in the same sense if the figure of speech - UepizeuxisU.
UII Cor. 1:18
"true," = faithful. This phrase is used 7 times in N.T.. If God is faithful, He is someone
you can trust and be actively obedient to His Word. If God is faithful, and you are
speaking His Word, then your words won't be "yes," today and "no," tomorrow. Or "yes,"
to one group and "no," to another group. Our words toward you were not "yes and no."
UII Cor. 1:19
Silvanus = Silas. He was not a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways (He didn't
"horse-around.) He always spoke affirmatively - not "Yes" and "no."
UII Cor. 1:20
Yea! Not, "yea and nay." If God is faithful, he will not contradict himself. It is not God
that would cause revelation to change — it is circumstances.
UII Cor. 1:21
God is faithful and God is the one that establishes us and anointed us.
"stablish," = bebaioō, = is a legal term used of the guarantee of a title on a purchase. If
you purchase something, this is the guarantee that goes along with that purchase, saying
that someone else does not have a claim on what you bought. This legally guarantees us
against any claims. It is established as sure and stedfast. God has not only given it to us,
but he has guaranteed it.
Anointing in the O.T. indicates the presence of God, when men were anointed, quite often
that is when the spirit would come upon them. "Christ," or the Hebrew word "Messiah,"
means the anointed one. So, when you have Christ-in-you, you have that anointed one in
you. You have been anointed - it indicates the presence of God.
UII Cor. 1:22
"sealed," = the deal is that like one on a document. The man who was in charge of the
business affairs of the household wore a signet ring, which he used with sealing wax would
leave the rings impression — It meant it had his approval. The steward of the household
normally wore the ring for the master. This seal showed ownership, authenticity, mark of
authority. It was used as a witness in contracts and agreements.
God sealed us and gave us the earnest of the spirit. We are sealed with that holy spirit.
But it is the earnest, the token, the down payment — it is not the full amount of what we
are going to get in the inheritance in the future.
"spirit," = the gift - usage 2A or 5.
"of," = a genitive of apposition. It is the token of the spirit or, the token, that is to say, the
spirit.
"hearts," = heart of spiritual life.
UII Cor. 1:23
"call," = to call upon or appeal to — it is equivalent to the O.T. expression where they
called on the name of the Lord. The custom then, was that name, being your salvation.
Then you put a canopy over that name, that individual whose name saved you. God is our
canopy and we call upon God.
"record," = witness
"for," = delete.
God and record are in the accusative case in the Greek. This makes it a double accusative.
"I call God a witness," or a better translation would be, ."I call upon God as a witness."
God is my witness that the reason I did not come to Corinth was not because I'm fickle and
change my mind every day, but because I needed to spare you.
UII Cor. 2:1
That he would not come to them in heaviness. God did not want him to go there and
depress them further.
UII Cor. 2:12
Troas = Troy
So, while he was going this other route, he still had a door open to preach the Word.
UII Cor. 1:24
"faith," = believing. . . .helpers of your joy!
"dominion," = to lord it over.
"helpers," = sunergos, workers together; sun, together; ergos, work. There is a difference
between being workers together and lording over. If someone lords it over you, then you
have to do what they say. But, it is different when you are workers together. Paul
reproved them in I Corinthians but not in the sense he was a lord over them, but a worker
together of their joy. When the leader works together with his people, then you get good
results. The person is able to think on his own, to believe and therefore when he does
something on his own, he can think it through logically. He can believe for himself. But
when you are raised under communism, then you become a tool of the state, a slave, you
do not think, they are lords over your believing.
UII Cor. 2:1
"heaviness," = grieved, sorrow - when you are grieved it is heavy on your mind. It is the
opposite of joy.
This word (the noun form as well as the verb form) is used 8 times in the first 7 verses of
this chapter: II Cor. 2:1 - heaviness; II Cor. 2:2 - make you sorry; II Cor. 2:2 - made sorry;
II Cor. 2:3 - sorrow (rejoicing is the opposite of sorrow;) II Cor. 2:4 - grieved; II Cor. 2:5 -
grief, grieved; and II Cor. 2:7 - sorrow.
II Cor. 7:8-11 - They did have this heaviness, this grief, this sorrow.
UII Cor. 2:2
If you are the one who has to make me glad and here I am loading you with all this grief
and sorrow . . .
UII Cor. 2:3
". . . that my joy is of you all." The goal of reproof is joy. Not the sorrow that you feel at
the time of reproof.
Hebrews 12:11 - When you are reproved, it feels like grief -heavy - sorrowful. But, later,
after it has done its work, you feel joyful. If you are making a mistake or you are living in
error (sin), you would continue to go down and down and pretty soon, you would have that
sorrow of that world that he talked about in II Cor. 7, that leads to death - and what kind of
joy is that?? It is grief - grief, that could never turn you around. But, if while you are
heading down towards death - a man or a woman says to you - "Hey, you are going the
wrong way! What's the matter with you. Go the other way!" And you say, "Well! What is
he talking to me about that for?" And you start feeling bad - and all of a sudden it hits you
in the mind, "Boy - I've been wrong." and you start condemning yourself and pretty soon
you realize you are going through all those changes that everybody else does when they get
reproved and you say, "Boy, I am glad he caught that for me." Then you start getting that
joy back in your soul again.
But, the reason Paul could not come back at this time was because they were still in grief -
because Satan was trying to get advantage of them in a different category — and that is
what's coming up in the next few verses.
UII Cor. 2:3
Joy from me!
UII Cor. 2:4
"affliction," = mental pressure
"anguish," = confining or holding together like in a prison - you are confined! It is used
metaphorically of a binding feeling, distress or anguish. Like when Judas was all chokedup
with grief, (it is a different word - but it has that same idea.)
For them to be grieved, was not Paul's intention - not to make them more heavy - but they
might know the love he had more abundantly unto them.
UII Cor. 2:5
Who caused grief? Did Paul cause the Corinthians grief? Nope! Who were the ones
causing the Corinthians grief? The man who was laying with his father's wife . . . the
leaders who were misleading the people . . . the couples who weren't getting along
maritally . . . the believers who were taking their brothers to the secular courts . . . those
who were not abiding by the customs . . . those who were trying to put people under the
law . . . those eating food offered to idols and causing their brothers to stumble . . . the ones
who were abusing the manifestations of the spirit . . . ones who said there was no
resurrection . . . ones who were not laying up their ABS at the first of the week . . . those
were the ones who were causing grief!!! Does this mean UallU the Corinthian believers were
totally out of it? No! But some were!!!
"caused grief," = he nailed them in I Corinthians. So, now it is not to nail them anymore.
They have been reproved.
"he hath not grieved me."
"but in part," - Aramaic - It has the words "to you all" after it.
He has not grieved me — but who has he really grieved? The believers in part, all over
Corinth.
"that I may not overcharge you all." - the construction in the Greek that up to the words,
"overcharge," is a parenthetical remark and "you all," goes with, "in part."
The question is, overcharge whom? You. I may not overcharge - the Aramaic = that the
Word should not bear on you. They were grieved because of the error - the sin in different
categories - that he nailed in I Corinthians.
UII Cor. 2:6
"such a man," = the one who has caused the grief,
"was inflicted," = delete.
"many," = the greater - the greater number, the majority, most of you.
What did Paul tell them? He nailed every one of those errors at Corinth. The most
despicable one was where the man was laying with his father's wife. They did not even get
"excited" about it, when they should have "thrown him out of the fellowship. He said
when you get together you deliver such an on unto Satan for the destruction of his fleshly
desires (I Cor. 5:1-5.)
Once those fleshly desires are annihilated to where he gets tired of living out in hog
country, living with unbelievers, and he wants to get back in fellowship and he wants
forgiveness - then what do you do? Keep him away? No! You forgive him. And this is
where the balance comes in. This is where we as leaders have to reprove, yet lovingly
open our arms to let people back in. Too often, we get hard, like the government. You
have got to be willing to open your arms and let that person back in. Forgive that one,
even the one who was shacking-up with his father's wife.
"punishment," = rebuke
Rebuking a man from the fellowship, is rebuke enough. That is the rebuke that is inflicted
of the majority of the believers.
Afterwards, you have got to lovingly forgive - and we have not learned that to a great
degree yet.
(Shared an incident he had with Dr. Wierwille - how only minutes after Walter was
confronted, Dr. Wierwille had cooled off and had forgiven him.)
As leaders, we cannot stand over people and keep beating them over the head till they are
beaten into the ground. You have got to lovingly forgive; throw out your arms to them.
And it is not just telling them that you love them, but UshowU them that you love them. It's
got to come from the heart. People quickly see through facades. It's got to be genuine.
UII Cor. 2:7
"comfort," = encourage. Forgive and encourage him - don't make him feel worse. Not
more grief. Not as a lord over his believing, but as workers together with his believing.
God wants His people to get back in fellowship. Don't make someone stay out in hog
country. We have got to confront each other, but it has to be done with the love of God in
the renewed mind. There's got to be profit to everyone.
"such an one," = the one who screwed up before
"sorrow," = grief, heaviness.
The heaviness gets to be too much for him. That is why you have to know when to hold
him. You have got to know when to reprove and when to hold out your arms; when to
forgive, and when to encourage. It is a walk by the spirit!! (I Cor. 12, 14.)
UII Cor. 2:8
"beseech," = encourage
"confirm," = another legal term, used in the closing of a real estate sale, so as to make the
sale binding. Only used one other time in the N.T. (Galatians 3:15), where it is used of the
ratifying of the covenant. It is confirmed, validated, sealed. You cannot only tell them,
you love them, but you have to honestly love them, show them, confirm it, validate your
genuine love of God. Don't keep holding things over people's heads. You need to know
when to stop it and confirm your love.
UII Cor. 2:9
They were obedient after the first epistle. Now, will you be obedient to loving and
forgiving?
UII Cor. 2:10
"person," = the face of Christ, which is a Semitic expression, meaning in the presence of
Christ, as if Christ was here with us.
Reason why? Is in verse 11.
UII Cor. 2:11
"to get an advantage of," = literally = that we should not be cheated, overreached or
surpassed, by Satan. It is related to the Word that means greedy desire or covetousness.
Satan's constantly trying to surpass us because of his greedy desire, trying to overreach and
cheat us. You need to reprove because Satan has tricked somebody, they are out of
fellowship, then Satan will put as much grief on them as he can. But then, they need the
love, the forgiveness, the tenderness. We cannot afford to be ignorant of any of Satan's
devices.
"devices," = used 5 times in II Corinthians and one time in Philippians. Noēma, = the
product of the action of the mind, or the result of thinking. It is not the thinking itself, but
the result of thinking. Such as the purpose, the intent, the project or the goal.
Here it's used of Satan's goals. II Cor. 3:14, "minds" - their intents, purposes, goals, were
blinded.
II Cor. 4:4 - "blinded their minds," = goals and intents.
II Cor. 10:5 - "thought," = bring captive every purpose, every intent, every goal, the result
of all your thinking.
II Cor. 11:3 - "minds," = your intents, goals
Phil. 4:7 - "minds"
It is more than Satan's thoughts - it is his purposes, intents, goals, what he is planning to
do.
He planned to give the Corinthians more grief - he wanted them to feel worse and carry it
to the extreme.
Show your people the genuine love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation, that you
really do have.
End of Teaching