Welcome! Over the week we are going to be reading 2 Corinthians together as a church, 1 chapter every week day. We’re encouraging everyone to read the passage, pray, and share with a few others what they felt God was pointing out to them in his word. Every day we’re going to be hearing from someone at Redeemer about what they felt God pointed out to them as they read the passage.
This morning Rachel is sharing with us, you can watch her video above. Read on to hear some more thoughts on the passage, and to get some ideas for further study.
In todays passage, we see links to two other aspects of the biblical story.
Firstly, Paul begins the chapter by taking all the way back to the events in the Garden of Eden and the foundation of humanity, reminding us of the story of Adam and Eve, and how sin came into the world. Throughout the bible we hear of the way in which humanity was separated from God by this act, and brought under the authority of sin. But we also know that we are no longer represented by Adam, but instead by Christ! What good news! It is important in these troubling times to focus on this truth, to stand firm against the sin into which the Corinthians had slipped - as we so often do - and know that one day we will live forever as the bride of Christ, in “full and perfect devotion to him”
Paul also links this passage to the rest of the biblical story by using the metaphor of marriage. He refers to the moment when he first preached the gospel to them as being like a wedding day, describing himself as being like a father, presenting the Corinthian church as the bride of Christ (verse 2). In this Paul reminds us that the blessing of earthly marriage is a signpost to the greater blessing that is entering into relationship with God through salvation. Marriage is not just a random earthly construct, but a way of showing what it looks like for a sinner to return to God. We also know that in Revelation, the second coming of Christ is described as being like a wedding day. So in this time, whether we are married or single, whether our experience of marriage has been made tougher by our current circumstance, we are to be reminded that as we look at marriage we are to be pointed to the incredible truth, that the love of God is so vast that it flows out to each and every one of us, and invites us into a covenant and everlasting relationship with him.
