2nd Corinthians Lesson 7

2 Corinthians 1:18-

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Listen to Lesson Audio:

---

Lesson Transcript

Opening

Good evening. We are still in 2 Corinthians, and we are still in chapter 1 of 2 Corinthians. We’ll be picking up tonight with verse 18 and maybe finishing out the chapter. Although maybe not. We’ll see how far we get.

You recall that what Paul is doing in these verses, including verse 18 and earlier, is that Paul is explaining the basis for his behavior. There had been some questions raised about some of the things that Paul had done, some of the decisions that he had made. And Paul was explaining the basis for his decisions and the basis for his behavior. And it turns out that the basis was God. That Paul is pointing to God and the Word of God and to Jesus as the reasoning behind the changes that he had made.

Standing on Religious Principles

Now, you know, the world today looks very strange. He views something very strange, anyone who gives a theological reason for some decision they’ve made. If you want people to start rolling their eyes at you, just say something like, “Well, I don’t do that because of what the Bible says.” And you’ll see the eyes start rolling. “Well, there they are. There’s another one.” That’s what you’ll see if you start giving that type of explanation.

In the Western world, anybody who acts on religious principles is seen as just an irrational nut. Even supposedly religious people, you’ll notice they change their religion when needed to match what they want to do. If their religion, quote unquote, prevents them from some doing something they want to do, well, they’ll just shop around and find another one. And sadly, we’ve seen that even in the church. And most cities, many cities, have what is called kind of the divorced church, and people seem to migrate there as needed.

Paul’s decision-making was guided by Jesus Christ, and he wasn’t afraid to let people know that. If anyone asks you today why you don’t do something or why you’re different in some way, don’t tell them “it’s against my religion,” which is something we often hear as if we could each have our own religion, you know, you choose yours, I’ll choose mine. Tell them, “I don’t do that because I’m a Christian.” Period.

Now that’ll get some people asking you questions, right? Because very likely the person you’re talking to thinks they’re a Christian and they’re doing that. And you’re telling them you don’t do that because you are a Christian, or “I don’t believe in that because I’m a Christian,” that’ll get some conversation going. So that’s a good answer to give. Paul would have given that answer. Paul was not afraid to tell people why he was making the decisions he made. That’s why he’s telling them right here in verse 18.

Verse 18 - God as Witness

Verse 18: “But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.”

Paul invokes God as his witness that he is speaking the truth when he states that he has not been double minded in his travel plans, which, as you’ll recall, is what’s being discussed here. But this does look a little bit like an oath, doesn’t it? And in fact, when we look down in verse 23, we’ll get to soon, you’ll see something that looks even more like an oath.

And when we get to Galatians 1:20, which we’re not going to get to in this study, but Galatians 1:20 says, “Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God I lie not,” Paul says. Romans 9:1, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not,” Paul says.

Is Paul making an oath here? Paul swearing to God here in Romans and Galatians, here in 2 Corinthians? Well, is that something Paul could do? Well, for starters, yes. Paul was an apostle. Paul’s writing by inspiration, so we know that that’s the answer.

The Question of Oaths

But what about Matthew 5:33 through 37, where Jesus talks about swearing? And he ultimately says, “Let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatever is more than these cometh of evil.” James 5:12, something very similar to that: “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath.”

Well, you know, if we look at the prohibition in Matthew 5, which is repeated there in James 5, we’ll see that was really directed at the Pharisees, as much of the Sermon on the Mount was, and their misuse of oath, their misapplication of Old Testament principles.

The Pharisees had created this crazy system where some oaths were binding and some oaths were not. Now, they didn’t cross their fingers behind their back. Instead, what they would do is they would swear to something other than God. “I swear by the throne,” or “I swear by Jerusalem.” Then those oaths weren’t binding. But if they swore to God, then that was binding.

Jesus refers to that in Matthew 23:18: “Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing, but whosoever swears by the gift that is upon the altar, he’s guilty.” They had all these rules about if you swore by this or you swore by that.

The Pharisees’ System

They had taken Numbers 30, verse 2, which says, “If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word, but shall do everything that proceedeth out of his mouth.” That was the old law. And the Pharisees had twisted that and turned that and found every possible exception that they could get out of that and created a whole elaborate system. I mean, that’s what they’d done with nearly everything. And I think that’s what Jesus is talking about there in the Sermon on the Mount, certainly what he’s talking about in Matthew 23.

And in fact, Numbers 30, verse 2, tells us that oaths weren’t prohibited in the old law. You just had to keep it if you made an oath in the old law.

So, are all oaths prohibited for a Christian? There’s various views on that. But if they are, we do need to explain Paul’s oath here. And his oath in Galatians, and his oath in Romans. And we also ought to consider God’s oath by himself in Hebrews 6:13. Yes, there are oaths in the Bible and in the New Testament.

But one thing we’ll see about oaths is that they are always on very weighty matters. No one’s making a rash vow in the New Testament and being pleasing to God. God does not want rash vows from anybody.

Jesus’ Ideal

Well, what about Jesus’ statement that anything more than yes or no cometh of evil? Well, I think Jesus, as he is throughout the Sermon on the Mount, is showing us the ideal conduct that we should have. If sin had not entered the world, then we’d all just be saying yes and no. There would be no liars. There would be no false witnesses.

The oaths that we take in court today presuppose the existence of false witnesses. That’s why you’re required to take an oath when you swear in court. That oaths are needed at all shows that something has broken down. In other words, they come from evil. The fact that there are liars in the world, that’s why we have oaths.

Whatever we decide on this oath issue, and I’m not going to, we’re not here to decide it tonight, we all need to aspire to that perfect ideal that Jesus talked about, that he told us about. We need to be the kind of person that no one would ever expect anything out of us other than yes or no, and that’s enough. That’s enough if they hear that from us.

The Corinthians knew Paul well enough that they should have believed him absent any oath. But apparently, some of them did not. And that’s not a poor reflection on Paul. That’s a poor reflection on the Corinthians.

Swear or Affirm

Now, you know, in legal context, you often read, “I swear or affirm.” And you get to choose. And it’s interesting, that second option, “affirm,” really serves, now it serves two purposes. It used to be it just served one purpose, and that was that Christians whose taking an oath would violate their conscience, would instead affirm. But you know, today the people that affirm are atheists, they don’t want to swear, they don’t want to place their hand on the Bible, so they will choose affirm. So it really kind of serves two purposes today.

And in fact, you know, some of the rules will say: look, if you don’t believe in God or any higher authority, then you can affirm. But originally, it was for Christians whose conscience would be violated by taking an oath.

You know, I’m not sure it solves the problem, “I hereby swear or affirm,” because it seems a little bit like wordplay, which is kind of what Jesus was talking about in Matthew chapter 5. You know, if you swear by this, it’s binding. If you swear by that, it’s not. But I guess one could argue that “affirm” is simply another way of saying yes.

Jesus’ Example

Of course, Jesus is our perfect example in all things, including this. Luke 23, verse 3: “And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? He answered and said to him, Thou sayest.” Which is to say yes. But Jesus said yes. He didn’t swear, he just said yes, “thou sayest.”

And in fact, Paul calls that simple affirmation “a good confession.” A good confession in 1 Timothy 6:13. Jesus made the good confession simply by answering yes to Pilate’s question. No oath was required, and no oath was given.

Verse 19 - The Unchanging Message

Verse 19: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.”

As a second argument that he’s not double-minded, Paul points to his message, his unchanging message to the Corinthians. Paul’s message to the Corinthians had never changed. When Paul first preached to them on his founding visit to Corinth in Acts chapter 18, the content of his message was Jesus and him crucified, we read in 1 Corinthians.

Silas and Timothy, Paul’s faithful co-workers who were known by the Corinthians, who were trusted by the Corinthians, who were with Paul when he founded that congregation in Acts 18, they had all preached the same message: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That message had not changed. And Paul here is reminding the Corinthians of the straightforwardness, the simplicity of that original message, which they had obviously believed and embraced.

God revealed that message to Paul. Paul preached that message to the Corinthians. They received that message. It had never been changed. It had never been retracted. It would never change. Paul was preaching them the simplicity of the gospel.

Who is it that it complicated that message? Who had sown confusion among the Corinthians? It certainly was not Paul. His message was simple. His message did not change. It was the same throughout his ministry. What had changed? The false apostles had come in and sown confusion and changed the message. They were preaching a different gospel, as Paul will say in chapter 11.

Verse 20 - All Promises Are Yes in Christ

Verse 20: “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him, amen, unto the glory of God by us.”

All of the promises of God in him are yes. Underline that one. Beautiful summary of God’s plan of redemption. Every promise of God finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. One commentary wrote, “There is no event in Israel’s history or promise granted to God’s people that does not find its significance or fulfillment in Christ.”

And another wrote, “Christ is God’s yes to the promise to Abraham that by his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And it says yes to the promise to David to raise up David’s offspring and to establish his throne forever.”

In Christ, we not only see all God’s promises coming to fruition, but also God’s unqualified yes to mankind. Yes in Jesus Christ. And the gospel is not, “yes, today one finds salvation in Christ, but tomorrow you may find salvation in something else.” That’s not the gospel. God’s Word is unchanging, and Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Jesus is the way. He’s the only way. And the way of Jesus is yes.

But that means all the other ways are no. Yes comes through Jesus Christ. We should thank God every day that God has said yes. Thank God for that. All of our hopes are based on the fact that God has said yes. Yes.

God Says Yes, Man Says No

If anyone is lost, we know so many are, it is not because God has said no to that person. That’s not why they’re lost. They are lost because that person has said no to God. That’s been their response to the yes from God is to turn to God and say no. And that’s why they’re lost.

I love what C. S. Lewis said on that. “There are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in hell choose it,” C. S. Lewis wrote. God’s saying yes.

The Meaning of “Amen”

The phrase at the end of verse 20 is difficult. Literally, the Greek translates to: “Therefore, also through him is the amen to the glory of God through us.” And the difficulty is: first, what’s the purpose of the amen? And how does the “through us” and the “through him” relate to it? And a lot of difficulties. And commentaries just spin off and all sorts of pages on that.

One view is that the “through us” refers to Paul and his associates, and Paul is saying that they consent to what’s being said about Christ. The second view is that “us” here refers to the Corinthians, and the amen is their response to what Paul has said. I think the best view is that what Paul is saying here is that God has kept his promises in Christ, and we say amen to God through Christ. God said yes in Christ, and we say yes to Him through Christ. I think that’s what Paul’s saying here.

You know, those words at the end of our prayers, “in Jesus’ name, amen,” which we sometimes got to run through at the end, those aren’t just a formula. That’s not just boilerplate. “In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.” That is us saying yes through Christ after God has said yes in Christ. I think that’s what this verse is talking about here.

Verses 21-22 - Sealed by the Spirit

Verse 21 and 22: “Now he which established us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”

Okay, you’ll remember we’ve talked about “us” and “we” and the plural pronouns and trying to figure out who’s who and who’s Paul talking about here. I think the second “us” here in verse 22, “who has sealed us and given us the Spirit,” I think Paul here is talking about everybody, all the Christians rather, Paul and the Corinthians, not just Paul, not just Corinthians. I think Paul is saying all the Christians there in Corinth, including himself.

And if that’s the case, we see an example here where Paul kind of suddenly changes the “us” and the “we.” We have to really pay attention to that and look at the context. Why do I think it’s all the Christians in verse 21? Well, because I’m 22, because in 21 they’re joined. “He which established us with you.” So there’s kind of a joining of them there in 21. So I think by the time we get to 22, it’s “us with you.” So I think it’s both groups.

I think it also makes sense from the context that it’s both groups, and looking at some other verses about the seal of the Holy Spirit, which we’ll look at in just a moment.

The Spirit as Seal and Deposit

The spirit is here described really in two different ways. One as a seal, and another as a deposit, or a down payment, or a first installment. Paul will say this again in chapter 5, verse 5: “Now, he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also has given us the earnest of the Spirit.” That’s the deposit, the first installment, the down payment.

We should also recall Ephesians 1:13 and 14, where we read, “You were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,” sealed with the Holy Spirit. And again in Ephesians 4 verse 30, “whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

What is this seal here in verse 22 and in Ephesians 1 and in Ephesians 4?

How the Holy Spirit Works

We know there are controversies about the Holy Spirit, and I certainly don’t intend to wade into them here, but I may get my feet wet, so we may wait a little bit. The first controversy, which really shouldn’t be a controversy at all, involves how the Holy Spirit acts today. And I don’t think that should be much of a controversy because I think the Bible is very clear that the Holy Spirit acts only through the Word of God.

So, you know, sadly, that’s becoming a bit of a controversy in the church. It didn’t used to be, but it probably is today. But I think the Bible is very clear on that. The Holy Spirit acts through the Word of God, only through the Word of God today in a Christian’s life. We’re not receiving guidance and revelation apart from the Word. The Word is complete and it makes us complete.

But the second controversy is a little harder to sort out. And that one is: how does the Holy Spirit dwell in a Christian? Not act. But dwell. We know He acts only through the Word of God. Does the Holy Spirit dwell only through the Word of God?

Well, I like what Moses Lard, a famous commentator, said on that. He said, “The mode of this dwelling we do not affect to understand. It is inexplicable. The fact of it we accept, but venture on no explanation.” And maybe we should leave it at that.

A Problem with “Word Only” Dwelling

But I have a problem with the Holy Spirit dwelling only through the Word. Not acting, dwelling only through the Word. Why do I say that? Because there are many people in the world today who know the Bible backwards and forwards. They’ve literally memorized it, and yet they have not obeyed it. And likewise, there are quite a few people in the church who have obeyed it, who have really only a superficial knowledge of it. Most likely because they’ve only recently obeyed it. I’m sure they’re going to work on that problem. If they have obeyed it 20 years ago and still only have a superficial knowledge, that’s a whole other lesson.

But that’s why I have a problem with the Holy Spirit dwelling only through the Word. Yes, He acts only through the Word, but is there some other way in which He dwells?

The Purpose of the Indwelling Spirit

Now, here’s where we often get an objection. And the objection is, okay, you said he acts only through the word, and you say he dwells in the Christian. But if he acts only through the word, why is he there? What is his purpose?

I think this verse answers that question. That’s why I brought this up. I think this verse answers that question. I think this verse answers the question: what is the purpose of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian today, if the Holy Spirit works only through the inspired Word of God?

Verse 21 says the Holy Spirit is a seal, a seal. What is a seal? A seal authenticates. A seal confirms that something is genuine. A seal confirms that something is true. A seal confirms that something is someone’s property.

When I get a book in my office, and I have a bunch of books there, and people come in all the time and grab them and leave them. I don’t know where they go. But when I get a book, I stamp my name on all the spines. So wherever it goes, at least my name will be on it. I put my seal on that book. My name’s stamped on it. Often don’t see him again, but my name’s on it somewhere. I put a seal on it.

God does that with us by placing the seal of the Holy Spirit on His children. I think that’s the purpose of the indwelling, a spiritual marker that we belong to God. We belong to God.

Who Can See the Seal?

Can we see this seal? No. Can God see the seal? Yes. Can the principalities and powers and heavenly places of Ephesians 3 verse 10, can they see the seal? I don’t know. But it does make you think, doesn’t it? How does Satan know who the faithful Christians are? How does Satan know who to attack? Maybe he can see that we’re wearing a seal that God has placed on his children. There’s also some very interesting verses in Revelation on that, which we won’t go into here.

But 2 Timothy 2:19 is instructive. 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are His.” The seal, the Holy Spirit.

So, once more, just to make sure there’s no unnecessary controversy here, we all agree the Holy Spirit works only through the inspired Word of God. The question is whether He dwells only through the Word. And my personal opinion is that He does not. We have a seal of the Holy Spirit put on us by God because we are saved. We are saved, and that that is God’s marker, that this one belongs to me. “The Lord knoweth them that are His.”

Paul’s Point About Faithfulness

Back to the text. Paul’s point in verses 18 through 22 is to show that God is faithful and that Paul is God’s spokesman. Therefore, Paul is not being double-minded here about his travel plans, because he is God’s spokesperson here. And even if his travel plans did change because the circumstances changed, and in fact, that’s what happened. God’s message has not changed. God’s message has not changed.

Keep in mind, those false apostles were accusing Paul of just changing all the time. And Paul is saying, “Look, my message hasn’t changed at all. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Every time you see me, that’s what I’m talking about. Can the false apostles say the same thing?” I bet their message changed every time they stood up.

Paul’s Real Reason for Changing Plans

In verses 23 through verse 4 of chapter 2, Paul is going to give the real reason why he changed his travel plans, and it was to spare the Corinthians from judgment, verses 1, verses 23 through chapter 2, verse 2, and to write a letter to them that would promote reconciliation, verses 3 and 4, chapter 2.

The whole vocabulary here. It’s like a trial. It’s like a trial scene. That’s what the vocabulary here is like. And it’s not just like any trial scene. It’s like a trial scene we’ve already seen, we’ve seen in the Bible. It’s the trial scene that Moses conducted against Korah in Numbers 16 through 17. That’s where Korah led a rebellion against Moses and against Aaron. And there’s so much in common between that event and this event that we’re reading about here.

In fact, if you look at Numbers 16, verse 3, here’s the charge that they made against Moses: “You take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them. The Lord is among them. Who are you to lift yourself up above us?” That’s what they were saying to Moses. It was a rebellion against Moses. And I think Paul has that rebellion in mind as he’s talking about them here.

Remember what happened to Korah and all his friends in Numbers 16, verse 32? “The earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up.” And what’s Paul going to say in chapter 2, verse 7? “So that contrary-wise you ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with sorrow.” I think Paul has Korah in mind here, but unlike Korah, we’re going to find that there was some repentance involved here.

Verse 23 - Paul’s Solemn Oath

Verse 23: “Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.”

Paul sees himself on trial, as I mentioned here before the Corinthians, and he’s called already on his own conscience to testify as a witness. He did that in verse 12. Now he’s calling upon God to testify as a witness. He says he did not return as announced out of consideration for them. To spare them. He did it for their sake.

The gravity of what Paul is saying here is reflected in this solemn oath we talked about earlier. This is a very clear oath here in verse 23. In fact, you could translate it, “I call God as my witness against my life,” what Paul is saying here.

Now, he doesn’t spell out here what he wanted to spare them from, but we can assume he had some type of severe chastisement in mind. And he had warned them about that, hadn’t he? 1 Corinthians chapter 4, he’d said, “Shall I come to you with a rod?” He said. All the conclusion at this letter, at the conclusion at this letter, we also see that when he’s going to come, he’s not going to show any leniency to those who were defiant in their sin against Him. Chapter 13, verse 2. And they include those people who had not repented of their unclean lives, those who had not withdrawn their associations from idolatry, those who had been stirring up trouble, the false apostles. All of those people.

His reason for not returning had nothing to do with fear on Paul’s part or a fear of being humiliated again by them. He wanted to spare them from being humiliated and the severe discipline that they deserved. He did it for their sake.

Paul’s True Character

Paul, you know, there’s a false image out there of Paul today, and that’s kind of a dour and sour old Paul, you know, just waiting to see who he can pounce on and argue against. And “oh, there’s Paul again.” You just see it as he kind of thrashes around and bulldozes his way through. That is absolutely wrong. That is not Paul at all. That’s not Paul.

Yes, Paul had some battles, and we see that in Galatians, for example, with those who would force circumcision, all that. We see that. Yes, he had battles. Paul is such a loving figure here. You see that love coming through every verse in this book. He didn’t write these people off. He didn’t want to come and give them any punishment. He wanted to spare them. That’s why he left. His love for them shines through in this.

And in fact, Paul sees himself as their spiritual father, in a sense, because he founded that congregation. And as a father, he expects obedience. And I think that’s the love we see here. 1 Corinthians 4:14, “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children, I warn you,” Paul says. His love is shining through in these verses.

Now, that doesn’t mean that Paul condoned or ignored what they were doing at all. We know he didn’t. We see him not doing that here, not ignoring it. But he treats them as a father would treat his children, dealing with his children. That’s what we see here.

Verse 24 - Helpers of Joy, Not Lords

Verse 24: “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand.”

Paul was not being heavy-handed at all, just the opposite. His decision not to come earlier was because of his restraint. He refused to exercise his own authority among them, even when that would have vindicated him if he had done that at that time. But rather than fight for his own reputation, He wanted to fight for their joy, their joy. It’s a beautiful, beautiful picture of Paul’s love for them.

Now his statement that he wanted to spare them really touches on two issues. One, his love for them, and second, his authority over them. Now some in Corinth may have protested that Paul really didn’t love them. But from his perspective, it was an act of love not to come out there and dish out punishment. He didn’t want to do that. He wanted to avoid that if he could.

But in stating that, Paul is also making it clear he had the authority to do that had he wanted to. Paul had authority over them. If he could spare them, that means he could also punish them. But he’s very sensitive about how they perceive that. He doesn’t want to suggest that he could just come over there as their as their taskmaster and start cracking the whip. He doesn’t want to leave that impression with them at all.

One Lord Only

You know, there are today many who kind of set themselves up as great religious leaders and theological gurus, like they have dominion over the faith of other people. certainly see it in cults, but we also see it when very popular preachers are kind of treated as a cult figure. But not even the Apostle Paul had dominion over someone else’s faith. Ephesians 4, 4 through 6 tells us there is one Lord. One Lord. Apostles were not lords over the church. And certainly today, the elders, the preachers, no one is a Lord over the Lord’s church except the Lord who owns that church, the Lord Jesus Christ. One Lord, one Lord. And Paul had no business and no intention of taking that role on for himself.

Paul didn’t browbeat the Corinthians like some dictator or manage their lives He believed in persuasion, not coercion, and that’s why he wrote this letter that he did. How he uses his authority over that congregation is certainly one thing that distinguished Paul from the false interlopers who were there, the false apostles. They were exercising lordship. They were throwing around their authority as a so-called apostle, but they were false apostles.

Standing by Faith

Now, some translations here have Paul affirming that they stand firm in the faith, “because you stand firm in the faith,” it would say, while others have, “because it is by faith ye stand firm.” With the second translation, which I think is the better choice, “because it is by faith you stand firm,” Paul is telling them how to stand firm. They do not stand firm because Paul is controlling them as Lord of their faith. They do not stand firm because some false apostle is behind the scenes controlling them. They stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ as the one Lord, the one Lord of Ephesians.

Questions and Looking Ahead

Questions about chapter one. Questions, comments about chapter one? We’ve actually made it to the end of a chapter.

Next week, we’ll start in with chapter 2, and Paul is really continuing the discussion. The chapter break between the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2 is a little unfortunate because he’s really continuing with what he was saying in the final two verses of chapter one. And he’s going to continue talking about his change in travel plans.

And we’re going to see in chapter 2 a number of things. One thing we’re going to see is that words for pain occur so often in this letter. We’re going to see it in chapter 2. We talked earlier that comfort is a word that’s really throughout 2 Corinthians. But if you have comfort in a letter a lot of times, then you might expect pain to be in the same letter a lot of times, and it is. And in fact, Philippians is sometimes called the letter of joy, and 2 Corinthians could, I think, possibly be called the letter of pain.

The Corinthians were, in many ways, Paul’s trouble children. It caused him a lot of trouble and a lot of pain. And we’re going to see that as we move into chapter 2.

Now, one of the things we’re going to discuss in chapter 2, and if you’ve been reading the text ahead of time, which I always recommend is a very good idea, is to try to figure out who is this person that caused so much trouble and seems to have repented here. Who is this person that’s mentioned here in chapter two? And we’re going to go through a number of possibilities next week.

Closing

Thank you so much for your attention. Next week, we’ll pick up a chapter two, and our plan is to finish chapter three by the end of September. Let’s have our closing prayer.