2nd Corinthians Lesson 9

2 Corinthians 2:5-

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

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Lesson Transcript

Opening

Good evening. Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians. We are in chapter 2, 2 Corinthians. We ended last week. We were looking at verse 5. The topic we were looking at at the end of class last week involved the person that is under discussion here in these opening verses of chapter 2. Someone had apparently caused quite a great deal of trouble. It looks like they had now repented, and Paul is now dealing with how the church should treat this person.

Our question at the end of class last week was: Who is this person? Who is this person who caused so much trouble and Paul is now dealing with here? And we talked about what I called the ancient view, ancient commentaries, and they were almost unanimous in their view that this person was the man guilty of incest, living with his father’s wife, who Paul discussed in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

But then I also mention that the majority of modern commentaries reject that view, in fact, emphatically reject that view that it’s the man guilty of incest in 1 Corinthians 5. And we went over the various reasons that they give for rejecting that view. And we also, I think, pointed out some weaknesses in their arguments for rejecting that view.

Modern Views on the Offender’s Identity

But I do want to say a little bit more about the modern commentators because you might be wondering, well, if it’s not the man, the 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Then who do they think it is? Who do the modern commentaries think is under discussion here? And they have a variety of candidates for that.

Before I mention the candidates, though, let me mention something else. We discussed this sorrowful letter that Paul wrote, that’s mentioned here, a letter that he wrote that made the Corinthians sorrowful. And we discussed a possibility that that might have actually been 1 Corinthians, the first letter that we have in the Bible, as opposed to some letter that has been lost.

If, in fact, this person here is the man guilty of incest from 1 Corinthians 5, then 1 Corinthians is not the sorrowful letter. How do we know that? Well, it’s because this sorrowful letter was written in response to the Corinthians’ reaction to the command that Paul had given in 1 Corinthians 5. So there must be some letter that he wrote that we don’t have, if in fact this person is the man guilty of incest in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

Alternative Candidates

Now some commentaries think, well, no, this is not that person. And they say this is someone who is taking legal action against another member of the church there. Well, that is another problem that Paul dealt with in 1 Corinthians. He dealt with that in 1 Corinthians 6. So I suppose that’s a possibility. You know, that’s kind of speculative.

Another says, no, it’s one of those false apostles we’ve been hearing about. It’s one of the false apostles. And I’m thinking, well, you know, there may be a false apostle involved here that was somehow pulling the strings of this person and getting this person to do some things, but the false apostles were really coming in as outsiders to the congregation, as we’ll see more as we move through the letter of 2 Corinthians. And it seems odd that Paul would be calling them to restore an outsider. Also, it seems unlikely that this outsider, this false apostle, would be so overwhelmed by grief if, in fact, the Corinthians were to reject him in some way, which we see both in the first letter and the second letter. And it’s also a little hard to explain Paul’s compassion for this person, if in fact this is one of those false apostles. Now, true, if he’d repented, then that could explain that. But when we study these false apostles later in this letter, I think we may decide that it’s unlikely that this person is one of those false apostles.

Another, which I thought was kind of an intriguing suggestion, was someone said, “Well, maybe this is a person who stole money designated for the collection.” Someone in the congregation who had dipped their hand in the collection plate and stolen money. And then this person denied the charges and perhaps somehow implicated Paul. You know, Paul wasn’t there. So maybe this person said, “Well, I didn’t take it. Paul must have taken it.” I mean, who knows what they said? We do know that there is some, certainly, some tension here about the collection involving Paul. We’re going to see that as we move through here. That there’s some tension between the Corinthians and the collection for the saints in Jerusalem involving Paul. So possible. Again, just total speculation there, though.

The majority of these commentaries just think this is some unknown person, likely a recent member, who led a revolt against Paul. And that may also be the case that we just that it’s someone that’s not mentioned elsewhere in the scriptures.

Defense of the Traditional View

Now, the modern reader, which certainly includes us, can only guess really who this certain one is who had grieved Paul, who had grieved the church. But I do think the modern commentaries have been much too quick to dismiss the man guilty of incest in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 as the prime candidate for the person under discussion here.

Paul’s call for the church to carry out extreme disciplinary measures in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 5, is almost unique in his letters, the extreme nature of the discipline there. And it seems to me it would be very strange if Paul just never mentioned that again and never broached the subject again. Never even commended the Corinthians perhaps for obeying his commands in 1 Corinthians 5 or brought up the fact that they had failed to do so. And if in fact this is not the person guilty of incest here, then that’s what happened. Paul never raised the issue again.

Paul had warned the Corinthians that he was prepared to come to them with a rod, with a rod, if they did not heed what he had said. And he made that statement in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, toward the end of that chapter, right before he then moved into 1 Corinthians 5 and talked about the man living with his father’s wife.

I think it’s very possible that Paul did come to them, and he was prepared to come to them with a rod. And he was confronted by this person, but rather than give them the discipline that was their due, Paul left and wrote that sorrowful letter and is now writing back to them. Again, I think we see the love for Paul, love of Paul for the Corinthians here.

The Character of the Offender

There’s no way for us to know all that went on with this man guilty of incest in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. But we know from 1 Corinthians that somehow he had gained the congregation’s support in this. And in fact, in chapter 5, verse 2, Paul says, “You’re puffed up,” talking to the Corinthian Christians. They’re not grieving over the immorality in the church. They were arrogant. They were puffed up about it.

That type of a person is also, I think, the most likely to hold a grudge against Paul. Reject his Paul’s interference in this man’s life. “Paul, who are you to tell me how to live?” You can almost see this person saying. I’m sure he resisted Paul’s efforts there to get him out of the church and to purify the church. And perhaps he was mocking Paul to his face when Paul arrived on that painful visit.

This person may have been very wealthy and very powerful. He may have been just the sort of person to bully the congregation into doing what he wanted them to do. He probably would have also been likely to resort to the Roman custom, which was to publicly ridicule enemies with invective, intending to humiliate them and to divest them of all their friends. That’s the way the Romans operated.

If you want to see kind of the Roman custom. And I’m not getting political here, but look at Donald Trump, right? I mean, when Donald Trump is attacked, how does he respond? Right? He goes for the throat. That’s the Roman way. That is the Roman way. Never back down. Never apologize. Just go in for the throat. And this may have been very how this person responded when Paul said: look what this person’s doing. He’s doing something even the pagans would not do. And this person may have then come back and confronted Paul with that.

Connection to False Apostles

And I mentioned before that the false apostles may have been involved here. I don’t think this person was one, but he would have gotten a lot from courting the false apostles. Why? Because this person wanted to undermine Paul. Because Paul was the person saying, “look at the sin in this man’s life.” So, this person would have gone to a false apostle and said, “Paul’s not even a real apostle. Look, here are the apostles over here.” So, I think the false apostles may have been involved here indirectly.

I mentioned he may have been wealthy, he may have been influential. Maybe he put the most money in that collection plate. And you know, if the congregation was reluctant to discipline him because he gave the most. It may have been the first instance of it, but it certainly was not the last instance of what I sometimes call collection plate theology, where the theology starts bending as soon as the collection plate’s involved. And this may have been an example of that.

The Result of Discipline

If this incestuous man was, in fact, the one who brought grief to the church, then Paul’s letter apparently gave the congregation there the courage to do what they needed to do. Paul understood forgiveness, and he was quick to forgive others when they, as Paul had, had repented. Paul wanted this person expelled from the fellowship in hopes that he would repent, that that would shock him and cause him to change his ways. And if this is the person then it worked. It worked because this person now has repented. He did change his ways eventually. Not, it seems, until after he’d personally confronted Paul and caused some insults and harm there. But it looks like he had, in fact, repented, as we’re reading here in chapter 2.

Now that he’s repented, Paul has another worry. Paul is worried that Satan will somehow gain an advantage, and he’ll mention that in verse 11. Satan had had him long enough. Paul wants him to be forgiven, wants him to be restored, so that his excessive sorrow will not overwhelm him. Paul knows that Satan will try to undermine that reconciliation and that forgiveness.

Paul’s Personal Connection

Now, the sin of incest certainly did not wrong Paul personally, but Paul does identify himself very closely with the congregation and with the church there, so in that sense, it could be said to wrong Paul. Later in chapter 11, verse 29, Paul will write, “Who is weak and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin and I do not inwardly burn?” In other words, Paul is feeling the pain that they’re feeling. So that certainly may be the what Paul’s talking about here when he’s characterizing it as a personal affront to him.

But keep in mind, I think there’s an additional offense here. I think there’s the offense of this person when Paul arrived on that painful visit and was confronted. Affronted by this person, rebuked by this person, publicly attacked by this person, I think that is also a big part of the offense that Paul’s talking about here.

Later in chapter 7, as I mentioned, Paul’s going to come back to all this, and he’s going to mention the one who was offended in chapter 7, verse 12. So, you know, that’s going to be a question for us when we get there. Who is this person who is offended? If this is the person guilty of incest, then some have said, well, the one offended was the father. He’s living with his father’s wife, so it’s the father who is offended. But I think more likely the one wronged to one offended in chapter 7 was Paul himself. And I think he may be referring there to that subsequent event where the man insulted him and undermined his authority.

We can never know for sure on this, certainly. We cannot be dogmatic on this. I think the strongest case is for the man guilty of incest in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. That’s my personal opinion on who this is, but we cannot know for sure.

The Whole Church Is Affected

It is frequently difficult for those who think they’re kind of standing on the sidelines and not directly involved in personal disputes in the church to really see how they’re directly affected by that. And I think a lot of these Corinthians were probably thinking, well, I’m just going to sit over here on the sideline and watch it play out, and it’s not affecting me. That’s not the way it works in the church. That’s not the way it works.

Disputes in the church affect everybody in the church, whether or not they are personally or directly involved. Disputes in the church damage the entire congregation. In this instance here, the disputes even had repercussions on people outside of Corinth, which we’ll see in just a moment.

If this offender was that incestuous man, his very presence in that congregation was a spiritual contagion. He was infecting the whole group, the whole congregation. That’s why Paul dealt with it so sternly and so strongly in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

The church is a body. The church is a body. And any problem with the body, wherever it is in the body, affects the entire body. It affects the entire body. And we need to see the church that way and realize we can’t stand on the sidelines because it’s affecting the body, and we’re a part of the body.

Verse 6 - Sufficient Punishment

Verse 6: “Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.”

Well, now Paul doesn’t specify what the punishment was here. We could discern a few things from 1 Corinthians 5 if that’s the person in view here. I don’t think it was just a simple reprimand, though. Well, why? Well, because the wording here shows that it was an enduring punishment, something that could be started and something that could be finished. Stopped. So it was something that was ongoing.

The reference here to the many or to the majority I think tells us again that this church is split, this congregation is split into a majority who have now repented or who are supporting Paul, and a minority who are still supporting the false apostles and possibly were still on this man’s side prior to his repentance. And we’ll see Paul’s comments to that minority when we get toward the end of 2 Corinthians. We do know that there’s still a minority there who reject Paul’s authority.

Now, some of those who supported Paul might have even felt that this penalty, whatever it was, was not enough. They may have thought it was inadequate. They may have wanted to take even stronger measures. And that may also be in play here. Paul wants them to stop it because the man has repented. Paul has no interest here in retribution. The goal was reached when repentance occurred, and that means the punishment can end.

Paul’s Character

You know, I’ve mentioned it before. I’ll say it again. You read through this letter, this idea that some people have that Paul was rigid and combative and harsh. That is not the Apostle Paul of the Bible. That is not the Apostle Paul of the New Testament and of 2 Corinthians or any letter. That is not Apostle Paul.

If that’s Apostle Paul, then why on that sorrowful visit didn’t he just strike that man dead? He didn’t do that. He could have, right? He didn’t do that. That’s not Apostle Paul. Wouldn’t that have fit the image that a lot of people have of the Apostle Paul, though, better than what we actually see here?

We’re so accustomed to see the Apostle Paul as always armed for warfare and sheathed in logic and bristling with arguments and ready to go. But what we see here is a Paul who is humble, who is forgiving, full of tender compassion and love for the Corinthians, that’s the Apostle Paul of the New Testament.

In fact, his forbearance here, his forbearance, may have been one of the criticisms that they had of Paul. In person, Paul is just too humble. He’s too weak. He’s too meek. You know, that’s kind of what we see as we look through 2 Corinthians and we get to chapter 10. So they were kind of using that against Paul. If Paul had wanted to counter that, maybe he should have just shown up and struck the man dead. But that’s not how the Apostle Paul operated.

His encouragement to forgive, in fact, may have been taken by them as one of his shortcomings. But Paul’s actions here did not come from weakness, not at all. They came from the cross. They came from the cross of Christ.

Strength from Weakness

And we see here another wonderful example of strength from weakness, strength from weakness, because repentance occurred. So a brother was saved from this. Paul had no desire to overwhelm his opponents, as the Roman way was, not even on those who had grievously injured him, as this man apparently had done. When his antagonist was down, what did Paul do? Paul asked everyone to join together in lifting him up. And that’s what we’re seeing here. Beautiful, beautiful picture.

Paul says the punishment had been sufficient, and it’s now fitting that they forgive and restore this person. The one who lost here was Satan. Satan was the one who lost here. The brother was one back. The congregation had him back again in their number. The one who lost was Satan.

Verses 7-8 - Forgiveness and Comfort

Verses 7 and 8: “So that contrarywise ye ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.”

Someone had hurt Paul. Someone had hurt people that Paul considered his children. But Paul did not gloat over the fact that that person had now received his comeuppance and was now overweighed by sorrow. He did not say, “I’m glad that one got what he deserved.” Paul said, “take him back.” Paul said, “reaffirm your love for him.” Paul said, “forgive him, comfort him.”

We can draw some very important insights from how Paul approached this situation, this conflict.

First: Paul Emphasizes Forgiveness

First, Paul emphasizes forgiveness here. C. S. Lewis said, “We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it.” And I fear that’s sometimes the case. True forgiveness does not excuse the sin. Paul did not do that. True forgiveness certainly did not ignore the sin. Paul certainly did not do that.

Love may be unconditional, that God’s love for the world is unconditional, but forgiveness is not unconditional. John 3:16, which is often quoted, said, God loves the whole world, unconditionally, loves the whole world, but does He forgive the whole world? John 3:16 tells us He does not. Forgiveness is not unconditional.

The forgiveness mentioned here followed repentance, it required repentance, and repentance occurred here. If repentance had not been required, then why didn’t Paul just tell them to forgive the offender in 1 Corinthians 5 rather than to expel him? They expelled him so he would repent. That’s why they expelled him, so he would repent, which he did. Then he returned. That is the time for forgiveness.

God does not forgive us absent repentance, and He commands us to do what? To forgive others. As we have been forgiven. Forgiveness requires repentance.

Second: Paul Instructs Them to Comfort

Second, Paul instructs them to comfort the offender, to comfort the offender. We’ve looked at the word comfort in this beautiful letter. We know what it involves. It involves dealing, supporting him, encouraging him, helping him. Making sure he’s not overwhelmed by grief and guilt over what he had done now that he had come back and repented.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:11 and 12, Paul uses that same verb to describe his dealing with them as a father deals with his own children, “encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and his glory.” That’s the attitude: encouraging, comforting, urging.

It does not mean you make that person feel comfortable about their past sin. Instead, it means you lead that person to a godly sorrow over that past sin, one that leads to repentance, one that leads to forgiveness.

Third: Paul Underscores the Need to Show Love

Third, Paul underscored their need to show love for this person. Love for this person. He’ll tell something very similar to the Colossians, in Colossians 3, 12 through 14: “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

There is no better description there than what we just saw there of how to welcome a returning brother who has repented and come back to the Lord’s church. That’s how they are to be welcomed.

The Danger of Excessive Sorrow

Paul knows so well what it is like to be burdened by sorrow, to be burdened by sorrow, and he does not want anyone else to suffer from that. He worries this man might be overwhelmed, literally drowned or swallowed, is what the Greek says, by excessive sorrow.

As Christians, we’re to live triumphantly, triumphantly, knowing that our sins have been forgiven. And we cannot do that if we are consumed by an excessive all consuming guilt over sins that have been forgiven now. They’ve been forgiven. We must not be consumed by guilt over forgiven sins. Otherwise, we cannot live triumphantly in Christ.

That past disgrace certainly may continue to be a burden to the offender, but he doesn’t have to carry that load alone, does he? Because they’re all there to help him bear that burden. Yes, we’re free to choose our actions, but we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions. And so there may have been some consequences that continued. But if there were, he had fellow Christians, those in Christ, to help him bear those.

The Balance of Church Discipline

The issue of church discipline is a very difficult one, and the danger is that we will go to one extreme or the other. On the one hand, we may not want to do anything when someone’s guilty of an offense that brings disgrace upon the congregation. We may want to bury our heads in the sand, hope it will all just go away. But we know that doesn’t work. And that’s certainly not what Paul told the Corinthians to do.

But on the other hand, we may be tempted to go too far so that our discipline becomes destructive rather than constructive. And again, that’s not what Paul told them to do. Paul told them to expel the person so he would repent. And when he repented, Paul said to welcome him back. So we need to make sure in exercising church discipline that we follow the example, the pattern left for us in the Word of God.

Never Write Someone Off

One final lesson on this. If this person was the man guilty of incest, the person who confronted Paul in open rebellion, are we surprised he repented? We should never, never write someone off as lost forever. While Jesus continues to look for that person’s return, the elder brother likely rode off his younger brother for good when he left for that far country. But the Father didn’t. He watched and waited for his return.

While God is watching for a brother’s return from that far country, we must always continue to watch and pray. Never, never write someone off while God is waiting for that person to return.

Verse 9 - A Test of Obedience

Verse 9: “For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether you be obedient in all things.”

Paul explains that the reason he wrote to them, instead of coming to them in person and taking the discipline into his own hands that they deserved, was that he wanted them to accept responsibility. He wanted them to take action. He wanted them to grow up, is what he wanted them to do.

In chapter 13, verse 3, Paul will say that they wanted to test his character. And the word translated there is the same word we see here in chapter 2, verse 9, translated proof. But later in chapter 13, Paul will turn things around and he’ll say, “They are to test themselves.” You wanted to test me? You test yourselves, Paul will tell them in chapter 13, verses 5-7.

The True Test of Good Character

And Paul gives us the test here in verse nine, doesn’t he? The world has a lot to say about good character, doesn’t it? And we see so much of it in this political time in which we live, and it seems like we see more and more about it. what it takes to be good character. What does that mean? The world gives us many tests.

Most in the world would say it means to be open and tolerant. To never cause offense to anyone in anything you say or do. Just live and let live. And open, that’s what they would say, is involved in good character. That the world would say is the proof of good character.

But Paul here in verse 9 gives us the true test of good character. A person of good character in the sight of God is a person who is obedient in all things. That is the test of good character. That is the only test of good character. Not open, tolerant, live and let live, whatever goes, goes. That’s not good character. Obedience to God in all things. That is the proof, the test of good character.

Verse 10 - Paul’s Forgiveness

Verse 10: “To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also. For if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave it, I in the person of Christ.”

Paul continues his very tactful approach with this person who has repented. He even says here, “if there was anything to forgive.” Now, if that sin was incest, I don’t think Paul would have said “if there was anything to forgive” here, but I think here he’s referring to that rebellion, that personal assault upon Paul when he came on that very brief visit.

I think this shows us Paul does not hold personal grudges. His response is very charitable here. But it’s not meant to win friends. Paul recognizes there would have been no victory at all for the church or for him if he had triumphed personally in this dispute and yet he’d lost a brother, or he’d left a congregation riddled with dissension. Paul wanted unity in Christ. He wanted restoration of this lost brother. That was Paul’s goal here.

In the Face of Christ

He says, “I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake.” It literally means “in the face of Christ.” And it could have a variety of different meanings. It might mean in the light of the forgiveness that they had all received in Christ. That’s a possibility. I think a better view, though, is that it means in the presence of Christ, in the sense that Christ. Looking on with approval here as a witness as to what is going on.

Jesus is the head of the church. Jesus is watching over the church. We see that throughout the Bible, throughout the New Testament. We see that in Revelation with the letters to the seven congregations, Jesus is intimately concerned with the church. He was then, he still is today. Jesus is watching over what we do, he’s watching his church “in the face of Christ.” I think that’s what it means here.

It’s comparable again to the father of the prodigal son, how that father would have looked on with approval had that elder brother accepted his younger brother back with love and forgiveness. Can you imagine that parable if that had occurred? and how that father would have looked on at that situation with such joy and the reconciliation between the brothers. That’s what was happening here. It didn’t happen in the parable of the prodigal son, but that’s what was happening here. And I think we see Christ looking on and seeing that happen “in the face of Christ.”

Christ Is Watching

But that also reminds us that that forgiveness cannot be mindless, it cannot be indulgent. Because Christ is our judge. Christ is looking on. He’s looking on at us. And if we forgive too easily or we refuse to forgive, if we go wrong one way or wrong the other way, Christ is looking. He’s watching. We’re doing what we do “in the face of Christ.”

Are we to forgive that which Christ Himself has not forgiven? If we pretend we can forgive an unrepentant sinner, then aren’t we doing more harm than good if Christ has not forgiven that person? We are doing what we do “in the face of Christ.”

Since the punishment was for their sake, the forgiveness is also for their sake. Paul’s concern is with the whole group, not just with the offender, but with the whole congregation. And that forgiveness means the differences between Paul and that person are healed. The differences between Paul and the congregation are healed. The differences between that person and the rest of the congregation they’re healed. All healed through the forgiveness and the repentance. Beautiful picture. Not only of church discipline, but church discipline that worked, that worked, and how we are to respond after it has worked.

Verse 11 - Satan’s Devices

Verse 11: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Paul’s final comments here about this dispute raise our eyes to God and to what’s going on in that unseen spiritual world that surrounds us. Satan is mentioned here. He’s also mentioned in chapter 11, verse 14. He’s mentioned in chapter 12, verse 7. He’s called the God of this age in Chapter 4, verse 4, he’s called Belial, and chapter 6, verse 15. He’s called the serpent, in 11, verse 3.

Satan is real. Satan is active. And here we find out that Satan has devices. I think we should ask ourselves the same question Paul is asking. Are we ignorant of Satan’s devices? Do we know how Satan uses the things of this world to lure us away from God and his church? Are we perhaps unaware that we’ve already been caught in that net?

Satan is real. He’s active. He’s out there. And we’re his target.

Satan’s Goal

The verb in verse 11 can mean gain advantage or outwit. It can also mean rob. And Satan will rob the church of a member if he can. That’s his goal. If Paul refers to the man from 1 Corinthians 5, as I think likely, then they may have turned him over to Satan, as they were commanded to do in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 5. But Satan cannot keep that person if he repents and returns. But if the church did not forgive him, if the church made him feel excessively sorrowful and guilty so that it swallowed him up then Satan would gain that person back.

If the church stubbornly blacklisted that person, even though he had genuinely repented, then they bear the responsibility for driving that person back into Satan’s clutches. We can only ponder, for example, what might have happened in the parable of the prodigal son if that elder brother had been the first to meet that returning younger brother. If he’d never gotten the opportunity to see his father, if that elder brother had seen him coming and run out there and told him, “You’re not welcome here, go back, leave, get away.” Can you imagine how that parable would have ended in that case?

In this passage, I think Paul reveals that showing forgiveness to the repentant, the one who’s returned, is how the church closes the door on Satan’s evil designs to destroy that person and to ruin and harm the church.

Satan’s Kingdom vs. God’s Kingdom

Satan’s realm is one where immorality reigns, where there’s a thirst for revenge, where there’s ruthlessness and heartlessness. That is Satan’s kingdom. Paul describes it well in Romans 1:31: “Foolish, faithless, heartless. Ruthless.” That’s Satan’s kingdom.

Those who are in Christ have received God’s pardon, God’s forgiveness. They’ve been transformed into the kingdom of light, kingdom of his dear Son. Where what? Where faith, hope, love, mercy rule. That is what rules in the kingdom of God. And Satan is powerless before such a kingdom.

Satan’s goal is always to foil the work of reconciliation. Satan can be behind moral laxity, the anything goes idea. But Satan can also be behind the callous inflexibility that everyone goes who does not tow the line. Out the door they go.

Satan can use the church’s permissiveness in failing to chastise sinners in their midst to bring it to ruin, certainly. But he can also use the church’s rigidity in failing to forgive those who return to bring it to ruin.

One commentary said that all too often efforts to remove evil may lead to the ultimate triumph of evil. And we need to be aware that Satan can be at work even in attempts to purify the church. When the man repented and returned, he was to be welcomed back and forgiven.

Satan’s Most Dangerous Time

A situation that requires forgiveness like that one is the time where Satan can work his worst, where Satan can be the most dangerous, where Satan can flame the fans, the flames of hurt and the inferno of hostility. And in fact, the next two verses are going to show us how Satan’s schemes in this conflict can undermine the preaching, the proclamation of the gospel.

Paul’s concluding greetings in Romans 16, verse 20, which we know is written from Corinth, is that “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” I love that verse. The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. That’s the God of peace crushing Satan under your feet. Satan is the enemy of peace. And how is he defeated? By reconciliation, by the kingdom of God.

Closing

Next week, we’ll start with verse 12. Thank you so much for your attention. Let’s have our closing prayer.