2 Corinthians 23

In conclusion, Paul teachings help us to understand how God views sin and its consequences. His message also reveals God’s righteousness and forgiveness through Christ. Our natural world, our human

The Apostle Paul, during his ministry, writes 14 letters. This is almost TRIPLE the number of books written by Moses. He also conducts at least several missionary journeys that take him to Asia Minor, Syria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Britain, and elsewhere. He went in and evangelizes countless cities and helps train others to do the same as himself. His very intense dedication to the calling God gave him, came at a large price. He ends up spending at least five total years of his ministry in prison, is whipped five times and beaten three times with rods. He also survives a stoning while preaching and endures a large shipwreck in the Mediterranean. He ultimately experiences martyrdom at the hands of the Romans. His impact on Christianity and Christian beliefs is truly enormous. He truly was a remarkable man used by

He chose Ephesus, a leading town and the capital of the Roman area of Asia, to build and establish a church (Elwell and Yarbrough 227). This very worthwhile journey lasted for over three years, which was 54-57 AD. Paul observed the conversion of many hearts of those who were formerly devil worshipers (Elwell and Yarbrough 227). Paul departed Ephesus and went to Macedonia and Greece where he inspired churches in Athens, Corinth, Berea, Thessalonica, and Philippi. He spent three months in Greece writing to the Christians in Rome. This was Paul’s most famous letter. The letter details the gospel and the association of the Jews and the Gentiles. Paul completes his journey by going back to Jerusalem. At the request of the Jewish leaders, he is arrested by the Romans (Bartholomew and Goheen 202-203). Paul stayed in prison for two years, and eventually the charges were dropped (Elwell and Yarbrough 228-229). He is the one that delivered the gospel from the original Jewish environment to the Gentiles, and as a great missionary helped to nourish churches, furthering God’s Kingdom (Bartholomew and Goheen

After that Saul was refered to as Paul. He left his old life and began his mission as a amasador of Christ’s message to all the world, or the world as it was known at that time. He left Jerusalem and began his missionary journeys, at least five of them. He went to Asia minor (modern Turkey), Syria, Greece, Italy, Spain even Britian.Paul trained Timothy and John Mark. He was so dedicated to the calling Jesus put on him that he paid for it spending five years or more in prison for his teachings and faith on multiple occasions. He was whipped bewaten and tortured on more than one occasion. He even lived through a stoning attempt and being shipwrecked. He paid the ultimate price with his life as a martyr at the hands of the Romans.

Christianity over the course of history has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way believers conduct themselves. It provides morals, practices and ethics that every Christian attempts to live by. Throughout the many denominations in the Christian church, Paul of Tarsus had a significant influence on the faith. His contribution to the development and expression of Christianity is immense and can be seen to stem from his writing and missionary journeys which have implemented his ideas and interpretations onto the development of Christianity. After Jesus, Paul was arguably the most significant figure in Christianity as his teachings form a significant part of the New Testament. Like may other Pharisees of that time in history, Paul sought to suppress the early Christian movement. He accused early Christians of blaspheming against God and breaking Mosaic Law. However, Paul had a life-changing experience when he had a vision of Jesus, and he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary for the early church. Centuries after his ministry, his teachings still influence Christian theology.

In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this

Friend…‘Paul began as a prisoner’, BUT ‘he ended as the captain’. What a difference it makes when a person has faith in God! Instead of vainly wishing for a change (Acts 27:29) or selfishly trying to escape (Acts 27:30), Paul got ready for the demands that would come at

The letters that survived became part of the bible. Paul's writings are important because they provide good advice for how christians should live their daily life. While preparing for a missionary trip to Spain, he was imprisoned in Caesarea by the Jews for two years, but that didn't stop him. After he was released, he traveled again and was imprisoned for another two years for preaching in Rome.

Paul's wrote four letters or PRISON epistles while in prison during his journeys, they were; Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. I doubt Paul expected to be thrown in prison but he knew he would be persecuted. He made a bad situation work for him and continued to preach and write gospels. Paul was a very good teacher and devout follower of Christ; he traveled thousands of miles, founded churches, preached wherever he could and endured horrific conditions. Paul was Forgiving-In the Book of Philemon when Onesimus, a slave, ran away from his master, Philemon, he ended up meeting Paul. Paul knew he was a thief and he was also friends with Philemon. After that meeting, Onesimus became converted and Paul wrote to Philemon, asking him

His death was due to being beheaded after being captured and arrested for being a follower of Jesus. Both through his life and death, Saint Paul would remain faithful to God and Jesus. He was willing to die for his cause as he had already had many accomplishments in spreading Christianity. This made him a Christian Martyr or in other words a person dies for their Christian faith. It is fascinating that not only did, Saint Paul convert to Christianity from being a prosecutor of their faith, he was also died for the cause with no regrets. In his last letter, he wrote, “If God is for us, who is against us?…Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,…nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This showed that he had complete faith in God and was not worried about his upcoming

His entire character, values, and purpose was altered. When he met Christ he became new. "[Paul was] an intolerant, bitter, persecuting, religious bigot — proud and temperamental. After his conversion it pictures him as patient, kind, enduring, and self-sacrificing” (McDowell, 119).When he met Christ he became new.

The Book of Corinthians in literary genre terms is defined as Religious text. The Apostle Paul wrote the Book of Corinthians in or around 56 A.D. The primary personalities mentioned in the book are the Apostle Paul himself, Timothy, and Chloe’s household. The main goal of writing the book of 1st Corinthians was to address the underlying problems and abuses of the church in Corinth, notably divisiveness and immorality. It was Paul’s goal to try and correct the disorders of the Church as he individually addresses each problem within the chapters. In Chapters 1-4, the Apostle Paul targets problems that he had received in reports occurring in the Church.

For some background information on Paul. His original name was Sual in Hebrews announced in the new testaments. He was yoked to a rabbi so he can become a rabbi him self. Paul converted to christianity when he saw the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the road of Damascus. During his life he created three big ministries to travel through the Roman Empire, and he did this because he was planting churches. His goal was to preach to the new Christians the word of God, and to give encouragement. Paul started his mission because the Lord asked of him to do so, and so the Lord provided him with wisdom and strength to for fill his journey.

One may wonder why God allowed this to happen to such a faithful servant. Paul had left everything he knew to serve Christ. He gave up fame and fortune to tell the world about Jesus. He surrendered power and position to be a bond-slave for Christ. He probably suffered the loss of some friendships due to his convictions. Yet, the difference he made will only be fully revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. At the Judgment Seat of Christ he will hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21) Then all will see that every sacrifice Paul made could not compare to the joy, and reward of serving Christ. The goal of every child of God should be to hear the Lord say those words on that great judgment day. Life is all about pleasing God. The way to a meaningful life is to dedicate your life to God and to the spreading of His Word.

Although Paul has this past and has been forgiven and saved, he still struggles with it. He states, ““For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (ESV Colossians 1:29). He realizes that he has been given power, but also struggles with it because of the persecution he was doing to the Christians. What he writes however, in Colossians 3:11 which is, “There is not, Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all,” is used to help the church, but it also can be used as a reminder to himself (ESV Colossians 3:11). He is a Christian and therefore his past no longer matters. He uses the very distinct opposites to emphasize that God sees us all as equal, so we should see each other in the same way. By referencing struggles that occurred in his own past in a subtle and almost unnoticeable way, it creates a personal bond with all those who read the passage, and he is creating credibility of himself by showing that he has changed as well. David Guzik states that, “This work of the new creation not only deals with the old man and gives us the new man patterned after Jesus Christ; it also breaks down the barriers that separate people in society. Among new creation people it doesn 't matter if one is Greek or Jew or circumcised or uncircumcised or a Scythian or a slave or a free man. All those barriers are broken down.” (David Guzik Commentary on the Bible) Paul reminds the church that