2 Corinthians 2:1-4 – Discipline Comes From Love
This passage really demonstrates, in a practical way, the working out of Christian correction. The main idea is that Christian love governs correction. By way of introduction, I need to remind you of what has happened beforehand. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, Paul confronted a very specific sin in the Corinthian church. There’s immorality that was not just being accepted in the Corinthian church, but they were even boasting about their broad-mindedness. Paul spoke with the authority as an elder and apostle of the church to condemn that relationship and to condemn the church for their practice in this case. His judgment was that that man ought to be delivered over to Satan. And he uses very strong language here to describe a putting out of the visible church of one who had been accepted. We understand this as the practice of excommunication, a saying to an individual that your actions are not in accord with a profession of faith in Christ, that your actions are demonstrating instead a careless disregard for loving God and following after Him, and it’s a trampling Christ underfoot. Paul then found out that the Corinthians did not listen to his counsel. He came on his way to Macedonia and he found that they were still dealing with this sin, and he confronts them again very sternly about this, describing it as a painful visit and then follows that up with a letter.
Discipline itself springs from Christian love. God does that with us. Hebrews 12 says that the Lord chastens the one that he loves. We can pray that we would be gentle under that discipline, that we would hear what the Lord is teaching us. As Christian parents, we exercise correction, we exercise discipline. Out of love, we teach and correct our children. Children can fall into a trap of thinking ‘My parents don’t love me because they correct me. My parents don’t love me because they won’t let me do whatever’. But we discipline those that we love. In the church as well, we discipline those that we love. In fact, it’s part of the commitment of the elders – that they would be shepherds of the flock that God has purchased through the blood of Jesus Christ. And it’s part of their commitment to love the congregation in a way that does correct and warn. In joining the church, you’ve affirmed that loving discipline, that oversight that comes from Christian love. By its very definition, discipline comes from love.
Question
- What is the background of this chapter?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for those who have lovingly disciplined you in your life.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.