One thing that we speak much of at Cornerstone is the need for reformation in the church today. We acknowledge that there is much going on in the church universal that is unbiblical and many things being ignored that are commands of the Scripture. However, if we’re going to talk about that, pray about it, and indeed pursue the reformation of the church, it is good for us to know what the church is supposed to look like, to be like. After all, unless we know this, what are we striving for in our prayers and labors?

So, what is the church supposed to be? What are God’s people supposed to look like? What are our priorities supposed to be? What is it that is supposed to bring us joy or sorrow? How are we to relate to one another? Indeed, it seems that this basic question needs to be answered is, “What is the church supposed to be?” or “How is the church supposed to function?” For, again, once we answer that question we can begin adjusting ourselves to the biblical portrait of the church. I fear that if we do not begin to try to answer that question by turning to the Scriptures then we are in danger of thinking our corrupted model of the church is indeed correct. It is like the story of the man who missed the target so badly when he shot his arrow that he simply redrew the target around the place where his arrow hit. We’re in danger of this generation defining the church not by the definition and picture of Scripture but by what the church now is, what they see around them, what has been their experience.

I’ve mentioned before that Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a great place to start to see a picture of the church, and I believe we’ve seen this second letter is also helpful. Specifically in our text this morning we get to see a picture of what the hearts of those who make up the church should be like as Paul reveals his own heart. Thus, instead of us learning from exhortations from Paul, we rather get to see Paul reveal his own heart and desires and learn from his example. In short, this text is tremendously helpful for us in understanding the nature of God’s people (his church) if we will look at this text as a charge from Paul saying, as he did in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.”

Therefore, I want us first to examine the text to see what’s going on so that we might understand what Paul is writing. Then, however, I want to turn the focus to ourselves in light of the text and see what we need to be about, what our hearts need to be like, in light of what we see in Paul.

Though you could break down the text a number of different ways, I think one of the easiest ways to dissect the text is by breaking it down into four sections: 2-4, 5-7, 8-13a, and 13b-16. However, in these sections Paul makes references to several things that have happened, including sending a letter, meeting with Titus, hearing of the Corinthians, etc. Therefore, it is probably best that we first get some kind of timeline in our head, at least so that we might order a few things correctly in our minds.¹

Having heard of the Corinthians being tempted and many swayed by the attacks of these false apostles against Paul, Paul writes a letter (v. 8) calling for their repentance and speaking of judgment. He then sends Titus to Corinth with the letter (v. 6), having boasted to him that the Corinthians would respond to the letter in an appropriate way (v. 14). The Corinthians welcome Titus ‘with fear and trembling’ (v. 15) and feel great sorrow at the letter so that they repent of their aligning themselves with the false apostles and false beliefs about Paul (vv. 7-9, 11-12). Titus, then, goes to Macedonia overjoyed (v. 13b), meets Paul who is downcast (v. 5-6), reports on their sorrow and repentance (vv. 7-11), and feels his own affection grow for them as he shares the news with Paul (v. 15). Paul is overjoyed at this news (vv. 6-7, 9, 13, 16), is relieved his boasting before Titus has proved true (v. 14), and writes the Corinthians assuring them they are blameless and that he has confidence in their continued obedience (vv. 11, 16).

Those events then, form the content of these verses. And understanding them, we will understand better what Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand as he wrote each of these sections. Therefore, let’s turn to look at what’s going on in each of the sections.

Paul exhorts the believers to continue on with obedience (7:2-4)

In this section we find Paul wearing a different ‘hat,’ if you will. This is no longer Paul defending himself against the attacks of the ‘super apostles’ but as a pastor exhorting the people of God. Paul completes the exhortation of his last section in which he called them not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers by showing the Corinthians what it looks like not to take up the commitments, goals, and false beliefs of others. He again comes back to his exhortation to open their hearts to him, pointing out that they have done nothing to deserve a lack of affection and trust. He then notes, however, that he does not say these things to condemn them, for they have responded in obedience. Rather, he writes these things knowing they will obey and, therefore, full of joy.

Specifically, Paul writes, “Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy” (7:2-4).

Paul wants them to know that he is writing differently. He wants them to know his love for them and how his life is wrapped up with them, even as they will undergo death and the resurrection together.

One of the most precious moments as a father is that moment right after you have to discipline your child. I might add that one of the most difficult moments as a father is having to discipline your child. It breaks my heart when I’ve been out of the house all day working, come home excited to play with Michael, and first thing he disobeys. I think, “Please don’t do this. I don’t want to have to come home and discipline first thing.” However, those moment right after he’s been disciplined is precious. He has cried, has his arms around my neck, and is finding his comfort in my arms (the very one who just had to discipline him). He is broken. And at times during that moment I will say to Michael, “You have to obey Momma and Daddy” and he says, “Yeah.” But I’m not saying it so that I take him back to the moment before he got disciplined. That has been dealt with. I say it to make sure he’s learned what this is all about and to encourage him in what I really believe he is about to do. In fact, at times, I might even say, “Michael, I’m so proud of you because I really do think you’re going to obey. I really do think your heart has changed from the time before you were disciplined to now.” It’s such a good moment.

I think more than anything else I can think of, that moment illustrates what we read in these opening three verses of our text. Paul is saying to the Corinthians, after having written to them a letter that caused them great sorrow, “Open your hearts to us. But know I’m not saying this to put you back at that moment before you repented. I’m saying this because I believe you indeed will obey. I say it because I love you and want what is best for you. And I find joy in my confidence that you will obey.” It is on that very fatherly note that Paul begins our text. Then in the second section …

Paul shares his joy because of the news from Titus (7:5-7)

Paul writes, “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn— fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more” (7:5-7).

As Paul waited in Macedonia for Titus to return, it was a terrible time for Paul. He had spent eighteen months laboring in Corinth to see this church formed. These people were individuals he deeply loved. Paul was not simply an academic wanting them to learn more information; he was a pastor, wanting to see them grow in holiness. And when he had gotten the news that they had been tempted by these false apostles to question Paul and reject him and his message – and had bought into the temptations! – he was crushed. Obviously, I believe there was some personal pain involved, but the major struggle was their souls. Paul knew that if they rejected him they were rejecting his message and that his message (the gospel) alone was their hope for salvation. So he sat in Macedonia with struggles externally going on, but even more, with his heart (and stomach, no doubt) in knots, waiting to hear from Titus and know their response. And as every second passed it no doubt seemed like an hour.

Then, at last, Titus came and met Paul in Macedonia. And he brought good news. He shared with Paul of their longing for him, mourning over their sin, and love for him. In fact, Paul describes this news as the comfort of God, that which caused him to rejoice more and more. And he writes this section wanting the Corinthians to know his joy for them, for I believe it clearly displays his love for them and concern for their souls.

In the third section, then …

Paul shares his joy because of the effect the letter had (7:8-13a)

Paul writes in this third section, “For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted” (8-13a).

I mentioned earlier the preciousness of that moment after disciplining my son and quickly referenced the difficulty of disciplining as well. Well, it’s the difficulty of disciplining that we see here. When I discipline my son it is so difficult to hear him cry and hurt as I spank him. It breaks my heart. It is especially hard when he’s become a bit compliant that moment right before he is spanked. And as I’m spanking him and hear him crying, my heart breaks. I remember mocking my parents’ line that it hurt them more than it hurt me to be spanked. I often thought, “Well, let’s just reverse the roles then.” I mock no more. It really does break your heart. And in the midst of it you can even begin to regret your actions. I might ask myself, “Do I really need to do this? Maybe he’ll be fine without it.” Regret can especially creep in as he’s holding on to me crying. However, as I mentioned, when I begin to see the change in his heart, any thoughts of regret quickly vanish, and I begin to rejoice. That seems to be what Paul wants the Corinthians to understand in verses 8-13a.

Paul wants them to know that he initially had regret when he sent the letter, knowing it would cause them pain. However, now he doesn’t. He rejoices – not because of their pain but because of what it brought about, namely, their repentance. He wants them to know again his great love for them. He had not written the letter because of his concern for himself or out of vengeance against those attacking him. He had written it for them, so that their obedience might come about and their earnestness for God and his ways might be revealed. That indeed had been the effect of the letter, and Paul rejoiced. Finally, in the last section …

Paul shares his joy because of his confidence that they would (and will) obey and the joy that brought Titus (7:13b-16)

Paul writes in the last section, “And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice, because I have perfect confidence in you” (13b-16).

As he ends the text we’re looking at this morning, Paul wanted the Corinthians to further know the joy he has in being confident that they would and will obey and the joy it brought Titus. This shows a couple of things. First, it shows the Corinthians (yet again) that Paul loves them and is for them. He wants them to know the joy it brought him to be able to say to Titus, “They’re going to obey” and then to be able to hear that they did in fact obey. However, he also wants them to see the love Titus has for them and how that demonstrates Paul’s love for them all the more.

When you really love someone, you want others to know why they’re great as well. I remember thinking this of my dad often when I grew up. He was a pretty good basketball player. And when my friends would see him play and tell me how good they thought he was, I remember almost not being able to wait to go tell him. I wanted him to know they thought well of him, and (though not consciously) I believe I wanted to express my love for him all the more in letting him see the joy it brought me to see others delighting in him.

That’s what we find in this final section. Paul is delighted at Titus’s joy in the Corinthians and wants the Corinthians to know what joy their lives have caused Titus. What an encouragement to know their holiness brought Titus joy! It is a sign of Titus’s love for them. However, at the same time, the fact that Titus’s joy over the Corinthians had brought Paul so much joy was one more reminder of how much delight he has in them, how much love he has for them. In short, our text this morning is overflowing with Paul’s love for the Corinthian church so that he longs to see Christ exalted in them.

But how does this text apply to us? Again, I think looking at Paul’s heart should be an example to us of what all believers should be like, of what the church as a whole should be like. And I think it is so crucial that we see this because I do not think Paul’s heart accurately reflects the church at all right now.

To many in our day, the church is simply something you do on Sunday morning. It’s the service you have then. You come, you sing, you sit, you listen, you leave, and that’s what the church is. Then you go through the week and live your life, possibly not thinking at all about others in the church until you see them on the next Sunday. That’s not to say you don’t have a few parties here and there with a group your age in the church, but the thought of investing your lives in seeking their holiness would seem to be a strange concept. In fact, to most in our day, the thought of involving yourself in the details of someone’s life to ensure they are walking in holiness or someone doing the same for you seems a bit over-the-top. After all, your life is your own life and theirs is theirs. That is the church in America in the twenty-first century, for the most part. That is, however, worlds apart from the picture we see in Paul in this text. So what is it then that we learn from Paul in this text? Let me point out three things.

The church must be made up of people who love God and one another enough that our lives are wrapped up in the holiness of God’s people

The picture of Paul agonizing in Macedonia, finding no rest in his body because of fear within himself because of the Corinthians’ lack of holiness might indeed be a completely foreign picture to those in the church today. We might connect it, as I have, with an image of loving your child and agonizing over his or her lack of obedience. But loving God and his people in such way that we agonize over a lack of holiness in God’s people might seem completely foreign. However, it is exactly what we see in Paul towards the church, and I believe it is a picture of what the people of God, the church, is supposed to be like.

In describing the church we should be able to say the church is God’s people, a people who love God and one another so much that our lives are wrapped up in the holiness of his people. That is, we rejoice with holiness and grieve at sin because God’s people are in our hearts.

What I have described as the typical understanding from the church is not the biblical picture, but it is the common picture. And unless we point out how far this is from the picture we see in this text, my fear is that the next generation might think of this irregularity as being what is regular and right, this departure from the Scripture as being a picture of what the church is supposed to be. We must love God and his people enough that we are bothered by the church’s unholiness and rejoice at their holiness.

Tied to that, we also see that …

The church must be made up of people who love one another enough that we are willing to confront one another in order to bring about repentance

What Paul holds up as a picture of his love for the Corinthians is his willingness to write this sorrowful letter to them, though it caused him pain to do so. That’s what he held up to display his love. Today, it is common that you would hear that the church does not want to confront one in sin because it is unloving. Is it not a sign of how far God’s people have wandered from the Scripture when we declare something as unloving that Paul holds up to display his love for God’s people?!

This is what love looks like in the church – a willingness to want holiness in another’s life to the degree that we will confront an individual if he or she is unrepentant in sin. Yes, it’s hard. Yes, it will bring tears to your eyes, for none of us delights in causing another pain or embarrassment. But wanting to avoid that pain in my own life and the pain and embarrassment it might cause more than I want another’s holiness is the height of selfishness. God forbid that the church continues to brand as loving that which is the greatest display of our own selfishness, an unwillingness to fight for the holiness of another who professes to be God’s child.

Finally, we might add, in seeing a picture of the church that …

The church must be made up of people who love God and one another enough that our basis for joy becomes our brothers and sisters growing in Christ-likeness

The basis for Paul’s joy in life was not the things he had, but it was seeing Christians grow in Christ-likeness. That must be the basis for joy of God’s people. That should be one way we’re able to define the church. When someone says, “What is the church?” one thing we should be able to say is that the church is a people called out by God who love God and one another so much that our joy is found in one another growing in becoming like Christ.

In describing the church today, Scott Hafemann has written, “We no longer gain our identity by living within the community of faith. What we love, and therefore what we get excited about, is no longer wrapped up with the progress of God’s people. The basis of our contentment is not the growing Christ-likeness of our church, but the comfort level of our personal circumstances.”²

He is no doubt right about much of the church today. But this is why we must preach the Word and pray for reformation. My prayer is that Cornerstone might long to display to those around us what the church is to look like, that we might become people with the kind of heart that we have just described and see in Paul in this text. Indeed, I pray that as we come to the table it will be a visible proclamation that, by God’s grace, our response to such a charge is, “We have heard the Word and will obey.” Our church covenant says, “We will submit ourselves to the discipline of this Church as a testimony of our desire to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. And for our brothers and sisters, we will seek their spiritual advancement as dearly as our own.” I believe that is exactly the heart we see in Paul in this text. May it truly be ours as well. Amen.

¹The following timeline is based on notes from Murray J. Harris in his The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 523-4.

²Scott Hafemann, The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 322.

AN EXAMPLE FROM PAUL AND A CALL TO EXAMINE THE CHURCH