2 Corinthians 12 (4)

Pray Psalm 52.8, 9.
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
I will praise You forever,
Because You have done it;
And in the presence of Your saints
I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

Sing Psalm 52.8, 9.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
But as for me may I be seen in God an olive ever green!
Ever in God, most kind and just, shall I with joy and gladness trust!

Thanks evermore to our Savior be raised! His faithfulness be ever praised!
Here with Your people, loving God, I wait upon Your Name, so good!

Read 2 Corinthians 12.1-15; meditate on verses 14, 15.

Preparation
1. What did Paul seek?

2. What was he glad to do?

Meditation
Paul took as the focus of his ministry the souls of those entrusted to his care. He did not seek the financial support of the Corinthians: he sought them. He sought to bring healing and renewal to their souls. Paul invested himself and all his resources and energy in nurturing his charges in their minds, hearts, and consciences.

He addressed their minds and sought to enlarge their vision and increase their knowledge, always focusing all his instruction on Christ, the treasury of wisdom and knowledge.

He addressed their hearts, challenging them to search their hearts and bring them into line with the heart of God, to love God and their neighbors according to the teaching of God’s Law.

And he addressed their consciences, the inclination of their will, challenging them to put everything in order before Christ, to follow Him in all things as Savior and King.

It will do no good merely to address the outward lives of the people to whom God sends us each day, whether to encourage them to join some class or program or patch on some practices that ought to be present in the lives of Christ’s disciples. We must speak to the inner person. All our efforts in ministry, therefore, must drive to the soul, aim at the soul, speak to the soul, and call for revival and renewal in the soul, first our own soul and then the souls of those to whom we minister.

We seek nothing for ourselves except to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ. Let us seek others, as Paul did, that they might join us in this great salvation.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Now I am coming to you again, the third time;
and it is still not going to cost you anything,
for I don’t want your money. I want you!
And anyway, you are my children
and little children don’t pay for their father’s and mother’s food—
it’s the other way around; parents supply food for their children.
I am glad to give you myself and all I have for your spiritual good,
even though it seems that the more I love you,
the less you love me” (2 Cor. 12.14, 15 TLB).

This is heart-rending. We can feel it, because we have felt this from those we love.

But Paul continued on, as we must—spending, being spent, loving, and not being loved in return.

Just like Jesus.

“What Do We Seek?”

Solomon summed it up succinctly, as he wrote:

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12.13, 14).

We seek to know God and we long to please Him.
And He will take care of the rest.
“But I say to you, love your enemies,
bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?
Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5.44-48).

“We seek nothing for ourselves except to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.
Let us seek others, as Paul did, that they might join us in this great salvation.”

For reflection
1. In what sense are you a “seeker” in your Personal Mission Field?

2. For whom are you daily spending and being spent so that they many grow in the Lord? How do you do that?

3. Where can you find the ability to love even those who don’t love you?

Now Paul is openly expressing the love and affection which he had for them, since he is prepared not only to spend lavishly on their behalf but even to die for the salvation of their souls. Ambrosiaster (fl. ca. 366-384), Commentary on Paul’s Epistles

Pray Psalm 52.1-7.
Today, boast in the Lord and in His goodness. Speak the truth in love to everyone in your Personal Mission Field. Walk honestly and truly in the Jesus Path. Resist the devil so that he flees from you. And call on the Lord to make all these things true of you today.

Sing Psalm 52.1-7.
(Warrington: Give to Our God Immortal Praise)
Why do the mighty boast in sin? God’s love endures, it knows no end!
They with their tongues vain boasts repeat, and like a razor, work deceit.

Men more than good in evil delight, and lies prefer to what is right.
They utter words both harsh and strong with their devouring, deceitful tongue.

God will forever break them down, uproot, and cast them to the ground!
He from their safety tears them away, no more to know the light of day.

The righteous see and laugh and fear, and say, “Behold, what have we here?
Such are all who at God conspire, and wealth and evil ways desire.”

T. M. and Susie Moore

Growing in prayer
Are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you working at making disciples, as He commanded? Our free online course, “Disciples Making Disciples”, can help. Watch this brief video, then register and download the free course materials today.

Support for Scriptorium comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.