Category: Band

Paul has been writing to the church in Corinth, speaking to them about how they have had those that have been in sin but that he has been rebuking them, calling them to repentance, to unity, and to a demonstration of love for one another and toward Paul. Then, at the end of the letter, in verse 11, he says:

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11

Paul had just told the Corinthians that they should examine themselves to see if they are in the faith, and that they should realize that, if they pass the test of their examination, they have Christ living within them! So now, he says that they should rejoice! They are rejoicing that, even though they have all of these problems that Paul has been addressing, they have Christ within them and God is moving mightily amongst them.

But the reason that I wanted to highlight this particular passage is what he says next. He say that they should strive for full restoration. Based on the context in that he says that they should encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in peace, I believe that means that he is speaking of restoration between the believers within the church. He says that they must strive to achieve this restoration. So often, we deal with discord through distance or anger, but the truth is that striving is required. To restore relationships, whether as a husband and wife, as friends, or even as brothers and sisters in Christ, it requires effort. It requires work. Blood, sweat, and tears. Probably a lot of each! Paul calls the Corinthians to strive to reach the point of restoration…something that I believe that he calls each of us to do within our relationships today.

Verses 11-13 say this:

I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles. How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

2 Corinthians 12:11-3

Paul talks about the “super-apostles”, seemingly defending himself against accusations leveled at some point by the Corinthian church that Paul is a lesser apostle than those who were disciples of Jesus.

Today, we seem to do similar things in the church. Previously, as people wrote books in an effort to highlight specific areas of the faith, some lifted up those people as heroes in their faith. Now in these days, we have YouTube, Facebook, and many other platforms that drive audiences toward a new type of spiritual hero, leading us back to the same type of scenario that we see with the Corinthian church, lifting up the hero preacher or hero author in the faith, often instead of focusing on lifting up Christ himself.

We must, as a continual point of focus, continue to focus on Christ. We must leave behind the super-heroes, and instead always look forward to the cross of Christ as the only hero of our faith. He who has saved us and he who continues to lead and guide us as our King is the only one to receive the glory and honor from his people.