Not-So-Quiet-Time: 2 Corinthians 5
At-Home Bible Guide for the Week of 11/1
Day 1: 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
Paul uses two analogies to get the church thinking about earthly life and eternal life. He talks about a place to live and clothes to wear. When this life ends—and it will end for all of us—we will need a new “tent” and we will need new “clothes.” It is only through faith in Jesus that we can have these good gifts of eternal life with Christ (John 14:1-6). And we don’t have to guess or worry about whether or not we really will be saved because He has given us a guarantee: the Holy Spirit (5).
Day 2: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Because we walk by faith, we can always have courage (6). Courage for what? Courage to please God. Whatever situation we are in “we make it our aim to please him” (9). And every decision matters. One day we will stand before Him and He will reward us graciously for serving courageously. Ask God to help you walk by faith in a manner that honors Him.
Day 3: 2 Corinthians 5:11-15
If we have been changed by the gospel, we are now in the business of persuasion. Not manipulation, but gospel-persuasion. We want to show the world the all-surpassing greatness of Jesus and the incomparable joy that comes from knowing Him. We have an answer for those who have been seeking hope and help in the outward things of the world and coming up empty. And as we see the needs and worries of those around us, we can’t help but point them to Jesus. We can’t help but persuade them. The love of Christ controls us and leads us to live for Him. Ask God to use you for gospel-persuasion.
Day 4: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
The Good News changes our identity. The Spirit of God makes us into a new creation when we are brought into his family. And because Christians have a new identity, we also relate to one another differently. We don’t assess or regard anyone according to the flesh. We are not in the business of thinking of some people as higher, better, or more important than others. Rather, we see that all who are made new by Christ have a special role to play in Christ’s mission to the world. Pray that God would help us to live as new creations of Christ who value everyone in God’s family.
Day 5: 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
You have been given the ministry of reconciliation. God gave you the task of calling sinners to come back to Him. He has “entrusted” this ministry to us for the good of the world (19). That means that we have been employed by heaven as ambassadors for God’s Kingdom. Are you living as an ambassador? Ask God to empower you by the Holy Spirit for the gospel ministry that has been entrusted to you.
Catechism Connection: 25
In the Bible, priests represented God to man and man to God. Every earthy priest did this reconciling work imperfectly. Jesus was different: “Christ carries out the office of a priest in offering up himself as a sacrifice one time, to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us (WSC 25).
Monthly Memory: Psalm 34:17-18
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Day 1: 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
Paul uses two analogies to get the church thinking about earthly life and eternal life. He talks about a place to live and clothes to wear. When this life ends—and it will end for all of us—we will need a new “tent” and we will need new “clothes.” It is only through faith in Jesus that we can have these good gifts of eternal life with Christ (John 14:1-6). And we don’t have to guess or worry about whether or not we really will be saved because He has given us a guarantee: the Holy Spirit (5).
Day 2: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Because we walk by faith, we can always have courage (6). Courage for what? Courage to please God. Whatever situation we are in “we make it our aim to please him” (9). And every decision matters. One day we will stand before Him and He will reward us graciously for serving courageously. Ask God to help you walk by faith in a manner that honors Him.
Day 3: 2 Corinthians 5:11-15
If we have been changed by the gospel, we are now in the business of persuasion. Not manipulation, but gospel-persuasion. We want to show the world the all-surpassing greatness of Jesus and the incomparable joy that comes from knowing Him. We have an answer for those who have been seeking hope and help in the outward things of the world and coming up empty. And as we see the needs and worries of those around us, we can’t help but point them to Jesus. We can’t help but persuade them. The love of Christ controls us and leads us to live for Him. Ask God to use you for gospel-persuasion.
Day 4: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
The Good News changes our identity. The Spirit of God makes us into a new creation when we are brought into his family. And because Christians have a new identity, we also relate to one another differently. We don’t assess or regard anyone according to the flesh. We are not in the business of thinking of some people as higher, better, or more important than others. Rather, we see that all who are made new by Christ have a special role to play in Christ’s mission to the world. Pray that God would help us to live as new creations of Christ who value everyone in God’s family.
Day 5: 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
You have been given the ministry of reconciliation. God gave you the task of calling sinners to come back to Him. He has “entrusted” this ministry to us for the good of the world (19). That means that we have been employed by heaven as ambassadors for God’s Kingdom. Are you living as an ambassador? Ask God to empower you by the Holy Spirit for the gospel ministry that has been entrusted to you.
Catechism Connection: 25
In the Bible, priests represented God to man and man to God. Every earthy priest did this reconciling work imperfectly. Jesus was different: “Christ carries out the office of a priest in offering up himself as a sacrifice one time, to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us (WSC 25).
Monthly Memory: Psalm 34:17-18
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
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