Sunday Worship Service February 25, 2024

Prelude
Call to Worship Zephaniah 3:17
Hymn JBC # 26 We praise You, O God, our Redeemer
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord’s Supper
Offering
Scripture 2 Corinthians 1：23~2:11
Prayer
Sermon “You would all share my joy”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 437 The trusting heart to Jesus clings
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude


　Let us hear God's message together today from a passage in the New Testament from the ‘Second Epistle to the Corinthians’.
The letter written by the evangelist Paul to the congregation of the church in the Greek city of Corinth is still with us today as part of the Bible, the book of faith for Christians.
Many letters written by Paul, and others too, are included in the New Testament. Why were those letters, which at first glance appear to have very personal matters, preserved in the Bible?
Why were the letters written by Paul and others actually preserved in the Bible as "God’s letters," so to speak, from God to many people?

The Bible, besides today’s passages too, was actually written by many other people (believers in God).
Some of them (or most of them) may not have imagined that their writings would later remain as "the Bible," as the book of the Christian faith.
But God intended for His Word to be recorded as the Bible through the hands of the faithful people.
At times, the records or letters could be very personal or human in nature, such as in today's passage.
It shows that God was at work (intervening) in the midst of the real lives of the believers of that time, in the midst of the problems, troubles, and sufferings they actually faced.
How God was involved with them in the midst of their lives, how God was involved with each individual's life, is actually handed down to us today in the form of the "Bible," a document written by human beings.

The Corinthian church had many problems. God did not say, "Those problems are none of my business; let the people solve them among themselves."
Our God, as communicated in the Bible, is with us in the midst of our lives. God is with us in the various problems, worries, and sufferings we face.
Therefore, we should not think, "God is so high and mighty that He is not interested in my little problems," but rather, we should be honest and can say anything before God about everything.

As Christians, we can pray that "May the Lord God guide me in all my life, and may His glory be seen in the way I live and in the place in which I live."
Today's passage reveals that there were some problems and tensions between Paul and the congregation of the Corinthian church.
　As a background of today's passage, Paul had hoped to visit the Corinthian church, but for some reason he had postponed his visit.
　We do not know the details, but today's passage reveals some of the reasons for Paul's postponement of his visit to the Corinthian church.

　In verse 1:23, it is written as the following:
23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

　Paul claims "I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it" that he is postponing his return to Corinth not for his own sake, but for the sake of the Corinthian church.
　He says, "I will not to go to Corinth now, because I think of you and love you."
　Paul seems to be making a very bold statement when he says, "I call God as my witness."
　But it seems to me that this is not so much "God will prove me right," but rather a humble attitude before God, saying, "If I am wrong, let God correct my mistake."
　In verse 24 it is written as the following:
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

　The Corinthian Church was established by Paul's evangelism. Paul can be called the founder of the Corinthian church, but he says even he never controls the faith of each member of the church.
　It means that Paul, who was the founder and leader of the church too, was not different from each member of the church in terms of the position before God, and they were equal.
　That is why he says, "we work with you for your joy."

And when Paul says "it is by faith you stand firm", he acknowledges the faith of each member of the Corinthian church who stands in faith in Christ.
　I hope that we in the church today will not be in a relationship where we try to control each other's faith (imposing our own faith and beliefs on others), but rather cooperate and serve each other for the joy of one another.
　And I also desire for us to recognize the faith of others who "stand firm in the faith of Christ" and to respect one another.
　When Jesus healed people of their illnesses, He often said, "Your faith has saved you."
　For example, in Mark 5, Jesus healed a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years.

　In the crowd, the woman quietly came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes. The woman firmly believed that if she touched even his clothes, she would be healed.
　The woman was immediately healed. Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you."
　It was Jesus who healed her. Jesus could have said, "I healed you. I saved you." But instead Jesus said, "Your faith has saved you." By saying that He recognized faith on the part of the human being, the desire to seek God.
　Jesus taught us (and Paul's words in today's passage too) that we are to recognize each other's faith, and that brothers and sisters who stand by faith should respect each other.

　　It is a little bit long, but let us read verse 2:1-4.
1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
3 I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

　We can only speculate on the details, but it seems that Paul wrote and sent another letter to the Corinthian church than the ones preserved in the Bible.
　In verse 4, we read that Paul wrote that letter "with many tears". This was because he wanted the Corinthians to know the deep love that Paul had for them.
　Paul may have wished that he could go to Corinth right now to talk directly with the Corinthians and resolve misunderstandings and other problems.
　But God had given him the feeling that "now is not the time to go”.
　We, too, may not always be able to do what we wish. Perhaps this is because God is urging us to be patient, saying, "Now is not the time."
　Rather than our own thoughts and desires, we should seek the best time and way to do whatever we do through prayer and the Word of God, and through prayer and conversation among brothers and sisters of the same church.
　Chapter 2 verses 5 through 11, writes about a person who has committed some offense in the Corinthian church.

　According to verse 6, the person had already been punished in some way. Paul, in verses 7-8, said the following:
"7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him."

　When someone was hurt by someone or when they are victimized by someone else, I do not think that even Christians or churches can simply say to that person, "Let's forgive others of their sins."
　No one can force a hurt person to heal his/her feelings and take a step toward forgiveness.
　So how are we to think about "forgiveness" and "forgiving others" in today's passage and in many other places too in the Bible?
　In today's passage, "you ought to forgive and comfort him" in verse 7 is addressed to the church, saying "you" in plural. It means that “Forgive and comfort him" is an exhortation to the whole church.
　As a church, as a gathering of those whose sins have been forgiven by Christ and as a member of the church, are entrusted by God to do this act of forgiveness as well.
　I do not think there is a simple answer in the Bible that tells us how to forgive.
But let us first remember that we have received great forgiveness from God through the cross of Jesus Christ, through which our sins are forgiven.
Then, can we pass on to others the forgiveness we have received from Christ?
There seems to be a great suggestion (hint) about our forgiveness in the words of today's verse 10. Let me read verse 10 for everyone.

10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,

　Here Paul says, "I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake."
　I believe this means "Christ has forgiven" and "Christ, through me, has forgiven."
　Love and forgiveness have been given to us abundantly through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Having been given Christ's love and forgiveness, we, as His church, are entrusted by God to share that love and forgiveness with others.
　The source of both love and forgiveness is Jesus Christ. The joy of being loved and forgiven by Christ is shared throughout the church.
As we share in Christ's love and forgiveness, we hope that His love and forgiveness will spread to others through us, and we will live our life of faith step by step.