"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.
DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH,
1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION
2 Corinthians 1:11 "Help us by prayer so that many will give thanks ... for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." This is preeminently the Comfort Chapter of the New Testament. The apostle Paul, writing to his children in the faith, recalls here a dark experience in Asia when he and his traveling ministry companions came so near death, they felt they could taste it. Looking back, he realized the experience made them not rely on themselves, "but on God, who raises the dead." In all that time of suffering they had known the comfort of God, and now knew that experience prepared them to comfort others, including all who read this letter. That deliverance of the past filled him with confidence about whatever the future might bring. Notice in the highlighted verse the important role of prayer. We learn that our prayers for others help God work to deliver them from similar difficulties. There are things God chooses to do only when we pray. When the prophet Samuel retired his judgeship to make way for the new king, he told the people, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you." Notice he did not say the sin would be primarily against them, but against God. When we do not pray as we should, we disobey God and also wrong our friends. We may not understand this as well as we like, but we ought to act on it. By our prayers, we help others by working with God in the answers He brings to the fervent prayers of those we ourselves are praying for. When the answers come, many more people will praise God and give thanks, being strengthened in their faith.
2 Corinthians 2:7 "Forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow." When we studied 1 Corinthians 5 we considered the sad case of an unrepentant man in the Corinthian assembly who had to be put out with the hope that would lead him to repent and be brought back in. Happily, this chapter discretely suggests that's exactly what happened! Now, however, that man was open to what Paul calls one of the many wiles of Satan we dare not be ignorant of. The man must not be led to think there could be no mercy for him. Therefore the duty of the church was clear: they were to forgive him and comfort him, not at all treating him with harshness or suspicion. It is true there should be no toleration of evil in the church, but it is equally true there should be no lack of delight in forgiveness. Love never slights holiness, but holiness never slays love. Comfort goes a step beyond forgiveness, taking the forgiven brother or sister to heart, forgetting the past. That is how God forgives, and so should we who are His children.
2 Corinthians 3:14 "The veil is taken away in Christ." That is a contrast between the Old Covenant represented by Moses and New Covenant represented by Christ. Moses veiled his face when speaking to the people because it became alarmingly radiant after he spent time with God on Mount Sinai receiving the Old Covenant. The Old had a definite glory, but it is nothing compared to the superlative greatness of the New Covenant. The Old was veiled or shadowy, made up of types, pictures, symbols, and mystery. Without Christ the Old Testament is unintelligible. When a person comes to Christ, the veil is lifted, and his or her spiritual perception is no longer impaired. Believers are able to see the glory of God revealed in Christ. They understand that God's Law was never given to save them, but to lead them to the One who would. As they gaze at the glory of the Lord, believers are continually being transformed into Christlikeness "from one degree of glory to another," says Paul at the end of this chapter. That is progressive sanctification, for as the Old Covenant promised about the New, God is writing His Law on His people's hearts for them to obey with delight.
2 Corinthians 4:17 "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Light affliction is a striking way to describe what Paul writes a few verses earlier about what was happening to him and his fellow ministers: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies." Those are no mere figures of speech, as 2 Corinthians 11 reveals in Paul's detailed account of his sufferings over his apostolic career. Beyond that, Paul above says all those afflictions are not foes but instead allies because they are "working for us"—for great good and glory beyond compare with anything this temporal world has to offer. That work has benefits in the present as well as in the future. Fellowship with the suffering Savior is also fellowship in the glory of His triumphs.
2 Corinthians 5:20 "We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us." What urgency breathes through these words! Paul speaks about the ministry of reconciliation, which is the weighty responsibility and privilege of proclaiming the good news of the reconciliation made possible between God and man because of Christ. All Christians, especially those called to preach, are ambassadors on behalf of Christ. We must deliver our message in a way worthy of the One who sends us. The New Testament shows us how Christ and His apostles preached: with great earnestness, sincerity, dignity, and love. They are our models. The terror and peril of human need and the marvel and glory of God's provision in Christ compel such a presentation; indifference to results or coolness in presentation are unthinkable. Eternal destinies are at stake.
2 Corinthians 6:4 "In all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God." To commend is to present as suitable for approval or acceptance. How do you want others to think of you, and what rightfully is the first thing they should think about you? The answer tells what you think most important and where you have most invested your time. For Paul and those who stood with him then—and those who would stand in their company now—nothing surpasses serving God and His people. This chapter details what that service looks like: "great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." All that is done "working together with Him," as Paul says at the beginning of this chapter. Whatever we are called upon to be or do, we find the necessary resources in our fellowship with God Himself.
2 Corinthians 7:4 "I overflow with joy in all our affliction." What were the circumstances Paul was writing about? He tells us: "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." He goes on to explain that this faithful co-laborer in Christ told them how well the Corinthian church had responded to Paul's first letter to them. They had treated Titus kindly and had genuinely repented over the hard things Paul had to confront them with. Their godly grief produced strength and maturity throughout the church, reflecting their true Christian character. Paul felt so proud of them and thankful to God! That was the reason for his overflowing joy. His fellow apostle John explains the principle involved here like this: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." No circumstances of personal affliction can dim the gladness of seeing souls grow in "the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 8:21 "We take thought for what is honorable not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." That is the governing principle expressing God's will for all the business and financial matters of every true church. This chapter and the next discuss a collection of funds for needy believers. Titus was appointed to that work, but he was not to go alone. Paul, in conjunction with the churches involved, appointed another man to go with him. The reason is that all the monetary matters of the churches are to be dealt with in such a way that gives no ground of suspicion to people of the world. Those who love Christ serve with a sincere heart, as they would Christ Himself, "not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will." Fellow Christians understand that, but worldly people do not. They look for the guarantees of oversight by other men and women. They are not prepared to accept the view that the Christian who lives before God is to be trusted. It is the business of the Christian community to do its business in such a way that no one has any just cause to suspect anything contrary to righteousness in its affairs.
2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" That exclamation reveals the inspiration behind all that Paul has been saying and all the good that the churches did then, and are continuing to do now. That especially includes generosity toward fellow believers in need. What motive is sufficiently strong to inspire this sacrificial service? Knowing we are children of God because God had given His only begotten Son, His indescribable gift. Perhaps nothing in human history has been spoken of more often than this gift of God, yet it still remains indescribable. However much we ponder and discuss God taking on human flesh and giving His own flawless life to rescue fallen human beings, it is impossible to say all that could be said. What we do say and study rightly lead to the speechlessness of adoring awe, wonder, and praise. Whenever we are called upon to give, let us first think of the indescribable gift of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Then love will be the inspiration of our giving, self-sacrifice will be its measure, and real blessing to others its result.
2 Corinthians 10:18 "Not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends." Sadly, Paul had to deal with people in the church who tried to discount his authority. That problem continues to this day with similar types of people criticizing the apostolic writers. They need to pay attention to this chapter, where Paul outlines the principles upon which individual men and women should test themselves: 1. The opinion of others concerning a man is no true standard of what a man really is. 2. A woman cannot discover the truth about herself by comparing herself with others. 3. A man's commendation of himself is of no value. What matters is what the Lord thinks of that man or woman. He reveals His thoughts in His Word, which is what the wise person measures his or her life against. That Word is powerful. This is what Paul tells true believers to focus on instead of thinking about themselves or criticizing others: "Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."
2 Corinthians 11:28 "The daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches." As we have seen more than once in 2 Corinthians, Paul experienced many afflictions and pressures. This one here he singles out as his most significant concern. It naturally flowed out of Paul's love through Christ for all the churches God used him to plant and establish. He so obviously cared for each person! Several of his letters include personal greetings to many specific people. In addition, Paul's prayers for the churches serve as model prayers for us today. All those churches were widely scattered and very diverse in their experiences, achievements, and needs, but Paul carried them all in his heart, laboring for them daily in prayer and every other way possible. That is true Christian ministry. While denominational or other ties between churches can be good, they must never exclude other faithful churches from our concern. We may differ with other churches over secondary matters such as organizational structure, but in the primary matters of the faith we are one in the Spirit with them. Therefore we must pray for all and labor for all as we are given opportunity.
2 Corinthians 12:4 "Inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak." That word inexpressible is similar, but not identical, to the one translated indescribable in 2 Corinthians 9 about the Lord Jesus Christ as the superlative love gift from the God the Father. This gift is beyond the power of human language to express fully, but the words Paul talks about here he heard clearly in a vision yet was ordered to keep them to himself. Notice the effect that vision had on his life and character: a holy reticence to speak, except what God told him to communicate. Most memorable in this chapter are these encouraging words: "[God] has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses [instead of visions], so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong."
2 Corinthians 13:4 "We also are weak in Him." That statement logically flows out of what Paul wrote in the previous chapter, but is striking in its context of final warnings to rebellious members of the Corinthian church: "This is the third time I am coming to you.... I warned those who sinned before ... that if I come again I will not spare them—since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but in dealing with you we will live with Him by the power of God. Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves! Or do you not realize ... that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail the test! I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you do ... what is right.... We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong; this we also pray for, that you be made complete.... Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for completion [spiritual maturity], comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." In what sense was Christ "crucified in weakness"? In one sense only: He was unable to rescue Himself from the Cross and complete His mission of delivering men and women from their sins. As Jesus Himself said, He could have ordered a legion of angels to scatter His enemies, but He chose not to so He could save them and countless others. This then is our weakness: in proportion as we are identified with Christ, we are unable to spare ourselves at His and His people's expense. What comfort that brings when our strength is exhausted in His service! We might conserve it by parting company with Him and His people. When we refuse to do that, we choose to become "weak in Him." That brings on the mighty power of God. It was so in Him. It is so in us.
