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A Lot of Joy from God!

Oleksandr Zhabenko

🇬🇧 Glory be to Jesus Christ! 🌞 Dedicated to Emma Kok.

(2 Corinthians XII, 10-19)

2 Corinthians XII, 10, 11 – ειμι – eimi - (I) am. Used for emphasis.

A continuation of Paul’s defence of his personal ministry and of his co-worker Titus.

Omitted is the place where Paul, for the sake of defence, in an impulse, tells the story of his conversion and God’s revelations to him personally. I wrote about the conversion of Paul (Saul) here:
05052023.html

For more information on power in weakness see:
12072023.html

Since the words in verse 10, if understood literally, in the same sense, are absurd, foolish, Paul mentions this apparent folly in verse 11. It should be borne in mind that weak and strong refers to different things (not to the same thing), so in fact, despite the seeming paradox, there is nothing unreasonable about these words.

To praise in the biblical sense is to consider something worthy, also worthy of recommending to others. Paul means that the Corinthians should appreciate his work, his gifts from God for their own upbuilding, his efforts, and those of his co-workers who did the same as Paul (Titus was not only a co-worker of Paul’s, but also a disciple).

Paul goes on to refute the argument about hidden motives and actions when his apostleship and love for the Corinthians were obvious.

Speaking of the estate (treasure), Paul expresses his belief in a certain progress in the development of society and humanity – the next should be better than the previous. Paul is also saying that the next generations are supposed to live better than the previous ones, according to God’s design. If this is not the case, it is not right.

Verse 19 shows that often people who justify themselves feel some kind of guilt and remorse, so Paul, denying justification, testifies that he is not guilty of anything in his apostolic ministry to the Corinthians.

(Mark IV, 10-23)

For a parallel explanation of the parable of the sower in Matthew, see this link:
10072023.html

Also, a good thought on the parable and especially its conclusion is found in the work here:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/Motivation.html

On the lamp, see here:
24052023.html

On the secret and the obvious – see the beginning of the work:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/DialogueOnWordsChristFear.html

To Saint Joasaph, Bishop of Bilgorod:
(Hebrews XIII, 17-21; John X, 9-16)
For a frequent reading from the Apostle, see the link:
14052023.html

John X, 9, 11, 14 – ‘ειμι’ – ‘eimi’ – (I) ‘am’. It is used only with emphasis. ‘εμου’ – ‘emou’ – ‘Me’.

John X, 14 – ‘εμα’ – ‘ema’ – ‘My’.

The very image of the door and the pasture is well described here:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/

Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/

List of Used Sources