Micro-Church Week 32

Take a moment to begin by sharing any wins you've seen in your life this week.

Recap

One of the major themes that we have been dealing with in 2 Corinthians is that there is often a large gap between what we see in the natural, and what is happening in the spiritual. Here's the truth: I am often having to reconcile my feelings with reality & the work of the Spirit. This is hard work!

I find so many times that this brings to mind over and again the phrase that we use so much:

"My feelings may not be right, but they're real!"

Consider this passage:

2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

So many times we feel insufficient to hold, much less carry, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the glorious things about the Gospel is that Christ continually uses the weak to demonstrate his strength. This is a recurring theme in 2 Corinthians.

In this week's Micro-Church gathering, let's take a deeper look at how Paul presents this truth.

2 Corinthians 3:4–6 (ESV)

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

- a more dynamic translation (New Living Translation) reads:

2 Corinthians 3:4–6 (NLT)

4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

Observations

Is there anything in the previous passage that draws your attention about the nature and the work of God?

From The New Living Translation, the translators use the verbiage of "qualified" and "enabled".

What do you think Paul means by saying that we do not "think we are qualified to do anything on our own", but "enabled to be ministers"?

Have there been moments in your life that you felt that the Spirit enabled you to accomplish something? Would you share those?

In our culture, do you think there is a tendency to reduce our commitment to faithfulness and holiness since we are already not "qualified" to produce lasting spiritual fruit?

If so, where do we draw the line in our commitment to righteousness, and our dependency on the Holy Spirit?

To better understand our responsibility, read 2 Corinthians 7:1

2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)

1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (NLT)

1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

REAL RESPONSE!

What is an actionable way that you can work toward bringing "holiness to completion" in your life?

Take a moment this week to share strategic ways that your Micro-Church can pray for you.