Living with Mystery

By submitting our minds to the Spirit we can discover His holiness.

Against what standard are we to measure righteousness of life?

The good heart is the basis for the work of the Spirit in fulfilling all righteousness.

The Holy Spirit blesses us with fruit in the life and humility in the heart.

Jesus spoke of our slavery to sin; Paul taught the way of freedom to live in righteousness.

The Holy Spirit promotes in us a spirit of passionate love to fulfil God's will.

Once we are in Christ we receive the grace to pursue holiness through sanctification

By believing in Jesus we are placed in Christ and receive the gift of his righteousness.

There is righteousness gifted but also righteousness practised: we should understand both!

Paul did not preach a different gospel from the message of Jesus about the Kingdom.

Trials are essential if we are to discover ministry with power.

Why do we need the Holy Spirit? We begin in this Substack to answer that question.

Paul prays for the Corinthians to live like Jesus even when they have their doubts about him.

Paul's anxiety over the shortcomings of his spiritual children cause him to grieve; yet he does not lose hope or patience for them.

Paul surrendered to the power of the Spirit's love to best serve the church he had begun.

Paul learned divine strength through his afflictions and the power of grace in his life.

Paul reluctantly reveals his most personal spiritual experiences to demonstrate his authenticity.

Paul feels compelled to mention many of his sufferings but shows that this is God's plan to teach him about pure spiritual strength.

The Corinthians were being fools in believing false people. Paul resorts to new ways to rescue them from their deception.

Paul stuck to his principles in preaching the gospel even though they were distorted by his opponents.

Paul was so protective of the Corinthian's young faith that he took extreme measures to keep them faithful to Jesus.

Paul was a pioneer whose vision was to begin a new work in new places. He boasted of what God had done through him to show that he was genuine.

Paul determined to be a good example of consistent faith and life for the benefit of his hearers.

Paul had to emphasise his apostolic authority to nullify the attacks of his opponents while he was away from the church.

Reading Paul's letters gives us wise guidance as to how we should give financially in order to find the blessings which we are promised.

The principle of sharing is one way in which the church demonstrates its love for one another.

Paul showed great confidence in the Corinthians and because of that continued to expect greater things from them.

Paul had confidence in the members of his team and in the churches he had founded.

Paul was so encouraged that after having to rebuke the church they responded positively.

Paul lived a holy life and impressed on everyone the vital importance of growing in holiness.

Affectionate relationships are the bedrock of real dynamic church life.

Paul experienced tremendous hardships because of his ministry. Yet these were ways in which he commended himself as a genuine Christian.

Paul was a devoted sharer of the gospel. He was an ambassador, but one who was prepared to suffer the consequences.

Some people viewed Paul as a fanatic but in fact he was zealously motivated by the love of Christ.

Paul practised a healthy fear of the Lord and diligently tried to persuade others to do so too.

Paul had his sights set on being with Jesus forever and he was clear in what form that would be.

Paul had learned to set his heart and mind on the eternal things which are unseen to the human eye but revealed through the Spirit.

Paul suffered much physical pain and sickness yet it did not suppress his energy in sharing the gospel of Jesus.

Paul commended himself to others by teaching the plain meaning of the bible.

Paul's character was changed from ugliness to Jesus likeness by the Holy Spirit's work.

Paul knew a special intimacy with God which enabled him to pray and worship in a much deeper way.

Paul's competence came from his Christ-confidence.

Paul discovered how to surrender to Jesus and so discover the effective grace of God.

Paul discovered how to hinder Satan from causing divisions in the church.

Forgiveness is a vital part of building new creation relationships.

Paul's converts became his friends and showed us what real church life looks like.

Saul the religious zealot became Paul the apostle of tears.

Paul ensured that all those who believed had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit. It was a foundational experience of his character.

Paul needed to counteract his enemies who tried to smear his character.

This is the third look into the character of the Apostle Paul which is revealed in his second letter to the Corinthians.

This is the second substack in our series on Paul's character in 2 Corinthians.