Power in Weakness. 2 Corinthians. Part 3. New Covenant Reality.

Read: 2 Corinthians 2:12 – 3:18

• What do you notice?
• What stands out to you?
• What observations or questions does this passage raise?

Discuss:

• Given that Paul can lay claim to an excellent educational and spiritual pedigree (see 2 Cor. 11:22-29), what does he stake his claim as an apostle on in this passage?
• What might this mean for us if we have God’s invitation to get involved in His kingdom work, even if we consider we lack the pedigree?
• How does Paul’s priority on relationships affect the way he thinks about and does his service to God?
• How can serving God work alongside the relationships we have, and how might keeping in step with what God is doing improve those relationships?

In 2 Cor. 3:7-11, as well as in Romans 7:7-13, Paul refers to the law-keeping, performance-based default he was raised in as a Pharisee as something that brought condemnation and was ‘fading away”.

• From these two passages, what do you think Paul is saying to people who want to try to connect with God through law-keeping?
• What do you think are the attractions of a law-keeping, performance-based relationship?
• Where does it fall short of what we need and of what God wants?
• How can we move away from this kind of faith more into a more dynamic relationship with God through His Spirit?

What do you think Paul considers so transformative about simply contemplating (or reflecting, in some translations) God’s glory [3:18]?

Pray: that we might take up God’s invitation into whatever Kingdom work might look like for us, regardless of the things we think we might lack, and that we can contemplate Hs glory individually and together.