Titus Sent to Corinth January 28, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Books, Christianity.Tags: 2 corinthians, macedonians, paul, titus, zeal
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Here are my thoughts on 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5.
Summary: Paul begins by giving thanks to God, who gave Titus his zeal for the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians. Even though Titus accepted Paul’s directive for him to go to Corinth, he did not need to be prodded in this regard – instead, he had decided on his own that he would go there. Also, Paul has decided that a brother – who is praised by all of the Macedonian churches for his efforts in spreading the Gospel – would accompany Titus on his journey. This brother has also been appointed by the Macedonian churches to accompany Paul as he takes the collection for the Judean relief effort to Jerusalem; this collection glorifies Christ and demonstrates Paul’s desire to help those in need. By taking these actions, he hopes that nobody will question his integrity when he takes charge of this large sum of money. He acts not only to please God but to commend himself to others.
Paul has also appointed a second brother – who has been rather diligent – to travel with Titus and the above-mentioned brother; this second brother is extremely zealous due to his confidence in the success of their trip to Corinth. He stresses that:
- Titus labors alongside him in his ministry
- the other two brothers are delegates of the Macedonian churches, and they glorify Christ.
He exhorts the Corinthians to show their love for Titus and the two above-mentioned brothers, so that they could vindicate Paul’s boasting of them to the Macedonians.
Now Paul notes that the Corinthians do not need to be prodded in terms of taking up the collection for their poor brothers in Jerusalem. He knows their readiness to give, and he has boasted of them to the Macedonians – telling them that since last spring the Corinthians have been ready to take up this collection; their eagerness to give had excited most of the Macedonians to action. To ensure that his boasts have merit, though, he is sending Titus and the two above-mentioned brothers to them; this act will spur them to finish taking up the collection in question. Indeed, if the Macedonians who will accompany him on his next journey to Corinth find that the Corinthians have been negligent in this regard, he will be ashamed. Paul concludes by inferring that he needs to send Titus and the two above-mentioned brothers to Corinth before his journey there so that the collection in question – which is a blessing – can be completed as they had promised last spring; then their gift would be abundant – not a gift that would betray their greed.
Thoughts: In this passage, we see that Paul and the Macedonian churches had appointed two brothers to join Titus in his journey to Corinth. In his commentary on verse 18, Hodge offers some sobering thoughts to those readers who are curious as to their identities:
It was someone subordinate to Titus who was sent along with him as a companion, someone well-known throughout the churches and who especially had the confidence of the Macedonian Christians (verse 19). But these conditions meet in so many of the people mentioned in Acts or in Paul’s letters that they lead to no certain conclusion. Whether, therefore, it was Luke, Mark, Trophimus, or someone else must be left undecided. The question is hardly worth the trouble that commentators have devoted to it.
I must count myself in the set of believers who are curious as to the identities of these two brothers. I am definitely eager to meet them in heaven and learn more about them; in particular, I would want to ask them about their lives in war-torn Macedonia, the reception that the Corinthians gave them when they arrived in Corinth with Titus, and the struggles and triumphs that they experienced in their Christian service.
This passage also states that although the Corinthians had – in the previous spring – resolved to take up a collection for the Judean relief effort, they had not completed this collection. This was the case even though the Corinthians apparently had a great desire to take up this collection. I thought about it and I simply could not understand what hindered the Corinthians in this regard. Did they simply forget about the collection? Did they desire to take it up, but then carry out that task slowly due to a lack of urgency? In either case their zeal would not have been genuine. Now perhaps they were truly zealous in this regard, yet outside forces – in the form of false teachers – strongly opposed their efforts. This is just a hunch on my part, though. Paul seems to indicate that the Corinthians had not fully developed the gift of generosity that they possessed – yet it is strange to view the Corinthians as having the zeal to give while lacking the full gift of generosity.
Generosity Encouraged January 26, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Books, Christianity.Tags: 2 corinthians, equality, generosity, macedonians, paul
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Here are my thoughts on 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.
Summary: Paul begins by informing the Corinthians of God’s favor to the Macedonian believers. While the Macedonians’ sincerity and devotion to God was being tested, they displayed abundant generosity – highlighting their abundant joy and their abject poverty. He asserts that the Macedonians voluntarily gave beyond their means, as they begged him to let them participate in the relief effort for their brothers in Jerusalem; instead of giving a moderate amount, they gave all of themselves to the Lord (and to him) according to God’s will. Paul has urged Titus – as Titus has already helped the Corinthians to begin taking the collection for the relief effort – to perfect the inner grace of giving that they possess. Since the Corinthians possess the following in greater measure than other churches:
- the gift of a strong faith
- the gift of Christian truth
- the gift of understanding Christian truth
- a vigorous spiritual life
- a great love for Paul
he exhorts them to also possess the gift of generosity in abundance.
Now Paul is not commanding the Corinthians to take part in the relief effort; instead, he wants to see if they possess the inherent desire to give – by showing them the zeal of the Macedonians. Moreover, the Corinthians know the spontaneous love of Christ – although He shared the glory of His Father before the creation of the world, He laid aside His glory out of love for them so they can receive God’s blessings.
Paul then advises the Corinthians to take the following profitable action (since they had already decided last spring – before the Macedonians took action – to participate in the relief effort and had begun to take up the collection): they should complete the collection in order to be consistent, and he wants them to give freely. If they have the right disposition when giving, God will accept their gifts regardless of their means.
Paul does not want the poor believers in Jerusalem to be freed from poverty while the Corinthians become destitute; instead, he wants to address material deficiencies. At this time, the Corinthians’ giving will meet the needs of their brothers in Jerusalem; when they are in need, their brothers in Jerusalem will meet their needs, and so poverty among Christians will always be relieved. Paul concludes by quoting from Exodus 16:18 to drive home the point that if any believer has more than they need, they should help their brothers who are in need.
Thoughts: In this passage, we see that the Macedonian believers were destitute, rendering their eagerness to contribute to the relief effort in Jerusalem all the more astounding. In his commentary on verse 2, Hodge quotes from Roman Commonwealth by Thomas Arnold, where it is noted that Macedonia had been ravaged by several Roman civil wars, including the famous struggle between Augustus and Mark Antony; its possession was also the source of a conflict between Sulla and Mithridates. In an interesting nugget, Arnold notes that during the reign of Tiberius, Macedonia was viewed as being in such dire financial straits that it was placed under his jurisdiction – and not that of the Roman Senate. Indeed, history has furnished numerous examples of the devastation of war, including the condition of the South after the Civil War, the sad state that Germany found itself in after World War II, and the protracted recovery of Vietnam after its conflict with the United States. In general, postwar recovery entails the rebuilding of critical infrastructure, the replacement of a lost generation of able-bodied men and women, and the restoration of the “national psyche.” Macedonia evidently suffered greatly through the time of the writing of this letter; if most of my life had been scarred by war, I doubt that I would have been as enthusiastic as the Macedonians were about meeting the needs of destitute brothers in Christ.
In verse 9, we see that Christ became poor so that all believers might become rich. Hodge offers some insightful thoughts on this point:
That is, he so far laid aside the glory of his divine majesty that he was to all appearance a man, and even a servant, so that people refused to recognize him as God, but rather despised, persecuted, and at last crucified him as a man…Believers are made rich in the possession of that glory that Christ laid aside or concealed. They are made partakers of `the divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4) – that is, of the divine holiness, exaltation, and blessedness.
It is evident that an integral aspect of Christ’s poverty on this earth lay in how His contemporaries viewed Him. The fact that they did not acknowledge His divine nature – in spite of His claims to divinity – and focused on His human nature caused Him to suffer greatly, both externally and internally – highlighting His poverty. Also, the fact that believers possess the glory that Christ had with His Father before the creation of the world is mind-boggling. I wrestle with the realization that I have such an awesome glory, especially when life feels rather mundane. Indeed, I look forward to the time when I will be able to understand and appreciate this glory.
In this passage, Paul stresses the importance of generosity and notes that it is a gift. Hodge offers some helpful thoughts on giving in his commentary on verse 14:
1. All giving is voluntary. A person’s property is his own…2. The purpose of giving is relief of poverty. The equality aimed at, therefore, is not an equality as to the amount of property, but equal relief from the burden of want…3. While all men are brothers, and the poor are proper objects of charity whether they are Christians or not, there is a special obligation resting on the members of Christ to relieve the needs of their fellow believers…4. A fourth rule is designed to prevent any abuse of the brotherhood of Christians. The poor have no right to depend on the gifts of the rich because they are brothers.
Balancing these four principles that govern Christian giving can be a rather tricky endeavor. We know that “money talks,” and we know that money is the source of many painful conflicts, even among Christians. My understanding of Hodge’s point is that the second, third and fourth principles should serve as a starting point for any believer when they are considering meeting the needs of a fellow believer. They may need to pray diligently and seek the counsel of others in making this decision. When all is said and done, the first principle should determine the exact amount that they give.
Review: The Theory of Information and Coding January 25, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Research.Tags: block codes, claude shannon, coding theory, convolutional codes, information theory
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I recently finished “The Theory of Information and Coding” by R.J. McEliece. I originally used this book for a course taught by Dr. McEliece in the Fall 2002-03 quarter.
This book has one review on Amazon, so I hope to provide some additional insights for people who are considering obtaining the book.
In this book, the author provides the reader with a basic understanding of the fields of information theory and coding theory. He begins by presenting the concepts of entropy and mutual information, which are central to information theory. With these fundamental definitions in hand, he then presents the two main results of this area – Shannon’s channel coding and source coding theorems. After extending these results to the Gaussian case, he unifies them via a proof of the source-channel coding theorem. He then shifts gears and focuses on coding theory. He introduces several important types of codes, including linear codes – and some of their sub-classes, including cyclic codes, BCH codes and Reed-Solomon codes. The rest of the book contains a brief overview of convolutional codes and a discussion of variable-length source codes.
The author skillfully guides the reader through the information theory section of the text. By way of comparison, I had also read through one of the major texts in this area, Elements of Information Theory by Cover and Thomas; I found McEliece’s presentation of the fundamental information-theoretic concepts and results to be simpler and more intuitive. The author uses simple examples throughout the text to drive home key ideas; for example, he repeatedly discusses the (7,4) Hamming code – which happens to be a superb teaching tool. I also derived valuable insights from the presentation of the BCH decoding algorithm and the rigorous explanation of the efficacy of Huffman’s algorithm. In addition, I enjoyed the anecdotes that the author sprinkles throughout the text, as many of them arise from his long-standing association with JPL; thus, they bridge the gap between theory and practice.
My main issue with the text stems from the relatively large number of typos that I discovered. This is somewhat disappointing, as I read through its second edition. Also, the chapter on convolutional codes seems to be, technically speaking, rather light. This causes the section on coding theory to seem unbalanced, as the author skillfully presents many technical results that underlie the area of block coding. I would have preferred that the author extend the book to provide a more comprehensive treatment of convolutional codes, especially since they are more widely used in practice compared to block codes.
Overall I would strongly recommend this book to those who want a gentle introduction to the linked fields of information theory and coding theory.
Paul’s Joy January 21, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Books, Christianity.Tags: 2 corinthians, confidence, devotion, paul, repentance
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Here are my thoughts on 2 Corinthians 7:2-16.
Summary: Paul begins by exhorting the Corinthians to love him in return, as he has done none of the following:
- treat anyone unjustly
- corrupt anyone’s morals
- defraud anyone.
He does not intend to question their devotion to him, as they are so dear to him that neither death nor life could separate them. He has joyful confidence in them, and he boasts of them; at this time he is filled with comfort, and his joy overflows in the midst of his difficulties.
When Paul entered Macedonia, he still endured mental anguish; he was faced with external and internal difficulties. Yet God, who comforts the depressed, comforted him via the arrival of Titus. Paul was consoled by hearing of the comfort that Titus had received from the Corinthians; moreover, Titus told him of their desire to see him, their mourning over having offended him and their zeal for him – and so he experienced joy beyond what he derived from hearing of Titus’ personal comfort.
Although Paul’s previous letter briefly pained the Corinthians, causing him to regret having written it, he now has no regrets. In fact, he now rejoices over it – not because they were pained, but that their pain caused them to turn from sin to God; they were pained according to God’s will, and so his first letter did not injure them. Sorrow according to God’s will is an essential aspect of salvation – and the one who repents should not regret it – while the sorrow of unbelievers only yields spiritual death. Now Paul’s previous letter caused the Corinthians to experience sorrow according to God’s will, and they displayed the following:
- a desire to correct the sin in their midst
- a desire to acknowledge their sin to Paul and ask for his forgiveness
- anger at themselves for allowing the sin of interest to occur in their midst
- fear that Paul would come and punish them for their error in this regard
- affection for Paul
- a desire for the reformation of the sinner in their midst
- a sense that the sin in their midst must be punished
and so in every respect they showed themselves to be pure in this regard. Although he dove into their internal affairs by writing his previous letter, their above-mentioned actions prove that he wrote to them neither for the sake of the sinner in their midst, nor for the one who he had injured – but to show his love for them.
Paul is encouraged both by the Corinthians’ repentance in this regard, and by the fact that Titus’ spirit derived rest from them. He had boasted of them to Titus, and they did not mortify him; just as he had preached the truth to them, his boasting of them was vindicated. Indeed, Titus now has more affection for them than when he was with them, because he remembers their obedience toward him; they had greeted him reverently. Paul concludes by stating that he rejoices in the fact that he can be confident in them.
Thoughts: In verse 10, Paul states that sorrow for sin that stems from a proper relationship with God eventually produces life, while the sorrow of unbelievers eventually produces death. Hodge offers some pointed words on this subject:
It is a great mistake to suppose that the natural tendency of pain and sorrow is to bring good. They tend rather to excite rebellion against God and all evil feelings. It is only when they are sanctified…that they bring out fruit for righteousness…The more miserable you make a bad man, the worse you make him. The wicked are said to curse God while they gnaw their tongues with pain and refuse to repent of their deeds (Revelation 16:10-11).
This is a difficult quote to digest, especially when one considers how the class of unbelievers can be decomposed into its constituent sub-classes. For example, one of the core principles of Hinduism and Buddhism is that by leading a proper life, one can eventually escape pain and sorrow. I find it difficult to picture a Buddhist monk becoming “worse” as a result of experiencing sorrow; the monk in question would probably perceive sorrow as one of the standard obstacles on the road to enlightenment. Most likely Hodge’s point has its true significance in light of the Final Judgment, especially given his quotation from Revelation.
In verse 16, Paul asserts that he is confident in the Corinthians. Hodge offers some summary thoughts on this point:
This is the conclusion of the whole matter. The first seven chapters of the letter are intimately linked. They all relate to the state of the congregation at Corinth and to Paul’s relationship to the people there…Here, therefore, we have the conclusion of the whole preceding discussion. The result of the long conflict of feeling about the Corinthians as a church was the full restoration of confidence. ‘I rejoice that I have confidence in you in all things.’
This refreshingly positive conclusion to the first part of the epistle must have subtly influenced my understanding of it before I wrote this series of posts. While the epistle is miles away from being as “warm and fuzzy” as I had thought, Paul is clearly pleased that the Corinthians have responded positively to his previous letter – at least in terms of the case of their incestuous brother – showing that they are growing in their spiritual walk.
Do Not Be Yoked With Unbelievers January 15, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Books, Christianity.Tags: 2 corinthians, believers, holiness, paul, union
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Here are my thoughts on 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.
Summary: Paul begins by exhorting the Corinthians to avoid any intimate associations with unbelievers, as those who conform to God’s law cannot bond with those who oppose it; also, believers and unbelievers are as incongruous as knowledge and error. In addition, just as Christ and Satan cannot be united, believers and unbelievers cannot be united. Indeed, one cannot worship both God and idols, as He dwells in every believer; God has stated that He will dwell with His people, and He will be their God. Given this awesome fact, God commands His people to avoid bonding with unbelievers. Moreover, He will be their Father and they will be His children. Paul concludes by exhorting the Corinthians to strive for purity by avoiding all sin, as sin pollutes their bodies and minds; in this way they will be perfectly holy – by striving to emulate God.
Thoughts: In verse 14, we see that Paul exhorts the Corinthians to avoid any intimate associations with unbelievers. Hodge offers some relevant thoughts on this point:
The exhortation is general and is not to be confined to partaking of heathen sacrifices, nor to intermarriage with the heathen, much less to association with the opponents of the apostle. It no doubt meant something particular in the special circumstances of the Corinthians and was intended to guard them against those entangling and dangerous associations with the unconverted around them, to which they were especially exposed.
I thought about this passage’s modern-day application: what types of intimate associations with unbelievers should today’s believers avoid? There are two obvious answers, as noted above by Hodge:
- if an unbeliever is of a different faith, a believer should not participate in any of their religious ceremonies
- a believer should not marry an unbeliever.
Besides these examples, I struggled to formulate a scenario where a believer could form a damaging, intimate association with a non-believer. Should believing parents adopt a non-believing teenager? What if a believer considers a non-believer as their closest friend? Can a believing soldier serve in the same squad as a non-believer – and possibly go into battle with them? It’s not clear to me that Paul’s exhortation has a broad present-day application; thoughts on this are welcome.
Paul’s Hardships January 11, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Books, Christianity.Tags: 2 corinthians, constancy, endurance, love, paul
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Here are my thoughts on 2 Corinthians 6:3-13.
Summary: Paul begins by noting that as an apostle, he refrains from acting in any way that would cause his hearers to not believe the Gospel. Instead, he – as a minister – always acts to convince his hearers of his integrity; he patiently endures all trials, including:
- anything that tests his endurance
- anything that stretches his endurance to its limits
- anything that causes him to view defeat as a certainty.
More specifically, he patiently endures:
- being lashed by Jews and Gentiles
- being imprisoned
- being confronted by angry rioters
while voluntarily making the following sacrifices:
- toiling as a minister and as a tent-maker
- forgoing sleep on numerous occasions
- forgoing food due to his workload.
In all circumstances, Paul:
- has the right motives
- shows a thorough understanding of the Gospel
- patiently endures trials
- desires to benefit others
- possesses the Holy Spirit
- loves his brothers in Christ
- preaches the Gospel – which is truth
- shows that the power of God works through him
- employs the full armor of God, enabling his hearers to receive His righteousness.
Paul remains faithful through all circumstances, including:
- being honored or dishonored
- being judged positively or negatively
- being regarded as a truth-teller or as one who leads people away from truth
- being praised or treated with contempt
- being regarded as close to death – yet God continually rescues him
- being afflicted – yet not overcome by his afflictions
- being sorrowful – yet he is also joyful
- being materially poor – yet he gives true riches to others
- being destitute – yet God orders all things for his benefit.
He directly addresses the Corinthians, reminding them of his freedom and openness towards them. While he loves them unconditionally, they have not acted in kind. Paul concludes by exhorting the Corinthians – as his spiritual children – to love him in return.
Thoughts: In verse 6, we see that Paul’s possessing the Holy Spirit was one of the reasons for his consistency as a minister. Hodge offers some relevant thoughts on this point:
To prove that he was a minister of God, Paul appeals to the evidence of the presence of the Spirit in him. This evidence was to be found in those graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit that he was full of, and in the divine power that accompanied his preaching and made it successful.
I see this as the main reason for Paul’s consistency as a minister through all of the difficulties that he endured. Without the Holy Spirit’s presence in him, he certainly would have acted based on impure motives when preaching the Gospel; also, he would not have worked so diligently as to give up food and sleep on a regular basis. In addition, he would have abandoned his ministry when faced with death. One must wonder how many believers through the centuries can trace their “spiritual heritage” back to the work of Paul; they can be thankful that he did possess the Holy Spirit – in abundance.
In verse 10, we see that Paul was both full of sorrow and full of joy. Hodge offers some illuminating thoughts on this point:
This is one of the paradoxes of the Christian experience. The believer has more true joy in sorrow than the world can ever give. The sense of the love of God, assurance of his support, confidence in future blessedness, and the persuasion that his present light afflictions will work out for him a far greater and eternal glory mingle with his sorrows and give the suffering child of God a peace that passes all understanding. He would not exchange his lot with that of the most prosperous of the children of this world.
Clearly it is not the case that when a believer receives abundant joy in the midst of abundant sorrow, their abundant sorrow magically disappears. I thought about this, and it seems to relate to my previous post on how believers should rejoice in the fact that they have two natures – a sinful nature and a spiritual nature. Similarly, believers can be thankful for the fact that they experience both sorrow and joy in this life. As believers will never be free from sorrow until the next life, they can rejoice that God does give them joy in this life, enabling them to endure their sorrows.
The Ministry of Reconciliation January 7, 2012
Posted by flashbuzzer in Books, Christianity.Tags: 2 corinthians, change, christ, paul, reconciliation
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Here are my thoughts on 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2.
Summary: Paul begins by noting that as he earnestly desires the approval of Christ, he aims to convince others of his integrity; God knows his true character, and he hopes that the Corinthians are also convinced in that regard. Yet he does not want to praise himself; he wants the Corinthians to vindicate him by defending him against the charges of his opponents. Whether Paul acts extravagantly or discreetly, he aims to glorify God and build up the Corinthians. Indeed, his life is governed by his love of Christ, as he is sure that Christ died for those who would accept Him as their Savior – and His death is their death. Moreover, those who would accept Him as their Savior do not live for themselves; they devote themselves to Him, as He is their risen Savior.
Given this awesome reality, Paul does not judge people based on their external circumstances; he formerly viewed Jesus in that light, but he now knows Him as the Son of God. Moreover, anyone who is united with Christ is radically changed by Him; their old way of life has been replaced by a new way of life. Indeed, God has brought about this radical change by removing the hostility between Himself and mankind via the death of Christ, and He has called the apostles to announce this great news. God atoned for the sins of mankind by the death of Christ; He has forgiven their sins and has commissioned the apostles to preach this awesome reality. The apostles represent Christ and speak for God in appealing to men to receive His forgiveness; they exhort men to receive God’s offer of reconciliation. This stems from the fact that God regarded Christ as a sinner in the place of all believers so that by being united with Christ, all believers are regarded by God as being righteous.
Now as a fellow worker with God, Paul exhorts the Corinthians to not reject His offer of reconciliation. He concludes by quoting from Isaiah 49:8 to express the idea that God has ordained a time for revealing His plan of salvation for mankind, and He has now revealed that plan.
Thoughts: Verse 21 is probably familiar to many Christians, as it comprises the first verse of Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin. This got me thinking about how it is disturbingly simple to sing a worship song and not think about its lyrics – or even consider that the lyrics may be based on a specific Biblical passage. Unfortunately I fall into that trap on a regular basis; when I sang “Jesus Messiah” on several occasions, I did not recognize the critical role that verse 21 plays in that song. I am convinced that as believers become more well-versed in Scripture, their praise/worship experiences will be enhanced. Of course, Christian recording artists are not immune to the problem of misinterpreting Scripture when they craft their songs, but that’s a topic for another day.
In verse 2, Paul draws on Isaiah 49:8 to illustrate his point that God revealed His plan of salvation to mankind at a certain point in time. Hodge offers some interesting thoughts:
Isaiah 49, from which this passage is taken, is addressed to the Messiah…we may assume, in strict accordance with scriptural usage, that the apostle employs the language of the Old Testament to express his own ideas, without regard to its original application…He might have expressed it in other equivalent terms. But the language of the passage in Isaiah being brought to his mind by association, he adopts the form given there, without any suggestion, expressed or implied, that the passage had a different application originally.
Hodge’s quote implies that New Testament writers could be led by the Holy Spirit to liberally quote from the Old Testament in order to reinforce some of their points. As these writers were divinely inspired, it follows that modern readers should perceive the quoted Old Testament passages as having two interpretations:
- that which arises from their original application
- that which is intended by the New Testament writer in question
An interesting question, then, is whether these two interpretations always complement each other, or if they are occasionally orthogonal. In particular, can the New Testament interpretation completely overshadow the original interpretation?
