2 Corinthians 3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
The hope of the promise of the new covenant should bring us hope. This promise is based on the sureness of the resurrection of Christ. Faith is a crucial link between hope and boldness. Our faith is based on the historical event of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus gave his life to inaugurate and seal the new covenant. Jeremiah records God’s promises about this new covenant in 31:33-34, “‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” The only way this can come about is through the power of the Holy Spirit teaching us and changing us from the inside.
Through believing and trusting in Christ, we become linked to him in deeply personal relationship. We begin to shift our focus from the world and its problems and suffering, to heaven and eternal life. We come to realize that our citizenship is in heaven and our values and worldview are determined by God’s kingdom, which is breaking into this world through our encounter with Christ through the Holy Spirit. The practical end result of all of this is boldness. We are not deterred from this life of faith and obedience. We do not let suffering discourage us. We press forward to live out the calling we have received.
With these words, Paul is accomplishing two things. One, he is encouraging the Corinthians not to give up following the true doctrines as he preached them. He is drawing them back to the core ideas of the gospel of Christ. Two, he is continuing his defense against any accusations of timidity or fickleness about which the Corinthians or the opponents in Corinth were criticizing him.
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