Daily Devotions
2 Corinthians
"Did Titus take advantage of you?"
Text: 2 Corinthians 12:18
GRIEF AND INDIGNATION
Paul, understandably, was deeply grieved. He was also indignant at the way the Corinthians had behaved towards him and the team who laboured with him in Corinth.
“I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him.
Did Titus take advantage of you?
Did we not walk in the same spirit?
Did we not walk in the same steps?”
2 Corinthians 12:18
1. “I urged Titus”
a) The word “urge” may be translated “beseech”.
b) Paul did not compel Titus to go to Corinth.
c) A lesser man would have given up on the difficult Corinthian church.
d) Paul cared for the brethren and when he could not visit, he sent trusted associates.
2. “And sent our brother with him”
a) Paul made sure that Titus would not need to go to Corinth alone.
b) There was an unnamed brother who went with him.
c) He was most likely the person whom Paul called “brother” (2 Corinthians 8:18).
3. A series of three rhetorical questions
a) Paul resorted to using “rhetorical questions” here.
b) It is a powerful way of expressing thought.
c) In all three questions, the expected answer is “No!”
4. “Did Titus take advantage of you”
a) Titus was a spiritual son of Paul.
b) He was like Paul in many ways.
c) He would not have taken advantage of anyone!
5. “Did we not walk in the same spirit”
a) This could be a reference to the Holy Spirit (as suggested by the NKJV translators, when they capitalised the word “Spirit”).
b) It could also be with reference to the way Paul served the Lord (Romans 1:9).
c) The Corinthians challenged the spirit of Paul. They said nothing against the Spirit of God.
d) Paul maintained that he and Titus shared the same spirit of faith.
6. “Did we not walk in the same steps”
Titus was a spiritual son to Paul. He had proven himself to be a faithful servant of the Lord. He had learned well and had walked as his spiritual father did!