O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open and our heart is enlarged means frank, generous affection and free, wide love spoken toward believers. The saying belongs to Paul's appeal and exhortation in the whole of 2 Corinthians 6:1-18, which is of great importance and lays down conditions and principles that in no case should be neglected. Those who take the name of Christian must labor together with Christ and not receive the grace of God in vain, answering a character of excellence that reveals Christ's character as His appointed representatives to an apostate world, for the accepted time and day of salvation is NOW, and the NOW is ever the eternal NOW because no tomorrow belongs to anyone.
The instruction in the chapter is a model for Christian education and faithful service and constitutes the higher education, than which there is no higher education than what was given to the early disciples and is given through the Word. It is to be studied diligently to be comprehended by searching the Word rather than getting in line with the world, and believers are to advance just as far as the Word will take them and work intelligently for it. Righteousness is the sign of understanding God's will given through chosen messengers and impressed by the Holy Spirit, and living by it safeguards families and churches from error and encourages those who genuinely understand the gospel. The exhortation is more appropriate now than ever because the Lord is soon to come and perilous times are ahead, and it comes as the Laodicean message applicable to the people of God in their present spiritual condition, urging them to open their eyes to discern spiritual things.
The verse calls God's people to separate in spirit and practice from the world and to come out and be separate and touch not the unclean thing, having no fellowship of righteousness with unrighteousness, no communion of light with darkness, no concord of Christ with Belial, no part of believer with infidel, and no agreement of the temple of God with idols, refusing to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. The large and comprehensive promises are that believers are the temple of the living God in whom God dwells and walks, that God will be their God and Father and they shall be His people and sons and daughters if they come out and are separate. Having these promises they must lay hold of them as special blessings and cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit and perfect holiness in the fear of God, since right thoughts and pure and holy purposes do not come naturally but must be sought and encouraged by earnest work. Meeting those conditions requires obeying all God's requirements including the sacred Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the sign between God and His people in the third angel's message, refusing conformity to laws and customs that would render them disloyal to God, and bearing the cross through tribulation, bruising of spirit, hard speeches, ridicule and persecution while united to Christ as the limpet to the rock.
As God's authoritative word to servants perplexed about their future course, the verse means that those who are not their own but bought with a price, whose time, talents, and every jot of influence belong to the Lord, are to do His bidding and learn daily of Him, are not to set up in business for themselves, and are not to unite with unbelievers in medical work. The great goodness received makes all who receive it debtors both to Greeks and Barbarians and to the wise and unwise to share it. The verse rebukes a life whose whole center and circumference is self, that like a whirlwind draws in everything within reach and grasps and retains every advantage, exposing spiritual deception in heart, spirit, soul, flesh and bones where selfishness reigns. It calls for the opposite enlarged heart by falling on the Rock and being broken, humbling the heart before God without delay, surrendering the whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, undoing what has been done wrong, being broken for putting the Saviour to shame, and stopping turning wayward when Jesus offers blessing.
The verse means God loves the worker and wants to make him His mouthpiece to speak through him to others with mouth open and heart enlarged. An enlarged heart expresses love to God, puts away its own ideas, unites with brethren and believes God is working with him, works together with them cheerfully and lovingly and patiently and hopefully, hides self in Jesus, does not stand in its own light, and gives courage and hope to others. It does not become weary until strength becomes sickly, but stops work and goes apart and rests awhile when tired and full of care and worry and self-pity, so as not to worry out of the arms of Jesus.
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open and our heart is enlarged means frank, generous affection and free, wide love spoken toward believers. The saying belongs to Paul's appeal and exhortation in the whole of 2 Corinthians 6:1-18, which is of great importance and lays down conditions and principles that in no case should be neglected. Those who take the name of Christian must labor together with Christ and not receive the grace of God in vain, answering a character of excellence that reveals Christ's character as His appointed representatives to an apostate world, for the accepted time and day of salvation is NOW, and the NOW is ever the eternal NOW because no tomorrow belongs to anyone.
The instruction in the chapter is a model for Christian education and faithful service and constitutes the higher education, than which there is no higher education than what was given to the early disciples and is given through the Word. It is to be studied diligently to be comprehended by searching the Word rather than getting in line with the world, and believers are to advance just as far as the Word will take them and work intelligently for it. Righteousness is the sign of understanding God's will given through chosen messengers and impressed by the Holy Spirit, and living by it safeguards families and churches from error and encourages those who genuinely understand the gospel. The exhortation is more appropriate now than ever because the Lord is soon to come and perilous times are ahead, and it comes as the Laodicean message applicable to the people of God in their present spiritual condition, urging them to open their eyes to discern spiritual things.
The verse calls God's people to separate in spirit and practice from the world and to come out and be separate and touch not the unclean thing, having no fellowship of righteousness with unrighteousness, no communion of light with darkness, no concord of Christ with Belial, no part of believer with infidel, and no agreement of the temple of God with idols, refusing to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. The large and comprehensive promises are that believers are the temple of the living God in whom God dwells and walks, that God will be their God and Father and they shall be His people and sons and daughters if they come out and are separate. Having these promises they must lay hold of them as special blessings and cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit and perfect holiness in the fear of God, since right thoughts and pure and holy purposes do not come naturally but must be sought and encouraged by earnest work. Meeting those conditions requires obeying all God's requirements including the sacred Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the sign between God and His people in the third angel's message, refusing conformity to laws and customs that would render them disloyal to God, and bearing the cross through tribulation, bruising of spirit, hard speeches, ridicule and persecution while united to Christ as the limpet to the rock.
As God's authoritative word to servants perplexed about their future course, the verse means that those who are not their own but bought with a price, whose time, talents, and every jot of influence belong to the Lord, are to do His bidding and learn daily of Him, are not to set up in business for themselves, and are not to unite with unbelievers in medical work. The great goodness received makes all who receive it debtors both to Greeks and Barbarians and to the wise and unwise to share it. The verse rebukes a life whose whole center and circumference is self, that like a whirlwind draws in everything within reach and grasps and retains every advantage, exposing spiritual deception in heart, spirit, soul, flesh and bones where selfishness reigns. It calls for the opposite enlarged heart by falling on the Rock and being broken, humbling the heart before God without delay, surrendering the whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, undoing what has been done wrong, being broken for putting the Saviour to shame, and stopping turning wayward when Jesus offers blessing.
The verse means God loves the worker and wants to make him His mouthpiece to speak through him to others with mouth open and heart enlarged. An enlarged heart expresses love to God, puts away its own ideas, unites with brethren and believes God is working with him, works together with them cheerfully and lovingly and patiently and hopefully, hides self in Jesus, does not stand in its own light, and gives courage and hope to others. It does not become weary until strength becomes sickly, but stops work and goes apart and rests awhile when tired and full of care and worry and self-pity, so as not to worry out of the arms of Jesus.