2 Corinthians 12:1-10 – Powerful weakness Glorious Grace
So far as Paul warns and confronts the church in Corinth he has reminded them of the marks of a true gospel ministry, he has shown them his love for them and he has reminded them that God works through weakness for his glory.
In chapter 12 he continues by showing them what not to rely on and what they ought to rely on.
1. What not to rely on
The Corinthian church was always enamoured of the spiritual, ecstatic and experiential. Its why in 1 Corinthians Paul gives 3 chapters to teaching them about spiritual gifts and the key to using them being love for others not advancement or promotion of self. But it seems they are still drawn to the same old things, but now it is visions and revelations – that is what Paul now turns to. His ministry is under is attack and another prong of that attack is that he doesn’t speak about his experiences.
So(1) Paul must go on boasting as he tackles this issue not to defend himself or win a fan club but because at stake is the very gospel itself. The super-apostles it appears regularly boast of their visions and revelations, it was on of their key badges of spiritual authenticity.
And Paul well by comparison he was looking a bit shabby. Yes there was that one vision on the Damascus road, but what about since then. Surely if he was an Apostle God would be appearing to him more frequently than that. When was the last time you heard of him having a vision or dream!
And so Paul reluctantly recounts this vision. But there is a big question as you read it. Is it Paul’s vision and if so why does he recount it in the third person?
There are 4 reasons why it is the apostle Paul who has the vision. Firstly, the detail and time that he gives indicate that he is present, secondly he writes (6)"Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth.", thirdly (7)he makes it clear that this vision is linked closely to his thorn in the flesh therefore it must be his vision. And finally the issue at stake is Paul’s experience and authority, so to boast of someone else’s vision would not make his point.
So the question then is if it is his vision why doesn’t Paul just write I saw(2) rather than “I know a man in Christ who…” I think (1)gives us the answer, Paul is still embarrassed by his having to boast, he has been driven to it but it goes against the grain, it is not Christ-like.
There is further evidence of that in his vision itself; Paul will recount that he saw a vision so that the Corinthians see that he is not inferior, so that they will accept his apostleship and listen to his words and not abandon the gospel. But he will not go into great detail about his vision or what it says about him, because he does not want to boast in and of himself but of his weakness which shows God’s strength and the gospels power.
The vision was fourteen years ago, in it he is caught up to heaven – in Jewish thought and writing there were a number of heavens but the third heaven is probably a reference to Enoch and the Apocalypse of Moses where the third heaven is paradise, thought to be like the Garden of Eden. But Paul tells nothing of what he heard because it is impossible to put into words and it was private. Paul will not boast in what he saw and heard because it would lead others to think more of him that they should – which is exactly why the super apostles tell everyone about their visions and revelations.
The vision does not qualify Paul to be an Apostle, it is not what gives him authority(6); it is his daily conduct and commitment to the truth of the gospel of Christ that he preaches which qualifies him. Paul does not want much made of him but much made of the Saviour he preaches. He is a “man in Christ”(1) that alone is what matters
In an age that craves spiritual experience as a sign of authenticity we need to hear this rebuke. It is being in Christ which matters not experience.
2. What to rely on
Fascinatingly he recognises that the danger of such a vision is that it would puff him up and make him become conceited, just as it was doing to the ‘super-apostles’. (7)“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”
We don’t know what exactly it was and the theories are endless, but what we need to know the bible tells us.
Paul’s thorn was at once both “a messenger of Satan, to torment me” and “given” by God. It is both a hindrance and a gift to stop him becoming boastful. It sounds odd to us doesn’t it because we tend to think of things being either from God or from Satan. But it is not just here that we see it, with Joseph and his brothers we read his conclusion as they fear punishment for selling him into slavery “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Satan is clearly present in the brother’s jealousy and plotting yet God overturns Satan’s diabolical schemes so that they become part of the tapestry of his glory and plan of salvation.
It’s the same with Christ’s death. In Judas betrayal, the Pharisees plotting, the peoples’ rejection and Pilots lack of backbone Satan is clearly at work, and his scheme looks successful as the nails are hammered into Christ’s hands, the disciples certainly think so. But God has in his sovereignty planned to use Satan’s actions to bring about his salvation plan.
We can rely on God, in his providence and plan no experience in wasted. Though it doesn’t make it less painful, Paul is clearly troubled by the recurrent problem, he pleads for it to be taken away. And God answers his prayer: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’" God’s answer is ‘no’ I won’t take it away but I will give you grace to live with it.
That may seem odd to us, but Paul is a man on God’s mission, he has training and teaching, he is ideally placed to reach people for Christ why would God allow something to hamper his ministry? We think. But it is because Paul must minister in God’s power and strength and not in his own; “for God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me…For when I am weak I am strong.”
The Corinthians despised weakness and loved strength and power; we need to recognise the Corinthian attitude within us. I remember someone preaching for the first time, he looked as white as a sheet as we prayed beforehand. I asked him if he was nervous and he said yes he was terrified, I said that was a good thing. He looked at me and said but you aren’t nervous are you, I’m not sure my answer eased his fears. I said I am nervous every time I have to teach the Bible, because I know there are things I haven’t grasped yet, there are things I have missed and only God can make my poor efforts worth anything.
I wonder how you feel as you think about going back to uni. It’s not long until the Carol Service is it – are you praying about who you can invite? Are you ready to invite them? Ah but I’m not a natural evangelist, I’m not brave, I’m not a natural communicator, my best efforts are poor, I’m not… I’m not… I’m not…
You don’t have to be God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Christ’s power is what counts not your power.
We need to learn the lesson from the Corinthians, the lesson they needed to learn. Gospel ministry is cross shaped – Paul makes that point as he ends his letter 13:4 “For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him in our dealing with you.”
We began the weekend thinking that if you are a Christian you are a minister of the gospel. We end with the reminder to learn the lesson – Gospel Ministry is cross shaped. It looks weak but God makes it strong.
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians. Show all posts
Monday, 16 November 2009
Houseparty talk 3: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33
2 Corinthians 11:16-33 - God’s Gospel Fool
We saw from v1-15 that Paul is about to engage in boasting not because he wants to but because he has to. He is driven to it because the Corinthian church are accepting the boasting of the false apostles and questioning Paul and his teaching. Paul is showing that his ministry and therefore the gospel are not inferior.
As he turns to boasting he exposes the real fools in Corinth and the foolishness of boasting in anything but Christ and the power of the gospel.
1. Spot the fools
The argument he makes is essentially this; boasting is foolish, therefore boasting is what a fool does, but because you tolerate fools I will act the fool. Paul here engages in the same activity as the false apostles do, he is not being Christlike(17-18) which is what he would love to be because they think that to be Christlike, to be meek and gentle is a tragic flaw. But if it will gain him a hearing he will do so because the gospel is at stake and therefore the salvation of the Corinthians.
Have you ever done a Where’s Wally picture. You look all over and have to find Wally. Well as Paul writes these verses the game is not where’s Wally but spot the fool. Paul is forced to act the part of the fool because the Corinthians are being foolish and listening to fools. As he writes Paul exposes the false apostles and the Corinthians for what they are.
(19)With scathing irony Paul addresses the Corinthians as so wise because they gladly put up with fools. The Corinthians with all their claimed wisdom can’t see what is obvious. (20)They can’t see that the false apostles are enslaving, exploiting, taking advantage of and abusing them. In fact the great irony is that they are paying them to do it and questioning Paul’s ministry because he is not like them.
The Corinthian’s are so tolerant in their wisdom that these false apostles are in key teaching positions, they have authority, and they are approved of.
Yet again the problem is that the church in Corinth has too much of Corinth in the church.
Have you seen the Apprentice? The people on it are often two faced, pushy, arrogant, power hungry, grabby and happy to put others down. They have to be in order to go on the programme – they are fighting for the top position they have to prove themselves, and some of them will do anything to get it.
In Corinth they have their own version of the Apprentice going on but its called ‘The Apostle’ and the more domineering, the more brash, the more boastful, the more you push yourself forward and big yourself up even at the expense of others the more likely you are to win the popularity contest.
(21)Paul confesses a failing; his team were “too weak for that”, they were not worldly enough in their leadership style for that. Instead their model was not the apprentice but Christ. (4:4-5)”The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.”
Who are the fools in Corinth? It is the Corinthian church, they are too worldly in the way they think of leaders and leadership. They are impressed by charisma, power, assurance, arrogance, authority, by getting the job done no matter how it is done. They do not use gospel criteria, they do not think to look for someone whose ministry is patterned on the Saviour, or whose ongoing life reflections the humbling nature of salvation.
2. A Gospel Fool
Only now after another warning about the folly of what he is doing will Paul reluctantly boast(21b). He begins by displaying his Old Testament credentials or his pedigree; just like the false or super apostles he is a Hebrew, an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham. He has the lineage, he has the breeding.
(23)Raises a bit of a question, some people wonder if he is talking about a different group than he has just referred to in(13-15) because here he says ‘Are they servants of Christ?’ But in (13-15) he describes the reality of what they are and here merely states what these super apostles claim to be namely servants of Christ.
They claim they are servants of Christ well so am I says Paul and now he goes on to list his credentials. I guess if we were writing it we’d but something like the blurb you get on conference brochures. ‘Our speaker this year is the Apostle Paul. The persecutor turned church planter called by the risen and ascended Jesus Christ himself. A one man mission task force responsible for taking the gospel to Syria, Lycia, Galatia, Cappodocia, Asia, Achaia, Macedonia and Crete. Author of bestsellers like the Letter to the Corinthians…and so on’
August Caesar did exactly that he wrote a eulogy about himself listing the number of his accomplishments and conquests, no doubt that’s what the Super Apostles did, and Paul engages in the same boasting but in a way that is markedly different, that subverts the boasting of the super apostles because Paul boasts in his weakness because it is Christ’s work for God’s glory that he is engaged in.
Paul boasts of sufferings, beatings, whippings, shipwrecks, hardships, dangers and the love, concern, anxiety and fears he has for the churches that he has planted, his anger at those who would lead them into sin.
Paul’s boasting is not triumphalist, it is not about success or achievement it shows his sufferings for the gospel. The very thing the Corinthians struggled so much with! The Corinthians struggle with the concept that the Christian life begins with a call to follow a crucified Saviour and continues to be patterned after a crucified Saviour as we wait for his glorious return.
He boasts of things which show his weakness, because it is not about him. And so appealing to God as his witness he refers to the incident we find in Acts 9 and his escape from Damascus in a basket. Saul who had so proudly set off for Damascus as the hunter of Christians flees the city a hunted man. Saul the up and coming rising star of the Pharisees is forced to escape like a common criminal.
In those days the first man up the wall to face the enemy in a siege was given the finest military award of valour you could earn. Yet Paul was let down from the wall when he faced opposition, the Corinthians couldn’t fail to get the contrast, not honour and glory but weakness!
Whilst the super-apostles boast of achievement, badges of honour, ministry success. Paul tells of how he ran away, of his weakness and reliance on God.
It’s not about me, is Paul’s point, it is about the gospel! It is not about his skill, comfort or success but about God working by his power for the salvation of many. God has taken those sufferings and weaknesses and by his power worked them to produce fruit, of which the church in Corinth is one.
The gospel pattern is of weakness, (13:3-4)“since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him in our dealing with you.”
There is no room for pride in the gospel. The gospel can by summed up by the word ‘Done’ – Christ does it all for us, he dies for us, calls us, saves us, secures our future. We do not contribute.
It is the same as we go on and grow in Christian maturity, he works by his Spirit to produce good works in us for his glory. He takes our weaknesses and imperfections and uses them, because the gospel is powerful and we are not.
It is the same as we engage in gospel ministry. As we share the gospel with our friends it is not about our persuasive skills, what determines the outcome is not how well you learn two ways to live, or how heart wrenchingly you give your testimony. It is whether God works. We give to God our weakness and failings and ask him to work through them so that the glory goes to him and not to us.
Have you spotted the fools? The Corinthians are the real fools because they are in danger of abandoning the gospel by listening to the egotistical self serving super apostles.
What should they do? They should spot their error see the danger and expel the false teachers. They should recognise their pride and repent of it.
But we need to be careful and hear the warning here, lest as we identify the fools in Corinth we condemn ourselves. We need to examine ourselves for pride. What are the things I boast in? The gospel leaves no room for boasting.
The gospel tells us we begin our Christian lives dependent on Christ, we live our Christian lives dependent on Christ, and we engage in ministry dependent on him.
Am I dependent on Christ? Are we conforming to the pattern of ministry Jesus gives.
We saw from v1-15 that Paul is about to engage in boasting not because he wants to but because he has to. He is driven to it because the Corinthian church are accepting the boasting of the false apostles and questioning Paul and his teaching. Paul is showing that his ministry and therefore the gospel are not inferior.
As he turns to boasting he exposes the real fools in Corinth and the foolishness of boasting in anything but Christ and the power of the gospel.
1. Spot the fools
The argument he makes is essentially this; boasting is foolish, therefore boasting is what a fool does, but because you tolerate fools I will act the fool. Paul here engages in the same activity as the false apostles do, he is not being Christlike(17-18) which is what he would love to be because they think that to be Christlike, to be meek and gentle is a tragic flaw. But if it will gain him a hearing he will do so because the gospel is at stake and therefore the salvation of the Corinthians.
Have you ever done a Where’s Wally picture. You look all over and have to find Wally. Well as Paul writes these verses the game is not where’s Wally but spot the fool. Paul is forced to act the part of the fool because the Corinthians are being foolish and listening to fools. As he writes Paul exposes the false apostles and the Corinthians for what they are.
(19)With scathing irony Paul addresses the Corinthians as so wise because they gladly put up with fools. The Corinthians with all their claimed wisdom can’t see what is obvious. (20)They can’t see that the false apostles are enslaving, exploiting, taking advantage of and abusing them. In fact the great irony is that they are paying them to do it and questioning Paul’s ministry because he is not like them.
The Corinthian’s are so tolerant in their wisdom that these false apostles are in key teaching positions, they have authority, and they are approved of.
Yet again the problem is that the church in Corinth has too much of Corinth in the church.
Have you seen the Apprentice? The people on it are often two faced, pushy, arrogant, power hungry, grabby and happy to put others down. They have to be in order to go on the programme – they are fighting for the top position they have to prove themselves, and some of them will do anything to get it.
In Corinth they have their own version of the Apprentice going on but its called ‘The Apostle’ and the more domineering, the more brash, the more boastful, the more you push yourself forward and big yourself up even at the expense of others the more likely you are to win the popularity contest.
(21)Paul confesses a failing; his team were “too weak for that”, they were not worldly enough in their leadership style for that. Instead their model was not the apprentice but Christ. (4:4-5)”The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.”
Who are the fools in Corinth? It is the Corinthian church, they are too worldly in the way they think of leaders and leadership. They are impressed by charisma, power, assurance, arrogance, authority, by getting the job done no matter how it is done. They do not use gospel criteria, they do not think to look for someone whose ministry is patterned on the Saviour, or whose ongoing life reflections the humbling nature of salvation.
2. A Gospel Fool
Only now after another warning about the folly of what he is doing will Paul reluctantly boast(21b). He begins by displaying his Old Testament credentials or his pedigree; just like the false or super apostles he is a Hebrew, an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham. He has the lineage, he has the breeding.
(23)Raises a bit of a question, some people wonder if he is talking about a different group than he has just referred to in(13-15) because here he says ‘Are they servants of Christ?’ But in (13-15) he describes the reality of what they are and here merely states what these super apostles claim to be namely servants of Christ.
They claim they are servants of Christ well so am I says Paul and now he goes on to list his credentials. I guess if we were writing it we’d but something like the blurb you get on conference brochures. ‘Our speaker this year is the Apostle Paul. The persecutor turned church planter called by the risen and ascended Jesus Christ himself. A one man mission task force responsible for taking the gospel to Syria, Lycia, Galatia, Cappodocia, Asia, Achaia, Macedonia and Crete. Author of bestsellers like the Letter to the Corinthians…and so on’
August Caesar did exactly that he wrote a eulogy about himself listing the number of his accomplishments and conquests, no doubt that’s what the Super Apostles did, and Paul engages in the same boasting but in a way that is markedly different, that subverts the boasting of the super apostles because Paul boasts in his weakness because it is Christ’s work for God’s glory that he is engaged in.
Paul boasts of sufferings, beatings, whippings, shipwrecks, hardships, dangers and the love, concern, anxiety and fears he has for the churches that he has planted, his anger at those who would lead them into sin.
Paul’s boasting is not triumphalist, it is not about success or achievement it shows his sufferings for the gospel. The very thing the Corinthians struggled so much with! The Corinthians struggle with the concept that the Christian life begins with a call to follow a crucified Saviour and continues to be patterned after a crucified Saviour as we wait for his glorious return.
He boasts of things which show his weakness, because it is not about him. And so appealing to God as his witness he refers to the incident we find in Acts 9 and his escape from Damascus in a basket. Saul who had so proudly set off for Damascus as the hunter of Christians flees the city a hunted man. Saul the up and coming rising star of the Pharisees is forced to escape like a common criminal.
In those days the first man up the wall to face the enemy in a siege was given the finest military award of valour you could earn. Yet Paul was let down from the wall when he faced opposition, the Corinthians couldn’t fail to get the contrast, not honour and glory but weakness!
Whilst the super-apostles boast of achievement, badges of honour, ministry success. Paul tells of how he ran away, of his weakness and reliance on God.
It’s not about me, is Paul’s point, it is about the gospel! It is not about his skill, comfort or success but about God working by his power for the salvation of many. God has taken those sufferings and weaknesses and by his power worked them to produce fruit, of which the church in Corinth is one.
The gospel pattern is of weakness, (13:3-4)“since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him in our dealing with you.”
There is no room for pride in the gospel. The gospel can by summed up by the word ‘Done’ – Christ does it all for us, he dies for us, calls us, saves us, secures our future. We do not contribute.
It is the same as we go on and grow in Christian maturity, he works by his Spirit to produce good works in us for his glory. He takes our weaknesses and imperfections and uses them, because the gospel is powerful and we are not.
It is the same as we engage in gospel ministry. As we share the gospel with our friends it is not about our persuasive skills, what determines the outcome is not how well you learn two ways to live, or how heart wrenchingly you give your testimony. It is whether God works. We give to God our weakness and failings and ask him to work through them so that the glory goes to him and not to us.
Have you spotted the fools? The Corinthians are the real fools because they are in danger of abandoning the gospel by listening to the egotistical self serving super apostles.
What should they do? They should spot their error see the danger and expel the false teachers. They should recognise their pride and repent of it.
But we need to be careful and hear the warning here, lest as we identify the fools in Corinth we condemn ourselves. We need to examine ourselves for pride. What are the things I boast in? The gospel leaves no room for boasting.
The gospel tells us we begin our Christian lives dependent on Christ, we live our Christian lives dependent on Christ, and we engage in ministry dependent on him.
Am I dependent on Christ? Are we conforming to the pattern of ministry Jesus gives.
Houseparty Notes - 2 Corinthians 10
2 Corinthians 10 - God's Gospel Commendation
I wonder how you think of yourself? The Bible says that all believers are ministers of the gospel – the good news that despite our rejection of and rebellion against God he has acted to enable us through Jesus death and resurrection to be made right with him.
2 Corinthians helps us answer some of the questions we face as gospel ministers. How do we engage in real gospel ministry with course mates, or those we live with, or those we play football with? What are the marks of a genuine gospel minister? Maybe you are here this weekend and you are not sure you believe the gospel – hopefully through this letter you will see how much the gospel matters and who to listen to about it.
In Corinth the gospel is under threat because the church in Corinth has too much of Corinth in the church. In their society they prized power, charisma, personality, and speaking skills. It was a time when travelling teachers were common, and they earned their living by teaching their ideas and gathering a band of followers who paid them.
The problem in the Corinthian church is that they have adopted the values of the society they live among. They bring the standards of the world they live in into the church. And that has led some to question Paul’s ministry; Paul isn’t very impressive as a speaker is he, he’s not really a ‘go gettum’ kind of leader, he isn’t good looking, he doesn’t us long words and clever arguments… and the knock on effect of questioning his ministry is that they are questioning the gospel(11:4).
The Corinthian church is in real danger and as Paul writes he is defending not himself but the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now it would be very easy to think that’s awful but we’d never do that.
A friend of mine was invited to a church looking for a pastor. As he walked in he noticed on every chair was a piece of paper. He picked one up, they were grading sheets, people were asked to rate the speaker on a scale on 1-10, not just on their Bible teaching, but sense of humour, voice, dress sense etc…
We may laugh at that, but actually it rings true with us doesn’t it. We fall for the same thing; we are just like the Corinthians. We want a name, someone known; we have an evangelical celebrity culture. 2 Corinthians warns us about just that.
In 2 Corinthians 10 we see Paul answer the charges against him and we see 3 marks of a gospel minister, 3 marks we need as we engage in taking the gospel to our friends, and we need to be aware of as we work out whose teaching to listen to.
1. The Gospel Minister trusts God’s weaponry
(1-2)Are an astonishing way to start aren’t they? To a church obsessed with power and show Paul begins “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you…” I don’t know about you but I’d probably have written something like this: ‘by the majesty, glory and authority of the risen and reigning Christ I appeal to you.’ But Paul doesn’t, why, because he is subverting their value system. And he does so by showing them how un-Christ-like it is. Paul’s ministry is modelled on Jesus Christ’s not on the prevailing culture.
In Corinth meekness=weakness, gentleness=timidity. We have the same problem don’t we, we have societies view of those things. So what does Paul mean?
It does not mean that he is a wimp. Paul will be bold when he comes to them if he has to be, but it means that he will accept the wrongs that have been done to him, he will bear with their rejection of him because he loves them and still call them back to the gospel. It is not weakness it is love.
Paul has authority and it is Jesus authority but he exercises it in the way Jesus exercised his authority as he calls the church to repent(2).
Paul then confronts one of the fundamental problems in the church - they think as the world thinks. The standards of society are dragged into the church, the church in Corinth is not in the world it is the same as the world. But Paul says you’ve got it wrong (3-4)”Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.” The gospel minister thinks, acts and reacts differently from the world.
The gospel minister, we, has different divinely powerful weapons. Paul uses the three stages of a campaign of siege warfare against a city to describe the work of these weapons. First of all the stronghold –the city wall- would be demolished, then captives would be taken before finally punishing any remaining resistance once the city was taken. Paul trusts in God’s weaponry because it works, it is powerful.
The question is what is this weaponry? Well it is counter to the culture of clever arguments, rhetoric and the like. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4; “Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.”
The gospel is the weapon and amazingly 4:7 “…we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” The gospel is given to us to tell the world and its power is all of God. Our weakness and failings are part of the gospel’s glory.
The gospel minister trusts the gospel and models their ministry on Christ, not the latest programme, not on a power packed presentation, or on complex and clever arguments.
2. They fulfil God’s commission
The opponents of Paul are saying he isn’t impressive enough, he doesn’t dazzle, where is the evidence of his apostleship and calling(7). (10)He may be impressive in letter but in person he is a bit of a let down, shouldn’t an Apostle be a bit more charismatic, dynamic, and authoritative!
Paul in answer appeals to them to look at the evidence (7)there is some debate over translation but the footnote in the NIV is probably right and it should read “Look at the obvious facts.” Don’t listen to the flattery and persuasion you are hearing, look at what is tangible and obvious and when you apply gospel criteria you will see if we are Apostles and have authority.
What are the obvious facts? In Acts 18 Paul planted the church in Corinth, they are called to follow and many believe and are baptised. Paul then stayed 18 months building up the church by teaching them the word of God. Because God told them “I have many people in this city.” The church exists because of the power of the gospel and God’s commission and work through Paul, therefore their authority and calling is obvious. They are fulfilling God’s commission,
By contrast (8)the false apostles in Corinth are causing friction and tearing apart what God by his grace and the gospel through Paul has built.
You will spot a true gospel minister by their work and their way. They do not tear down they build up, they are not puffed they humbly serve and their ministry is not about them it is about Christ.
3. They look for God’s commendation
Boasting is another issue in Corinth; it was in his first letter that Paul had to tell them “no more boasting about human leaders!” But in the Corinthian goldfish bowl they haven’t remembered that lesson and accept the false Apostles boasts about themselves, what they have done, how they have done it and so on.
It was another Corinthian attitude that had seeped into the church. Famous figures would pay to have a statue of themselves erected, Roman generals would pay for a triumph, and others would pay to have a eulogy published about their actions.
The Corinthians have swallowed the boasting of the false Apostles, so Paul sets up another contrast between the true gospel minister and the false – the true gospel minister looks for God’s commendation, not their own which is foolish(12).
Paul will not boast in what he has done but in what God has done, Paul’s concern is God’s commendation(17-18) and God’s future glory as the gospel is worked out in growing faith among the Corinthians rather than abandonment of the faith and as it is preached in new areas.
How should we respond? Well Paul wants the Corinthians to examine themselves, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”(13:5) Just like the Corinthians we look at ourselves and our society and see potential dangers. We must be aware of the danger of adopting society’s values. One particular area I think we are in danger of doing so is celebrity culture. We have our own celebrity speakers in the evangelical world don’t we. It may show in the books we read or the MP3s we listen to. I’m not saying don’t read them but be aware of the danger, they are not your pastor. They are not the person whose church you are in.
We need to evaluate what we read and hear in light of gospel criteria. The gospel minister trusts God’s weapons, fulfils God’s commission and looks for God’s commendation.
That is tremendously liberating for us as we engage in gospel ministry. The gospel saves not my cleverness of arguments, it frees me to pray, to work hard to explain the gospel well but ultimately I tell others the great news about Jesus and trust him to save them – it is not down to me.
It means that if you are here and you don’t know Jesus yet you should see evidence of life change going on in those around you who do. Look at them and you will see something different, you will see that grace has gripped them and they live differently because of the gospel. You will see they treat you differently, in short you will see as you look at them and read the Bible that they give you a glimpse of what Jesus was like.
It means we model our evangelism not on the latest programme or idea of man but on Jesus. We love people and therefore we share the gospel with them. But it also means we love them enough to tell them the hard truths, not to look for their approval but for God’s. It means we tell them the Bibles truths and absolutes, their deadness in their sin, their inability to save themselves and their need of a saviour.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
The church in the world not the world in the church
This weekend I am speaking at Lancaster CU's Houseparty so I'm up to my neck (metaphorically speaking) in 2 Corinthians. It is a really striking book with so many parallels with our world and especially our culture today.
What is that British society prizes most? Tolerance, multiculturalism, integration, wealth? Maybe but I think perhaps above all these individuals prize social status. It is knowing where you fit into society’s hierarchy, society’s food chain and then striving to work your way as far up as you can. That’s why men like Richard Branson and Alan Sugar are held up as role models. That's why reality shows like The Apprentice are all the rage its trying to work your way, or get a helping hand, to work your way up.
It matters what others think of you, how they view you counts and you mustn’t do anything to jeopardise that no matter what the cost. That is one of society’s mantras. It’s the basis of all the makeover shows, be it DIY, garden or clothing. How others perceive you is what counts – they yell at us again and again.
Corinth was no different; the Corinthian believers faced the same pressures. The city had been totally destroyed in 146 BC and was rebuilt only in 44 BC by Julius Caesar. This rebuilt city was repopulated with old soldiers, slaves and ex-slaves. It was a city of contrasts in Paul’s day; there were the very wealthy and the poverty stricken who were just about surviving. One third of the population of the city were slaves who had nothing, yet for the very rich, many of whom were ex-slaves made good, “wealth and ostentatious display became a hallmark of Corinth”
It is the same pressure point, first Century Corinth and Britain in 2009. Image matters, how people perceive you is king. And the Corinthians are struggling to live out the scandal of the cross because it goes against the world view of everyone around them. It is seen in the way they do communion that Paul writes about in his first letter – some bring their Harrods Hamper packed with Camembert, Caviar and Bollinger whilst others in the congregation go hungry because they are poor. Why? Because image matters, because that’s the Corinthian worldview.
The problem at root in Corinth is that the Church has yet to rid itself of the worldview of the world around it, a worldview that hates and ridicules humility, a worldview that says what people think of me is what matters. A worldview that Paul says the gospel turns on its head.
The challenge as we come to 2 Corinthians is to identify our worldview, our way of thinking of ourselves and others, of judging what matters, what is success, what is failure. And having identified it to ask am I struggling to adapt my thinking from that of the world around me to that of the gospel?
What is it that will enable these believers in this pressured society to make Christ known to a hostile audience? What alterations does Paul want them to make in their worldview and in their thinking? What alterations do I need to make to enable me to do the same in just as hostile a society?
What is that British society prizes most? Tolerance, multiculturalism, integration, wealth? Maybe but I think perhaps above all these individuals prize social status. It is knowing where you fit into society’s hierarchy, society’s food chain and then striving to work your way as far up as you can. That’s why men like Richard Branson and Alan Sugar are held up as role models. That's why reality shows like The Apprentice are all the rage its trying to work your way, or get a helping hand, to work your way up.
It matters what others think of you, how they view you counts and you mustn’t do anything to jeopardise that no matter what the cost. That is one of society’s mantras. It’s the basis of all the makeover shows, be it DIY, garden or clothing. How others perceive you is what counts – they yell at us again and again.
Corinth was no different; the Corinthian believers faced the same pressures. The city had been totally destroyed in 146 BC and was rebuilt only in 44 BC by Julius Caesar. This rebuilt city was repopulated with old soldiers, slaves and ex-slaves. It was a city of contrasts in Paul’s day; there were the very wealthy and the poverty stricken who were just about surviving. One third of the population of the city were slaves who had nothing, yet for the very rich, many of whom were ex-slaves made good, “wealth and ostentatious display became a hallmark of Corinth”
It is the same pressure point, first Century Corinth and Britain in 2009. Image matters, how people perceive you is king. And the Corinthians are struggling to live out the scandal of the cross because it goes against the world view of everyone around them. It is seen in the way they do communion that Paul writes about in his first letter – some bring their Harrods Hamper packed with Camembert, Caviar and Bollinger whilst others in the congregation go hungry because they are poor. Why? Because image matters, because that’s the Corinthian worldview.
The problem at root in Corinth is that the Church has yet to rid itself of the worldview of the world around it, a worldview that hates and ridicules humility, a worldview that says what people think of me is what matters. A worldview that Paul says the gospel turns on its head.
The challenge as we come to 2 Corinthians is to identify our worldview, our way of thinking of ourselves and others, of judging what matters, what is success, what is failure. And having identified it to ask am I struggling to adapt my thinking from that of the world around me to that of the gospel?
What is it that will enable these believers in this pressured society to make Christ known to a hostile audience? What alterations does Paul want them to make in their worldview and in their thinking? What alterations do I need to make to enable me to do the same in just as hostile a society?
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