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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published Weekly on Friday
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
2 Corinthians (12:11-21)
(Lesson 27)
I bid you welcome
and I’m certainly pleased you decided to join us today.
I’m going to start
with a quick lesson review before we pick up where we left off last week. The gospel of Jesus Christ and Paul’s apostleship
were facing a three-prong attack from the false
apostles, the stubborn, non-repentant Corinthian Believers, and Satan. This required Paul to defend his apostleship and
the gospel, by speaking boldly or foolishly (11:16),
matching his opponent’s boasts point-for-point
with a couple of significant differences.
Paul states, “…I will boast; but
on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. For If I do wish to boast I will not be
foolish, for I will be speaking (what)
the truth…” (12:5-6a).
Paul’s foolish boasting continues on into
chapter 12 where he states, “Boasting is
necessary, though it is not profitable.
I will go on to visions and revelations.” Since his antagonists had compelled him
to boast, he would mention, in
passing, the revelation event that
occurred fourteen years ago. Paul
recounts the time he was caught up to
the third heaven and permitted to witness the wonders there. But here’s the thing, Paul doesn’t give us
the “details” he only mentions while he was there he heard inexpressible words
which a man is not is permitted to speak.
Then to prevent him from becoming conceited, i.e. to keep Paul from exalting himself, God gave him a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
torment him. This thorn was such a pain Paul prayed 3 times for it to be taken away.
But God said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power
is perfected in weakness.” Therefore,
the thorn remained, and Paul said he
was well content with weaknesses, with
insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s
sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (12:10; Philippians 4:13).
********
Please
open your Bible at 2 Corinthians 12:11.
2 Corinthians 12
11: I have become foolish;
you yourselves compelled me.
Actually I should have been compelled by you, for in no respect was I
inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.
Paul
willingly became a fool in boasting, since his opponents had put
him in the uncomfortable position of defending his apostolic authority and the gospel.
He could have chosen to do nothing but this would have given the
victory to Satan and the false apostles
who were preaching another Jesus;
another gospel, declaring his gospel null and void in the process. Thus, Paul’s choice was never in doubt.
Paul
should have been commended by the Corinthians.
The folks he ministered to in Corinth should have been eager to speak
well of him for in no respect was he inferior to the most eminent apostles
(i.e. Peter, James, John, etc.). In knowledge, in the working of signs, and wonders and miracles, the signs
of a true apostle were performed among them with all perseverance (patience).
Our
Apostle Paul lacked nothing and the Corinthians should have recognized
this. Paul didn’t walk among them
claiming to be eminent, a “super
apostle,” as the false apostles were
doing. On the contrary, as Paul
ministered to this assembly, he did so exercising true humility, mimicking
Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1), and teaching them to be aware of the needs
of others …do not merely look out for
your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians
2:4).
Please
don’t overlook this humble statement, “…though
I am a nobody;” it’s part of Paul’s defense. You see, Paul, the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15), understood better than most what
it meant to be saved by God’s grace
(alone). But it’s more than that for this
nobody had been called and sent to
preach the message of God’s grace to
the Gentiles, by the will of God (Romans 1:5, 12:3, 15:15; 1 Corinthians 15:10;
Galatians 1:1).
Let’s
go to verse 12.
12: The signs of a
true apostle were performed among you with
all perseverance (patience), by
signs and wonders and miracles. Here
Paul’s saying the power of God was
evident in his ministry from the start (Romans 15:19; 1 Corinthians 9:2, 15:9;
Ephesians 3:8; 1 Timothy 1:15). Paul
also performed those works while suffering opposition which he met with all perseverance. As to these signs, wonders, and miracles Paul performed among the Corinthians the Bible is silent. I have no doubt they took place and were
similar to other miracles he performed in other places, since it was
one of the proofs of his divine calling as a
true apostle (Acts 13:11-12, 14:3-4, 8:18, 16:18, 19:11-12, 20:8-12,
28:3-6, 8-9).
Verse
13:
2 Corinthians
12
13: For in what
respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I
myself did not become a burden to you?
Forgive me this wrong!
I myself did not
become a burden to you – even after Paul left this assembly of Believers he
would not allow this factious church to help him financially. Now we know he did accept financial
assistance from Philippi (Philippians 4:15) and Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians
3:6), but not while ministering to them, only after he had left their cities
did he accept financial support. The
situation in Corinth was remarkably different.
Clearly, it had hurt the Corinthian’s feelings and damaged their
relationship; however, Paul would not change his mind. Paul stood his ground because of the false
accusations coming from his antagonists (2 Corinthians 11:8-20) and the false
claims made by some of the carnal Believers who said he was not a “true
apostle” because he would not accept their support.
Forgive me this
wrong - this
is nothing more than biting sarcasm.
Let’s
go to verse 14.
2 Corinthians 12
14: Here for this third
time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to
you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not
responsible to save up for their parents,
but parents for their children.
Here for this third
time I am ready to come to you -
once again, the book of Acts is an incomplete record of Paul’s missionary work
for it only records two visits to Corinth (Acts 18:1, 20:2-3, 2 Corinthians
1:15, 13:1-2). I want to make sure
you’re aware the book of Acts is not a complete history of the early church and
I really don’t see how it could be, but it clearly reveals the transition from
Judaism (the Law), which is being phased out, to grace (alone); God’s new
program.
On
Paul’s first visit to Corinth, he planted the church and remained there for
eighteen months (Acts 18:11). His second
visit is not recorded. This was the
brief, painful visit in between the
writing of 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians.
Now Paul is saying he is prepared to come for the third time.
And I will not be a
burden to you – Paul
wants the Corinthians to know when he arrives, he will gladly receive a
collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8), however, he will
not accept money from them for his personal support (1 Corinthians 9:12, 18; 2
Corinthians 11:9). He will continue to
support himself as he has done before.
For I do not seek
what is yours, but you – unlike the false
apostles, Paul wasn’t interested in their money he was interested in saving some of them and he didn’t want
money getting in the way of this (1 Corinthians 9:20-22). Although Paul said people who minister for
the gospel are entitled to financial support that should not be their
motivation for ministering. Their main
purpose should be the nobler reason or the higher calling of winning souls for
the Lord. Our Apostle Paul put it this
way: “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes” (Acts 20:33).
For children are
not responsible to save up for their parents,
but parents for their children – here Paul uses a
family analogy. Remember, he considered
himself their spiritual father (1
Corinthians 4:14-15). Basically Paul’s
saying, “It’s unnatural for children to
make provisions for their parents.” It’s
the parent’s responsibility to provide for their children’s needs. Therefore, as their spiritual father he would take the necessary steps to provide for
their spiritual needs.
By
referring to the Corinthians as children
Paul is in effect saying “You are
spiritually immature, carnal infants in Christ Jesus, still” (1 Corinthians
3:1-3). So, refusing their financial
support is hardly a compliment and the Corinthians obviously took his refusal
as a personal affront. We don’t know if
this church knew Paul was being supported by the churches at Philippi and
Thessalonica (Philippians 4:10-19). But
we do know based on his standards, these factious Corinthians just weren’t
spiritually mature enough to support Paul yet.
Until that day arrived, Paul would continue to support himself.
Verse
15:
15: I will most
gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved
less? The Greek word for spend is Dapanao (dap-an-ah’-o), Verb, Strong’s Greek #1159, meaning: incur
expense, expend, spend. The word can
be understood in two ways. 1) Literally,
“to pay out money” (Acts 21:24). 2)
Figuratively, “to spend entirely,” i.e. “pay everything or anything” (Mark 5:26). Paul’s telling the Corinthians he’s ready to
give all his assets and/or all of himself for the cause of Christ in order to save some of them.
If I love you more,
am I to be loved less? This is a gentle
reproof from a gentle man. Paul gave all
he had, and more, to this church and the end result of his labor and toil was a
lack of appreciation and feelings of resentment from some of these Believers,
yet Paul did not resent them for it. He
said, “I will most gladly spend and be
expended for your souls.”
Verse
16:
16: But be that as
it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, crafty fellow
that I am, I took you in by deceit.
Here
is more biting sarcasm from Paul in response to those folks in Corinth who
accused him of being crafty and deceitful. They spread vicious rumors about Paul, in
effect saying he was deceiving the
church. Their false accusations probably
went like this, “Paul won’t take our
financial support, but that’s just a trick.
He’s really planning on stealing the collection that supposed to go to
the Jerusalem saints.” Paul responded to this sarcastically saying, “Nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I
took you in by deceit. Obviously, I
fooled you.”
Paul
mentioned the eminent apostles were
in the ministry in 2 Corinthians 11:5 and 12:11, and he pointed out in 11:20
for other reasons than saving souls. They
were taking advantage of the Corinthians. The false
apostles knew there was money to be made by “working the churches.” They could
not bear the fact that Paul wasn’t interested in the money that could be made
in the ministry, so they assigned their false motives to him.
Verse
17:
17: Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to
you, have I?
Here
Paul proves the charge he is crafty is
false. He reminds the Corinthians that neither
he nor any of his coworkers had ever behaved inappropriately in regard to
finances or in any other way while they were with them.
Verse 18:
18: I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with
him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same
spirit and walk in the same steps?
Paul
charged Titus with the task of
completing the collection which the Corinthians had commenced and sent the brother with him (2
Corinthians 8:6, 18).
Titus did not take
any advantage of you, did he? This was one of
those questions from Paul where the expected answer was “No” and truthfully
there could be no other response. The Corinthians
were aware Titus did not take advantage of them when he was with
them. According to Paul, they received
him kindheartedly. They treated him affectionately
and comforted him (2 Corinthians
7:7). With an outpouring of kindness
such as this, how could they possibly now say Titus defrauded them?
Did we not conduct
ourselves in the same spirit and walk in
the same steps? Paul’s saying, “Didn’t Titus’
actions and words resemble mine?
Did he not show you the same
honesty, love, and sincerity which I have shown you?” This is an important statement from Paul
for these Believers would have to admit while Paul was with them he never
attempted to obtain money from them and certainly not by improper means. Their charge against him was attempting to
obtain their money by using others to do his “dirty work.” With this statement, Paul appeals to them
asking whether Titus and he had not
in fact behaved exactly alike exhibiting the
same spirit and walk free from deceit
and covetousness.
Verse
19:
19: All this time
you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually,
it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for
your upbuilding, beloved.
All this time – Paul’s referring to
this entire letter.
You have been
thinking that we are defending ourselves to you – this is a sarcastic
remark; Paul knew this church group very well.
They had an inflated opinion of themselves and of their spirituality. Let’s
go back to what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:12: We are
not again commending ourselves to you but are
giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will an answer for those who take pride in
appearance and not in (what) heart. So, the sense of this statement is Paul’s
not trying to obtain their favor and he’s not offering excuses; he has no
reason to.
Instead,
Paul said, “It is in the sight of God
that we have been speaking in Christ.”
In short, Paul spoke the truth before God. He’s not making excuses to the Corinthians.
Once Paul laid the foundation in Corinth, everything he did afterwards was for
this church’s upbuilding in the
Lord. Every letter he wrote, every visit
he made, every prayer he prayed was with one goal in mind: to build up the Corinthian Church in Jesus
Christ. His heart was for them and not for himself; Paul wasn’t interested in
making his name known or building up his own kingdom on earth. Could the same be said for the false apostles?
Verses
20:
20: For I am afraid
that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not
what I wish and may be found by you to be not
what you wish; that perhaps there will be
strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance,
disturbances;
For I am afraid
that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not
what I wish - Paul
is concerned when he comes to
Corinth for the third time he will
find the same old unrepentant Corinthian Christians
doing the same old, un-Christ like things.
Just so there is no misunderstanding Paul reminds them what some of
these things are: there will be strife,
jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, and disturbances. These certainly are not examples of the fruit of the Spirit, but they are examples of the fruit of worldly behavior, i.e. deeds of the flesh, which the Corinthian
Christians practiced routinely
(Galatians 5:19-21). Paul is serving them
notice changes must be made before he
visits Corinth (v20).
If
this is what I find when I arrive, (I) may
be found by you to be not what you
wish. If you’ll turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians 4:21, I believe Paul
expresses the meaning of this verse quite well right here: What
do you desire? Shall I come to you with
a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
I think that’s plainly spoken.
This reminds me of the times when I misbehaved as a youngster and my
mother would take me by the arm and say, “I’ve
told you not to do that… Why don’t you
listen to me? I’m through talking. Wait
until your father gets home.” Well,
who wants that? My father worked
hard. When he came home, I’d rather our
time together be spent on enjoyable things and not devoted to disciplinary
actions. The other thing was my father
wasn’t a talker he was a man of few words; in other words, he was a
paddler.
Paul’s
saying, “Shall I be compelled to
administer discipline upon my arrival, thus making my visit an unpleasant one? Paul desired for these “hold-outs” to repent;
to experience a true change of heart, so
that their time together would be an enjoyable one, when that time came. But if not, he had a paddle!
Verse
21:
21: I am afraid
that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over
many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity,
immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.
I am afraid that
when I come again my God may humiliate me before you (v21a) – Paul’s
saying, “If I visit you again and find this
group is still unrepentant; if they’re stubbornly stuck in their worldly ways, I must not be a very good
apostle.” Of course, Paul would be
saying this, “tongue-in-cheek,” because there wasn’t anything wrong with him or
his apostolic methods. He wasn’t the
cause for the lack of spiritual fruit in these Believer’s lives.
In
the next line we once again see the heart
of our apostle. The worldliness of
these Believers who would not repent grieved Paul and, as he put it, made him mourn over many of those who have sinned in
the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality
which they have practiced (v21).
The
sins of impurity, immorality, and sensuality were the most prominent sins this corrupt city was
particularly known for (1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:18). We must remember these Believers were not
that far removed from the godless, lustful culture from which they were raised
and still lived in. Some had made
progress in moving beyond these sinful distractions; others had not. They continued to “dance with devil, “as it
were, which is why Paul mentions them here.
Let’s
be sure we understand a couple of things.
Paul’s righteous anger would not be directed toward those who had
sinned, excuse me, but we’re all sinners saved by grace. We don’t stop sinning just because we’re saved. I don’t see that written anywhere in this
book. To be specific, his anger would be
directed towards those who have sinned
in the past and not repented. Paul
never asked for perfection once in any of his letters, but he did ask that
Believers repent. Faith and repentance are both initial and ongoing experiences in every
Believer’s life.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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