2 CORINTHIANS 11:16-332005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005.

As Paul is continuing to talk about these false apostles and dealing with them, he begins in verse 16, and he says, Now that word fool means without reason, senseless, or stupid. Paul says, Paul says,

I'm not rambling on about these false apostles just because I'm a fool and I have no senses. He says, I'm sharing these things with you guys. I'm talking about these and coming against these false apostles because there's a very real and great danger for you. And you need to hear this. You need to know that these false apostles are preaching another gospel, a different spirit. It is not the same one that you have received. And so, I'm going to read this to you.

And so Paul says, don't let anybody think me as a fool. Think that I'm just senseless talking about these things. These are things you need to know and you need to hear. But if you must think that I'm a fool, Paul will go on to say, he says, if otherwise, at least receive me as a fool. So if you must think of me as a fool, then at least receive me like you receive these other fools.

Talking about those false apostles. You received them, so at least if you think of me as a fool, receive me as you did them, that I may boast a little. Now, Paul has been talking about boasting and commending yourself all the way through 2 Corinthians. And he's been reiterating over and over again how it's foolish.

In fact, in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 12, Paul is talking about those false apostles, and he talks about how they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves among themselves and think that they're really good. And he says that's not wise. They're foolish in doing so. They're able to commend themselves because they're measuring each other by each other, and that's a very foolish thing.

to do. But Paul says, okay, fine. If you want to receive me as a fool or say that I'm a fool, at least receive me as if I was a fool. At least receive me like you received them. And then I also will boast. In verse 17, he says, what I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were foolishly in this confidence of boasting.

Paul says, okay, let's pretend for a moment. Let's pretend that I'm a fool, that I'm one of them. And if I was commending myself or boasting about myself, now he makes sure to point out that this is not that the Lord has commanded me to boast. This is not that the Lord is telling me to do this, but let's just pretend for a moment that I was a fool and that I had confidence in

We know very clearly Paul did not. In Philippians chapter 3, verses 3 and 4, Paul says, I have no confidence in the flesh. There's nothing to boast about in the flesh. But Paul says, let's just pretend. I'm going to spend a few moments just acting like a fool, pretending like a fool, and boast a little bit. Let's just pretend for a few moments here. In verse 18, he says, seeing that so many boast according to the flesh, I have no confidence in the flesh.

I also will boast. There's so many others, Paul says, that you receive and they're boasting and they're commending themselves and they're telling you how great they are and how wonderful they are. So I also will boast. But notice what Paul says here.

He says they boast according to the flesh, according to the flesh, according to what they have to offer and the things that they have achieved and what they have arrived at. But Paul says, I will boast also, but he doesn't add that same clause. He doesn't say according to the flesh. He's not boasting about his achievements. In fact, we'll see very clearly he's boasting about the work of God as he shares with us some of the things that he can boast about.

His boasting will be different than the boasting of others, quite different than the boasting of you and I as well. In verse 19, For you put up with fools gladly, since you yourselves are wise. He says you put up with fools. He's talking about these guys as fools. You put up with them. They boast about themselves and commend themselves, and you put up with them gladly. You're like, all right, you want to boast about yourself? Come on up. We'll give you a platform and a microphone. Hey, that's kind of mean, no? I hope not. But...

He says, look, you receive them and you put up with them gladly. You have no problem with it. Oh, you want to boast? Go ahead. We'll let you boast. We'd love to hear it. And Paul says, you put up with them gladly since you yourselves are wise. And Paul uses a unique tool here. I don't recommend that you use this yourself, but he uses a little apostolic sarcasm and he says, look, you guys are wise. But he's

of course, not really meaning they're wise. He's saying, look, this is what you guys are acting like. You think yourselves to be more wise than us because you're not listening to what we say and you're not responding to the advice and the things, the counsel that we're giving to you. So it's not necessarily saying that they...

In verse

Verse 19, he says, you put up with fools gladly. Now, that word put up with, it's used five times in this chapter, in chapter 11. Paul uses it twice in verse 1 where he says that you, if only you would bear with me, and indeed you do bear with me. He uses it also in verse 4 saying that you put up with those who would preach another Jesus and would come among you. You put up with those who would preach another Jesus and would come among you.

You put up with fools here in verse 19. And then in verse 20, he'll say that you put up with the false apostles that do these horrendous things to you.

Paul says, look, I'm going to pretend to be a fool since that's what you seem to enjoy putting up with. And so I'm going to act like a fool for a moment that you would put up with me and hear me out that the ministry that took place, the ministry that I'm involved in, might be defended, that you might know that the gospel I shared to you is the true gospel, is the real gospel. And this other gospel is really no gospel at all. In verse 20,

He says, for you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you, if one takes from you, if one exalts himself, if one strikes you on the face. Now, he's referring to these false apostles. And these guys were really lording over the Corinthians. Paul lists five things here that the false apostles would do, and the Corinthians, amazingly enough, would put up with it.

They would respond to it. They would gladly say, okay, great, come in and do these things to us. Now, this group of people, these false apostles, were known also as Judaizers. Now, a Judaizer, Paul dealt with them much in his ministry, but it's the same group that was working there in the churches of Galatia.

A Judaizer was one who said, okay, believing in Jesus, believing in God, that's good. You need to do that. But that's not enough. If you want to be saved, if you truly want to be spiritual, then you also need to keep the law.

What is the law? Well, you remember the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It's called the Pentateuch. That's considered the law as well as the rest of the scriptures. But there, you notice in the book of Leviticus, over and over, line and line and line. So many laws, so many rules, so many regulations that were under the Old Covenant. And these Judaizers said, okay, not only must you

believe in Jesus Christ. You also must believe and follow these laws and these commandments. You must become like a Jew and be circumcised and all these requirements that they had to meet in order for them to be saved. That's what the Judaizers taught. It's the same group that Paul dealt with as he wrote to the church of Galatians. And in Galatians chapter 1 verse 6 and 7 it says, "...I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel which is not another."

But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Paul marvels. He says, I can't believe it. You're turning away from the grace of Christ, the gospel message that you received, which is believe and you will be saved. Nothing more, nothing else. There's no big heavy burdens, no heavy requirements. Simply, you must come in faith and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and died for your sins to cleanse you and to take you into eternity with God. That's the gospel message. You must believe. That's it. That's it.

And Paul tells the Galatians, I can't believe you. You're turning from that gospel, simply believe, to a different gospel, which is not another. Now, the word gospel means good news. And so to hear that, all I need to do, because I am a sinner and I do fall short and I do deserve eternity in hell. So the good news to me is that all I need to do is believe in Jesus Christ and come to him.

and he'll take care of the rest. He took care of it all on the cross. That's good news. What these guys, the Judaizers, taught was not good news. They said, well, yes, believe in Jesus, but also keep the law. Now, why is that not good news? Well, Jesus came, and for 4,000 years before him, nobody was able to keep the law.

And so that's not good news. If that's what I need to do in order to be saved, I'm in trouble because I can't keep the law and you can't keep the law. It's impossible. Man has tried for many, many, many years, but a heart is evil and it's desperately wicked, Jeremiah tells us. We've all sinned and we fall short of the glory of God. And so the good news that these other apostles, these false apostles delivered was not good news.

It was the news that you have to do this and fulfill these requirements. They called themselves super apostles. And they would follow Paul around as he ministered from town to town on his missionary journeys. And he would spend time in one city and move on to another. They would come in behind him at the city he just left. And they would begin to teach their false doctrine. And Paul says that they perverted the gospel of Christ. Now, here in 2 Corinthians...

Verse 20, Paul says there's five things that these guys do and that you're putting up with.

And you need to recognize these are five things that are not good things to put up with. And they should demonstrate to you that these guys are false apostles. Number one, he says they bring you into bondage. Number two, they devour you. Number three, they take from you or take advantage of you. Number four, they exalt themselves. And number five, they strike you on the face.

Now, he says they bring you into bondage. That word bondage means to reduce to absolute slavery. And that's what legalism, that's what the law does. It reduces us to absolute slavery. It adds to us burden upon burden that we're not able to keep. And this is Paul's chief issue with these Judaizers because they taught the need for the strict adherence to the law.

But Jesus came to set us free, not to enslave us. He didn't come to bind us and to burden us. He came to set us free.

In Galatians chapter 5, Paul is still dealing with the same group. Verse 1, he says, He came to set us free. He came to deliver us from the bondage to the law and from the bondage that we had to sin.

And so Paul says, he set us free. Don't go back to that bondage. They bring you into bondage by teaching that same thing. It's a heavy burden. And Jesus had the same problem, had the same issue with the Pharisees. In Matthew chapter 23, I encourage you to look at verses 1 through 12.

But in Matthew chapter 23, Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and warning his disciples against them. He says in verse 4 that they bind heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move one of their fingers to help them. So the Pharisees, what do they do? Well, they expound the law and they teach the law and they lay these heavy burdens on

upon people. And they won't help them, they don't encourage them, they just lay these burdens upon them. And even if they wanted to help them, they wouldn't be able to help them keep the law because the Pharisees themselves would not be able to keep the law. It's impossible for us to keep the law.

But they would have these kind of power trips and like the authority, and so they would lay heavy burdens upon people. And Jesus says, okay, you have it backwards. You're not supposed to come and lay burdens on people. What you're supposed to do is come alongside them and help them carry the burdens. And that's why in Matthew 23, 11, Jesus, still talking about the Pharisees, says, "...but he who is greatest among you shall be your servant."

Your servant shall come alongside and help you carry burdens rather than adding to the burdens that you have. They had the idea of ministry all backwards and unfortunately, we often still carry that same idea today. That word minister, it means servant.

But often today, if I was to go somewhere and say, I'm a minister, by that I would mean that I deserve more respect. You need to honor me a little bit more. You need to take care of me a little bit better. You need to give me a discount or something, right? I mean, I'm a minister, right?

But Jesus says, okay, that's backwards. We've got it backwards. Those who are ministers are called to be servants. If you want to be great in God's kingdom, then be a servant of all. It means to serve. We're to serve one another in love. But that's not what these false apostles were doing.

These false apostles would come in and lay heavy burdens and exploit them and take advantage of them. They had it all backwards. Instead of serving the Corinthians, they were enslaving them, taking advantage of them, pumping themselves up and striking them. All kinds of things that they were doing in taking advantage of these Corinthians. And unfortunately, it still happens to this day.

49.95, brothers and sisters, I was in my prayer closet 17 hours and God gave me 17 keys, secrets to faith, to great faith. And if you send me 49.95, put your hand on that TV right now, write that check, I'll give you, I'll send you those 17 secrets to great faith. Taking advantage, exploiting. Oh, you need these secrets if you really want to be saved. Oh, follow my teaching, contribute to my ministry,

And then you'll be saved. Then you'll be spiritual. Then you'll receive the secret that you can really have power with God, or whatever the case may be. These super apostles, these false apostles, they're still around today, unfortunately. Now, the last thing he says, the fifth thing, he says that they would strike you on the face. And you might say, well, that's kind of extreme. Was that really taking place? Well, rabbinical tradition was pretty strong. The rabbis taught that if your rabbi, which is a teacher of the law,

Well, they're to be honored more than your own parents. In fact, if your rabbi and your father would be captured by bandits, you must first ransom or redeem the rabbi, and then you'd be able to go and save your own father because you were to honor your rabbi more than your own father, more than your own family. They put themselves in this position, in that place, wanted that type of authority or power.

But the rabbis also taught that it was the right of the teacher to strike a student who didn't listen or agree. And so he's like, excuse me, sir, I don't agree. Just give him a good smack and then they'll agree after that. And so that's what the rabbis taught. And Paul says, look, that's what you're putting up with. These false apostles, they're coming in there, they're enslaving you, they're taking advantage of you, they're ripping you off and scamming you and pulling all kinds of cons on you and puffing themselves up and...

smacking you around. And that's what you're putting up with. Does that make sense to you at all? Is something wrong here? You notice anything?

Now, I want to make sure, because as Paul had to deal with it, we have to deal with it today. There's false apostles and false teachers that are around today, and I want to teach you something right now. It's going to be a valuable tool to use if you're ever in a situation where someone is teaching these kinds of things, a different gospel or something to enslave you or to add bondage or burden to you, if they're devouring you or taking advantage or striking you,

If it happens here or anywhere, there's this tool that you need. And it's one sentence, and I'd like you to repeat after me and give it some oomph so that you can understand and know that it's important. I don't have to put up with this. I don't have to put up with this.

Good job. Right in the middle of service, if need be. Stand up and say, I don't have to put up with this. And walk out. And if they lock the doors to collect more offerings, say it's illegal, you can't hold me against my will and get out of there. Because that is not what ministry is about. And we need to understand, we don't have to put up with that. Those who would lay burdens and heavy things upon us, those who would bind us and enslave us and rip us off, that's not true ministry. That's not genuine ministry.

It's not the gospel message that the Bible presents. Going on in verse 21, Paul says,

Now, you remember back to 2 Corinthians 10, verse 10, where Paul says that they were saying that he was heavy and weighty in letter, but in his presence he was really weak. And now Paul says, well, the reason why you say we were weak is because we didn't smack you around enough. But we were too weak for that. That's not ministry. That's not what we're about. He uses his...

apostolic sarcasm again. You call us weak because we didn't lord over you but instead we came and we served you.

Now he goes on and remember he's still pretending to be a fool. He says, whatever and whatever anyone is bold, I am bold also. Whatever their claim is that makes them so bold, we can make the same claim. And remember in verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 11, Paul said, hey, we're not at all inferior to those eminent or super apostles. So what are their claims? Verse 22. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? No.

so am I. Now it's interesting because these three things all basically say the same thing. Hebrews were the seed of Abraham who were Israelites who were Jewish people. It's all the same thing. But they use these terms to kind of distinguish or segregate between those who were Jewish or those who were Hebrew. By saying we're Hebrews, what the false apostles and super apostles are saying is this.

we still speak the Hebrew language. We remember it, we know it, we speak Hebrew. Now, that wasn't true of a lot of Jewish people in those days because there was the Roman Empire that had really ruled the world at their time and so they were dispersed all over the place and most of them spoke Greek. The common language of that day was Greek and so many of the Jews spoke Greek and so they came up with the term Hebrews. We're Hebrews because we're still able to speak Hebrew and

and thought of themselves better than those who were not able to speak Hebrew. Then he says that, well, are they Israelites? Another term that they would call themselves, were Israelites. What does that mean? Well, that means that they were born and raised in Israel. Again, as opposed to others who might have been born in neighboring countries or neighboring surrounding areas.

They say, well, we're not like those guys. We're better than them. Because we were actually born there and we grew up there. We speak the language. Not only that, but we're of the seed of Abraham. And by that they mean that they have good pedigree. They're of pure descent. There's not other nations or other blood that's kind of mixed in. They're not much. They're pure Hebrews of the seed of Abraham. There's nothing else in their line. Well,

All these things are what they said of themselves and how they valued themselves and puffed themselves up and why you should listen to them and not Paul. But Paul says, look, I'm all of those things too. All of those things are true about me. I don't boast about them like they do, but they are true nonetheless. Going on in verse 23, he says, Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

Do they say ministers? Now remember, he's still speaking as a fool, pretending to be a fool. He says, I am more. Now, back in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, we talked about the marks of a minister there in 2 Corinthians 6 verses 1 through 10. I would encourage you to spend some time there. Learn what the marks of a minister. Paul says, if you want to know how you can tell if someone is a genuine minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, these are the characteristics. These are the marks.

And Paul is listing some of them here. He says, look, I have those marks or these marks more than they do. He's boasting here, but it seems a little backwards to us. He's not boasting about his strengths or his education, his achievements or anything like that. Notice he doesn't say, you know, I'm more of a servant of Christ or minister of Christ than they are because I've done more miracles or more people follow me or more people this or more. No, no. Those things are not the test of a ministry.

Now, in our mind, because we look on the outward, we see a big church and we go, wow, must be good, must be right on. That's the test of a ministry. But that's not the way that God works. And Paul says, that's not the right test of a ministry. What is the test? Well, the marks there in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. But he says, in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, and in deaths often. Now, we glance at

Paul's list here, and continuing on in verses 24 through 28, we see that Paul went through great trials and affliction, great suffering. If you look back to Acts chapter 9, when Paul first got saved, when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus,

He went into Damascus, having been blinded by God supernaturally. And God sends Ananias to Paul to lay hands on him, to pray for him that he might receive his side and receive the Holy Spirit. But he also gives Ananias a message. In Acts chapter 9, verse 16, God tells Ananias, I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake.

He's going to suffer many things for my name's sake. I'm going to show them to him. And Paul, as he lists some here and a little bit in verses 24 through 28, we see a picture, an understanding that God's word was fulfilled. His prophecy was fulfilled. And Paul suffered much for his name.

For the name of Christ.

And I would wonder as well, I'd say, well, how come the sufferings and things that would take place in the book of Acts don't happen that much today? I think there's a correlation. God was at work in the midst of the suffering, as we'll see, because his strength is made perfect in weakness.

And if you want to see the perfect strength of God, you need to become weak and rely completely upon him. Well, in verse 24, Paul says, From the Jews five times I received 40 stripes minus one. He starts his list now. He says, okay, let me boast about or share with you some of the things that I went through, some of the things that I suffered in. So first off, from the Jews, I received 40 stripes minus one, 39 stripes. Now, stripes was the hits with a leather whip.

And so they would do 39. Why? Well, Deuteronomy chapter 25 verses 1 through 3 outlines the regulations about whipping. And it says that you cannot whip someone more than 40 times, 40 stripes. And so to endeavor to keep the law, to make sure that they did not break the law,

They would do it 40 minus 1 just to make sure, oh, if I lost count one time or something, I would be careful not to break the law. It was important because 39 stripes was often enough to kill a person. And if they died under the 40 stripes, then the one who was scourging had no penalty to pay because it was under the 40. It was under what was allowed by the law.

But if he hit him more than the 40 times and the person died, then there would be punishment to pay. Also, if the scourger hit him more than 40 times and even if he didn't die, then the scourger himself was to be scourged. And so they would do 39 to make sure, oh, I don't want to do more than that or lose count or anything and accidentally have to get scourged myself. And so 39 lashes was that they received. Now, like I said, it was often enough to kill a man, but Paul received it five times.

Now, he didn't receive it five times because, you know, he was robbing people or beating people or anything like that. He received it sharing the gospel message, the good news. This is what he went through in order to be a minister of Jesus Christ. In verse 25, he shares a few more things. He says, three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. By night and day, I have been in the deep.

So he says, first, he was beaten with rods three times. The 39 stripes, that was a Jewish punishment. The beaten with rods, that was Roman punishment. We see an example of it, Paul beaten with rods in Acts chapter 16, verses 22 through 24. Now, the...

Roman authorities, they would have men around them, kind of like bodyguards or security guards who would enforce this and inflict the punishment. And they would have rods of beechwood that they would beat the people with, beat the criminals with.

Paul being a Roman citizen, it was actually illegal. It was a crime for them to beat him. But it still happened because he shared the gospel message and the people would become incensed against him and so often he would get beaten. So three times he's beaten with rods by the Romans. And I guarantee you, the Romans didn't have no 40-strike laws. They were very vicious and brutal people, as you can see as you look at the stories of the crucifixion. They knew how to inflict punishment and enjoyed doing it.

The next thing he goes on to say is, I was stoned once. Now, don't get excited. He means with rocks, okay? He was stoned with rocks, and it was a Jewish punishment, how they would execute people. What they would do is they would pick up rocks and throw them at you until you died. And that's how you stone someone. And so it's pretty basic, pretty simple, but Paul says, this happened to me once. I was stoned.

We see this in Acts chapter 14 verses 19 through 20, the one time that he was stoned. Now notice, three times he was beaten. We have one example, but there's still two more not accounted for. One example of being stoned found in Acts chapter 14. He was also shipwrecked. We see an example of that in Acts chapter 27 verses 1 through 44, but that was after Paul wrote this letter.

If you look at the chronology of it, here as he's writing 2 Corinthians, he's in Ephesus. We're still in Acts chapter 19 of the book of Acts. And so there is still much more to come, much more that Paul went through even after he wrote this list and talked about these things.

He also says, I spent a night and day in the deep. And so it's probably after one of the times that he was shipwrecked. And sea travel was not safe in Paul's day. Most feared it greatly because it was dangerous. There was all kinds of myths and all kinds of fears. But there was a lot of danger around those times. And the Roman Empire was unbeatable.

centered around or kind of encompassed the Mediterranean Sea, which is a big sea in the Middle East. And so in order to get from place to place, you could walk around. It would take you much longer, but it's much quicker to go by boat. And so on Paul's missionary journeys, he would travel by sea, although it was dangerous. And so we find three times he was shipwrecked, and he spent a night and a day just in the open waters and survived that.

In verse 26, he adds on some more things, a bunch of perils that he goes through and journeys often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. Paul was always inquisitive.

He went on at least three missionary journeys and was constantly in trouble. And you can see a glimpse of it as you read through the book of Acts. I mean, Paul was pretty much run out of every city that he went to. His people would be converted and people would be saved and God would be doing a great work and then they, you know, some other people would get upset at him and try to kill him or plot against him or run him out of the city. And so he...

encountered much trouble, much peril, everywhere he went, no matter what he did, but he still ministered the gospel, still shared the gospel message. In verse 27, in weariness and toil and sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. And you can see all the things that Paul went through. Now, again, looking at 2 Corinthians 6, these are the marks of a minister. This is how you know it's genuine, it's real. He

He endured these things. He continued on sharing the gospel, had the joy of the Lord. That can only be done by one who is empowered by God in delivering the message of God. The marks of a minister. Man, Paul was a tough, tough man. If you remember back at the beginning of the book of Acts, his name was originally Saul. He was Saul of Tarsus.

And he was converted on the road to Damascus. And as the Lord began to do a work in his life, he changed his name. God changed his name to Paul. So he was Saul. He became Paul. And I believe even now today, God's changed his name again to Raul, as in Raul Reis. And that's kind of what I picture the Apostle Paul as, just a tough man like that, just able to go through anything because he had to deliver the gospel message. Verse 28,

Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches. Paul says, look, all those things I mentioned, that's just the outside stuff. But on the inside stuff, what's really going on, I'm constantly deeply concerned for all the churches.

And we see this as we read through the letters of the New Testament. Paul's always telling them, look, you're constantly in my prayers. Every time I pray, I mention you. I'm always talking about you. I'm always praying to God for you. I pray this and that about you. Constantly, constantly praying to God, worried and deeply concerned about those churches and the believers that Paul had used him to minister to. Paul was like a father to these churches. He had a deep concern for them like a father does for his child.

that they would be safe, that they would make good choices, that no one would take advantage of them. He had a deep concern for them like a father. In verse 29, he says,

He demonstrates this. He says, who is weak and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble and I do not burn with indignation? That word made to stumble, in the Greek it's the word skandilazo, which of course you can probably get the connection to scandalize. It means to commit that which leads to the fall or ruin of someone. Paul says, when does it happen that someone falls

that I know, that I minister to is scandalized and I don't burn with indignation. Someone causes them to fall or to stumble and I don't burn. I don't go, oh man, I don't get incensed over that. That happens. Paul says, I have this deep concern for them. So in verse 30, he says, if I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. It is foolish. Paul still would assert. You

You made me boast. It's foolish to boast. But if I must boast, here's what I'll boast in. My infirmity, my weakness. And that's what he's listed for us. All of the weaknesses and all of the infirmities that he has gone through. The false apostles would not be able to boast in those things because they were not genuine. They were in it for their own gain and what they could profit.

You know the saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going? Well, that was the Apostle Paul, but it was also the false apostles. They would go the other direction when the going gets tough, and they would make sure, hey, we don't want any part of that. We're going to go somewhere where it's some profit to us, where it's some gain to us, where we don't have to endure those things. Paul's not boasting according to the flesh, but he's boasting according to the flesh.

And the things that he shares with us and the way he boasts keeps us from boasting as he becomes the model for us. I mean, could you imagine you show up at work tomorrow and there's a new person and you say, oh, great. And you find out they're a believer. Oh, wow. Praise the Lord. And you go, hey, I bet my pastor has more weakness than your pastor. And they look back at you and say, oh, yeah, well, mine's been in jail more than yours. I mean, how do you boast about that? You can't.

Paul says, I'll boast in my infirmities and my weakness. Why? Well, in 2 Corinthians, just a chapter later, 12 verses 9 and 10, God tells Paul that my strength, his strength, God's strength, is made perfect in weakness.

It's made perfect in weakness. And so Paul says, well, then I'll boast in my weakness so that God will be glorified because that's my goal. That's my purpose. I want my weakness to be known that Christ's power can be known that he could be glorified and that I would not have a part of it. It's a true test of our achievements. How much is God glorified in it all? How much glory do I take and how much glory does he take?

Do you remember in Philippians chapter 2, as Paul there is talking about Jesus, and he says that Jesus made himself of no reputation. No reputation.

That's how we're to become. That's how we're to minister with no reputation. Now, take note, that's very different than Jesus made himself a bad reputation. That's not the same thing, but of no reputation. Understand, he is the Son of God. You would think he would come and just instantly there'd be this huge palace. You know, like if you had a genie and you just say, out of nowhere there would just be this huge palace and boom, the Son of God is here.

That's not how he came. He made himself of no reputation. He was born in a manger. And we kind of glorify that a little bit. But understand, that's where the animals stayed. That's where they kept their transportation. It'd be like saying, hey, the Son of God came. He was born in the auto shop over on 6th Street. What are you talking about? Are you crazy? Why would God send his Son to be born there? It doesn't make sense. Jesus Christ, he made himself of no reputation. He became just like us.

He wasn't born in some palace. He didn't glow in the dark. He didn't, you know, he actually walked on the sand, all the things that people make up. Paul says, this is the test. How much does God get the glory? This is a true minister. It's not about me. Well, who's it about then if it's not about me? Because these false apostles would come commending themselves, boasting themselves, talking about themselves. I'm not great. I'll load all these things on you and take some money from you and strike you a couple times. It's all about me.

But Paul says, no, it's not. Well, who's it about then? Well, verse 31 goes on to say, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is blessed forever. That's who it's about. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's about God. He is blessed forever. He is the one who deserves all honor, power, glory, and strength.

And Paul says, he knows that I'm not lying. He knows that I'm telling you the truth. I really went through these things. It wasn't just that I made these things up and added to the list and kind of improvised a little bit, you know, exaggerated just a little tiny bit.

No. God knows I'm not lying. These are the things that I went through. These are the things that bring God glory in my life. It's how you can know and be assured that the ministry that I worked there and the ministry that I'm involved in is real, is true, is genuine because the power of God is at work and the power of God is carrying us through.

He gives us another example in verses 32 and 33. He says in Damascus, He ends with this example from Acts 9, verses 19-25. Why?

Why did he end with this example? Why did he bring this up? Well, we don't really know. It's possible that he brought it up because it was verifiable that the governor, that there was a command issued and that it was there. It's possible that he's mentioning it because it was pretty much at the beginning of his ministry. I mean, he'd just barely been saved a year or two and now this is happening to him and this is going on. And so Paul is sharing this example with us. Now, as he sets for us the example, he sets the standard. Now,

the same way that Jesus did, it's this. If you want to be a minister, be ready to bear the marks of a minister. The marks of a minister are that in the midst of suffering, in the midst of trial, in the midst of persecution, you have the power of God, the joy of God, the strength of God to carry you through and to deliver the gospel message. It's not about the glory. It's not about people serving you. It's about suffering for Christ's sake, ministering in weakness so that he gets all the glory.

We need to be careful who we allow to minister to us. As Paul is warning the Corinthians, we need to be careful who we receive from, who we allow to be spiritual leaders in our life, because there are false apostles, there are false prophets. We do need to know what we believe in, why, that we might recognize them.

Because the gospel message is so simple and it's true. And anything else is not the gospel and cannot save, cannot deliver us, cannot free us from sin. There are many false brethren, false teachers, false apostles, just like there was in that day. And they don't have anything to offer compared to what Jesus Christ has to offer you and I.

And I want us to meditate on that for a few moments. We're going to partake of communion. And the guys are going to come forward. The worship team is going to get ready as we prepare ourselves to partake of communion together. But these false apostles, they don't have anything to offer compared to Jesus Christ. They don't have anything to offer in comparison to what God offers to you and I. As we spend time in communion now,

What are we doing? Well, we're taking the bread and we're taking the cup.

which is symbolic of, pictures for us, reminds us of the gospel message. The gospel of grace that is given to you and I. It's not a gospel of burden. It's not a gospel of laws and requirements that you must keep. But it's a gospel of grace, a gospel of freedom that Jesus says, look, I'll do all the work. I did it all on the cross. I've set you free. All you must do is believe and receive what I did for you.

Believe that I am the Son of God. Believe that I died on the cross and offer to you forgiveness of sins. There may be some of you here who are not born again this morning, have never received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. You've never received this gospel message and believed it for yourself. Jesus Christ died for me, for my sin.

This morning you have an opportunity. Now, as we partake of communion together as a body, I would encourage you to take the bread and take the cup along with us if you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Because that's as simple as it is. It's not about the bread and the cup, but it's as simple as saying, I believe.

That this is real. That Jesus Christ really did die for me and paid the price for my sins. And God does it completely opposite of the way that we think. We think, I need to clean up my life and do better and then I can come to God. No, no. God says, don't do that. That's the gospel of burden. But the gospel of grace is this. Believe and come. And I'll do the work in you from the inside out. I'll change you. I'll help you overcome those things. I'll give you the strength to

to run from sin. I'll heal you. I'll free you. I'll take care of it. Just come to me and believe in me and trust in me. And so if you need to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, this morning, I encourage you. You need to. There's no other way. John 14, 6, Jesus says, I'm the only way. There's no other way. If you want to get to the Father, if you want to enter into heaven, it's through me.

And so I encourage you to partake with us and receive what Jesus Christ has to offer. Now as we partake and prepare our hearts, there's three things I want us to meditate on. I ask you to allow it to speak to your heart. Number one, remember the gospel. Remember the gospel. What you're partaking, let it remind you of what Jesus Christ has done. The freedom and the grace that he offers. He...

Set us free by his blood. He washed us and cleansed us. Our sin is forgiven in Christ. No longer do we have to fear the punishment for sin because he received it all for us. No longer do we have to worry about if we're pleasing to God or not because we're righteous in the standing of Jesus Christ. We're righteous in God's eyes and he loves us dearly. So remember the gospel message.

Not only that, the second thing I would say is spend time in the presence of God. As we worship Him, as we partake together, spend time. Based on Jesus' work on the cross. It's not based on what I've done. But enter into His presence by faith. Simply spend time with Jesus. It doesn't matter what you did this morning or yesterday or last week or your whole life. It's not based on my works. It's based on His work. And He said it's finished.

So spend time with God. Enter into the presence of God. Enjoy His presence. And thirdly, I would say this. Look forward to His return. Look forward to His return. As we partake together, Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 that as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim His death until He comes. And as you partake, as you remember the Gospel message and as you spend time with Jesus, look forward to

Because his return is soon. Eternity is right at the door. And we're going to spend it with him as we receive the gospel message and spend time with him. We'll spend eternity with him. So I would encourage you, those three things. Remember the gospel. Spend time with Jesus. Look forward to his return. Let's do that now as they pass out the cup. Let's worship God.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.