2 CORINTHIANS 8-13 PAULS DEFENSE2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Corinthians 8-13 Pauls Defense

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 2014.

We are here this evening in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and we'll be looking at chapters 8 through 13 as we continue to review the chapters that we read this week going through the Bible in three years. And as we conclude this letter to the Corinthians that Paul writes,

You can really see the defense that Paul is making against the false apostles that were there in Corinth and attacking Paul. And we'll talk more about that in just a couple minutes. The letter of 2 Corinthians though was written by the apostle Paul right around 58 AD. And he was writing to the church that was located in the city of Corinth, which is the southern part of Greece.

He wrote it for two main purposes. Number one, to refute the false apostles who were challenging his ministry. And then secondly, to prepare their gift for the saints in Judea. And we're going to see both of those things in the chapters today as we look at the gift in chapters 8 and 9 and then him dealing with those false apostles in the last chapters.

Now, a possible timeline for 2 Corinthians because, of course, we have the first letter to the Corinthians and then we have 2 Corinthians in our Bibles. But there's references within those letters and within the book of Acts to various other things as well. And so here's a possible timeline for Paul's dealings with the city of Corinth and the church that was there.

It starts in Acts chapter 18, where Paul planted the church, brought the gospel there to Corinth in about 53 A.D.,

A couple of years later, probably around 55 AD, he wrote a letter to Corinth. And that's not the letter that we have as 1 Corinthians because Paul makes reference to that previous letter in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 9. And so there was more communication going on than what we have recorded in our Bibles. It's 1 and 2 Corinthians that we have preserved. But there was more that was going back and forth between Paul and the church.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, we see that Chloe or members of her house visited Paul in about 57 AD. And then Paul wrote 1 Corinthians as a response to that visit as he found out some of the problems, some of the questions that they had, and the chaos that was going on. And so 1 Corinthians was his response to that situation at that time.

Well, it seems after that, that Paul visited Corinth very quickly after that to try to deal with some of the issues that were going on. And then it didn't go so well. As he visited, it was a painful visit. It wasn't well received. And so when he left Corinth, things weren't that great. And so he sent Titus back to Corinth with a severe letter.

This seems to be a letter in between 1st and 2nd Corinthians that we don't have preserved for us. But he sends this severe letter and he makes reference to it in 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 verse 4. And so here he was continuing to address and correct the problems in the church that he tried to correct and address when he visited the church but was unsuccessful.

Well, they received this severe letter by the hand of Titus and they accepted it and they repented. And he hears back from Titus that, you know, this good news that they had received Paul's word and were responding to it. And so then he wrote 2 Corinthians in response to that news. And so he's rejoicing in 2 Corinthians for their repentance and the work that God is doing in them and they're turning away from the things that were false.

But at the same time, he's still dealing with some of the problems that were existing because of the false apostles that were there. And then after this, he's going to be visiting Corinth for a third time to collect the funds that were given for the saints in Jerusalem. So here's what it looks like on the map. Paul is, at this time, as he's writing this letter, in the middle of his third missionary journey.

He departed from Antioch in Syria and went across through Asia Minor and he stayed in Ephesus for about three years. And it was from there that he wrote 1 Corinthians and it was from there that he went and visited Corinth and then came right back.

Well, from there he would go up north over to Troas and then over across the sea to Macedonia, which was the northern part of Greece. And he was spending some time in there and it's from there that he wrote this letter to Corinth, we know as 2 Corinthians.

After this, he passes through Macedonia. He's going to go visit Corinth, and then he's going to make his way back up through Macedonia, and then back down all the way to Jerusalem. And he's going to bring to Jerusalem this financial gift that he's been collecting all through this region for the saints that are in need there in Jerusalem.

So last week we looked at chapters 1 through 7 and we got to see, you know, the beginnings of what Paul was talking to them about as far as, you know, the issue of these false apostles. And he was calling out and showing them the issues and the reasons why he was a genuine minister and he was called by God to minister to them.

And I wanted to kind of go back a little bit to chapter 6 and just hit some thoughts here from chapter 6 where Paul talks about the marks of real ministers. Because as he's dealing with these false apostles, they are coming in with these letters of commendation.

And the Corinthians, it seems, are kind of expecting that Paul comes up with his own letters of commendation. That Paul, you know, you need to present your own certificates to know that we can trust you and that we should listen to you. You know, they wanted some proof that Paul had authority in their lives. And Paul's been explaining to them, listen, you need to present your own certificates

I'm like a father to you. I established the church there. I brought the gospel there. And it was quite offensive for them to demand then some extra proof that he had the authority to speak to them in that way. Well, he's going to deal with that again in our later chapters this evening. But he also hit on this in 2 Corinthians chapter 6. And he gave us these insights to help spot real ministers of the gospel. And he said,

And he was giving these marks so that they could kind of compare and see the marks of the ministry and the Apostle Paul and then compare it to those false apostles and see how they did not line up. And so some of those things are external marks. That is, you can look at a person's life and you can observe it.

And so he says, by patience and tribulations, in needs and distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, and in fastings, we commend ourselves as ministers of God. That is his labor, his work, as he continues on and presses on through the midst of great difficulty.

That is part of the evidence that he is a genuine minister of God. Where false apostles and false prophets will not have this same type of external marks. That persistence through things that you would expect people to quit through. And so this is part of a real or genuine minister that they will persist through.

With patience through all of these things, tribulations and distresses, sleeplessness. And the idea of sleeplessness is because, remember that Paul worked all night making the tents so that he could preach the gospel during the day. And so he wasn't after this, you know, for monetary gain, but he was expending of himself and

To do the ministry. But then there was internal marks. And so these are some of the things by which he did the ministry. He did it by purity. By knowledge. By long suffering. By kindness. By the Holy Spirit. By sincere love. By the word of truth. By the power of God. By the armor of righteousness. By honor and dishonor. And love.

with evil and good report. People spoke well of him and they spoke evil of him. And he was reported as in these good and bad reports, as deceivers, as unknown, as dying, as chastened, as sorrowful, as poor, as having nothing. And yet, you know, in chapter 6 he explains as deceivers, yet we weren't deceiving people as unknown, but we are known by God and so on and so forth. And so these are the marks. Now

This is opposite of what these false apostles would come in with. They would come in with letters of praise, you know, with their certificates. You know, I passed this course or I have this degree. They would come in with these high, you know, praise and recommendation of who they are. And Paul says, look at their life, look at their ministry and see if it compares well.

To a real minister, a genuine ministry. This is what it takes or this is what will be evident whenever a person is a real minister of God. And so he will continue that as we head into chapters 10 through 13 this evening. But now we're going to start out in chapters 8 and 9 where Paul is going to be talking about this gift that is to be brought to Jerusalem. In 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9 is the key verse. It says...

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. And so here in chapters 8 and 9, Paul's going to be talking about giving. Specifically, the collection that was to be taken for the believers who were in need in the region of Judea or Jerusalem.

Now, Paul's addressing this for a couple of reasons. One of them is that the false apostles were accusing Paul. They were slandering his ministry. And essentially, you know, we can infer that they were telling the people, don't give your money to Paul, give it to us instead. Right?

They were wanting the money that the Corinthians had. And we learn from this letter and from history that they had an abundance. There was some extra money in Corinth. Things were going well. There was an excess of funds. And so the false apostles were there to try to take advantage of that and make money for themselves. And so in order to get some of that money for themselves, they would slander the apostle Paul.

And Paul is writing here to explain, well, number one, that's not true. And then secondly, he is preparing them because he's about to visit and he wants to make sure that they have the money that they committed to provide, that they have that ready and prepared so that it's not a difficult issue when he shows up as he's on his way to them.

And so verses 1 through 7, Paul says that the churches of Macedonia gave freely beyond their ability. He says in verse 1, Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.

Now as he talks about giving, he gives us some great insights here. Of course, he's talking about this specific collection that is for the saints in Jerusalem, but he gives us great principles for us to evaluate and consider giving in our own lives and for our own spiritual walk.

And so the first thing to note here is he deals with the subject of giving as it relates to the grace of God. He says, And then he goes on to talk about their gift.

He also makes reference to this in verse 6 and 7. He says that you should complete this grace as well. He says, see that you abound in this grace also in verse 7. And so he refers to the subject of giving as a matter of grace. Now remember that grace, it's the idea of undeserved and unearned favor.

And so Paul is saying this is a gift from God to you that you get to give of your finances. Giving to the work of God is the result of the grace of God. It's His grace that gives you the opportunity to give and it's His grace on your life that moves in your heart to give. It's by God's grace that you get to give. Now,

People get pretty uptight sometimes whenever we talk about giving. But you need to understand that this is a matter of the grace of God. It's a gift of God to you that you get to give. And if you don't get that, then you do not understand giving at all. And so I would encourage you to take some time to review the things that Paul deals with here in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. Because he explains this is a matter of God's grace.

Paul is teaching about giving. He's writing to them about giving. He's teaching us about giving tonight for our benefit. It's for their benefit, not for his benefit.

As I share these things that Paul says with you this evening, understand that I have nothing to gain by teaching this. I'm not trying to get extra money for you that I get to take home and use how I want. That's not how the finances of the church work. I don't get a commission of the offering or anything like that. My salary is set by the board and they deal with that. I don't have any part or any say in it.

But this I share with you just like Paul did, not for my sake, not because I get something out of it, but because this is part of the grace of God towards you. And it's part of your spiritual growth that if you really want to grow, well, you need to also learn how to give. And Paul gives the region of Macedonia as an example of this. The region of Macedonia was the northern part of Greece and Corinth was in the southern part of Greece. And

The northern region had churches in Thessalonica, Berea, and Philippi. And so, you know, we have the letter to the Thessalonians and the letter to the Philippians. Paul had established churches there. And so those churches were already contributing and giving. And Paul uses them as an example for the Corinthians. Now what Paul points out here though is that the Macedonians were poor. Right?

They were not like the people in Corinth where there was a lot of commerce going on, money was flowing easily and freely, and there was a lot of abundance. The Corinthians had abundance, but the Macedonians were poor. Not only were they poor, but you see in verse 2 that they were in the midst of a great trial. And so you have this formula. A great trial plus abundant joy, there in verse 2, plus deep poverty, abundance.

or results in generosity. How could great trial and deep poverty result in generosity? Well, that's what Paul's explaining. It's part of the grace of God. Their love and their concern for others motivated them to give sacrificially, Paul even says, beyond their ability. That God enabled them and supplied their need for them to be able to give beyond what they were able to.

And so from the example of the Macedonians, we learn a couple things. Number one, we learn in the subject of giving, we need to learn to give sacrificially. That there is value in the sacrifice, in giving beyond our ability. Now I'm not saying that we are to go into debt.

but to give more than we think we can handle, to give more than we think that we can. It's normal for us to spend beyond our ability, to purchase more than we can afford. That's pretty normal for us. But to give beyond our ability is something that we need to learn. It's something that we need to allow God to teach us by His grace. So give sacrificially, but secondly, we also learn here that we need to give eagerly. Paul is not here forcing it out of them.

I don't know if you've seen that movie, old school movie, The Cross and the Switchblade, right? The story of Nicky Cruz and his salvation. But in one of the cases where David Wilkerson, he's, you know, holding this outreach and Nicky Cruz was this, you know, rough, rough gangster guy. And so he has him collect the offering. And so he's like mad dogging people, you know, pulling out his switchblade like, hey, you better give good, you know, aisle by aisle.

And that's not what Paul is doing here. Okay, that's not what Paul is talking about. No, we are to give eagerly.

It's interesting, as Paul is describing it here, Paul wasn't begging the Macedonians for money. They were begging for Paul to take their money. They were saying, Paul, please, we want to be part of this. We want to bless the saints in Jerusalem. Please, let us give. And Paul's saying, hey, that's beyond your ability. I mean, that's significant. Yeah, we want to be a part. They were earnestly desiring, eagerly willing to give money.

to that need that was there in Jerusalem. And so the Macedonians here are an example for us as they freely gave beyond their ability. In verses 8 through 15, Paul says, it is to your advantage to give as you desired. He says in verse 8, I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. Paul says, look, I'm testing you.

I'm testing to see if what you say about your love for the saints is true. Now, again, this is not, you know, the first time that the Corinthians have heard of this.

They were the ones who started this campaign to minister to the saints in Judea. As they heard about the need a year before, they said, hey, here's what we ought to do. We should take up a collection. We should set some money aside. We should bless the saints of Jerusalem because they have this great need.

And so they had this desire, they had made this commitment, and now Paul's been going and, you know, collecting from other churches for this cause as well. Now he's coming back to receive their gift, and they're not really ready for it. Their heart's not in the same place anymore. And so what Paul is saying is, listen, it's to your benefit, it's to your advantage for you to be faithful to what you committed to.

So he's not like trying to leverage them. Hey, give more than, you know, what you originally wanted. He's saying, no, you made a commitment. You set the precedence and you said, this is what we want to do. And so now I'm holding you accountable to that. And I'm going to ask you to be faithful to do what you said you would do. He says in verse 10, and in this I give advice. It is to your advantage, not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago, but now you must complete the doing of it.

That as there was a readiness to desire it, so there may be a completion of what you have. Paul says it's important. My advice to you is to be faithful to what you said you were going to do. That's what's best for you. Be faithful to complete what you committed to do. And so giving is related to the grace of God. The Macedonians are a good example of sacrificial and eager giving.

And here Paul tells them, give what you have. Give of what you have. In verse 11 he says that there may also be a completion out of what you have. Notice he says, you have the funds. There's an abundance there. And you're to give of that abundance according to what you committed. And so again, he's not saying go into debt to give this gift. But he's saying you have it.

And yeah, it's going to require some sacrifice. So that means, you know, you're going to have to deal without Netflix for a couple months. But give what you committed to give. It's going to be what's best for you. Well, then in verses 16 through 24, Paul explains that Titus is his partner and fellow worker. And so as he's encouraging the Corinthians about giving and being faithful to give,

He also goes on to explain the back end of this, and that is that those who receive the funds, well, they need to have some certain criteria as well. That money should be dealt with in a way that there is no reproach, that it is with accountability. Paul says in verse 20, he says, "...avoiding this, that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us."

Paul is explaining what he is about these guys in verses 16 through 24 to say, we're taking these steps to make sure that no one can blame us, that we're above reproach. Because this is a lavish gift and we're administering it, but we're not doing it for our benefit. And we're making sure that the money that is given goes to what it was given for. And so to accomplish that, Paul sent three men to Corinth.

Number one, he sent Titus. In verse 17, he tells us this. Now, Titus, he says, earnestly cares for the people. And so here, we get to understand that those who receive funds for the work of God need to, first of all, have an earnest care for the people. They need to really care for the people of God. It's Titus who's coming to you, he says. You can trust him because he loves you dearly.

And so you know he's not trying to rip you off. And so this earnest care for the people is essential. Secondly, he sends an evangelist in verse 18. He says, this guy, his praise is in the gospel. And everybody knows that his praise is in the gospel. He has praise for his dealings with and delivery of the gospel message.

And so as we give funds to the work of God, it needs to be received by those who earnestly care for the people and whose praise is in the gospel, who honor and represent and declare the gospel. Thirdly, he says in verse 22, he's sending the accountant.

This is a guy who's proved himself to be diligent. In verse 22, he says, we have sent with them our brother, whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent because of the great confidence that we have in you. This guy was the accountant. He was the diligent one, the bookkeeper. He was zealous about making sure the money was accounted for and used properly. And so there's this combination of these three guys who go to Corinth

To prepare the financial gift. To receive the finances. To be able to take them to Jerusalem. And it's these characteristics that we need to look for. And those that we are giving our funds to. To contribute to the work of God. That they earnestly care for people. That their praise is in the gospel. And that they are proved diligent. That there is a diligence and accounting for the funds that were given.

Well, going on now into chapter 9 of 2 Corinthians, verse 7 is the key verse. He says, So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. He continues in chapter 9 to deal with this subject of this offering. And he says in verses 1 through 5, I sent the brethren to prepare your generous gift beforehand. So he says, I sent these three guys beforehand.

Just got attacked by a bug. I sent these three guys because they're going to be able to handle the funds appropriately, but I also sent them so that, well, you could prepare your gift beforehand so that I don't have to pull out my switchblade and go row by row and make sure that you give what you committed you were going to give.

Paul is trying to prepare them so that when he comes, they can enjoy their fellowship together and not have it be this, you know, oppressive, difficult time. And now Paul's, you know, asking money for that. He says, no, it needs to be a light thing. It needs to be something you do in advance, in preparation. But Paul also explains that he's trying to save them from shame and embarrassment.

Because in verse 2 he says, it was your example that stirred up the majority in Macedonia. They heard about your generosity. They're like, hey, we want to be part of that as well. And so you set the example. You stirred it up in their hearts. And now some of them are going to be with me as I come from Macedonia.

And if they come and they find out like you're not even ready, you're not sure if you're going to be able to give and you're not sure if you want to give anymore. The Macedonians will be like, hey, I thought you were zealous about giving and you were so excited to meet the need.

And Paul's saying, look, you're going to explain to them, well, you know, we used to be excited about that. But then we had some trouble with immorality. And then there was division in our church because, you know, we're immature and we're carnal. And so we had these problems in our church. And so we're not really ready. And so Paul says, look, I'm trying to save you the embarrassment of that. And so I'm sending these men ahead so that you prepare right now so that when we come, it's just a blessing. It's just a time that we can fellowship together.

And so in verse 5 he says, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time and prepare your generous gift beforehand which you had previously promised that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. So that, oh man,

Paul's here. I'm not going to church today because I know he's going to be asking for that money I said I was going to give. So he's like, we don't want it to be like a grudging obligation. So I'm sending these guys, prepare your gift in advance. And then in verse 6 and 7 he says, let each one give as he purposes in his heart. First Paul gives us the gift.

spiritual law to consider and then he encourages us to give. In verse 6 he says, but this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So Paul compares giving to the laws of farming. If you plant a few seeds you will have a small crop and if you plant many seeds well then you'll have a bigger crop. And so depending on how much you plant

you get a certain amount returned. Paul says it's like that. When you give to the work of God, you get a certain return. Now, our natural thinking, you know, in our natural minds, we think if I give more, that means I have less, right? Jerry has $5. If he gives the church $4, well,

That means he only has one dollar and means he's minus four dollars. So yeah, I can't give four dollars because then I'll be minus four dollars. If I give more, then I have less. But if I give less, then I have more. I'll give a dollar and then I still have four dollars. That's the way we think naturally. And Paul is saying, no, look, you got to think about it like farming. The more you sow, the more you reap.

Now, this isn't saying, and some false teachers take this way too far, hey, send me $100 and God will give you $1,000 back. No, that's not the way that he's working this and you'll see that as we go on. But here, God's way really is if you give more, you will receive more.

And not necessarily financially more, but he's going to meet your needs and you're going to have eternal reward. And so the more you give, the more reward you have. And the less you give, the less reward you have. It's pretty consistent throughout the world, actually, well, throughout the United States, that the average church, a normal church...

With all the people who attend, when you kind of factor in the amount that's given to the church, an average church member will give 2.3% of their income to the church. That is kind of the average throughout the church. And it has been that way for the past probably 15 years or so. It's a very little amount. And those who give that little will receive little back.

Like farming. You sow a few seeds, you just receive a few back. That's the law. That's the principle that God has established. And so since that's the case, he says in verse 7, And so give, he says, as you purpose in your heart. How much do you want to be blessed? How much do you want to receive back from God? So give.

Adjust your giving accordingly as you purpose in your heart, not grudgingly and not of necessity. So if you're grudging it, if you're going to be regretting it later, oh man, I really shouldn't have gave that because now I can't get my jumbo jack and so I'm in trouble now. I wish I wouldn't have given that money. Then don't give, not grudgingly, he says, or of necessity for God loves a cheerful giver. So he's saying, you get the picture, right? Prepare it beforehand, right?

Purpose beforehand what you want to give so that, well, then you can give what you purposed on purpose when it's time to give. And if you haven't purposed it beforehand, listen, if you did not think about giving before you got here, then don't give. That's not the way that God has designed it. God has designed it for you to have it stirred up in your heart as a matter of grace, His grace to you, the opportunity to participate in His work. And so prepare in advance.

So that when it's time to give, you can do so cheerfully and not grudgingly. That's the exhortation from Paul. Now, what happens when people give like this? Well, then we go into verses 8 through 15. Paul says, you are enriched in everything for all liberality.

You're enriched in everything. There's temporary reward and there's eternal reward as we give according to the way that he's instructing. The temporary reward in verse 8, he says, God will meet your needs. So when you give to the work of God, then you can trust that God will meet your needs. God's promise is that you will have all sufficiency, whatever you need. As we often point out, not necessarily whatever you want.

Although often he does bless us above and beyond what we need. But you will have what you need. That's his promise. He will meet your needs when you give to him. But then there's eternal rewards that he describes in verses 12 through 14. I don't have time to get into them. But he says, look, people are going to be thanking God on your behalf because they're going to receive your gift.

And so there's going to be a reward for that. As they thank and praise God because of what you did, well, you get rewarded for that. Not only that, he says in verse 13, they're going to glorify God as a result of your gift. So they're going to thank God. They're going to glorify God. And then finally, in verse 14, he says, they're going to pray for you. And so you get blessed by giving to them because they're going to pray for you. And God's going to be working

for you because they're praying for you because you gave to them and so there's these rewards that that god has established and built in to this subject of giving and that's why it's a matter of grace you get to be part of the work of the kingdom of god you get to earn eternal rewards you get to bless others you get to be blessed by others all of this because you give

That's quite a return on your investment. You sow and God says, all right, now I'll supply your needs. Not only that, but you get eternal rewards. You get to be a blessing and you get to be blessed. The investment returns fourfold. And so the question regarding giving is, what kind of blessings do you want to reap? It will be based on what you sow. And so again, I would encourage you, consider these things.

The grace of God that has been extended to you to give and be a participant in his work is a great blessing if you will take advantage of it.

All right, now as we head on into the final chapters of Corinthians, chapters 10, 11, 12, and 13, we have Paul giving his defense. Here again, he's confronting these false apostles and dealing with them and dealing with really the Corinthians who've received them into their church. In verse 11 of chapter 10, it says, let a person or let such a person consider this.

So now as he goes back to the false apostles, he's going to refute them. And he starts out by saying, Now some think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

Paul explains here in these first six verses, I'm pleading with you now to respond to these things so that I don't have to be bold when I'm there with you. Just like I don't want to have to like force money out of you. I don't want to have to come and bring all this correction to your face. It's better if you do this now. If you repent and respond now so that when I come we can enjoy our fellowship together and I don't have to bring such strong correction.

But there is this opposition against him. And he says, now some of you think that we walk according to the flesh. And so you think when we come that you're going to win this battle. That you're going to win in this opposition. And you're thinking, hey, I'm smarter than Paul. I can out talk Paul. I can win a debate against Paul. And so when he comes, I'll show him I have real authority. And Paul goes on to explain, listen, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

We're in this world and we have these bodies, but the spiritual authority that we have is spiritual. The authority and the work that God has given to us is a spiritual work. And so the weapons that we've been given are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, for casting down your foolish arguments, for casting down everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. These false apostles were bringing false doctrine.

And so he says, the power of God is going to deal with these false apostles. We don't walk in the flesh. It's not up to our minds to win this battle or to defeat this opposition. The power of God is going to be at work to defeat this opposition, Paul is saying. Not only that, but in verse 6 he says, we're going to be ready to punish all disobedience.

And so we have authority from God. We have power from God, not of our flesh. It's not about, you know, who wins the arm wrestling match, but we have the power of God to punish disobedience. That's part of our call. And so when we come, he says, don't think we're going to be walking according to the flesh, but Paul has actual authority from God to

To bring this kind of correction to the church. In verses 7 through 11, it says, they say his letters are weighty, but his presence is weak. And so these who are opposing Paul said, oh yeah, he has strong letters, but his presence is not very powerful. And so again, we'll be able to have the victory in this opposition. But he says in verse 11, let such a person consider this.

That what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be indeed when we are present. Paul says it's the same authority, whether it's by letter or in person. Paul held back before. He was gentle. He didn't, you know, use the full extent of his authority in order to give them opportunity to repent. But as he comes back, he says, we're going to deal with whatever needs to be dealt with. We're not going to let this continue on.

And so we're going to come in the power of God with the spiritual authority that he's given to us. In verses 12 through 18, he says, we dare not compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. These false teachers in their midst, again, they commended themselves. They had their letters of commendation. They had all their support and they loved talking about how great they were. But Paul says, we don't dare do anything like that. And we're not going to compare ourselves to them.

He says, they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. You know, it's amazing how awesome we think we are when we compare ourselves to the people around us. It's like we look around and go, wow, yeah, I'm pretty hot stuff, man. This is great. God must be so thankful that I'm on his side because look at how I am compared to other people. And as we compare ourselves, Paul says, that's not wise. Right?

Paul's explaining here that his authority does not come from popularity. As he comes back to Corinth, the false teacher can't stand up and say, well, I have more people on my side than you do, Paul. That's insignificant. That doesn't matter. Paul's authority comes from God. He says in verse 13, we, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God has appointed us, a sphere which especially includes you. And so Paul says, look, I have real authority here.

It's limited. It's within the sphere that God has given to me. But that especially includes you. Because, well, Corinthians, I'm the one who brought the gospel there. I planted the church in Corinth. And so God has given me authority over this church. He's given me authority over you. He says in verse 14, we're not overextending ourselves. Now that is possible.

But Paul explains, look, I made sure I didn't build upon someone else's foundation when I brought the gospel. I can't go down the street to somebody else's church and walk in and start telling people everything that they ought to be doing. God hasn't given me that kind of authority. But he has given me authority here. He's called me to pastor this church. And so I have real authority from God in this place, in this congregation. Paul says, I'm not overextending myself.

you're in the authority that god has given to me and so he says in verse 17 he who glories let him glory in the lord these guys are glorying in themselves let us glory in the lord who he is and what he has done because it's not he who commends himself or who has a great argument about how great they are or how wonderful they are or why they're the best or they have the best style or the best approach of this or that

The one who is commended is the one whom the Lord commends, not the one who commends themselves. Now in chapter 11, verse 5, he says, "...for I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles."

I'm not inferior to the highest of apostles. Whether you want to consider that, you know, the 12 apostles who are with Jesus or these false apostles who are their apostles. I'm not inferior to any of the other apostles. In verses 1 through 4, he says, I fear your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity in Christ. Paul's concern for the church of Corinth was not centered on him.

Although the opposition was against him, he wasn't all upset about that and saying, no, you got to respect me. That's not what Paul is dealing with here. Paul is explaining, look, this direction that you're going down will result in deception. He says in verse 3, I fear as the serpent deceived Eve, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. He goes on in verse 4, he says, look, if somebody comes and preaches another Jesus,

Well, I'm fearful that you'll put up with that. These false apostles have come in with a different message and you've put up with it. They've come in with opposition against me and you've put up with it. And so now I'm fearful that if someone comes in and preaches a different gospel with a different Jesus, that you'll allow it and you'll just accept it and you'll receive it.

You're setting yourself up for deception, Paul is saying. So he's not so much concerned about their lack of respect for him as their vulnerability to being misled by a different gospel, by the presentation of a Jesus that does not match who Jesus really is as declared by the gospels.

You put up with these guys who attack me, and so you would likely put up with those who preach a different gospel, he says. In verses 5 through 12, he says, I kept myself from being burdensome to you. He says, I'm not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles, but the way that he behaved himself among them is what they were saying.

using to accuse him that he was inferior. That is, when he was among them in Corinth, he didn't receive payment from them. He didn't receive his support for livelihood from the Corinthians. And so the false apostles who were there wanting to collect money, they're saying, yeah, give us money. And yeah, Paul's not really a real apostle. He didn't even take any money from you.

How could he be a real apostle if he didn't even consider, you know, his insight, his teaching was worth a couple dollars from you? He says in verse 7, Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel to you free of charge? The false apostles...

were preferred by the Corinthians because they charged. Now this is a cultural thing. They were accustomed to, before they became saved, there would be traveling teachers and philosophers and they would collect money from the people and then they would teach them. And so the false apostles are taking up this same habit. And so they would go in and they would collect money from the people and then they would teach them their false doctrine.

And so they were used to that. They thought, hey, well, that's normal. Someone has something valuable if they're willing to collect money for it. Pastor Tom and Joanna have shared about Japan that they had to kind of rethink things. You know, whenever we put together events, we often will put on there, you know, we want to make sure it's a really big free event because, well, people respond to that pretty well here.

But in Japan, it's different. If people see a free event in Japan, their cultural upbringing is very different. They think it must be worthless because they're offering it for free. They're not charging anything for it. And so in order to reach out to the community, they charge to teach English because if they offer the English classes for free, nobody comes. But if they charge, people go, oh, you have something valuable. You're willing to charge. And so then they come and they get to share the gospel with them as they teach them English.

And so Paul is addressing a culture similar to that. He says, did I sin in not charging you? And so now you're considering what I shared or what I had to say less valuable because I didn't make you pay me for what I shared or what I taught. He goes on to explain in verse 9, when I was there and I had need, the Macedonians provided my need. The Philippians over and over met Paul's financial needs several times.

So while he was there, other churches were supporting him so that he could minister to the Corinthians. But the false apostles are after the money. Now there's nothing wrong with a minister being paid to minister. Paul deals with that in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. He explains that's appropriate, that's right.

But Paul decided, I will not receive that right because he foresaw this issue because of this cultural thing where they would go around and receive money in order to teach some new philosophy and such. And he said, I don't want to be associated with that. I'm not just some new philosopher on the scene. I'm bringing the gospel. Well, then in verses 13 through 15, he explains that deceitful workers transform themselves into apostles of Christ.

He says these false apostles are ministers of Satan. They're not just like slightly off. No, they're Satan's guys. And it's not surprising that they pretend to be apostles because Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. He pretends to be an angel of God. And so these false apostles, his ministers do the same. And so you have to watch out. And again, that's why you go back to the marks of a genuine minister in 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and you can evaluate.

Is this person a real minister or is he a minister of Satan? Well, Paul goes on then to boast in his infirmity. He says, you put up with those who come and bring you into bondage. They boast about their own selves. And so Paul says, well, I'm going to boast as well. He says, it's foolish to do so, but you force me to. So here I am.

He says in verse 22, are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. 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. He goes on to list a bunch of things and then in verse 30 says, if I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

So if I'm going to boast, I'm not going to be like them and boast about how great I am. I'm going to boast about how much I've suffered. And so here's some of the things that he lists here in chapter 11. He was beaten by the Jews with the 39 stripes of the whip five times. Beaten with rods three times. He was stoned.

Once he was shipwrecked three times. And this is before he was shipwrecked on the way to Rome. He was in all kinds of different perils and weariness and sleeplessness and toil. Deep concern for the churches. He was really invested in the work of God. And so he boasted in the things that he suffered. He says, look, this is the evidence that I'm a genuine minister of the gospel. Well, chapter 12 now, verse 10 is the key verse.

He says, Therefore I take pleasures in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. In verses 1 through 6, he goes on to boast. He says, A man was caught up into heaven. This is a modest way to refer to himself. He talks about this guy. I know a guy. You know when someone comes up to you and says, I had a question. My friend is struggling with this issue.

Okay, stop pretending, right? You are the friend, right? Paul says, I know a guy. And he's the guy he's referring to because what we see in just a few moments, he says, the thorn in the flesh was given to me in verses 7 through 10 as a result of this vision. And so he was caught up into the third heaven. Now, what does that mean?

Well, they referred to three types of heavens. The first heaven was the atmosphere. This is where the air is, the birds fly, so on and so forth. The second heaven would be what we call space. So the universe, all of that, that's the second heaven. And then the third heaven was the spiritual heaven, the presence of God. And so he says, I know a man. I was caught up into the presence of God. I went to heaven.

He says in verse 4, I was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words which is not lawful for a man to utter. So I went to heaven, he says, but I can't tell you about it because it was too great. I can't explain it. It would be unlawful for me. It would be wrong for me to try to explain to you what I experienced in the third heaven or in the presence of God. But as a result of this vision, he goes on to say, a thorn in the flesh was given to me. And so I had this affliction.

Some think it's probably a medical condition. Others think, well, maybe he says a thorn in the flesh. He means some type of temptation that he continued to experience continually. And that was his thorn in the flesh. Or some think there was some kind of opposition that was against him. Whatever the case, he doesn't say what it is. He says, I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. And God said, my grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in weakness.

And so Paul says, that's why I boast in my infirmities. Because I want God to be strong. I want Him to be the center, the forefront. And so I take pleasure in infirmities. I take pleasure in my needs. I take pleasure in persecutions for Christ's sake. Because when I'm weak, then I'm strong. In verses 11 through 13, he reminds them that the signs of an apostle were accomplished among them. There was miracles that took place when Paul was there. There was wonders accomplished.

He says, you weren't lacking compared to the other churches. No, I'm a genuine apostle and God worked through me to establish the church there in Corinth. Then in verses 14 through 21, he says, I fear that I will not find you as I wish when I come. He says, now I'm about ready to come to you. I don't want to be burdensome. And I'm fearful that when I come, there's still going to be these issues that I have to address.

And I will address them, but that's not what I want to do. I want to come and just enjoy our time together, enjoy our presence.

But he says in verse 20,

Paul says, I'm kind of expecting, I'm preparing myself that when I come, there's going to be this unrepented sin and I'm going to have to address it. I'm writing you this time again to call you to repentance so that when I come, we can just enjoy the presence of God together. But I'm expecting there's going to be some who haven't. He says actually many who haven't repented and he's going to have to deal with it.

And so in chapter 13, now verse 5, he says, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified. Here in verses 1 through 6, Paul says, I will not spare those who have sinned. I was light on you when I visited you because I wanted to give you opportunity to repent.

And so I sent you the severe letter and you started to turn and that's good. I'm sending you now a new letter and I'm still calling you to repentance. And so when I come again, you've had three opportunities. If you're still not repentant, listen, I will not spare you. I'm not going to go easy on you. I'm going to use the authority that God has given to me as an apostle, as the one who established the church. I'm going to use the authority to deal with you and your sin. And so the time is now to repent, Paul is saying.

If you're still living in sin when I get there, well, you're going to be in trouble because I'm going to have to deal with you. When dealing with sin, it's important we give people opportunity and space and time to repent. But there comes a point where, okay, that's it. You're going to continue to live in sin? Well, we have to deal with that. We cannot allow that to continue in the church. And so he calls them to examine themselves in verse 5. Warren Wiersbe points out here that

Some members have never been born again. Some people who go to church are not born again. And that's why there's so many problems. Because those people causing problems in the church are not born again. And so he says, examine yourselves. Make sure that you really believe in Jesus. Make sure that you're really walking with him. Because, well, again, when I come, I'm going to have to deal with those who are practicing sin.

Verse 7 through 10, he says, I write this being absent, lest I should use sharpness being present. Again, he's saying, look, I'm preparing the way. I'm giving you another opportunity because when I'm present with you, I want to be gentle. I want us to enjoy our time, our fellowship together. And so I'm using this sharpness now so that I don't have to use it when I'm with you.

And then he concludes in verses 11 through 14. He says, the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you. He encourages them to be in this relationship with God at all levels. The triune nature of God. The grace of the Lord Jesus. The love of God the Father. And the communion of the Holy Spirit.

You know, these are the three things that we need most in our lives. And many of our problems in our lives, many of our problems in the church would be resolved if we would rely upon the grace of the Lord Jesus. And if we would just allow Him to overwhelm us with His grace, if we would operate in His grace. And if we would receive and extend the love of the Father who loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son.

Jesus says, as I have loved you, love one another. That's his command. And then the communion of the Holy Spirit. You know, the Holy Spirit in our lives brings communion, not only with God, but with one another. There's this binding together. There's this unity when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. And so he encourages the Corinthians and us this evening, be in fellowship with God to the fullest capacity.

Embrace, receive the grace of the Lord Jesus. Receive and extend the love of God and walk in communion with the Holy Spirit. And He, the Lord, will resolve these things in your life. Let's pray.

Lord, as we consider how great you are towards us, the grace and the love that you extend towards us, and the way that you unite us together by your Holy Spirit, I pray, Lord, that you would help us to receive the fullness of what you have. And Lord, if there is anybody who is continuing on in sin and unrepentant, Lord, I pray that you would speak to their hearts, Lord, through this letter from Paul. Lord, that they would be repentant now, that you would not have to be sharp and severe later on.

But Lord, that they would turn to you and receive your grace and love and communion. Lord, I pray that you would draw us near to you and help us to walk together and to help each other draw near to you. That we could enjoy our time together in fellowship in your presence, just rejoicing in your great work. And so Lord, I pray that you would work in our midst, in our hearts, and deal with those issues that need to be dealt with. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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.