Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] All right, we're going to turn to Paul's second letter.
[00:00:05] The second letter we have. Anyways, I believe that in essence, this is actually the third letter, but we don't have the second letter. So this is Second Corinthians, and we're going to look at that today.
[00:00:16] And I found this latter part of chapter one a little challenging, to be really honest with you, as I was looking at it.
[00:00:25] But eventually I came to a conclusion, like I do every week. I figure out something anyways. But I really believe that what we're going to find out is how many have ever been moments where your actions have been misunderstood? Anybody have those moments?
[00:00:41] And sometimes we mean to do good, and that's our intent, but it's other person reinterpreting our behavior as being evil.
[00:00:50] And that creates a lot of heartache, creates offense, creates pain, creates alienation, creates broken relations, relationships. And, you know, I was kind of thinking, what would be a good illustration of this? And I was thinking of an Old Testament story found in the days of the Judges. Not in the Book of Judges, but in the days of the Judges. There was a man by the name of Elkanah who was from the tribe of Ephraim. He had two wives, one who bore him children. The other, Hannah, had no children. And in that culture, to be barren was to be considered. It was considered a reproach. You know, there was something wrong.
[00:01:28] They interpreted children as a blessing from God. So if you couldn't have children, they saw that as a negative thing. And to compound the problem, the other wife taunted her. And every year, this family made a pilgrimage to worship God at the site called Shiloh. That was before Jerusalem was the site of where God's presence was. And where on one occasion, suffering under tremendous grief, Hannah cried out to God for an answer to her condition. I want to just read this because I think this is going to bring out what I'm going to try to talk about today.
[00:02:02] It says, in her deep anguish, Hannah prayed to the Lord. And weeping bitterly, she made a vow, saying, lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me and not forget your servant, but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head. In other words, she's making a vow before God. He's going to be a Nazarite for his entire life.
[00:02:28] She kept on praying to the Lord. And Eli, who was the priest, observed her mouth. And Hannah was praying in her heart. And her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. And Eli thought she was drunk.
[00:02:38] And he said to her, how long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.
[00:02:43] That's kind of a judgment, isn't it? You go, why would he even make that kind of a judgment?
[00:02:49] And I think the answer was because there was so much negative things happening. His sons underneath him were coming up.
[00:02:58] They were literally immoral men. And we read in another chapter, when Eli was very old, he heard about everything his sons were doing to all of Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And so he said to them, why do you do such things?
[00:03:17] I hear from all the people about the wicked deeds of yours.
[00:03:20] And so basically what Eli was doing was assuming that Hannah was one of those women.
[00:03:26] You kind of pick that up, and he's kind of, you know, little bit put out, and he's speaking to her. And you and I know that here's a very godly woman who really loves God and is devoted. And it's a total misunderstanding of the situation. I don't know if you've ever had those moments in life where you walked into something and you've seen.
[00:03:49] And, you know, we have a tendency to make an interpretation. It may be right, it may be wrong, but we don't know.
[00:03:56] But sometimes we get the wrong impression of a situation, and certainly Eli did in this situation.
[00:04:03] And Hannah responds to him and says to him, listen, I'm not who you think I am, and this is what I'm really doing.
[00:04:13] And so he responds back to her in a very positive way. She says to him, not so, my Lord. I'm a woman who's deeply troubled. I've not been drinking wine or beer. I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman. In other words, don't confuse what you're seeing here. I've been praying here out of my great anguish and grief. And Eli answered her, like, now you can see that he's going to respond totally differently. He said, go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.
[00:04:48] I think we should never be surprised that our good intentions can be misconstrued. How many know that's true? And it happens all the time, and it can literally be cast in a negative light. And we can expect that in serving others, there's going to become moments of misunderstanding, and I'm going to call it unwarranted criticism.
[00:05:08] And the moment you're in a position where you're trying to help somebody, many people can misunderstand, misinterpret. And, you know, especially if you're in a leadership role, it happens to parents, it happens to teachers, it happens to coaches. You know, it happens to political leaders, it happens to pastors. These things happen because you know what?
[00:05:28] People, especially in a position of influence, are shaping people. And people feel like, you know what? I'm struggling with what's going on. And so they're going to make comments. And sometimes, sometimes we don't have enough information to really understand what's going on. We have a limited amount, and so we interpret things many times in the wrong way, and it causes a lot of grief and pain. So I was reminded of this. You know, I just finished teaching on the book of Nehemiah. You know, Nehemiah is an incredible story. And he's a person that loves God and he wants to forward God's will on the people. And so when you start serving God and you have a heart to move the kingdom of God forward, you can anticipate there's going to be opposition. And I was reading here, it says when Sam Ballad, the horonite, and Tobiah, the ammonite official, heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. Immediately, if you want to help people, we have a spiritual adversary who's going to move through the hearts and lives of unstable, ungodly people who are going to impose what you and I are trying to accomplish. And don't be surprised by that.
[00:06:39] It's part and parcel of what's going to happen.
[00:06:43] And one of the strategies to go about doing that is to discredit the leader.
[00:06:47] It's take the leader out. You know, the Bible talks about that you strike the shepherd and the sheep scatter. And so, you know, leaders are going to be attacked. You know, I was telling the guys here, I feel like I'm really high pitched and I'm a little bit loud. Can you just adjust me a little bit, Rob?
[00:07:06] Anyways, I was sharing with the guys this morning. I met Don Larson from the far side. It was kind of a unique experience. I know. I was actually in his home and not because I was invited by Don Larson. He had a friend of mine painting his house. And my friend said, I'm doing a special technique and I want you to see it. And so he phoned and asked permission to have me come over. And in the process met Don Larson. Anyways, Don Larson, you know, how many know who he is? The far side.
[00:07:34] And let me tell you, his house was full of prints of the Far side. And I don't mean small, I mean huge ones.
[00:07:41] But he has one print out there, and it's so amazing. You know, it's one I identify with. There's three big bucks, you know, deer.
[00:07:49] And the guy in the middle, the big guy in the middle sitting there, and he's got a bullseye on his chest, and the other two deer are looking at him, and one of them says, bummer of a birthmark.
[00:08:02] So what that really means is simply if you have a leadership role, you are going to be a target.
[00:08:09] And I've experienced that over the years. I'm going, wow, it's just too bad. Bum over birthmark, right? But that's what happens.
[00:08:17] And one of the ways to do that is try to discredit the leader. And so in Nehemiah, chapter six, we read this. I realized God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me. So somebody speaking against him because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. So they're trying to, you know, take down the leader. And one of the ways of doing that is through false accusation and the rest of that.
[00:08:47] Now, as much as this was true for Nehemiah, Paul certainly ran into this. And we find this attack upon Paul, his character, his ministry and his message. And the issue is not if people will attack us or attack those people who are serving, but how are you and I going to respond to the attack? Because it's going to come.
[00:09:09] So what I'm hoping today is that you're going to get. I'm going to call it in your toolbox on relationship skills.
[00:09:18] Hopefully, we're going to give you some tools today. By God's grace, the Holy Spirit, the word of God, and your pastor is going to put some tools in your toolbox. How many say that's a good thing? Because you know what? I'm going to run into times when I'm misunderstood. I'm going to run into times when I'm criticized. I'm going to run into times when I'm falsely accused. How do I respond to these things? And I think we can learn from the Apostle Paul how to go about dealing with those situations in our lives.
[00:09:46] So let's take a look here.
[00:09:48] How should we respond? And I think we need to respond in a biblical manner. So first way is that you and I need to live right, live with integrity and godly sincerity. If we're living right, very good things are going to happen.
[00:10:04] If we live a godly life, a life above reproach, our lifestyle will be the ultimate source of our vindication.
[00:10:13] How many know you can't. I put can, but I fixed it this morning. But I couldn't fix the PowerPoint.
[00:10:20] We can't control what people will say about us. How many know that's true? I can't control what you're saying about me, but I can choose to live the right kind of life.
[00:10:30] Is that true?
[00:10:31] Okay, so I can't control what others are doing or saying, but I can control what I'm doing and saying. That's all I can control.
[00:10:38] And if I'm living the right kind of life, if people say things, I'll just use me as an example. If they're saying bad things about me, other people are going to go, yeah, well, I'm not picking that up. I'm not buying your argument, because I know this person. And we're going to find out. This is going to really shock you that Paul, who came along and planted this church in Corinth, now they're attacking his character.
[00:11:00] It's very fascinating. And part of the reason they're doing that is because these itinerant ministers are coming in and they're very eloquent and they're focusing on certain things, and they're basically, you know, Paul is not eloquent.
[00:11:14] He's a bit weak.
[00:11:15] They're like, you know, Greeks love wisdom. And Paul is not doing their style of presentation.
[00:11:23] And Paul is preaching Christ crucified.
[00:11:28] And, you know, our society doesn't get excited about, you know, weak things. They don't get excited about small things, weak things, humble things, broken things. They get excited about beautiful things, powerful things, things, you know, dynamic things, big things. How many know what I'm talking about? And so what we're going to discover is the gospel comes to us in weakness. And there is. Paul's going to argue that that's how God decided to come to humanity and weakness. But it's actually, there's a power in that weakness, and there's a weakness in humanity's idea of power.
[00:12:07] And we see that. Because what I see is when people have a lot of power, it destroys themselves. Many people with a lot of things going for them, they just wreck their lives. They just have too much going and it destroys them. Okay, so we have to deal with people with the integrity. And Paul is saying he's going to deal with us with integrity. And how he has that integrity is he's relying on God's grace. And I brought this out last week. You know, you and I are not just saved by God's undeserved favor. You and I are living in the strength of God's undeserved favor every single day. So you and I live by grace.
[00:12:39] You and I are going from grace to grace. You and I are going from strength to strength. God's doing something in our lives. So Paul goes, now this is our boast. Our conscience testifies that we've conducted ourselves in the world and especially in our relationships with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so relying not on worldly wisdom, but on God's grace. That's Paul's going to be. That's going to be his argument. He's going to try to show that what these guys are embracing is worldly wisdom, and what he's presenting is God's grace. How many would rather have God's grace and worldly wisdom?
[00:13:15] Amen. I would, too.
[00:13:17] So Paul is pointing out to the honesty that they had witnessed in his life. You got to remember, he's the church founder of that congregation. He went to Corinth, as a matter of fact. Acts chapter 18 tells us that it says, after this, Paul left Athens, he went to Corinth, and there he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius, that's the name of the Roman emperor at the time, had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them because he was a tent maker, and so were they. And as they were, he says he stayed and worked with them every Sabbath, reasoning in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
[00:13:57] Then in verse seven, then Paul left the synagogue, went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire, excuse me, household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized. And then down in verse 11, Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. So Paul was living among them for the first 18 months of the beginning of that congregation. Now, after 18 months, you think you would get to know somebody like Paul, right? So he's helping establish them. He's preaching the word of God. You know, people are getting saved, people are getting Baptized.
[00:14:36] Now, why I'm bringing all that out is because Paul, now, he's basically making an argument with these guys. Now he's saying, hey, guys, stop for a minute. These other guys have letters of recommendation. I don't need a letter of recommendation.
[00:14:50] You are our letter of recommendation. I've been living among you and I brought the good news of Jesus, and that's what's changed your life. Why are you flipping a switch and going this other direction? In a sense. And the reason why Paul is going to make an argument, as we're about to see, is he's not concerned about himself. He's concerned about them. He's concerned that they're going to get deceived. He's concerned that they're going to embrace the wrong message.
[00:15:15] Interesting.
[00:15:17] Scott Hathawan says this uprightness and sincerity are concepts that carry the connotation of moral purity. From their use elsewhere in Paul's writing, it's clear that given humanity's bankrupt nature and the dominance of sin in the lives of those outside of Christ, the presence of such uprightness and sincerity cannot be attributed to Paul's own moral ability.
[00:15:41] He's basically saying, you saw our lives. We're not this good.
[00:15:45] What's made us this good is the power of God in our lives, the grace of God in our lives.
[00:15:51] And you have to remember, Corinth was a very vile city, fully immoral and wicked to the core. And all of a sudden, Paul comes in and he's living this beautiful life and he's going, don't look at us. It's Christ in us. It's the grace of God in us. It's the power of God in us. That's what he's trying to tell these guys. Where such attributes exist, they're far from God. The results of the transforming work of God's Spirit in the lives of his new creation. In other words, when you see these kind of behaviors, you know that this isn't human power. This is God's work of grace in the human soul.
[00:16:29] The contrast in 1:12 between conduct carried out according to the worldly wisdom and that which derives from God's grace reflects the difference between Paul's own condition apart from Christ and his new standing as an apostle apart from God's grace. One's only recourse is the wisdom that comes from the values, worldview and societal structures associated with a life devoid of the Spirit's power and guidance. This is what Paul refers to as living or thinking according to the flesh.
[00:17:00] Well, what is he saying? He's saying there's only two options in life. You're either empowered by God's grace or you're living according to the standards and values and wisdom of this world.
[00:17:10] There's only two ways of thinking about it. I know there's some people think, well, I'm my own person, Pastor. I think my own way. I'm going, no, you're not your own person. You've been squeezed into a societal mold. Yeah, there's different expressions of that thing. But Jesus said there's only two roads. There's a narrow road and there's a broad road. The narrow road is the way of following Jesus. The broad road. Yeah, it's distinguished by a whole bunch of different labels, but it all leads to the same place.
[00:17:35] Moral destruction, devastation, and it happens.
[00:17:42] So Paul's appealing to their sense of being willing to fully understand where he's coming from. Now, how many know if we're going to have a healthy relationship? Here's one of the tools you need to put in your box. Here it comes. I need to understand where the other person's coming from.
[00:17:56] Okay, did you write that one down that's in your toolbox? Now I need to understand where the other person's coming from.
[00:18:03] I got to hear from them. I need to understand.
[00:18:05] Though they had known him as their founding leader, he trusts that they'll come to understand it even better him even better now and be able to trust what he's saying so that they'll feel grateful for him as he's grateful for them. Paul, however, uses the term that they would boast of him as he will boast of them in the day of judgment. That's what it says.
[00:18:25] For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
[00:18:37] What does Paul mean by the expression boasting? You know, in our culture we just think that's a negative concept, right? Boasting. Well, let's be honest. But I think we need to have a little understanding. Linda Belville in her commentary says even though resumes are given in our society, many today take offense at Paul's boasting and views his self commendation as a sign of personal arrogance.
[00:19:00] But she said, you got to keep three things in mind. Number one, let's look at them. First, Paul does not engage in boasting in order to make himself look good. He's Pushed to do it by the Corinthians who place great store in such things, and by his opponents who enjoy flaunting their credentials. Paul stoops to their level in order to safeguard the church from placing its trust in those who were only out to exploit them.
[00:19:22] And he is quite open about this.
[00:19:25] We're not trying to commend ourselves to you again, he says, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart.
[00:19:37] Second, the credential Paul's put forward are job related. He speaks from the standpoint of his office, not his person and phrases what he says in the plural we, it's not in the singular eye. It is servants of Christ and ministers of the gospel that he commends himself and his co workers. He's not boasting in himself, he's boasting in the ministry that God has given to Paul, Timothy, Silas, okay?
[00:20:02] And third, when Paul does boast, he's boasting not of his achievements and accomplishments, but in the hardships, struggles and trials of an itinerant missionaries. He says, as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way, in great endurance, in troubles, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments and riots, in hard work, sleepless nights and in hunger. Basically what Paul is saying is they need to remember who he has been in their lives and see that the accusations fashioned against him have no credibility. And the reason he's standing up for it is because he's saying, I'm not concerned about me personally, but I'm concerned about you. Because if you buy what's being said, because what these guys were doing was not only discrediting Paul, they were discrediting his ministry and his message. And Paul was concerned about them.
[00:20:51] That's what we need to get a hold of, ok?
[00:20:55] Paul is concerned that they will be deceived and they will be led astray from the good news about Jesus. So Paul's first appeal dealing with false accusation is to point to the kind of life he's living, a life of integrity and sincerity.
[00:21:13] So here's another thing to put in your little toolkit, okay? I need to live right.
[00:21:19] You know, a lot of conflict in life is because somebody's not living right.
[00:21:24] And a lot of times we accuse the other person of living wrong when we ourselves are guilty of the same thing. So let's not do that right?
[00:21:31] Live right, do the right thing. You know, if you're growing in your relationship with Christ, you're going to have healthier relationships. And I was just chatting with someone this morning and. And they were just telling me how much better their relationship is in their home. And he said, it started when I started to work on me and changed me.
[00:21:50] And then my spouse started to work on them and change them. And he said, we've never had a better marriage.
[00:21:56] That's the answer, guys, right there.
[00:21:59] Don't work on the other person. Work on you. Put that in your toolkit. Okay, I'm going to work on changing me. I'm going to work on allowing God to change me. I'm going to cooperate with the work of the Spirit in changing me. Okay, Number two, explain the reason for our actions. Often, false accusations are based upon a perception or interpretation of actions that can be explained here. We need to be aware of our own biases. What do you mean, Pastor? You know, it's amazing how we can give people that we like the benefit of the doubt. How many know that's true? And the people that kind of annoy us or we don't really connect with, we always attribute things far more negatively regarding those people.
[00:22:42] That's a bias. Why don't we just own up to it? It's easier for me to be nice to people I like than it is for people I don't like. That's another way of saying it. How many go, that's true. So I have to put another thing in my little toolbox. I need to treat people impartially. Put that in your toolbox. I need to give everybody the benefit of the doubt.
[00:23:03] Okay, can you put that one in your toolbox, too? I'm giving you toolbox stuff here today so you can walk out and going, I'm going to have better relationships. I'm going to handle things a lot better.
[00:23:12] Okay?
[00:23:14] The behavior in question was Paul's promise to visit the Corinthians. But rather than showing up in person, he writes them a challenging letter, which unfortunately has been lost. We know he did it, but we just don't have that letter. But it's alluded to in this letter, and we see it here in chapter two. Because they're upset with him, because he said he was going to come, and then he did. He says, so I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.
[00:23:41] Okay, Paul.
[00:23:42] For if I grieved you, who is left to make you glad? But you whom I have grieved to make me glad. But to you whom I have grieved, I write as I did so that when I came, I would not be distressed by those who have made me, who should have made me rejoice. I have confidence in all of you that you will all share my joy.
[00:24:01] Here's another thing in your toolbox.
[00:24:03] Think the best of people. Put that in your toolbox. Paul does that. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, with many tears, not to grieve you, but to let you know the depth of my love for you. So Paul said, I corrected you, but it killed me to do it.
[00:24:28] You know, when you are in a place where you're in a role of leadership, or you're a parent or you're a teacher or you're a coach, listen, if somebody's not doing the right thing, you should not just fly off the handle. You should not just get upset, especially if they're attacking you. You need to take time out. I always jokingly say that parents, kids need discipline. They need a timeout. It's not for them, it's for you.
[00:24:56] So you can get yourself under control.
[00:24:58] And eventually, when you start to think about what's been done, then you can measure what needs to be said. And we need to do things graciously, kindly and with their best interest. And it should hurt us more than it hurts them. How's that? That's exactly what Paul was saying here. So now Paul kind of goes into the explanation of his actions. He said, because I was confident of this, I want to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, which is northern Greece, and to come back to you from Macedonia, because Corinth is in southern Greece. So he says, I wanted to come up and go through Corinth, up to Macedonia. I wanted to come back down, go through Corinth before I headed off to Asia, before you would send me on my way to Judea.
[00:25:43] Then he says, well, Paul is now explaining his actions here as being consistent with his character and his heart.
[00:25:53] Well, there's verses that are missing. Let me just read these in my notes. They're in a certain order. When I was fickle, he says, was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say yes, yes, and no, no. But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not yes and no. What he's saying is, I'm not speaking out of both sides of my mouth. Do you know, it's unfortunate when people, you know, when you're saying one thing to a person, but you really, in your mind, you're going to do the exact opposite. What is that? That's duplicity.
[00:26:24] Okay, we should never practice that.
[00:26:28] And this is very fascinating to me. People in the ancient world thought of people that were fickle as they regarded this as a critical aspect following through on what we say, which we will appreciate. Paul needed to explain his actions as if he would jeopardize their faith, not just in himself, but also in Christ and in the gosp.
[00:26:53] Craig Keener says this ancient literature regularly condemned fickleness and unreliability while praising those who kept the word even under duress. Many thought fickleness inappropriate for a virtuous person. The Roman world despised it in its leaders.
[00:27:09] I don't know, maybe I should pass this on to some people.
[00:27:13] You know what you say you should follow through.
[00:27:18] And if you don't, you better have an explanation.
[00:27:22] How's that?
[00:27:24] So in your relationships, if you want to have healthy relationships, mean what you say, do what you say, and if there's a reason you can't do it, better, have a good explanation why.
[00:27:36] In other words, be consistent. How many know you can handle people who are consistent? You know what you're going to get. You're not going to get a surprise. Right?
[00:27:46] Yet it's possible that Paul's change of plans regarding his visit actually, in their minds, created a deeper suspicion of his motives. And these itinerant speakers were using this against the apostle Paul. Craig Keener goes on to say the Corinthian criticism must have gone far deeper over just disappointment over his delay. Apparently, for some, if Paul's word was not dependable when it involved his relationship with them, how could they trust his apostolic message? See how they're interpreting this? Far deeper than what it should have been. In other words, they were overreacting to what he'd done. Paul felt that to come in person would have been actually too painful, not to him, but to them. And that's why he did. He wrote a letter instead.
[00:28:25] Paul's sufferings and challenges, as we've seen, were considered a problem to them. So Paul's explanation. David Garland says Paul's deprivation and the unexpected shifts in his fortunes, his ministry style and his frank criticism of the Corinthians have apparently offended some of the Corinthians.
[00:28:43] Now, how many times you're correcting somebody and then they just take offense.
[00:28:49] Does that ever happen?
[00:28:51] Absolutely.
[00:28:53] Those displeased with Paul raised doubts about his sufficiency as an apostle. They also Cast suspicions on his integrity, scoffed at his rhetorical skills and challenged his authority. While Paul claimed that his suffering deepened his solidarity with Christ, authenticated further his message, most in the ancient world would have assumed exactly the opposite. Such suffering would have refuted his claims. And I've already spoken to that. Our culture does not identify with suffering. It identifies, you know, with health and wellness and all the rest of that. And that's good. I mean, certainly we want people to be healthy. Certainly we want good to come to people's lives. We all do. That's good.
[00:29:36] But don't despise the difficult afflictions that come into people's lives or the challenges that people are faced with, or the challenges that you're faced with. You know, God is not, he's using those as a tool. That's what you need to understand. And I remember reading in Hebrews here just this past week, you know, God is going to, you know, the difficulties we're experiencing. God sometimes disciplines us through challenges.
[00:30:04] And you go, well, I didn't really do anything wrong, Pastor. No, I know, but what's going on is there's a purification that's happening in our lives. You know, Peter says, don't think it's strange that these fiery trials have come upon you. It's refining us and how many know, it's creating a deeper degree of empathy and compassion for people that are suffering. Otherwise we'd be very self centered.
[00:30:24] You know, could you imagine if we always had our way? We had everything we ever wanted. You know, have you ever met people that have always had their way and got everything they ever wanted?
[00:30:33] They're kind of difficult to live with.
[00:30:36] Just pointing that out.
[00:30:39] Okay, so at the heart of the issue, basically, Paul has come in weakness. He's preached that the power is expressed in weakness.
[00:30:52] And as I've already said, our society is focused on power, prestige and strength. And meanwhile, Paul's coming preaching a little different message than that. And I've got to remind every one of us, how did God come to us?
[00:31:04] Well, he invaded our planet in weakness as a baby born to a virgin, which was misunderstood and criticized. The birth of Christ, raised suspicions and was interpreted as illegitimate and shameful. How many know that's true? That's the story of Christmas and we keep forgetting that message. We're going, oh, wonderful Mary. Well, I'll tell you, Mary didn't have a fun life.
[00:31:24] She was vastly misunderstood in her culture. And Jesus even in his ministry was challenged. And they said, we know who our Father is, but you don't know who your dad is. What they were basically saying was he was illegitimate.
[00:31:37] Isn't that something?
[00:31:38] So I just want to point out to you it wasn't all fun and games, okay? And I think we need to understand that. It's important we get it. The birth of Christ raised suspicion. The mystery of godliness is great. According to Paul. He said, beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great. Quoting from First Timothy 3, 16. He appeared in the flesh.
[00:31:58] God came with a human body, but he was vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, was preached among the nations, believed in the world and taken up into glory. That's the mystery of godliness. Okay? Paul now shares his dependency and his openness. Paul Barnett says another important principle in healthy relationship. Another thing in your toolbox. Here it comes. There needs to be transparency, openness and forgiveness. Three more tools. Drop it in your box. Okay? It's important to understand that he's doing more than merely explaining and defending his action and expressing his dependence on them. In verse two, as one who works with them. In verse 24, he's stating a fundamental principle of Gospel relationships. He is not self sufficient, but dependent, and so are they.
[00:32:44] Okay?
[00:32:45] Then he goes on and says, moreover, he's open to disclosing his motives and reasons for not coming, which he says have been worked out before God.
[00:32:58] He says, if disguise is the mark of his opponents, which he'll bring up in chapter 11, these false apostles, then openness is the mark of Paul's life. An openness which is made possible by the grace of God in forgiveness.
[00:33:13] So what is he saying?
[00:33:16] I'll say it to you this way.
[00:33:18] When you and I are an open book and we can answer for what we're doing and we are willing to do that, it creates trust in relationships. How many know censorship and condemnation do not repair relationships.
[00:33:34] Did you just write that one down? Censorship and condemnation do not repair relationships. Forgiveness and a conciliatory communication bring about restoration and healing.
[00:33:47] We have to be humble folks.
[00:33:49] We have to be willing to be open and communicating and conciliatory. And even when people have done the wrong things and they've wronged us, we need to be forgiving and conciliatory. Okay? This is the Christian way. I'm giving you the Jesus way. You want to have healthy relationships? This is it. Let me go to the last point.
[00:34:09] We need to stand on God's promises.
[00:34:11] So I asked the question, are our actions consistent with what Scripture teaches?
[00:34:16] Is there a recognition that it is God who causes us to stand. I'm not standing on my own here. I've got a lot of help from God above to stand, just like you have a lot of help from above for God to help you stand.
[00:34:29] We can then act out what God expects of us as his children. Listen how he says it.
[00:34:36] He says, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Silas and Timothy was not yes and no, but in him has always been yes. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through him, the amen is spoken to us, to the glory of God.
[00:34:58] Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anoints us, sets a seal of ownership on us, puts his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
[00:35:10] Now, when I read this, I go, what's he doing here? Have you ever read this stretch before? And going, I don't quite get what he's saying. Okay, so I'm going to try to explain this to you. Because I was going, what is he really saying here?
[00:35:22] He's making an argument from the greater to the lesser. And what does that mean? He's just simply saying, as God makes promises and they're fulfilled in the person of Christ to humanity. How many know God made a lot of promises in the Old Testament and they're now all fulfilled in the person of Christ. How many? I get that.
[00:35:40] Everybody follow that. He's saying God always does what he says.
[00:35:45] He's reliable, he's faithful, he's truthful. He speaks the language of truth.
[00:35:53] Paul communicates that like God, he is also doing the same thing. He's not fickle. When he says yes, it's yes, and when it's no, it's no. He's pointing to us that their faith that they're standing upon, which is the fulfillment of all God's promises in Christ.
[00:36:12] Not only that, but God has given evidence that this faith has substance. Paul now presents four terms that were used in everyday life to describe the Spirit's activity in the life of believers. He reminds the Corinthians that the reason that they and him are standing and can live out the Gospel is because of God's anointing on our life. The anointing really means God's presence.
[00:36:37] The reason why you and I can even be Christians is because of God's presence. The reason why you and I can do the right things and say no to the wrong things is because of God's presence.
[00:36:48] Are we following this? See before, we didn't have that. We couldn't do the right thing when we were tempted and we were overcome very quickly. But you say, but I'm a Christian, sometimes I'm overcome. Yeah, that's true.
[00:37:01] But you're making that choice now. But there is a power inside of you that's greater than the temptation. And I can say no to that and say yes to God. God's spirit is inside of us. That's what he's telling us here.
[00:37:14] God's presence is empowering us. And then he has set a seal of ownership over us. We have the spirit in us as a down payment or a deposit, guaranteeing us what is about to happen.
[00:37:26] Here's the good news. You know all the promises in the Bible about the end and how we're going to one day live with him all eternity. You know why you can have an assurance of that?
[00:37:35] Because God gave you a down payment.
[00:37:37] What's the down payment? God's spirit and living inside of you. Is that amazing?
[00:37:42] You and I have the spirit of God living inside of us. I don't think we appreciate what God has done. God says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. How can he make that promise? He goes, I'll live inside of you.
[00:37:54] That's pretty good. He said, there's a power inside of you. Paul's going to bring it out a little later in this book. He says, you and I are like little clay pots. Many times we've got fractures and cracks and all the rest of it. The real treasure in our lives isn't us. It's Christ in us.
[00:38:09] Don't you love that?
[00:38:10] And you know, sometimes there's brokenness in our lives. But those little seams let the light of God's life flow out of us. And people can see something that they couldn't see before. They see the grace and the glory of God streaming from our lives. That's so beautiful.
[00:38:25] I like that Colin Cruz says it this way. The major thrust of verses 21 and 22, then, is that Paul and his colleagues have been made to stand firm by God and have been anointed by his Spirit. Why does Paul make these assertions at this point in his letter? It is to show that the integrity of the apostolic band and the truthfulness of their gospel rests upon the work of God. It is the spirit of God who makes them stand firm, anoints them, and whose presence is the authenticating seal upon their mission and message.
[00:38:57] He's saying, I don't need to give you a letter. Of recommendation from somebody. You are it. And also the spirit of God who is working in and through us as he is working in and through you. He said, that's what's authenticating.
[00:39:12] We have, you know, in the old world, and it's true still today, with a legal document, they'll put a seal. How many have ever been to a lawyer's office? They put a seal. That seal is a seal of what authentication.
[00:39:27] Do you know what? Listen, the spirit of God is living in you. That's an authentication that you belong to God.
[00:39:33] How many say, I like this.
[00:39:35] This is encouraging. I think the implication that if this is the work of God in our lives, which is guaranteeing what am I doing here?
[00:39:48] Well, now I'm looking up in my notes here.
[00:39:51] Yeah, we've already.
[00:39:53] It didn't advance the implication that is this work of God in their lives guarantees their trustworthiness and the greater matter of the proclamation of the the gospel, then surely it will also render them trustworthy in the lesser matter of their travel plans.
[00:40:12] In other words, he says, hey, we've given you the ultimate. We've given you the gospel.
[00:40:19] You guys are straining at a gnat. You guys are uptight because we changed the plan. But he'll later on explain why he did it. He said, I did it to spare you guys.
[00:40:28] As a matter of fact, how many know he says that? He said, this isn't a result of mere fickleness. It's of a genuine concern for them. The Corinthians. Listen to what he says. I call God as my witness, and I stake my life on it that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
[00:40:51] So Paul now gives his reasons for not following through on his promised visit. I've already said it. He desires to spare them. But from what?
[00:40:59] Spare them? Well, I think he's showing them a little space. How many have ever had a relationship where there was a conflict and you knew that if you spoke right away, this is not going to settle right now. The person is not in the space to receive the message.
[00:41:13] How many know you have to have a little eq? You have to figure this out. This is not the moment to try to resolve the conflict. This is just only going to make it worse. You have to move away a little bit and give some space.
[00:41:24] Put that in your toolbox. Here's the word you need to know. Patience.
[00:41:29] We're not good at this one. But you know, what can I say?
[00:41:32] Scott Haffeman says Paul makes it clear that unlike his first change of plan, his second change of plan was not driven by his desire for the Corinthians, but to be merciful to others, but by his desire to be merciful to the Corinthians themselves. Though the Corinthians had rebelled against Paul and his gospel during the first of his two proposed visits, Paul was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that the opponents were temporarily misleading them rather than concluding that they were definitely rejecting Christ.
[00:42:04] What is he not doing? Paul is not overreacting.
[00:42:08] He's going, okay, I can see that you guys are struggling. I see that you're rejecting me. I see that you're embracing a false message right now, but I don't really believe this is going to take hold. I have confidence that the work of the Spirit in your life is going to bring you back on course. I'm going to give you a little space. I'm not going to come in there right away.
[00:42:25] He wrote a second letter and then hopefully it was going to work out.
[00:42:30] So he goes on to say both Paul's delay and his reaffirmation of the implications of the Gospel were intended to bring about the Corinthians repentance in order that they might be spared the eventual judgment of God.
[00:42:44] That's great. Paul changed his plans in order to act towards the Corinthians in the same way that God is now acting between his first and second coming like those of Christ. Paul's actions consequently become a conduit for the revelation of the glory of God's mercy. What is he saying? You know, what's happening right now? People say, well, why is Christ taking so long to come back?
[00:43:06] We all think that.
[00:43:07] Why is it taking 2,000 years?
[00:43:09] And Peter gives us an answer.
[00:43:12] God is long suffering, not willing that any should perish.
[00:43:17] God is holding back his coming because the day Jesus comes back to this planet is a day of deliverance to believers and a day of judgment to non believers who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[00:43:31] We don't take that very seriously, but I think we ought to.
[00:43:35] We need to take this extremely seriously. Jesus is going to come back and that day comes. It's a day of judgment for most people.
[00:43:43] So while God is patient between his first and second coming, he's giving people an opportunity to change the their mind. Paul's delay in coming to the Corinthians was for the same reason, to give them an opportunity to change their mind. You know, sometimes we pressure people. It's the wrong approach. We need to be more patient with people.
[00:44:03] Put that in your toolbox. I got to be more patient with this person.
[00:44:08] God was patient with me. I need to be patient with them. So let me give you an illustration, and then I'll give you some concluding points here. But really quickly, how many here have ever raised teenagers?
[00:44:25] Okay, here's what I'm going to say to you.
[00:44:28] There will come a moment, unless it's a very unusual situation, but there will usually come a moment where the parent will say to the teenager, you're not going to do that. And the teenager is going to be very distraught and upset.
[00:44:45] And then they're going to say something like this, you don't trust me.
[00:44:50] Maybe you were the. You know, I look at the story and go, I was the teenager. Later, I was the parent.
[00:44:57] I went through both experiences where I did not have, you know, I was upset with my parents, and then later on my kids were upset with me.
[00:45:06] I've been full circle with this thing, but I know the words. You don't trust me. You know, I was a very trustworthy kid and my kids were very trustworthy. But you know what I recognized?
[00:45:15] Sometimes you have to say no.
[00:45:19] I try hardly ever to say no, but sometimes you have to. And you're not saying no because you don't trust them. You're saying no because, you know, they don't have the experience necessary to handle what they're asking to have happen.
[00:45:31] They're not ready for this yet. And they don't have the wisdom and the discernment to choose maybe the right kind of people to hang with.
[00:45:40] And so as a parent, you can see ahead and they can't see, but the moment.
[00:45:44] And so you're standing up, and at that moment, there's a little bit of a flare up.
[00:45:49] This is kind of like the Corinthians with Paul. You know, however wise and godly parents realize, you know, you don't just say, I'm writing this kid off. No, a wise parent knows that they need to be patient and kind with that child.
[00:46:04] Even though at this moment you hear something like, you're the worst parent in the world. I was told I was the worst youth pastor in the world.
[00:46:12] You know, I've been the worst whatever. For some people, I've been the worst.
[00:46:18] I was their only youth pastor, but I was the worst youth pastor they ever had, especially this one person, you know, and it's really funny because I was Just loving and patient and try to keep, you know, caring and whatever. Well, by the time I left that youth group, I was the best youth pastor they'd ever had, you know, or the time I stood up against, you know, some young person in there trying to, you know, kind of like a wolf in sheep's clothing. And I just told that person, back off. You do anything to these girls, I'm going to take your head off.
[00:46:49] That was probably a little immature statement, but I felt that way.
[00:46:53] Of course, the girls in the youth group, they were upset with me.
[00:46:56] But then I was the worst youth pastor in the world. But then later on, when they found out that he was living with somebody, then I became the best youth pastor in the world.
[00:47:04] And that happens with young people. Isn't that true?
[00:47:08] So what I'm saying to you is we need to learn to be kind and patient with people who get upset with us when they don't really understand what we're really trying to do. So let's review Paul's approach real quickly. Consistent godly life.
[00:47:21] People may disagree with us, but our obedience to Christ will ultimately vindicate us. Number two, we can communicate our reasons why we act in a certain specific situation.
[00:47:32] Often when people hear our hearts, they may change their opinion, even as Eli did towards Hannah. However, we also need to realize we're going to have spiritual opposition whenever we seek the welfare of other people. Finally, God is calling us to live a life of dependency on himself and interdependency on each other. We need to live our lives with openness, transparency, and forgiveness.
[00:47:55] So here's your question.
[00:47:57] How are you going to handle the next situation where there's misunderstanding or worse, an attack upon your character, your ministry, and your mess?
[00:48:05] Because that's what happened to Paul. What can we learn from Paul to address this kind of painful situation? And as we'll see in the letter, Paul does expose those who are endeavoring to destroy what God intends to build. Let's stand.
[00:48:19] So let's pray this morning.
[00:48:23] How many go? Pastor, you put a lot of things in my toolbox today, and what I need is, number one, help to remember them.
[00:48:32] So you may want to listen to this message again on stream.
[00:48:36] Write them down.
[00:48:38] That's all good, but how many know until you do them, it's not going to do you any good.
[00:48:43] So I'm going to pray today that we're going to move from information to application, which will bring about transformation. Amen.
[00:48:53] Okay, so let's pray. Lord, we thank youk, that yout have a word for every situation in our lives, you have tools to give us to handle relational difficulties.
[00:49:08] And I pray today that the things that I've shared, Lord, will help us.
[00:49:13] Help us, Lord, to become more effective in relating to people in a healthy and a biblical way.
[00:49:22] Help us, Lord. We need help because none of us do it perfectly.
[00:49:27] But Lord, I pray that you'll help us in the days ahead when this happens. It's not if it'll happen, but whenever we try to help people, there will come moments of misunderstanding. Give us the skills, the grace and the kindness, Lord, to do the right thing. Help us to live a right kind of life. That alone answers a lot of issues. So help us, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen. God bless you as you leave today.
