Study in 2 Corinthians

Study in 2 Corinthians Presentation 14

A Test Of Character Chap 10v1-17 Presentation 14

Introduction We may use any number of tests to evaluate a person’s character. Popular wisdom says you can tell a great deal about a person’s character by the company that they keep. However, it is not always easy to select our company. Things such as family duty, housing availability and economic necessity may cause us to rub shoulders with people whom we would rather avoid. A far better test of the quality of a person’s character is to discover the kind of people whom they look up to and admire. Presentation 14

Introduction We choose our own heroes. No one forces them upon us. And we choose them for a whole variety of reasons but principally because: 1. We see in them the qualities we would like to see reproduced in our lives. 2. We see in their lives the fulfilment of our ambitions and dreams. In a matter of minutes by asking a person about their favourite biographies, the pinups on their bedroom walls and the person they would most like to meet you can learn a very great deal about them. Presentation 14

The Corinthian Crisis The church in Corinth was confused. They could not make up their minds whom they wanted to admire. On the one hand there was Paul the founder of the church, their father in the faith but on the other there were the newcomers the so-called super-apostles. Pendulum like they were drawn first to the one and then to the other. These closing chapters reflect this violent oscillation and account for a change in the Paul’s tone. He asks what sort apostle the Corinthians admired. This is not the story of petty rivalries. The people we admire are the people we most want to be like. The kind of Christianity which the church admires most is the kind it is going to reflect. It matters who our Christian heroes are. Presentation 14

Clearing His Name Paul is concerned to clear his name against the kind of allegations that had been made against him cf. v1-2. Once the campaign of innuendo and distortion has begun this is something which becomes increasingly more difficult to do. Because no matter what you do you play into the hands of your detractors. Silence is taken to be an admission of guilt, while any defence can be taken to imply that you really do have something to hide. Paul had been accused of being a cowardly bully who wrote very domineering letters, what has been described as a timid puppy barking like a Rottweiler from the other side of the fence cf. also v10. Presentation 14

Clearing His Name Paul’s response is to appeal to a Christian hero whom even his accusers could not impeach. Paul is saying something like this v1 ‘the leadership model that I am seeking to follow is that of the meekness and gentleness of Christ’. Paul’s grace and mildness, which his opponents described as weakness was in fact nothing less than his attempt to be like Jesus. Imperfect as his imitation was Paul sought to follow the One who said, ‘I am meek and lowly in heart’ Matt.11.29. Meekness is not weakness of personality despite what the world thinks. ‘Self-assertiveness’ is what it counsels. However, it was completely out of character for Paul to play the spiritual heavyweight. Presentation 14

Clearing His Name Think of powerful oxen, they are broken to serve… to use their enormous strength productively. A man's will has to be brought into subjection to the will of God. Our powerful passions, drives and energy have to be harnessed to do God's work in the world. The meek man is the disciplined man, trained take on great responsibilities and to discharge them in any circumstance. Any change of mood that Paul’s readers detect in these closing chapters was a reluctant one. He has been forced into it. Meek Jesus, whip in hand, drove money changers out of the temple because the situation demanded it. Paul could exert the full weight of his apostolic authority in a situation like one like Corinth where impostor apostles needed to be driven out of the church. Presentation 14

Paul’s Confidence Paul’s opponents had suggested he was a windbag with no teeth. And so in v3-6 he bares his teeth and reveals his confidence in dealing with those who were opposed to him and his gospel. The kind of apostolic power in his mind involves that of Spirit inspired words. ‘The weapons we fight with... have divine power to demolish... arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.’ Paul uses these military metaphors to describe his struggle against the forces of proud, human speculation and demonically inspired ideas that challenge his gospel. Presentation 14

Paul’s Confidence Many today, intimidated by the power of secular thought, hide themselves in Christian foxholes. Paul was confident that he could advance against secular ideologies but not by using the world’s methods. The weapons of the world that he rejects would appear to be that of the silver tongued rhetoric of his rivals. Paul refused to become religious showman or pattern himself on the Greek orators of his day. He discouraged the personality cult and disowned gimmicks. His confidence was in his spiritual weapons. He saw the importance of prayer and personal holiness. To proclaim the Word of God in the power of the Spirit was his goal. Presentation 14

Paul’s Confidence Paul is not describing some untested prototype but weapons he had already used and by which he had conquered continents cf. v5... No matter how strong the enemy position appeared, he was convinced that the apostolic gospel could demolish it. Paul saw the philosophical systems of his day as towers of defiance, Babel like structures built by the sinful imaginations of men which defiantly challenged God’s authority. He sought their collapse. But, and this is important, Paul was not happy simply to knock down non Christian arguments, he wanted to captivate his opponents. He did not want to overwhelm them with superior logic. He wanted to win them to Christ. Presentation 14

Paul’s Plan Upon his arrival in Corinth his plan v6 was first to establish his apostolic authority in the church as a whole and then deal with the trouble makers. Paul was aware that there were some in Corinth who would say, ‘There goes that windbag again trying to intimidate us with words- Its all sabre rattling! Paul says such people are wrong on three counts. First, they have misjudged him v7.... Paul is saying, ‘If you looked at things less superficially, you would quickly realise that there is a lot more of Christ in me than you think’. Presentation 14

Paul’s Plan Secondly, Paul says they are wrong because they misrepresent him v8.... Paul admits that he claims spiritual authority over them but this authority had been given to him by God for their good. This is an authority of which he is not ashamed. Thirdly, his detractors underestimate him v11.... He says, ‘Do not be fooled by my unimpressive stature for my letters truly mirror the person I am. Do not be fooled into thinking I cannot translate my words into actions. If you find this hard to swallow just look at my record and see how God has used me elsewhere’. Presentation 14

Paul’s Irony Paul now turns his attention more directly to his opponents in v12-13.... The sarcasm of Paul’s words is helpfully brought out in the J. B. Phillips translation, ‘Of course we shouldn’t dare include ourselves in the same class as those who write their testimonials. We shouldn’t even dare to compare ourselves with them.’ Paul points to a very obvious chink in his opponents armour. Their authority rested entirely on self-congratulation. They had arrived in Corinth with nothing more than a flashy door-salesman technique and some fancy letters written by members of their own little party. Paul asks, can you not see the folly of their mutual admiration society? Presentation 14

Paul’s Irony Paul was not in the business of making wild and uncorroborated claims for himself. There is a limit set by God to the kind of boasting he engages in and the authority which he claims but that limit has been confirmed by the fruitfulness of his own ministry. In this regard Paul was in a far stronger position than his opponents. Corinth was part of the field of work assigned by God to Paul. His opponents had no ground for exercising their authority there. But more than that Paul’s apostolic calling had been vindicated by the fact that people in Corinth had responded to his ministry. Measure me against my opponents on these counts says the Paul. Presentation 14

Paul’s Irony Paul had planted the church in Corinth. His aim was to consolidate the work there so that he could use it as a base from which to press the western extremities of the Roman Empire with the gospel. If those who were claiming to be apostles in Corinth were truly apostles, they would not be trying to engage in sheep-stealing on Paul’s God-given patch, they would be doing front-line missionary work in their own allotted zone. If only the Corinthians had not been so taken in by the superficial and had looked more carefully beneath the surface they would have seen that the so-called apostles in their midst were not in fact commended by God. Presentation 14

Conclusion What kind of Christians do you admire? I admire Christians, who like Paul choose to go to the hard places, where pioneer evangelism needs to be done. I admire Christians, who like Paul are constantly thinking of the next challenge to their ministry and Christian service, not those who rest on their laurels and boast of their past achievements. I admire Christians, who rely on the spiritual weapons of prayer, holiness of life and spirit empowered preaching to get their evangelism done and who have rejected gimmicks and secular showmanship. Presentation 14

Conclusion I admire Christians, who like Paul believe in the power of Christian truth to change the world and refuse to be intimidated by the advocates of error. I admire Christians, who like Paul hate talking about themselves and throwing their spiritual weight around. I admire Christians, who take as their model of Christian greatness the person of Jesus Christ and refuse the glitzy models of worldly entertainment and politics. Those who pursue the meekness and gentleness of Christ are my kind of hero. What sort of Christian hero do you admire? It is a profoundly important question because the kind of Christian you admire is likely to shape the kind of Christian you will become. Presentation 14

Study in 2 Corinthians