2nd Corinthians Week 15: #1 Trophy

  Have you seen these cups, or trophies, or shirts, that say #1 Dad? I’ve wondered, what would happen if two dad’s had a t-shirt on that said, #1 DAD? Do they have to fight to settle that?  I have a cup that says, #1 Dad in the galaxy, Do I have to fight an alien dad that has the same cup? Now I know, that those shirts and cups, are given out around Father’s day to let a dad know how much their kids love them. But I also know that kids say things like, “My dad could beat your dad up.” So if a kid who thinks that, also gives their dad #1 Dad paraphernalia, I think the expectation, at least from the kid, is there right? 

Well it’s this idea about being the best, being #1, comparing ourselves with others, that brings us back to our summer series where we’re going to pick it back up in the letter of 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, verse 16. And as we do, let’s bring our minds back up to speed on where we are in our study.

In the last three weeks we have begun to see Paul deal with the the false teachers, or what he calls “super-apostles,” that are entering into the Corinthian Church. As we saw him begin to address these false teachers, we saw him confront the idea that he is humble in person but bold in letter. When in fact he conducts himself in bold humbleness, which is to say, he addresses the problem, but with the intention to bring restoration to the situation. Paul doesn’t change his approach. In reality, we interpreted him as being harsh, based on our state of mind, rather than reading his letters as he intended them, with restoration in mind. From that, we talked about how we are called to that same bold humbleness, where we are to confront sinful situations, with the purpose of restoring relationships.

Following that, last week we talked about the super-apostles, how you can tell those types of false teachers, because they seek to complicate things, they seek to gain more by burdening others, and they look good on the outside, but their lives are corrupt. Once we are on the look out for those things, we can counteract them, by first being a servant to our brothers and sisters, and to follow people are the most serving among us. Service is one of the greatest signs of a Christian, and is the key ingredient of a Christian leader.

Now that we have these two things in our minds, we can continue to read as Paul deals with the “super-apostles.” But a quick word of warning, remember, as we read this next part, Paul is still using foolish talked to get his point across. So there is a ton of sarcasm and hyperbole in our reading today. We also have to read through chapter 12 because the thought cannot be cut up and still make sense. 

So let’s read together 2nd Corinthians, chapter 11, starting in verse 16, and going all the way through chapter 12 ending on verse 10

16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

12:1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

v.16-21

Paul starts out with the foolish talk once again, and he does this from the perspective of flesh boasting. Flesh boasting is when we talk about achievements, that we have done and who we know, instead of boosting about what God has done. 

Paul does this, because the Corinthians seem to like it. They take people into their church who are all about themselves. They bear with people who talk about all they have done, and because of that, they become slaves, they get devoured, they get taken advantage of, and as Paul says it, they get struck in the face. 

It’s here that Paul sarcastically apologizes for being too weak to hurt the Corinthians in such a way. In a sense, Paul’s saying, “Hey, maybe I should have. Maybe I should have been weaker and hurt you.” Of courses this is done by hyperbole; Paul wants the Corinthians to think through the difference in his ministry and the ministry of the “super-apostles.” Their’s is a ministry that sounds good, but keeps people in bondage, whereas Paul’s might not be as flashy, but it seeks to set people free.

v.22-29

This is the part, where I’ve heard a lot of people say they read Paul and he just seems to like to talk about himself. What they don’t realize is that he’s acting as if he was one of those “super-apostles.” Paul’s throwing out all of his credentials and showing how they compare. By doing this, Paul is showing how foolish it is for these guys to bring their resume to the fight, when his resume is vastly more impressive. 

It’s like the banquet table parable of Luke 14. Where Jesus sees the guests taking their seats and then presents a situation where a person takes the highest seat and gets moved to a lower seat, and a person who takes the lower seat and gets moved to the higher seat. Then Jesus poses the question, which is better? Obviously, the better situation is the one who was the person that got exalted to a place of higher honor, rather than be dishonored by being take out of his perceived honor.

Here, Paul is showing how much more honor he has because of his work, when compared to the “super-apostles.”

v.30-10

That’s where he begins to change the direction. He begins to show what real boasting is. Christians don’t boast in who they are, what they have done, or the things that they have achieved. No, they boast in Jesus. 

Paul boasts about escaping out a window in a basket, because God saved him. He then boasts about a man who had this amazing vision that God gave him. The identity of this man isn’t given, but a lot of scholars believe it was Paul himself. If it is Paul, it supports his point, that isn’t about what happened that’s to be boasted about, but God who did it.

Then Paul boasts about the thorn he was given by God. This thorn was a “messenger from Satan.” Some say it was a physical ailment, some say it was demonic attacks, others say it was Paul’s wife name Thorn, I think it was the “super-apostles” that attacked him. But the identity of the thorn isn’t important, it’s the purpose of it. It was allowed to occur so that Paul, though he could boast in all the things about himself, would stay humble. Paul recognizes that and embraces it, because through his weakness, God is glorified. That God’s grace is sufficient. 

So because of this, Paul is now content, not in what he is or what he has accomplished, but in the grace and mercy of God, because, as he finishes this connective thought, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

And this is the point. Everything we are, everything we’ve done, doesn’t mean anything. There’s always someone smarter, there’s always someone strong, there’s always someone braver, there’s always someone who does what we do, but better. I’m not the best teacher, preacher, dad, husband, counselor, pastor, driver, baseball player, or whatever else, but I have Jesus, and that’s what matters. All those other things will fall to the wayside, and only Jesus will endure into eternity, so I’ve got it all. This goes back to Paul’s point in the last section, that we possess all things in Jesus. 

But since I have Jesus, and I realize that my resume isn’t what’s important, he can work through me to improve all those other aspects of me.

This past week, I had the honor of speaking at Dr. Stephen Fisher’s memorial. The one thing that stood out in my mind, was that people were sharing what they loved about him. He was a great physician, a great father, a great outdoorsman, the list went on and on. But when I got up there, I was overwhelmed to share, that all the things people loved about Steve, came from Jesus. So if you loved something about Steve, what you really love is Jesus through Steve. I invited people to know the Jesus that Steve knew.

That’s the type of person God is calling us to be. People, who, through our recognized weaknesses, God works. And then when we are recognized for that work, we point back to Jesus, and say, “He didn’t I’m just in his service.”

God is calling us, not to a place where our own strength matters, but where I weaknesses are utilized to bring glory to him. This goes with Paul’s opening words to the Corinthian Church, from 1st Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong…”

Last week, I showed you a bunch of books on leadership. One of the big things that happens in leadership training, is an emphasis on strength. People say things like, “Play to your strengths and delegate your weaknesses.” That can help, but in reality, as believers, we need to recognize that we only bring weakness to the table. If we think, our strength is sufficient, it will become an idol, which will lead us into pitfalls, and we won’t see the greater work of God. But through weakness God works, and brings about awesome things.

Noah built an ark, Abraham went to a foreign land, Joseph saved his people, Moses got them free, Joshua conquered the land, and the list continues. God uses the weaknesses we have to bring about his work, for his glory. We usually recite Romans 5:8, “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” But right before that in verse 6, Paul wrote, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” In our weakness, God works.

This week I want to challenge you to take a paper and put two headings on it. First, write, “My strengths,” under which, make a list of all your strengths. Everything you consider you’re good at. Then on the other side, write, “My weaknesses,” under which, make a list of all the things you’re bad at. Then for the next week, seek God in understanding how weak your strengths actually are. I’ve done this through comparing myself to those who are the best at those things. I know I’m not the best pitcher, because there’s people like Randy Johnson, Curt Shillings, Greg Madox, and Nolan Ryan.

Then after you’ve sought God to humble you in your strengths, seek him to work in your weaknesses. I’ve done this by asking God what he can do for his kingdom through something that I think is worthless. I wasn’t a public speaker, and I would sweat bullets before going in front of people, now looking at me now, just a little sweat. 

God is calling us, not to our own strength, but to his strength through our recognized weakness. Let us be a weak people, who accomplish awesome things, by fully relying on the Holy Spirit to achieve them. Amen.

2nd Corinthians Week 14: Small Stoop

  Thousands of books are written on the subject of leadership. I have ten in my office library, and more that I’ve read, but haven’t found important enough to keep. But out of all the books I’ve read, all the ones that I have heard synopsis of, and all the different leadership classes and trainings I’ve had over the years, it’s from a picture that I think sums up the whole idea of Christian leadership. 

The picture shows two scenes. The top scene shows three people pulling a box over logs, with the word “mission” across it. On top of the box is a person sitting in a chair behind a desk pointing ahead of the men pulling the box, and the word “boss” written next to the person, with an arrow pointing towards them. 

Underneath the first scene is the second. The second scene is similar in that there are three people pulling a box over logs, with the word “mission” across it. But there is no person sitting behind a desk on top of the box. Instead there is a fourth person at the front of the rope, pulling the box; the person is pointing forward, while looking back at the others. The word “leader” is written with an arrow pointing to this person. 

This is what true leadership is, the first in front, down in the work that the leader is helping others accomplish, while not adding to their burden.

And it’s this burdensome leadership that brings us back to 2nd Corinthians, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 11, starting in verse 1. And as we do, let’s look at where we are in our summer series.

Last week we began the third section of 2nd Corinthians, as Paul begins to deal with the false teachers that have entered into the congregation. Section one laid the ground work for what we saw at the beginning of section three. Paul wants people who read his letters to understand that he writes from a place that seeks to be both humble in correcting people, and bold enough to deal with the hard situations. In the accusations that are hurled against Paul, people look at his letters as bold, while when he physically shows up, he is meek, which they interpret as cowardly. But if we understand Paul’s writings as he intended them, then we would see a humble boldness within his letters, that he carries on with in person. And so we are called to a bold humbleness where we wield Christ’s authority, and apply it wisely. 

It’s from this humble boldness that Paul continues to address the false teachers. Now from chapter 11 verse 1 to the end of chapter 12, we have one large thought of Paul in how he deals with these false teachers. We can see this connective thought, because Paul uses the idea of “foolishness” to connect it all together. But because the thought is so big, we’re going to break it down into smaller thoughts and see how he connects them together. This is the same thing we did for Paul’s thought on giving. 

So let’s read together the first of Paul’s connective thoughts on the false teachers. 

1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 

4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

v.1-3

Paul wants to delve into a little foolish talk for a moment, and what he means by that is a little recklessness of thought in dealing with the situation. So Paul is going to use imagery, hyperbole, and sarcasm to get his point across. Paul begins by associating himself with a man who had introduced their friend to a future spouse, and now is jealous or concerned for that friend as their marriage falls apart. So as we read through Paul’s words, we’re seeing that guy who desperately wants his friend to have a healthy marriage.

It’s here that Paul draws from Genesis 3 and the fall of humanity. The Corinthians are beings deceived in a parallel way as Eve was. Just as the serpent drew Eve away from God, these false teachers are doing the same thing. It’s why, at the end of our reading, that Paul connects them to Satan directly as his servants. So the jealously that Paul is feeling towards the Corinthians is a divine jealously, because Paul knows where the deception leads. 

v.4-5

So it’s from this jealously of desiring that the Corinthians keep away from these false teachers that Paul writes about it. And he writes something that is extremely important for the Church in general. There will be other Jesus’ who are proclaimed. There will be other spirits that can be received. There will be other gospels that can be accepted. And those who will present these other Jesus’, spirits, and gospels, are super-apostles. The word translated as “super” is hyper, meaning these types of apostles consider themselves beyond the work of the first apostles. They are better than the twelve, and better than Paul. Super-apostles will denigrate the work of the first apostles to puff themselves up.

We see this today. We see it in the Progressive movement, where the words of the apostles are seen as misogynistic and outdated. It’s in the Prosperity movement, where the hard times, poverty, and death of the apostles are seen as separate from the will of God. It’s in the cult movements that make Jesus into a created being, and add on to his finished work through extra work on our part. It’s in the religion of Islam, who nullifies Jesus’ sacrifice and who disregards the apostles’ glorification of Jesus. 

All around us, there are other Jesus’ proclaimed, other spirits who desire to be received, and other gospels that call to be accepted.

v.6-12

But Paul gives us a few ways to see through these super-apostles. First, in verse 6, we see that super-apostles try to make things more complicated. They add rules, and do’s and don’ts that are not in the Scriptures. They use the big words without teaching what they mean, so that people feel stupid. A teacher of God’s word should be trying to make it less complicated for us to understand, not more complicated. A teacher should help us be able to understand God, so that we rely on the Holy Spirit for direction and not them. But false teachers do the opposite. They want us to rely on them, so that they take the place of God in our lives. 

Next, in verses 7-11, we see that false teachers seek to rob the Church. They seek bigger incomes than what is needed. They seek more lavish titles, even when Jesus teaches against them such titles (Matthew 23). They seek to burden the people of God, instead of humbling themselves and taking the heaviest load to reduce burden. Paul uses hyperbole to say he robbed the other churches as to not be a burden on the Corinthians. What he means is, he didn’t take anything from the Corinthians, even though he would have been justified in doing so, but instead wanted them to understand, it wasn’t their wealth that he was after, but their salvation. In our modern context, we see this in televangelists who fly around in private jets; who wear thousand dollar suits and stay in luxury hotels, while asking for more money, as they spend it unwisely. On a smaller scale, these false teachers heap hardships onto volunteers; making them do the work they are paid to do.

v.13-15

And we might think, they speak well, they’re people persons, they say all the right things, but so does Satan. False teachers, super-apostles, look good in public, but behind the scenes they are working for their own good and not for the good of the Church. This is a tight rope that is given to teachers and leaders in the Church. We are given enormous reasonability, and we can easily fall to self-deception, where we end up misusing that authority. There are stories after stories about people who sound good, who have a great multi-site, international ministry, who turn and fall, because their lives behind the scenes are corrupt. But it’s not just the big names that fall, it’s any leader who seeks their own will and desire apart from God.

All of us have our struggles with sin, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about seeking the work of God above all else. We’re talking about unburdening people, not adding to their burdens. We’re talking about going the extra mile in serving, not requiring others to serve us. We’re talking about speaking plainly, and not over people’s heads. 

And no matter where we are, whether we serve as a volunteer over children, or the Lead Pastor of a congregation, or the president of a denomination, all of us have to be on our guard that we are serving, as the Lord intends for us to serve. 

From Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we’re told, “1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (v.2:1-8)”

We are to be humbly serving each other to the point where we would die for each other. Jesus said this in John 15:12-14, “12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.” We are not greater than Jesus; he laid down his life for us, and we are to lay our lives down for each other.

God desires us to both keep on the look out for false teachers, these “super-apostles,” and to make sure we do not fall into the same trap. We avoid the trap by seeking ever greater service. We carry the burden the extra mile, we give the coat and the shirt. As followers of Jesus, we look to him on how we serve, so what did he hold back in his service to us? Jesus’ service took him to the cross, what’s that mean of our service to each other?

Paul’s foolishness is that he served the Corinthians so that they would see Jesus on full display, God is calling us to such a foolishness as well.

My challenge for you this week is that you seek such a foolishness in your life. Take an inventory of all the people in your life that God has called you to serve, and ask the question, “How far am I willing to serve them?” Then ask the followup question, “Jesus, how far are you calling me to serve them?” Then finally, the request, “Empower me to serve them as you serve me.”

God serves us. From the heights above creation he stoops down to wash our feet. In comparison, we have a smaller stoop to serve. Let us be a people of service, so that we might avoid the falseness that comes from exalting ourselves.

2nd Corinthians Week 13: Bold Humbleness

  There are a lot of key moments in our nations history that I believe are great. The signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Declaration, and Reagan’s Tare Down this wall speech.

But there’s one moment in our nation’s history that is truly a small moment, with gigantic ramifications. After the British were defeated at Yorktown, and the U.S. military waited for the Treaty of Paris to be signed, a Colonel Lewis Nicola, wrote to General Washington, about how they could secure the fragile victory they had won. Nicola wrote, “…. the same abilities which have lead us, through difficulties apparently insurmountable by human power, to victory and glory, those qualities that have merited and obtained the universal esteem and veneration of an army, would be most likely to conduct & direct us in the smoother paths of peace …. Some people have so connected the ideas of tyranny & monarchy as to find it very difficult to separate them, it may therefore be requisite to give the head of such a constitution as I propose, some title apparently more moderate, but if all other things were once adjusted I believe strong arguments might be produced for admitting the title of king, which I conceive would be attended with some material advantages.” In other words, Nicola believed that, using the army, Washington could become king. Thereby securing the fledgling nation.

Washington replied with, “Be assured Sir, no occurrence in the course of the War, has given me more painful sensations than your information of there being such ideas existing in the Army as you have expressed, and I must view with abhorrence, and reprehend with severity …. I am much at a loss to conceive what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my Country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable.”

Nicola, and most likely a slew of others, desired that Washington take hold the new independence from Britain by taking control as a king. But Washington rejected this idea, and the key reason is because, as he states, “If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself ….” George Washington had a humble view of himself, and a great view of what our country could become, and he was bold enough in both private, and in public, to denounce such a move on his part. Because of this, Washington did become our first president because the representatives and people trusted him, and after two terms he stepped down. 

It’s this idea of bold humbleness that brings us back to our summer series where we’re entering the last section of Paul’s letter, as we pick it back up in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verse 1. And as we open up to 2nd Corinthians 10, let’s look back at the two previous sections.

In the first section of the letter, Paul is letting the Corinthians know that he has to confront the bad situation that occurred in his last visit, because he desires the restoration of the Corinthians. Paul wrote a third lost letter that proceeds the one we’re reading. In that letter, Paul calls the Corinthian Church out for their sinful actions, and as we learn from this letter, the purpose was to get the Corinthians to repent. At hearing from Titus, who delivered that third lost letter, the Corinthians responded to it with repentance. Paul then writes the letter we’re reading, from a place of joy. This whole letter is one of joy and encouragement.

This joy and encouragement leads into the second section where Paul is trying to get the Corinthians to move forward in their faith. Paul does this by getting their eyes off power, wealth, and status, and onto Jesus. He wants them to realize that they can easily fall to sin, and so must stay vigilant by seeking to love God and love each other. Paul ends the last section with a focus on being prepared to give the gift they had promised, but to do so cheerful and heartfelt way that honors God. 

With these two sections done, Paul now turns his attention to the problem of false teachers that was one of the causes of the bad interaction at Corinth and that led to the third lost letter.

Let’s read chapter 10 together.

“1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

“7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, ‘His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.’ 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

“13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. 17 ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Just so you know, one thing you’re going to notice in the next section is that Paul is going to use sarcasm in what he writes. This is so that he can point out the absurdity of the situation. 

But here we see that Paul is trying to be meek, he is trying to be gentle, no matter if it’s in his face-to-face, or in his letters. And if we read Paul’s letters from that point of view, with that intention, they can get harsh, but the heart behind them is for restoration. This is what Paul explained at the beginning of this letter. 

So he gets a little sarcastic here, when he writes, “I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away. (v.1)” He writes this because this is the accusation. That Paul writes a big game, but when he’s in person, he’s a coward. But Paul isn’t trying to be bold in either case, he’s trying to love and correct the churches that God has allowed him to shepherd. 

The underlining idea that Paul is battling against here, is a Roman idea of strength. The Roman idea is, if you’re bold in a harsh way with people then you wield power. But the Christian message is the opposite. Boldness is standing firm in conviction, while humbleness is how the believer wield’s the authority of Christ. 

Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 20, “25 But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (v.25-28)’”

Humbleness by being bold in wielding Jesus’ authority, is not the same as being bold in harshness. The first one leads to restoration of relationships, the second leads to destruction. Boldness with harshness is waging war by the flesh. When our intent is to beat down the opponent, then we are not following Jesus. This is the exact opposite of what Jesus desires, because we want vengeance, we want to get people back, but Jesus calls us to love our enemies, and pray for the ones who hate us (Matthew 5:44-46). 

This is what Paul is showing the people. Now they might take his letters as harsh, but that’s not Paul’s intention. But we usually do take correction harshly, because who likes to be corrected? No one! So when taking correction, we must have a humbleness about us, so that correction doesn’t lead us to sin where we reject the correction and end up in a worse place. 

So if the Corinthians were to stop and think, they would see that Paul is consistent in how he treats them. It’s not that he is bold in his letters and meek in person. Paul is meek in both cases, because he is trying not to be harsh in letter or in person.

Instead of being this harsh boldness, Paul seeks to live under Christ’s authority in all things. So every argument, every opinion is brought before Christ. Paul states that he, “take[s] every thought captive to obey Christ… (v.5)” And when it says “punish every disobedience” it means to bring justice to the disobedient. In other words, not letting disobedience be swept under the rug. Ever been around a parent who just let’s their kid do whatever they want, and they never bring about discipline? Paul is stating that he doesn’t just let things go, and because of that he is accused of things he’s not.

No, instead, Paul is trying to build up the Corinthians through humble correction. He calls out their disobedience so that restoration can happen and so they can live under the freedom of Jesus.

It’s starting in verse 12, where Paul seeks to distance himself from the false teachers that he’ll address more in chapter 11. Here Paul simply talks about comparisons and boasting. It’s easy for people to compare themselves against others. We compare jobs, bank accounts, houses, cars, degrees, families. And through that comparison we puff ourselves up. But that’s not the way of the Christian. We don’t compare ourselves against others, we compare ourselves against God, and we find ourselves lacking, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)” 

And as Paul shows, we only work within the realm that God has appointed us. Paul writes it this way, “But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. (v.13)” Paul isn’t talking about all the great things he is, which he’ll sarcastically do next week to show it’s ridiculousness. No, instead he sticks to his lane. Paul was the missionary who founded the Corinthian Church by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He taught them, and struggled with them as they came to Christ. Christ has given Paul the authority to speak into this Church as recognized by the Corinthians’ own desire that he does address things. The Church itself has recognized Paul’s authority because they sought his authority, to which he responded by writing 1st Corinthians.

Yet here is the big kicker. Those who are exercising wrong authority that shows itself as harsh boldness, boast about themselves. Yet those who exercise correct authority that shows itself in humbles boldness, boast about Jesus. 

This idea is entrenched in Jesus’ teaching of the Wedding Feast in Luke 14, “7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this person,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher.” Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (v.7-11)”

Paul is not seeking his own elevation, but the elevation that comes from serving Christ faithfully.

And it’s that elevation that God is seeking. It’s easy to try to elevate ourselves. To make ourselves seem bigger and badder than we are. But that quickly gets tiresome and people tend to not like to be around people like that. Instead, Christians are to seek the exaltation of Christ  which comes through humbleness. Now let’s be honest, this tends to not be what we want. It can be seen as weak. It can be seen as rolling over. But what people miss is that we are called to humble boldness. Humbleness doesn’t seek to elevate itself, while boldness stands firm on the Word of God. We can have humbleness that is weak, which means it doesn’t stand for anything and let’s people bulldoze us.  But we as Christians are called to humble boldness that stands against the evils of this world. This is shown in Jesus’ words to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53)” True power is the ability to know you can do something, but understand the purpose of the situation and to hold back that power so to bring about the best outcome. 

It’s the commanding officer telling his troops, “Steady,” as they hold their rifle sights on the enemy, so that they wait for the perfect shot to take. 

God is calling us to humble boldness that seeks the restoration of people. 

My challenge for you this week is to go before the Lord and ask in what areas am I bold with harshness, and in what areas am I bold in humility? There’s really four ways here: we’re bold but weak, meaning we’re bold behind someone’s back; we’re bold and harsh, meaning we’re abrasive with people; there’s humble weak, we’re we become a doormat; and there’s humble bold, where we stand on the word of God with restoration purpose.

Washington showed himself to be humble bold in his letter to Nicola.

Take this week as an opportunity to look at how you interact with people, online, in the store, on the phone, or how you deal with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Asking the question, “Am I harsh with them because I want to be in control, which means I’m actually out of control, or am I seeking their restoration, being steadfast in my devotion to Christ and yet humble in loving them?”

God is calling us to a bold humbleness, so let us be a people who live boldly, and humbly.