2 Corinthians 11:16-33 Sermon Reflection

"True Humility"

Discovery: False humility is commonplace in our my culture (Asian). I can't tell you how many times my mom would say to house guests, "Oh dinner didn't require that much effort" (when in reality she slaved away in the kitchen for hours getting things ready). It is also commonplace in the church as well. When someone complements you on a ministry task that is well done the "proper" response is to say something along these lines, "Oh Praise God!" or "I couldn't have done it without Him!" Don't get me wrong, I think humility is a good thing. It's just that true humility is something that is really difficult to understand and grasp. I love this quote by John Ortberg, "We'd like to be humble... but what is no one notices?" This seems to be our dilemma.

If you read this passage, you would think that it has nothing to do with humility. Through this section, Paul defends his apostleship by "boasting" of all the things that he has accomplished or done. Paul readily admits that he is talking like a fool and not as God would (v. 17). Why would Paul debase himself down to the level of his critics and opponents? Paul's boasting was necessary in order for him to answer the most damning accusations of his critics. It was necessary for him to do an "apples to apples" comparison with some of the most damaging statements by his opponents. For example, in v. 22 Paul deals with a few of these comparisons: "Are they Hebrews? So am I? Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I?" Apparently Paul's opponents use the fact that he was not born in Judea (he was from Tarsus which is in modern day Turkey) as a sign that he is less "Jewish" or qualified to speak on spiritual matters. Paul uses this section to dismiss these silly comparisons.

Paul also uses this section to make a clear distinction between himself and his opponents. His critics use comparisons to Paul to tear him down and elevate themselves. Rather than seeing Paul as someone on the "same team," they seek to undermine his authority and try to "steal" away as many sheep as they can from his flock. Paul demonstrates that he is not interested in using comparisons to tear others down or to elevate his own stature or promote his "brand." Paul is not interested in building his own kingdom but rather he is interested in seeing the Kingdom of God go forth to all the places that the gospel has not gone.

Application: I believe that Paul challenges our cultural understandings of what it means to be humble as well as challenges a deeper issue in our heart of wanting to feed our pride. I believe a good working definition of humility is knowing your true worth and repenting of the sin of pride.

Even in Paul's "boasting" it is clear that he is not trying to use it to impress people. Paul knows his true worth. He was a persecutor of church and a sworn enemy of Christ who was saved that day on the road to Damascus. His life and ministry can be summed by this his own word in 1 Timothy 1:15:, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners- of whom I am the worst." This is not false humility. Paul meant these words and he backed it up by living it out.

Paul's example here in our passage also challenges our cultural understanding of what humility is all about. Our understanding of humility is often associated with terms such as quiet, passive, unobtrusive, proper, appropriate, and nice. Paul's example here is quite the opposite. It is bold, assertive, confident, defiant, fearless.

I am struck by the fact that Paul really understood his true worth (a sinner saved by God's amazing grace) and the result of this understanding propelled him forward into a life of fearlessness and boldness. You could say that Paul was not living for himself anymore but by humbly understanding his true worth, he began to live his life for Christ. In fact he puts it much better when he says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Song of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20

Prayer: Teach me to have this kind of humility. Remind me each day of what you have done for me. Help me begin each day reflecting on how much you have loved me and how far you have taken me from the person I used to be.

2 Corinthians 11:1-15 Sermon Reflection

"Learning to Discern"

(This entry is one week late)

Discovery: Even as Paul is defending his apostleship in the later half of 2 Corinthians, we see his true feelings for the Corinthian church come through.

1. Paul clearly loves the Corinthian church. v. 2: "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy..." He treats them as if they were his own children and he wants the very best for them.

2. Paul is also worried about them. v. 3: "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be lead astray from your sincere and pure devotion." Paul wants the church to hold to a "sincere and pure" faith. One that is devoid of personal agenda's, politics, power, prejudice, or self-centeredness.

3. Paul is protective of the church. v. 4: "For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you received a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough" Paul warns against being lead astray by those either adding to or taking away from the essential message of the gospel. Any form of heretical teaching takes us away from the core essential truth of Scripture which tells us that we are sinners redeemed by grace.

4. Paul defends his apostleship again to the church: In vv. 5-12, Paul speaks to this issue. We will not get into this section here but Paul makes it clear that it is not his eloquence, preaching style, giftedness, or strength of personality that qualifies him as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is his life, example, and love for the churches that sets him apart and that will ultimately prove his apostleship.

Paul ends our section by warning the church to be aware of false prophets within their midst. In vv. 13-15, Paul states that these false prophets masquerade as apostle of Christ. His warning is that we have to very careful who listen to and how we discern the message they are telling us.

Application: Discernment does not come naturally. It is something that we need to learn, practice, and apply. Discernment ultimately requires effort.

Discernment is a synonym for perception. In Isaiah 6:9 it says, "Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing but never perceiving." This verse helps us see that there is a difference between "seeing" and "perceiving." In the same way, discernment requires hearing, seeing, feeling, and thinking through the various things that we hear in our lives and taking the time and effort to discern and perceive what the intended message is really about.

I shared a number of "tools" that we have in learning to discern the various things that we hear. Here are just a few of them:

1. Cross checking with Scripture.

2. Consulting with someone you trust who is older or more spiritually mature than you.

3. Doing some homework and getting a historical and contextual understanding of a specific topic or issue.

4. Comparing it with the life of Jesus and to ask the basic question of "what would Jesus do?"

I don't mean to trivialize this discipline of discernment. There is no cookie-cutter way of doing it nor is it a simple as following a 1-2-3 step approach. I am personally challenged nowadays to do a little of #3. I realize that it is really easy as a Christian or as a Christian leader to give out or follow really glib "one-liners" and spiritual "sound bites." But the good news of Jesus should never be reduced to this. I am challenged to have a bigger picture of God and to have a bigger picture of the church by having a historical and global perspective of God. I want to be able to lead our congregation through the various theological challenges and controversies that always see to come our way by discerning them through both a historical and global perspective. I believe this is the best way in becoming both mature and responsible world Christians.

Prayer: Help me Lord put in the effort to grow in the area of discernment. Help me not have a impulsive or knee-jerk reaction to things but teach me to press into difficult issues and to discern and learn from them.

2 Corinthians 10:1-18 Sermon Reflection

"Christ-Focused Ministry"

Discovery: One of the themes found in 2 Corinthians is Paul having to defend his apostleship. Chapters 10-13 focuses on Paul's defense of his ministry. In our passage, his critics accuse him of being "two-faced" in his relationship with the Corinthian church. v. 8: "For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." Paul alludes to these judgements in the opening verse of his section. v.1: "I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away!"

How does Paul address these slanderous remarks? He is clearly not going to get dragged down to the level of these critics nor is he going to fight fire with fire. In fact, he clearly warns against using "worldly" means in addressing any accusations thrown our way. vv. 3-4: "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."

Application: Paul speaks of a better way: a Christ-focused way of doing ministry and living life.

1. Christ-focused ministry stems from meekness and gentleness. v. 1: "By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you..." Wow! If I were Paul, this is what I would be tempted to say, "You ignorant, immature, spineless babies! Do you know who I am?!? (or something to that effect...). Instead, Paul begins this difficult section by pointing to the meekness and gentleness of Christ himself. It takes an incredible amount of self-control and maturity to look past the situation and circumstances of people judging you and instead to look at the example of Christ. This is definitely an area that I have a lot of work to grow in.

2. Christ-focused ministry is ultimately about building people up and not tearing them down. v. 8: "For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it." Why is it that the "tearing down of people" seems to be so rampant in the church today? Why does it seem like pastors, ministry leaders, and denominations spend way too much time bashing one another? This is just sad and wrong.

3. Christ-focused ministry is focused on God and not on others. v.12: "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." Comparisons are not helpful. Especially in ministry and unequivocally in the spiritual life. They ultimately lead us into bad places. Comparisons lie at the heart of Christian legalism. A legalist finds validation in the ways that they are "right" and the ways that others are "wrong." Paul will have none of it. Paul goes on to say that while his critics "boast" in themselves, he will only "boast" in the Lord. The word "boasting" is used 12 times in 2 Corinthians, far more than any of Paul's other letters. It literally means to "to glory in." While his critics "glory in" their wisdom, accomplishments, and judgements, Paul will only "glory in" the task that God has given him. v.13: "We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you."

Paul goes on to subtly remind the readers and his critics that the ultimate goal of believers is to see the Kingdom of God expand. While his critics may be wanting to "tear him down" or criticize his speaking abilities and integrity, Paul reminds us that a Christ-focused ministry is all about the gospel going forth into new territories and not about "reworking" something already established. vv. 15b-16: "...Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory."

Ultimately the proof is in the pudding. In the end God's judgement and commendations are the only ones that matter. v. 18: "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends."

Prayer: Lord help me not compare myself with others. When tempted to fight back and defend myself against the criticisms that inevitably come up, help me practice the gentleness and meekness that you showed, help me practice the "building up of others" that I would want personally extended to me, and help me "glory in" You and You alone and not anything that I can accomplish.