Friday, July 25, 2008

Second Letter to the Corinthians -- Chapter 10

Having thoroughly urged the Corinthians to persist in their generous giving Paul continues on by appealing to them to take his words and teachings to heart and not just think of them as “suggestions.” “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am ‘timid’ when face to face with you, but ‘bold’ when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world” (2 Corinthians 10:1-2). Paul implores and begs the Corinthians to not blow off his words from his letters but to take those “bold” words as a sign that he will in fact be bold in person if the people do not heed the stern warnings he has issued. He has issued the warnings not because he enjoys doing so but because the standards of the world are polluting their faith. Men who think they can live by the standards of this world and still be disciples of Jesus Christ are gravely mistaken; thru their persistent disobedience they abuse and spit in the face of grace, tossing the real Jesus Christ aside. In his letter to the Romans Paul was very clear that we must not be abusers of grace who live by the world’s standards: “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:15-16). When we offer ourselves in slavery to our sinfulness it is a sign that our hearts are hardened and our faith is dead. The Apostle John couldn’t have made it any clearer: “No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him” (1 John 3:6). We have been saved and forgiven by the blood of the Lamb, why would we ever continue in the very ways He came to free us from?

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does” (2 Corinthians 10:3). As Christians we do indeed live in the world but we are not of the world. Christ’s prayer to His Father about His disciples illustrates this perfectly: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:14-16). We must not wage war as the world does, using its weapons of hate, lust, revenge, pride, etc.; these weapons are futile and only lead to slavery and death in sin. Our weapons are different: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Where the world fights with evil and animosity we fight with the good and love of God: “‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:20-21). “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back” (Luke 6:27-28, 35). Instead of fighting back with the same weapons and methods that the world uses on us, we are to “fight” back by returning their hate with nothing but love, longsuffering, and forbearance. However, the main weapon we have been given as Christians is the humble, yet powerful, divine “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). This weapon of ours does not work like the world’s weapons; where the world’s weapons breed nothing but hate and destruction the Word of God has the miraculous ability to demolish the strongholds of sin, death, and the devil by means of love and truth. “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It is with this weapon of the truth of God’s Word that we take on all the untruth and lies of the world: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). We hold every single thought captive to God’s Word. Never do we allow our feelings or our logic and reason to rule, we always let God’s Word establish all authority and truth. Dr. Kretzmann wrote, “Instead of permitting reason to usurp authority and to master the Word of God, the intellect, the reason of man must, in all things, be guided by the revealed truth of the Lord. It is only when human reason, through the power of the Spirit in the Word, is made subject to the obedience of Christ and defers in everything to revealed truth, that it in reality can apply its powers, chiefly in the service of Christ, direct or indirect. Reason, enlightened by the knowledge of God, does not attempt to penetrate into the secrets of God’s essence, finding its delight rather in unfolding the beauties and powers of the Gospel and of the revelation of God in all its particulars.” This very important fact truly distinguishes Paul’s ministry as a ministry from God Himself. The world and its false teachers in the end always fail to take God’s Word as God’s Word, simply for what it says. They allow reason and feelings to gain mastery over the Word of God, perverting it into something completely distorted to Satan’s liking. The first sign that we are not letting God be God is when we do not allow God’s Word to be God’s Word (the authoritative Word of the Almighty Creator who spoke the entire universe into existence). In addition once we are in the truth and obedience of the Cross we will be equipped and ready to punish the disobedience of the false teachings of the world. “And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete” (2 Corinthians 10:6). Once the truth is established, and for the sake of God’s Word, we must be willing to tear down the lies and untruth that remains opposed to it and stands against it.

Having set the foundation of his ministry Paul continues on to address his interaction with the Corinthians: “You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he. 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” (2 Corinthians 10:7-8). Instead of looking at the worldly surface of things Paul wants the Corinthians to look at things in the light of the Cross. Paul was sent by God to build them up, not to tear them down, even though Paul’s preparation for building them up often required a tearing down thru the Law. “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain” (Isaiah 40:4). The goal of Paul’s letters was not to frighten but to use the Law where necessary to humble and “level” all men so that the Gospel might find the valleys brought up and the mountains brought low. Thru the Law we prepare the way for the Gospel. “I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, ‘His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.’ Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present” (2 Corinthians 10:9-11). Paul was often accused of being weak and timid in person but very forceful, weighty, and bold in his letters. Paul however wants the Corinthians to know that even though he may not be eloquent and grandiose in person that thru his actions he will speak volumes, supporting and backing up the words of his letters with his actions and deeds.

In conclusion Paul is very clear to disassociate himself from those false teachers who commend themselves, revealing that he is not promoting himself, but God’s ministry: “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. 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” (2 Corinthians 10:12-13). Paul is truly not commending himself, but is simply attempting to bolster his “authority” with the Corinthians by reassuring them that he is simply doing God’s work, in God’s way, and nothing else. They themselves are the field that God has assigned to Paul and therefore he will boast only in the fact that God’s grace has entrusted him with these souls and has provided him the strength and ability to carry out his mission. “We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. 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” (2 Corinthians 10:14-16). Because he brought the Gospel to them, and was carrying out God’s will in so doing, Paul is willing to boast in God’s work in their lives. Thru his work in Corinth Paul only wishes to further expand the ministry of the Gospel in order that all men may come to hear and share in the love of Jesus Christ crucified. He is not in it for “territorial battles” with other teachers, he is in it to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified and Him alone. “But, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:17-18). In the end Paul realizes that all the boasting in the world amounts to nothing, for what matters is not what we think of ourselves but what God thinks of us. Therefore Paul urges the Corinthians to hear the Gospel he has proclaimed, the Gospel that brings the news of God’s reconciliation, commendation, and knowledge of us thru Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray that we too hear the great news that thru Jesus Christ’s blood we are known by God and commended by Him as He works in our lives thru the Holy Spirit. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

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