Remember Your Mission. (Part 2)

Psalm 78 (NLT)
¹O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
²for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
³stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
⁴We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
⁵For he issued his laws to Jacob;
he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children,
⁶so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.

Actions

¹O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying, (be receptive)

 YOU:

Listen – hear  (God speaks to us!)

Bible study is all important!

I will teach you …

I will speak to you …

• Listen to God’s instructions. Open your ears to what God is saying to you. (be receptive)

Tell

⁴We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the LORD,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

Desired outcome

⁶so the next generation might know them—
even the children not yet born—
and they in turn will teach their own children.
⁷So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
not forgetting his glorious miracles
and obeying his commands.

• Help others (your students)

You want your students to:

Know God’s Story – Biblical truths

Trust in God.

Remember Biblical truths.

Obey Biblical truths.

• Repetition is good.

How

• Remember Your Mission.

Deuteronomy 6 (NLT)
⁴ “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. ⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. ⁷ Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. ⁸ Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  ⁹ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Repeat again and again.

• Start with yourself.

YOU:

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 

⁶ And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 

• Repeat them (Biblical principles) again and again to your children.

Readily available resource.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
¹⁶All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Remember Your Mission.

• Building on a Solid Foundation

Luke 6:46-49 NLT
Building on a Solid Foundation
⁴⁶“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? ⁴⁷I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. ⁴⁸It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. ⁴⁹But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Matthew 7:24-29 NLT
Building on a Solid Foundation
²⁴“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Foundation

Costly

Things people do not see

Hear and do

Rain came

Proverbs 22:6 NLT
⁶Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Psalm 127:1 (NLT)
Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good.

This lesson:

2 Corinthians 12:20-13:10      Paul’s Warning

2 Corinthians 13:11-14           Paul’s benediction

Paul’s letter is coming to an end.

Paul is hoping to see two responses from his letter.

• Repentance (involving obedience to God) for wrong. (Getting right with God.)
• An affirmation of loyalty to himself and his associates as authentic servants of Christ. (Getting right with Paul.)

This letter is not ending on a high note.

There are still issues in the church that need to be dealt with.

The letter (not including the benediction) ends with a warning from Paul.

 

2 Corinthians 12:20-13:14 NLT
Paul’s Warning
²⁰ For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. ²¹ Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.

Paul’s Final Advice
13 This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”). ² I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them.
³ I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. ⁴ Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power.
⁵ Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. ⁶ As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.
⁷ We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. ⁸ For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. ⁹ We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature.
¹⁰ I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.

Paul’s Final Greetings
¹¹ Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.
¹² Greet each other with a sacred kiss. ¹³ All of God’s people here send you their greetings.
¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 12:20-13:14 NLT
²⁰ For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. 

A description of division in the church.

²¹ Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. 

And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.

A description of the lax morality in the church.

• Paul feared encountering renewed rebellion and resistance during his upcoming visit, with the Corinthians relapsed into their old ways.

• To find the Corinthians still living in unrepentant sin would both humiliate and sadden Paul.

Paul’s Final Advice
^13:1 This is the third time I am coming to visit you 

(and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”).  Deuteronomy 19:15 

Matthew 18:16 NLT (Jesus speaking)
¹⁶ But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses.

• Paul will practice Biblical principles when dealing with the Corinthians.

Paul wants to handle the situation correctly. 

² I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them. 

• Paul promised discipline for the unrepentant.

³ I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. ⁴ Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power. 

• Paul relied on God’s strength, not his own, to deal with the Corinthians. 

Hebrews 12:5-11 NLT
⁵ And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,
“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”
⁷ As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? ⁸ If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. ⁹ Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
¹⁰ For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. 

⁵ Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves.

Turn your focus away from me and examine yourselves.

• Examine yourself.

Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

• If Jesus Christ is not living in you, you are not saved.

 ⁶ As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. 

⁷ We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come

• Do the right thing by accepting correction.

—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority.  

⁸ For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.  

⁹ We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong.

• Paul is concerned with the Corinthians standing with God, not his reputation.

We pray that you will become mature. 

¹⁰ I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won’t need to deal severely with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.

Paul’s purpose in writing this letter.

• Paul’s hope is that the Corinthians church repents of their sins before he arrives in Corinth.

Paul’s Final Greetings

A call for unity:

¹¹ Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words:

Be joyful.

Grow to maturity.

Encourage each other.

Live in harmony and peace.

Then the God of love and peace will be with you. 

¹² Greet each other with a sacred kiss. 

An expression of unity.

• Paul’s final greeting is a call for unity.

¹³ All of God’s people here 

• Paul is in Macedonia, about to travel to Corinth for a third visit. Paul is preparing the Corinthian Church for his visit. 

Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea are in Macedonia. 

 send you their greetings. 

¹⁴ May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 

Did the Corinthians respond positively to Paul’s warning?

2 Corinthians 10:15-16 NLT
¹⁵ Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. ¹⁶ Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. 

4^th letter (2^nd Corinthians) From Macedonia A.D. 55/56 

3^rd visit  A.D. 56 -57

Acts 20:2-3 (NLT)
² While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, ³ where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia. 

                      While there Paul wrote to the Romans.

 Romans 15:23 NLT
Paul’s Travel Plans
²³ But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you.

 

Ministry Can Be Very Difficult

Paul’s letter was coming to an end.

Paul was hoping to see two responses from his letter.

• • • Repentance (involving obedience to God) for wrong. (Getting right with God.)
    • An affirmation of loyalty to himself and his associates as authentic servants of Christ. (Getting right with Paul.)

This letter is not ending on a high note.

There are still issues in the church that need to be dealt with.

Paul is not the “bad guy”.

Paul is not the problem.

Paul’s intentions are right.

The letter (not including the benediction) ends with a warning from Paul.

2 Corinthians 12:11-20 NLT
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians
Ministry Can Be Very Difficult
¹¹ You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” even though I am nothing at all. ¹² When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle. For I patiently did many signs and wonders and miracles among you. ¹³ The only thing I failed to do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong!
¹⁴ Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don’t want what you have—I want you. After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children. ¹⁵ I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.
¹⁶ Some of you admit I was not a burden to you. But others still think I was sneaky and took advantage of you by trickery. ¹⁷ But how? Did any of the men I sent to you take advantage of you? ¹⁸ When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No! For we have the same spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way.
¹⁹ Perhaps you think we’re saying these things just to defend ourselves. No, we tell you this as Christ’s servants, and with God as our witness. Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you. ²⁰ For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 12:11-20 NLT
Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians
Ministry Can Be Very Difficult

¹¹ You have made me act like a fool.

… listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. ¹⁷ Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. ¹⁸ And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.  (2 Corinthians 11:16-18 NLT)

¹¹ You (the Corinthian church) have made me act like a fool.

You ought to be writing commendations for me,

• The Corinthian church had not come to Paul’s defense against the innuendos (a remark that suggests something but does not refer to it directly) of the false apostles.

for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” 

• Paul knows that he is not inferior to the “super apostles”. 

even though I am nothing at all. 

1 Corinthians 15:10 NLT
¹⁰ But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NLT
⁴ We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. ⁵ It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. ⁶ He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. 

• Paul always credits God for his accomplishments. 

¹² When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle.

• Paul was able to give proof of his apostleship.

First and foremost:

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT
¹ Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! ² The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. ³ Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

• The conversion and gifting of the Corinthians are proof of Paul’s apostleship.

Secondly: 

For I patiently did

• Paul was able to deal patiently with difficult people.

many signs and wonders and miracles among you. 

All these are the evidence that mark an apostle.

Acts 2:22 NLT
²² “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.

Acts 14:3
³ But the apostles stayed there (Iconium) a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

Romans 15:18-19 NLT
¹⁸ Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. ¹⁹ They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.

 Hebrews 2:4 NLT
⁴ And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose. 

• The many signs and wonders and miracles Paul did among the Corinthians are proof of Paul’s apostleship.

 ¹³ The only thing I failed to do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a financial burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong!

Tongue in cheek – a touch of irony

¹⁴ Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. 

Paul is planning a third visit with the Corinthian Church. 

I don’t want what you have—I want you.

• Paul’s concern was for the Corinthian people, not their money.

After all, children don’t provide for their parents. Rather, parents provide for their children.  

¹⁵ I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you,

• Paul was willing to sacrificially serve the church.

even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me. 

¹⁶ Some of you admit I was not a burden to you. 

But others still think I was sneaky and took advantage of you by trickery. 

Paul’s opponents circulated a vicious rumor that he was using craftiness and cunning to deceive the Corinthian church.

• Apparently the false apostles were suggesting that Paul was planning to take from the funds the Corinthian Church had collected for the church in Jerusalem.

¹⁷ But how? Did any of the men I sent to you take advantage of you?  

¹⁸ When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No!

2 Corinthians 8:16-22 NLT
Titus and His Companions
¹⁶ But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. ¹⁷ Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. ¹⁸ We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. ¹⁹ He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem—a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.
²⁰ We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. ²¹ We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.
²² We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you.

• Paul rejects the idea that he used the collection to take money from the Corinthians.

For we have the same spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way. 

• The credentials of all of Paul’s coworkers were good. 

¹⁹ Perhaps you think we’re saying these things just to defend ourselves. 

No, we tell you this as Christ’s servants, and with God as our witness.

• Paul understood that he was accountable to God, not to the Corinthian church.

Everything we do, dear friends, is to strengthen you. 

• Paul’s goal was to strengthen the Corinthian church, not exonerate himself.

• Paul loved the Corinthians and was looking out for the well-being of the church.

²⁰ For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. 

• Ministry Can Be Difficult

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh

A short, but powerful passage of scripture.

You may want to be asking yourself how this lesson applies to you personally.

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 NLT
⁷ …. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
⁸ Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. ⁹ Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. ¹⁰ That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Examine the scriptures:

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 NLT
⁷ …. So to keep me from becoming proud,

• It’s not good to be proud. (This is not a given in today’s secular society.)

Pride: a preoccupation with self and one’s own importance, achievements, status, or possessions.

Note how many of today’s current commercials focus on one’s own importance, achievements, status, or possessions.

Proverbs 16:5 NLT
⁵ The Lord detests the proud;
they will surely be punished.

Proverbs 16:18 NLT
¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
and haughtiness before a fall.

Pride leads to one’s downfall.

1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT
⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud …

Romans 12:3 NLT
³ Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 

• The Lord detests the proud.

• God did what He had to do to keep pride from hindering Paul’s ministry. 

I was given a thorn in my flesh,

We do not know what the thorn was, but we do know that it was to keep Paul from becoming proud.

A thorn in the flesh suggests some sort of physical condition.

Some even think this thorn was a (demon-possessed) person.

A constant reminder. 

• Paul was given a thorn in his flesh to keep him from becoming proud.
  

a messenger from Satan

God permitted Satan to do this. (However, Satan’s plan backfired and Satan was defeated.)

Romans 8:28 NLT
²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 

 to torment me

Thorns are certainly a deterrent.

Numbers 33:55 NLT
⁵⁵ But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live.

Ezekiel 28:24 NLT
²⁴ No longer will Israel’s scornful neighbors
prick and tear at her like briers and thorns.
For then they will know
that I am the Sovereign Lord.

Hosea 2:6 NLT
⁶ “For this reason I will fence her in with thornbushes.
I will block her path with a wall
to make her lose her way. 

• Thorns are certainly a deterrent. 

 and keep me from becoming proud. (repeated)

We do not know what the thorn was, we know it was to keep Paul from becoming proud. 

⁸ Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 

Paul prayed three times for its removal and each time He said “no”. 

⁹ Each time he said, “My grace is all you need.

James 4:6 NLT
⁶ And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.” 

Philippians 4:13 NLT
¹³ For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Colossians 1:29 NLT
²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. 

• God’s grace is all we need.

• Grace rules out all human merit.

Ephesians 2:8 NLT
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

My power works best in weakness.” 

1 Corinthians 1:27 NLT
²⁷ Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

Paul’s human weakness was an opportunity for the power of Christ to work through him.

John 3:30 NLT
³⁰ He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. 

Isaiah 55:8 NLT
⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

• God’s power works best in weakness.

• God’s ways are far beyond anything we can imagine.

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 

• Paul’s affliction brought glory to God and allowed Paul to experience the mighty power of God in his life.

Christ’s strength showed itself through Paul’s weakness.

“It must be God at work in my life because I know it sure isn’t me.” (My quote)

¹⁰ That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. 

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

• When I am weak, the stage is set for God to display his power (through me). 

• A proud person is not a good ambassador for Christ. 

 

 

 

 

Introduction:

 Paul is back to the “foolish boasting” the Corinthian church forced him into.

… listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. ¹⁷ Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. ¹⁸ And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.  (2 Corinthians 11:16-18 NLT)

The Necessity for Paul’s Boasting

Paul’s Boasting (continued)

Paul’s Vision

2 Corinthians 12:1-7a NLT
¹ This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. ² I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. ³ Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know ⁴ that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.
⁵ That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. ⁶ If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, ⁷ even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 12:1-7a NLT

Paul’s Boasting (continued)

Paul’s Vision
¹ This boasting will do no good,

• Paul is back to the “foolish boasting” the Corinthian church forced him into.

… listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. ¹⁷ Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. ¹⁸ And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.  (2 Corinthians 11:16-18 NLT)

• This boasting will not build up the church. 

but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord.  

Six of Paul’s visions are recorded in Acts:

Acts 9:12, 16:9-10, 18:9, 22:17-18, 23:11, 27:23-24.  (Due to the timing and content of these visions, these visions can’t be the visions Paul is referring to in these verses.)

Paul also talks about visions in Galatians 1:12, 2:2, and Ephesians 3:3. (The content in these verses is very “general”.

As a boast, it was crucial that the Corinthians know that he was outmatched by no one in revelations and visions.

He did it to silence his critics and enable him to minister freely.

… listen to me, (2 Corinthians 11:16 NLT)

2 Corinthians 12:11 NLT (next lesson)
¹¹ You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing at all.

• Paul boasted to silence his critics and enable him to minister freely. 

² I was caught up to the third heaven

A Jewish expression for the immediate presence of God.

When Paul says that he went to the third heaven, he means that he went to the place where God dwells.

fourteen years ago.

AD 43 (After his conversion and prior to his 1^st missionary journey.)

Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 

• Paul wasn’t sure whether he was in a trance or actually taken to heaven, but he did know that he was in the presence of God.

³ Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know ⁴ that I was caught up to paradise (into the presence of Jesus) and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

• Paul experienced something we will not experience until Christ returns and takes us home to be with him.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 NLT
¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

This experience may have been similar to what John experienced in Revelation 1.

Revelation 1:12-19 NLT
¹² When I (John) turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. ¹³ And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. ¹⁴ His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. ¹⁶ He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.
¹⁹ “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.

⁵ That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. 

• Paul’s experience was certainly something many of us would be tempted to boast about.

In addition to the boasting Paul did about

his physical struggles,

his long and hard work,

and his spiritual struggles (discussed in the previous lesson)

Paul states that he could boast about his experience of being caught up to paradise and hearing things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words. 

• Paul did not share the details of his experience. 

• Paul believed that this boasting would not build up the church. 

I will boast only about my weaknesses. 

2 Corinthians 11:30
³⁰ If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 

• Paul wanted to point away from himself and toward God.

John 15:5 NLT
⁵ “Yes, I (Jesus) am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

⁶ If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth.

But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message,

• Paul doesn’t want anyone to give him credit beyond what they could see in his life or hear in his message, (certainly not some mystical experience). 

 ⁷ even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. 

Redeemer Day School verses are Psalm 78:4-7, “We will… tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord… so that they should set their hope in God.” The entire fourth verse reads, “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done.” Verses 6 and 7 go on to say, “that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God.” Our prayer is that all of our students “set their hope” in Christ. This hope is what we are all about. What a privilege we have in our obedience to the Lord to plant seeds in the hearts of these little ones! We pray that the Lord would cause those seeds to grow!

What do these verses NOT include?

Boasting about the achievements of individuals in the school.

Paul’s Boasting (continued)

Introduction:

 Paul is back to the “foolish boasting” the Corinthian church forced him into.

… listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. ¹⁷ Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. ¹⁸ And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.  (2 Corinthians 11:16-18 NLT)

Paul’s Boasting (continued)
2 Corinthians 11:21-33 NLT
²¹ … But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too. ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. ²⁴ Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. ²⁶ I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. ²⁷ I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
²⁸ Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?
³⁰ If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. ³¹ God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. ³² When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. ³³ I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

 Examine the scriptures:

Paul’s Boasting (continued)
2 Corinthians 11:21-33 NLT

²¹ … But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too. 

Paul is ready to begin comparing the external qualifications apparently believed by the Corinthians and false apostles to be matters of great importance.

1 Samuel 16:7 NLT (from the previous lesson)
… The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

• Paul’s boasting continues.

²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 

Philippians 3:4-6 NLT
⁴ …  I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. ⁶ I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 

• From a human viewpoint, Paul’s credentials were impeccable.

Genesis 17:7 NLT
⁷ “I (God) will confirm my covenant with you (Abraham) and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 

²³ Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! 

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. ²⁴ Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 

Synagogue’s punishment.
Deuteronomy 25
39 lashes were given so as not to violate this Old Testament law.

 ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods.

This was a Roman punishment administered in public. As a Roman citizen, Paul sometimes avoided being beaten in this way. Citizens were supposed to be given a trial first. Here, though, Paul shows that he did not always escape it.

History indicates that many men died from these Roman beatings!

Acts 16:22-24 NLT
²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. ²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

Once I was stoned. 

Acts 14:19 NLT
¹⁹ Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead.

Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. (Acts 27) ²⁶ I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles.

• Paul faced danger from the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. 

I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

• The apostle Paul suffered more than most as a follower of Christ. 

²⁷ I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

1 Thessalonians 2:9 NLT
⁹ Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 NLT
⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 

• Paul worked hard and long, sometimes without adequate food, clothing, or shelter. 

²⁸ Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

• Paul’s spiritual struggles were even a greater burden than his physical hardships.

1 Corinthians 12:26 NLT
²⁶ If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

1 Corinthians 9:22 NLT
²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 

³⁰ If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.  

³¹ God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.  

• Paul understood his total dependence on God.

Colossians 1:28-29 NLT
²⁸ So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. ²⁹ That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

Philippians 4:19 NLT
¹⁹ And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. 

Paul’s hardships started early in his ministry. 

³² When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. ³³ I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him. 

Started early in his ministry.
Acts 9:19-25 early in his ministry.
Some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. 

• Paul’s hardships started early in his ministry.

Philippians 4:19 NLT
¹⁹ And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

The Necessity for Paul’s Boasting

Introduction:

In previous verses (7-12) Paul discussed the issue of financial support for himself.

 In verses 13-15, Paul described the false teachers in the Corinthian church as servants of Satan.

• • • Paul described the false apostles at Corinth as servants of Satan.
    • Paul was fighting a spiritual battle to protect the Corinthian church from corruption.

 Now he is back to the “foolish boasting” the Corinthian church forced him into.

2 Corinthians 11:16- 21 NLT
The Necessity for Paul’s Boasting
¹⁶ Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. ¹⁷ Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. ¹⁸ And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. ¹⁹ After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools! ²⁰ You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. ²¹ I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that!
But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 11:16- 21 NLT
The Necessity for Paul’s Boasting

¹⁶ Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. 

Some of the Corinthians were comparing Paul unfavorably to the false apostles.

“don’t think that I am a fool”

• Some of the Corinthians thought that Paul was a fool.

Foolish here means ignorant. (Lacking in knowledge, education, or experience. Uninformed.)

Who is being foolish? 

• The Corinthians were viewing these false apostles (false teachers) from a human perspective.

1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

• People judge by outward appearance, but the Lordlooks at the heart.

• By rejecting Paul in favor of the false apostles, the Corinthiasn would be rejecting the true gospel for a false gospel.

But even if you do (think that I am a fool), listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. 

2 Corinthians 11:1 NLT
¹ I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 

• Paul plays the part of a boastful fool so that he may present his true credentials (as a suffering apostle).

• Paul was fighting a spiritual battle to protect the Corinthian church from corruption. (repeated point) 

¹⁷ Such boasting is not from the Lord,

Jesus would not talk this way.

In his arrogance the fool boasts in himself, not in the Lord.

2 Corinthians 10:17-18 NLT
¹⁷ As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
¹⁸ When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

Jeremiah 9:24 NLT
²⁴ But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken! 

but I am acting like a fool. 

Acting like a fool in order to counter the false doctrine threatening the Coriinthian church.

 ¹⁸ And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. 

 BE CAREFUL if you choose to imitate Paul with this behavior.

• Paul is using this approach out of necessity.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NLT
¹⁹ Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. ²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. ²¹ When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

• Paul’s motive was to correct the Corinthian church.

¹⁹ After all, you think you are so wise,

Sarcasism

The Corinthians were viewing themselves as being wise.

1 Corinthians 4:10 NLT
¹⁰ Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed.

but you enjoy putting up with fools! 

• Those who are truly wise would not put up with fools. 

²⁰ You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. 

• A description of the actions of the false teachers.

¹ Someone enslaves you,
² takes everything you have,
³ takes advantage of you,
⁴ takes control of everything,
⁵ and slaps you in the face.

Paul is describing the actions of the false teachers.

(Who else does this describe?)

Mark 12:38-40 NLT
³⁸ Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. ³⁹ And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. ⁴⁰ Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”

• Beware of false teachers!

²¹ I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that!

Paul was too weak to exploit the Corinthian church.

Ironic, tongue-in cheek, or sarcastic statement.

• Paul knew how wrong it was for the false teachers to treat the church as they were doing.

But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too.

Paul is ready to “take on” his opponents.

Paul is about to boast a little in his own identity to make his point.

In Corinth many boast according to the flesh.

Repeat:

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NLT
¹⁹ Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. ²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. ²¹ When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law,^[a] I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. 

• Quoting Paul, “Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.”

Paul and the False Apostles (Part 2)

Introduction:

In this passage, Paul continues to defend his position as the spiritual authority in the Corinthian church.

Generally speaking, it’s wrong to boast.

There is a Time for Boasting if it is Done Correctly.

Paul continues to boast (in the Lord) in this passage.

In order to compare his own ministry with that of the false apostles who have invaded the Corinthian church, Paul has to speak about himself, which inevitably seems like foolish boasting.

 

2 Corinthians 11:7-15 NLT
Paul and the False Apostles (Part 2)
⁷ Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? ⁸ I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. ⁹ And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. ¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. ¹¹ Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.
¹² But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. ¹³ These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 11:7-15 NLT

Paul and the False Apostles (Part 2)

⁷ Was I wrong when I humbled myself

Greek culture measured the importance of a teacher by the fee he could command.

and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? 

Normal practice

Luke 10:4-7 NLT (Instructions from Jesus)
⁴ Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.
⁵ “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ ⁶ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. ⁷ Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. 

1 Corinthians 9:4 NLT (Paul)
⁴ Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?

 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 NLT
¹³ Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. 

• The normal practice, at the time when Paul was an apostle, was that those who preached the Good News were supported by those who benefited from the teaching.

Paul’s choice

1 Thessalonians 2:9 NLT
⁹ Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 NLT
⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you.

Acts 18:1-3 NLT
Paul Meets Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth
¹ Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila … (and) his wife, Priscilla. … ³ Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. 

• Paul preached God’s Good News to the Corinthians without expecting anything in return. 

⁸ I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. 

Paul said it was like robbery when he took money from poor people (churches).

• Paul accepted financial contributions from other churches so that he could serve the Corinthian church at no cost to them.

⁹ And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone.

Philippians 4:11-13 NLT
¹¹ Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. ¹² I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. ¹³ For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 

Learn how to be content with whatever you have. 

For the brothers who came from Macedonia (Silas and Timothy) brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. 

Philippians 4:15 NLT
¹⁵ As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. 

• Paul did not want to be a financial burden to the Corinthian church.

God provided.

¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. 

 2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT
⁹ You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. 

Review from the previous lesson:

Generally speaking, it’s wrong to boast.

However, if necessary, Paul will boast about his ministry (Paul’s boasting was in the Lord.)  to keep the Corinthian church from becoming corrupted. There is a Time for Boasting if it is Done Correctly.

In order to compare his own ministry with that of the false apostles who have invaded the Corinthian church, Paul has to speak about himself, which inevitably seems like foolish boasting.

• If necessary, Paul will boast about his ministry to keep the Corinthian church from becoming corrupted. 

¹¹ Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.

Paul’s refusal to accept financial support from the Corinthians may have embarrassed the Corinthians.

This verse suggests that the Corinthians felt that Paul did not love them.

Paul certainly loved the Corinthians.

Paul was the loving “spiritual” father wanting to protect his children. (Previous lesson)

¹² But I will continue doing what I have always done. 

• Paul stood his ground (refusing financial support from the Corinthians), which may not have felt like love to the Corinthians. 

This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. 

• Unlike Paul, the false apostles were being supported by the Corinthian church. This made their work different from Paul’s work.

 ¹³ These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 

Don’t be surprised by false teachers.  They are deceitful workers disguised as apostles of Christ.

¹⁵ So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

• Paul described the false apostles at Corinth as servants of Satan.
• Paul was fighting a spiritual battle to protect the Corinthian church from corruption. 

In the end, they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

Paul and the False Apostles (Part 1)

Introduction:

In this passage, Paul continues to defend his position as the spiritual authority in the Corinthian church.

Generally speaking, it’s wrong to boast.

There is a Time for Boasting, if it is Done Correctly.

Paul continues to boast (in the Lord) in this passage.

In order to compare his own ministry with that of the false apostles who have invaded the Corinthian church, Paul has to speak about himself, which inevitably seems like foolish boasting.

2 Corinthians 11:1-6 NLT
Paul and the False Apostles (Part 1)
¹ I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. ² For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. ³ But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. ⁴ You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
⁵ But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. ⁶ I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 11:1-6 NLT
Paul and the False Apostles (Part 1)
¹ I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 

Generally speaking, it’s wrong to boast.

However, if necessary, Paul will boast about his ministry (Paul’s boasting was in the Lord.)  to keep the Corinthian church from becoming corrupted. (“Put up with my foolishness.”) There is a Time for Boasting, if it is Done Correctly.

In order to compare his own ministry with that of the false apostles who have invaded the Corinthian church, Paul has to speak about himself, which inevitably seems like foolish boasting.

• If necessary, Paul will boast about his ministry to keep the Corinthian church from becoming corrupted.

² For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself.

One definition of jealous.

Fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions.

• Paul could not bear the thought that there might be any rival to Christ and his gospel.

I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ. 

I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.

In Jewish culture, when a daughter was betrothed, her father would guarantee that he would present her as a pure virgin at her wedding.

• The Church is called to be a pure bride to one husband – Christ.

A pure bride exhibits exclusive devotion to Christ.

Ephesians 5:23-27 NLT
²³ For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. ²⁴ As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
²⁵ For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. ²⁷ He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

• Paul viewed himself as the spiritual father of the Corinthian church.

1 Corinthians 4:15 NLT
¹⁵ For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.

• As the spiritual father of the Corinthian church, Paul wanted to present the Corinthian believers to Christ as pure virgins, undefiled by the doctrines of false teachers.

³ But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 

The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ.  In this, they were doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden.

• The false teachers were doing the work of Satan by corrupting the Corinthian church. (Keeping her from being a pure bride.)

⁴ You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

Paul uses repetition, so it should be o.k. for me to use repetition.

• • Don’t be fooled by false teachers.

Colossians 2:8 NLT
⁸ Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 

• • False teachers are good at what they do.

Romans 16:17-18 NLT
¹⁷ And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. ¹⁸ Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.

• • Stay away from false teachers.

2 John 10-11 NLT
¹⁰ If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. ¹¹ Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.

• • People look for teachers who tell them what they want to hear.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT
³ For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

• • It is possible to identify false teachers.

Matthew 7:15-17 NLT
¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

• • Don’t take false teaching lightly.

Galatians 1:7-8 NLT
⁷ (false teaching) is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
⁸ Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.

• • Study the scriptures daily.

Acts 17:11 NLT
¹¹ And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.

⁵ But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. ⁶ I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. 

2 Corinthians 10:10 NLT
¹⁰ For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!”

I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. 

• What we say is more important than how we say it. 

Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT
¹⁴ … we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. ¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, …

There is a Time for Boasting, if it is Done Correctly.

In this passage, Paul continues to defend his position as the spiritual authority in the Corinthian church.

Generally speaking, it’s wrong to boast.

1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT
⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.

However

Paul boasted.

There is a time for boasting if it is done correctly.

 

2 Corinthians 10:13-18 NLT
Paul Defends His Authority (continued)
¹³ We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. ¹⁴ We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.
¹⁵ Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. ¹⁶ Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. ¹⁷ As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
¹⁸ When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

Examine the scriptures:

2 Corinthians 10:13-18 NLT
Paul Defends His Authority (continued)
¹³ We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you.  

• Paul only boasted about what had happened within the boundaries of the work God had given him. 

Paul knew that God had given him a job to do.

Galatians 1:1 NLT
¹ This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. 

1 Corinthians 1:1 NLT
¹ This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,

Acts 18 NLT
¹ Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.  

⁹ One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! ¹⁰ For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” ¹¹ So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God. 

1 Corinthians 3:6 NLT
⁶ I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 

• Paul knew his ministry in Corinth was given to him by God.

We will limit our boasting to the work God gave us, 

Romans 15:18 NLT
¹⁸ Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.

• Do not boast about anything except what Christ has done through you.

¹⁴ We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.

Paul was the first person to share the good news of Christ with the Corinthians.  His opponents visited the church much later, so their claim to Corinth as their territory was empty.

Romans 15:20 NLT
²⁰ My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.

• Paul knew that he was the first person to share the good news of Christ with the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 4:15 NLT
¹⁵ For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.

Paul was defending his spiritual authority in the Corinthian church. (continued)

¹⁵ Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done.

The false teachers in Corinth

2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT
⁴ You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

Apparently the false teachers were taking credit for the work Paul had done.  Paul was saying that he would never take credit for something someone else had done.

• Don’t boast and claim credit for the work other people have done.

Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended.  

1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT
¹ And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

Paul wanted the Corinthians to be more mature in their faith.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT
¹ Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. ² I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, ³ for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

¹⁶ Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. 

After the crisis in Corinth was resolved, Paul could, with the help of the Corinthians, move on to new areas. 

Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. ¹⁷ As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

There is a place for boasting if it is done correctly.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT
²³ This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
²⁴ But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken! 

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NLT
³⁰ God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. ³¹ Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

This doesn’t leave much for us to say about ourselves.

• If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.

Psalm 78:4
We will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.

Tell what Christ has done for you.

Romans 5:6-11 NLT
⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. 

¹⁸ When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. 

Proverbs 27:2 NLT
² Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.

Proverbs 26:12 NLT
¹² There is more hope for fools
than for people who think they are wise. 

The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT
¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Matthew 25:23 NLT
²³ “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

• What people say about themselves means nothing. What counts is whether the Lord says they have done well.