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He Earned the Right
2
Corinthians 11
Bragging rights.
Is there any such thing in Christianity?
Not really, not outside of Christ Himself.
The best of men are men at best.
Paul may have been the best Christian who ever lived, but in
sincerity he recognized he was nothing w/out the Lord Jesus.
In the grand scope of life we are nothing, but God makes us
something, and will do so if we will give Him the glory for it.
Someone said, "The art of bragging is knowing how to toot your own
horn without blowing it."
In this chapter Paul does
just that. On a human level I
see him doing something which resembles bragging, though I know better.
Still, if it sounds a bit like it, I'd say he earned the right to do
so...in the proper context of course...glorifying God.
And he does it for a purpose he is trying to accomplish to protect
the newborn babes in Christ at this church in
2 Corinthians 11:1-4
1 Would to God ye could bear with me
a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
2 For I am jealous over you with
godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.
4 For if
he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if
ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel,
which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
We still face the problem
today of the preaching of another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel.
Some time ago there was a musical production called "Jesus Christ,
Superstar," which denies His deity and presents a "Jesus" who never lived.
It is the "Jesus" of liberalism dressed in a new wardrobe. And the Jesus of
liberalism never existed. If they deny the virgin birth of Jesus, they are
talking about some other Jesus, not the Jesus Christ of the Bible. When they
say He was gay because His followers were mostly men, they have an ulterior
motive and thus preach Him to be another Jesus than the actual one. If they
do not believe that He performed miracles, they have a different Jesus in
mind, because the Jesus in the Gospels is the One who performed miracles. He
is the One who died for the sins of the world, which they deny. They deny
that He was raised from the dead bodily. They deny that He is the God-Man.
Yet one of the oldest creeds declares that He is very God of very God and
very man of very man. If that is denied, then a different Jesus is being
presented.
For I suppose I was not a
whit behind the very chiefest apostles [2Cor. 11:5].
I would rate Paul as the
number one apostle; he says he is not the least of the apostles. He wants
these Corinthians to know that he is just as much an apostle as any of the
others. Just because he came to them as a tentmaker and because he walked in
the meekness and gentleness of Christ does not mean that he is not an
apostle. You see how Paul is forced to defend himself.
But though I be rude in
speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among
you in all things [2Cor. 11:6].
Paul was a brilliant man,
but he used simple language. My mentors have great Biblical knowledge, but
what I like best about them is that they are real, not professor like, they
put the cookies on the lower shelf where the kiddies could get them.
Simplicity was the method of Paul.
Paul says that he was rude
in speech. I think that he actually adopted the language that the
Corinthians would understand, and I am of the opinion that it may have been
a rather rude approach. However, Paul was a brilliant man. From his writings
some would judge that he had the highest I.Q. of any man who has walked this
earth.
Have I committed an offence
in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you
the gospel of God freely? I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to
do you service. And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was
chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which
came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from
being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself [2Cor. 11:7-9].
Paul would not allow the
Corinthians to contribute to his support at all. He had to work hard at
making tents. Some others sent him some support to enable him to spend some
time preaching the gospel, but the Corinthians did not help him.
As the truth of Christ is
in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth. But what I do, that I will
do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that
wherein they glory, they may be found even as we [2Cor. 11:10-12].
Paul says that he is
boasting because it is the truth and because he is jealous over them and
fearful for them. Other men, such as Apollos, may have been more eloquent
and polished than Paul and did not stoop to do manual labor. Comparison with
others is not the issue. Paul worked as a tentmaker. He did not take
remuneration from the Corinthians. This does not detract from his
apostleship.
For such are false
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of
Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light [2Cor. 11:13-14].
Evidently there were
deceitful workers who attempted to make themselves apostles of Christ when
they were not. They were actually servants of Satan.
People have the idea that
Satan has cloven hooves and horns. This kind of erroneous idea comes from
the great god Pan of Greek mythology, who was portrayed as half animal and
was worshiped as Dionysus. Likening Satan to Pan certainly is not the
scriptural point of view. Satan himself is an angel of light. If he would
make himself visible to you, you would see a being of breathtaking beauty.
Paul draws from that this conclusion:
Therefore it is no great
thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works [2Cor. 11:15].
The frightening statement
here is that Satan has ministers. It makes your hair stand on end. As Satan
is transformed into an angel of light, so his ministers are transformed as
the ministers of righteousness. They are very attractive.
All Satan's ministries
glorify themselves. This is one way you can tell whether a man is preaching
the simplicity of the Word of God or whether he is preaching some other
Jesus and some other gospel.
I say again, Let no man
think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast
myself a little. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as
it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting [2Cor. 11:16-17].
Paul says he must go on in
this mindlessness, and they should indulge him in this.
Seeing that many glory
after the flesh, I will glory also. For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye
yourselves are wise [2Cor. 11:18-19].
He adds a bit of holy
sarcasm.
For ye suffer, if a man
bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man
exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face [2Cor. 11:20].
He gives them strong
reproof here. He says someone can come in to them, put them back under the
bondage of the Law, he can live off them, exalt himself, smite them, and
they will put up with that. They will take that kind of treatment from a
false teacher.
Now we come to a section
where Paul describes his own life as a minister of the gospel. I must
confess that I have been in the ministry for many years but when I read what
this man Paul went through, I recognize that I have just been playing at it.
I have not been a real servant of Christ as this man had been.
I speak as concerning
reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I
speak foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they
Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I [2Cor. 11:21-22].
Paul says, "I can prove my
genealogy." There was no question who he was.
Are they ministers of
Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes
above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
Of the Jews five times
received I forty stripes save one [2Cor. 11:23-24].
The Jews had a method in
those days of delivering thirty-nine stripes, and to prevent killing the
person, they would apply thirteen stripes on one side, thirteen stripes on
the other side, and thirteen stripes on the back. Paul had had this kind of
torture five times.
Thrice was I beaten with
rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I
have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils
of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in
perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings
often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness [2Cor.
11:25-27].
How many of us today could
say that we have been through even the smallest part of anything like that?
We sit in the lap of luxury. We live in an affluent society. We know
practically nothing of hardship for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Beside those things that
are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches
[2Cor. 11:28].
Those of us who are pastors
have experienced the burden of a church. Paul had the burden of "all" the
churches. We know a little of what that entailed.
Who is weak, and I am not
weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
If I must needs glory, I
will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie
not [2Cor. 11:29-31].
Paul says, "Here is my
report as a minister of Jesus Christ."
In
And through a window in a
basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands [2Cor. 11:32-33].
Imagine Paul having to be
let down by the wall in a basket to escape those who were lying in wait to
kill him. How embarrassing! Paul did all this for Jesus' sake.
My friend, don't brag about
what you suffer for Christ. Read this over again. We must all bow our heads
in shame and say, "Oh, Lord Jesus, help me to die trying to earn the right.
Help me to be faithful to You."
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