“July 3, 2024 - The Credentials of an Apostle”

Tuesday, July 02, 2024

The Credentials of an Apostle

Reading:  2 Corinthians 11:21-33
    
     Paul’s boasting reaches a crescendo here.  His words drip with irony.  He compares himself to his opponents in Corinth, who insist on bragging about their credentials.  “Are they Hebrews?  So am I.  Are they Israelites?  So am I?  Are they offspring of Abraham?  So am I.  Are they servants of Christ?  I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death”(2 Cor 11:22-23).  Paul matches their Jewish credentials but declares himself (in his sarcastic way of bragging) a “better” servant of Christ.  Why?  He has suffered more—far more.  

     What follows is a catalog of his sufferings for Christ.  “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.  Three times I was beaten with rods.  Once I was stoned”(2 Cor 11:24-25).  He goes on.  The life of a true apostle is not one of glamor and accolades but the cold reality of rejection and pain.  “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak?  Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?”(2 Cor 12:28-29).  Paul’s suffering is also mental as he lives and dies with his brethren.  Every word from every corner of the world causes him to rejoice or lament.  This is Christian service.

     Paul does not speak this way to gain applause.  He is exposing the futility of comparing ourselves to other Christians and their service.  The powerful irony here is that the most downtrodden and overlooked are the most significant in God’s kingdom.  Even apostles do not derive their authority from great, impressive works.  Instead, they seem to suffer the most.  The lesson here is that we must humble ourselves—being willing to endure whatever we are called on to endure—in hopes of God’s exaltation.  Any effort to compare ourselves to others and show ourselves superior is doomed from the outset.
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One Thing to Think About:  Am I willing to suffer—to lack—to feel anxious—in my service to Jesus?

One Thing to Pray For:  Humility to endure what is before me without complaint
 

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