All for Your Upbuilding

Reading:  2 Corinthians 12:19-13:4
    
    Paul reflects on this long section of arguing with his opponents in Corinth:  “Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you?  It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved”(2 Cor 12:19).  He insists that this is not personal, but about his obligation before God to care for Jesus’ people.  Then, amidst this highly charged situation, Paul shockingly lets down his guard and reveals his heart and fears.  “For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish” and “I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented”(2 Cor 12:20, 21).   Paul reveals his fear that his return to Corinth will also be a “painful visit”(2 Cor 2:1) because there will be sin to rebuke and hard hearts to confront.  Their deep spiritual relationship may be tested by even more sharp words and actions.

    The Corinthians seem to have confused Paul’s unimpressive physical appearance for an unwillingness to deal with problems.  “I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me.  He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.  For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.  For we are also weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God”(2 Cor 13:2-4).  The Corinthians keep seeking proof of Paul’s apostolic commission, yet Paul insists that the proof will be in his strong response to their sin.  Just as in Jesus’ crucifixion, seeming weakness is not the last word.

    Many modern scholars view passages like these as typical organizational power dynamics.  Paul is fighting to bend the churches to his will.  Yet Paul protests that his defense is not personal, but “all for your upbuilding.”  Paul is continually concerned with the growth and stability of God’s people, so his every word is calculated to bring them closer to God (rather than himself).  What about us? 

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One Thing to Think About:  How much do I think about the “upbuilding” of my brothers and sisters?

One Thing to Pray For:  The courage to deal with sin—in my own life and others’ 
 

I Will Spend and Be Spent

Reading:  2 Corinthians 12:11-18
    
    Paul has finished his sarcastic boasting about his credentials as an apostle.  “I have been a fool!  You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you.  For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing”(2 Cor 12:11).  He is frustrated that after all that he and the Corinthians have been through, they have not defended him and he has had to defend himself.  “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.  For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you?  Forgive me this wrong!”(2 Cor 12:12-13).  He has shown them his authentic apostleship.  The only thing he has not done is insist that they pay him; he sarcastically asks their forgiveness for this.

    Paul sees the Corinthians as his children and he refuses to take pay for them even when he plans a future visit.  “And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you.  For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children”(2 Cor 12:14).  Parents understand that they will be disadvantaged to benefit their children and willfully choose it.  “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.  If I love you more, am I to be loved less?”(2 Cor 12:15).  Paul is willing to put his money where his mouth is.  He sincerely believes that receiving money from them will damage the impact of the gospel.  He will have to spend.  But he declares that he will happily spend and be spent for his brothers.

    “I will most gladly spend and be spent.”  It is one thing to offer others money.  It is quite another to offer them ourselves—to “be spent” for others.  This speaks to the emotional, physical, and financial toll that Christian service takes on us.  Paul “most gladly” accepts this burden because of his great love. 

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One Thing to Think About:  Do I ever resent serving others?  What might Paul say to this feeling?

One Thing to Pray For:  A spirit to “spend and be spent” even when others are ungrateful
 

Celebrating Weakness

Reading:  2 Corinthians 12:1-10
    
    Since the Corinthians are enthralled with boastful pretenders to spiritual authority, Paul feels compelled to answer them in kind, with one exception:   “if I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness”(2 Cor 11:30).   His “boasting” highlights how inadequate he is for the task Jesus has given him.  “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven”(2 Cor 12:2).  Paul is unwilling to even admit that this happened to him, preferring to call himself a nameless “man in Christ”(see also v. 5, 7).  Yet he has received a tremendous vision of the domain of God and “heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter”(2 Cor 12:5).   Paul receives a life-altering vision and revelation.

    Yet even as this sounds like a sincere boasting, Paul adds a fascinating wrinkle.  “So to keep me from being conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited”(2 Cor 12:7).  Paul is weak; there is potential that he will grow proud because of what he has seen.  Satan sends him a thorn in his flesh—some physical ailment to torment him—and Jesus refuses to remove it (2 Cor 12:8).  Why?  “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is make perfect in weakness’”(2 Cor 12:9).  Jesus’ power shines most where our power fails.  So Paul is “content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong”(2 Cor 12:10).  If weakness gets me closer to Jesus, bring on the weakness.

    We tend to despise weakness.  We ridicule it in others and downplay it in ourselves.  Paul teaches us a different perspective.  When we feel strong, we feel little need for Jesus.  As humiliating and frustrating as it is, our weakness connects us more strongly to the power of Christ.  Christians celebrate weakness and allow it to drive us to the throne of Christ for strength and help.

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One Thing to Think About:  Is there a difference between celebrating weakness and refusing to grow?

One Thing to Pray For:  The courage to embrace my weakness and dependence on Jesus
 

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
 

Disguises

Reading:  2 Corinthians 11:12-21
    
    Paul is about to “boast a little”(2 Cor 11:16) in order to combat the false boasting of his opponents in Corinth.  Some in the church there are posturing as “super-apostles”(2 Cor 11:5) and taking shots at Paul (2 Cor 10:10).  “And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ”(2 Cor 11:12-13).  The apostleship these men are claiming is illegitimate; it is a disguise.  In their efforts to make a name for themselves they have become deceitful.  They are hiding something more sinister.  “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  So it is no surprise if his servants, also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.  Their end will correspond to their deeds”(2 Cor 11:14-15).  This is a strong rebuke.    Paul is directly calling his opponents followers of Satan.  The way this will be known is by seeing their end, a restatement of Jesus’ principle that “you will recognize them by their fruits”(Matt 7:20).

    He begins to address their claims by arguing “as a fool”(2 Cor 11:16, 17).  “Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast”(2 Cor 11:17).  In this and the following sections, Paul will display his apostolic credentials by emphasizing his suffering and weakness.  If his opponents want to compare resumes, he stands ready—yet the resumes look different than most expect.  He also rebukes the Corinthians for accepting such worldly ways of thinking (2 Cor 11:20-21), since it means they reject apostles in favor of worldly people.

    Paul’s opponents act by “disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”  Satan often uses disguises, capitalizing on the fact that people (and things) are not always what they appear to be.  Disguises allow him to gain influence subtly.  Wolves can come in sheep’s clothing, which means they can create more carnage when they drop the disguise.  Disciples need caution so that we can detect disguises and judge by works, not appearances.

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One Thing to Think About:  How have I observed people appearing to be something they were not?

One Thing to Pray For:  Discernment in dealing with others