2 Corinthians Lesson 7 2 Corinthians 10:1-11:25 Written about 65 AD

Transcription

1 2 Corinthians Lesson 7 2 Corinthians 10:1-11:25 Written about 65 AD In lesson 6, which covered 2 Corinthians 8:1 through 9:15, Paul discussed the subject of giving. The occasion was the offering for the persecuted Church in Jerusalem, which had been going on for many years, and was probably an annual offering. On this year there were even greater troubles than usual for the Christian Jews in Judea, and the Macedonians had instigated the offering with sacrificial giving. Paul told the Corinthians that he was sending Titus and two others back to them in advance of his coming so that they could be prepared to finish the gift before it was sent on. He went on to discuss some of the principals of legitimate Christian giving, such as that it should only be according to one s means, and cheerfully, not grudgingly given. He also touched on the proper stewardship of such gifts. He reminded them of the impact for the body of Christ in Jerusalem that their gift to others would make, and closed with the reminder of God s gift to them with Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15) With that summary we can begin our study. Much of these next two chapters were indirectly addressed to the Judaizers who Paul knew were among the church at Corinth. They had evidently come in and attacked Paul and his teaching. These false teachers had come into the church that Paul had founded and tried to take it over. They tore down, rather than building up. Paul promised he would deal with them. These Judaizers often falsely claimed to have come on the authority of the Jerusalem Church. 2 Corinthians 10:1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you I, Paul, who am timid humble when face to face with you, but bold confident when away! The word J"Bg4<@l which is translated timid here is the same word which is translated humble in Matthew 11:29 - Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. It is clear that this phrase continues the thought from the first part of the verse, and thus the word is not intended as a pejorative, but as a commendatory description. On the other hand the word translated bold is the word 2"DDgT which is used three times in 2 Corinthians to describe Paul s attitude toward the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 7:16) and toward God (Corinthians 5:6, 5:8). Every time it is translated confident. 1 / 13

2 2 Corinthians 10:2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold confident [a] as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. The some people here were the Judaizers who had tried to destroy the teaching of the Word. The standards of this world that they mistakenly had applied to Paul were that no one with true power would be gentle and humble with those under His authority. Paul was only following the meekness and gentleness of Christ. In other words, Paul wanted his confidence in the Corinthians to be justified so that he could continue to be humble in his teaching. However, if for the some people his confidence was misplaced, he knew that the truth of the word of God was powerful enough to handle the conflict of ideas. 2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. Paul did not fight with the usual weapons of organized religion, which depend on intimidation. We can see those tactics in the history of the Sanhedrin s struggle with Christianity, or the Catholic church s persecution of Bible teaching. 2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Paul s weapon was the Word of God revealed to human hearts by the Holy Spirit. 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. That Word of God had this kind of power. 2 Corinthians 10:6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 2 / 13

3 As translated, this seems to present Paul coming as an avenger wreaking punishment on all who had offended him. Remember, God is the one who avenges us against the wrongs of men. As Paul himself had written Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God s wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. (Romans 12:19) The problem is resolved when we take a closer look at the Greek. There are three words that are a problem. The word translated to punish is ἐκδικέω {ek-dē-ke'-ō} which literally means to bring to right. The word translated act of disobedience here is the Greek word παρακοή {pä-rä-ko-ā'} which literally means a mistaken hearing. The word translated obedience is ὑπακοή {hüp-ä-ko-ā'} which literally means correct hearing. If we change the translation of the verse using these meanings for the words, we get: And we will be ready to bring to rights every mistaken hearing, once your correct hearing is complete. In other words, Paul would explain why every false teaching they had heard was wrong, once they had understood the true teachings of the Word of God. This was a promise Paul was making to the Corinthians who had been drawn to the pretensions of the Judaizers. 2 Corinthians 10:7a You are looking only on the surface of things. 3 / 13

4 They had been attracted by the attractive appearance and oratory of the false teachers, not the deep truth of their words. 2 Corinthians 10:7b If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he. They needed to remember that their confidence in Christ was taught to them by Paul. If he was in error, their confidence was misplaced. 2 Corinthians 10:8 For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it. Paul implied that the false teachers were the ones who are pulling them down. 2 Corinthians 10:9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. Paul disavowed trying to intimidate them. 2 Corinthians 10:10 For some say, [b] His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing. Here, he was quoting what the Judaizers had been saying about him. They couldn t help but recognize the power of Paul s teaching in his letters. However, they considered themselves superior to Paul because they were impressive in appearance and oratory. They didn t recognize that the power of Paul s teaching came from its truth, not from his person. 4 / 13

5 2 Corinthians 10:11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. That is, his speaking would also be weighty and forceful because it contained the same truth. 2 Corinthians 10:12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend [c] themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. The truly wise person compares himself with Jesus Christ, and is thereby humbled. Paul s attitude is exemplified by the following: 1 Timothy 1:15a-16 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10a For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. 2 Corinthians 10:13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field measure [d] God has assigned distributed to us, a f ield measure [e] that reaches even to you. Paul s assigned portion or measure had been to be Apostle to the Gentiles and the Jews Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to Ananias, Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 5 / 13

6 2 Corinthians 10:14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. Again, Paul reminded them that he was the one who had been sent by God to lead them to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:15-16a Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. Paul had justifiable confidence and pride in the growth of the Corinthian church. In the Epistle to Titus, written after this, we see that Paul was able to also preach in Crete and on the Adriatic Coast. 2 Corinthians 10:16b For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man s territory. This seems to be a shot at the Judaizers who had moved in on Paul s Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 10:17 But, Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. [f] For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. But Paul reminded himself and them that we really only have one boast, which is that we are in the Lord. He is also the only one who can recommend a teacher. 2 Corinthians 11:1 I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. 6 / 13

7 Here, Paul seems to apologize for taking the time to defend himself. 2 Corinthians 11:2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. However, he is jealous of them on God s behalf. Exodus 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray corrupted from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Paul also knew that the Church was always under attack by Satan and his agents: 1 Peter Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 2 Corinthians 11:4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. Paul had evidently been disturbed with how little disturbed they were when false teachers stood up and taught their false doctrines. 2 Corinthians 11:5 But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those super-apostles the greatest apostles. I have substituted the literal Greek translation. Paul is only stating what he had said in 7 / 13

8 Galatians Galatians 2:6-9 (condensed) As for the ones accounted (the greatest apostles), those men added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those accounted pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. 2 Corinthians 11:6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Paul acknowledged his deficiencies as an orator, but claimed supremacy for the truth over oratory. 2 Corinthians 11:7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? This was evidently another attack made by the false teachers against Paul. Unfortunately, it is true that the less you charge for something, the less the world tends to value it. That is a very serious mistake when you apply that to what the LORD gives away. 2 Corinthians 11:8-9 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. We know that when Paul first came to Corinth, he had to work until Timothy and Silas came from the Macedonians (Acts 18:5), evidently with gifts, since after that he could devote full time to preaching. Paul is thus reminding them that he had never profited off of his ministry to them. As he had previously said, Unlike so many (the false teachers), we do not peddle the word of God for profit. (2 Corinthians 2:17) 8 / 13

9 2 Corinthians 11:10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. Paul had never accepted money from the Corinthians and he vowed that he never would. 2 Corinthians 11:11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! It was not because he didn t love them. 2 Corinthians 11:12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. It was because he didn t want to ever give any ground for the accusations of the false teachers. 2 Corinthians 11:13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. There are still many of these around today. 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. They are imitating Satan himself. 9 / 13

10 2 Corinthians 11:15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. False teachers are, in fact, servants of Satan himself, even if they are unaware of the fact. 2 Corinthians 11:16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. Although Paul had disavowed boasting as foolish, he said he would play the game of the false teachers and boast on the same foolish ground as they had. 2 Corinthians 11:17-18 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. He reasserted that this was not the Lord s viewpoint, but the world s. 2 Corinthians 11:19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! He again refers back to his dismay that instead of sending the false teachers packing, the Corinthians had been very tolerant. 2 Corinthians 11:20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. They had not appreciated that what the false teachers were teaching was tantamount to being enslaved again to sin. As Gentiles, it also meant being regarded as second class citizens. Furthermore, these teachers were exploiting them. 10 / 13

11 2 Corinthians 11:21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! What anyone else dares to boast about I am speaking as a fool I also dare to boast about. Paul had done none of those things. 2 Corinthians 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham s descendants? So am I. However, on the things that the Judaizers boasted about, Paul could also boast about. 2 Corinthians 11:23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) Paul was repelled by even saying these words as a form of debate. He had just labeled them as servants of the Devil. 2 Corinthians 11:23b I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, [ g] been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. At this time, Paul had been in danger every day because of his testimony for nearly thirty years. 2 Corinthians 11:24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. None of these five occasions was mentioned in Acts. They probably occurred before his first missionary journey or after his first Roman imprisonment. 11 / 13

12 2 Corinthians 11:25a Three times I was beaten with rods, This was usually a Roman punishment. The Roman insignia of authority was fasces, which was bundle of rods tied around an axe. The rods signified the power of corporal punishment, and the axe signified the power of capital punishment. One of the three times Paul was beaten with rods was in Philippi in Acts 16:22. The other times are not recorded. They also probably occurred before his first missionary journey or after his first Roman imprisonment. 2 Corinthians 11:25b once I was stoned, This happened in Lystra on Paul s first missionary journey as described in Acts: Then came some Jews from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. (Acts 14:19) 2 Corinthians 11:25c three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, As mentioned earlier, this is one of the most important passages in proving that 2 Corinthians was written after Paul s first Roman imprisonment (i.e. after the narrative of Acts was complete). Paul s travels and sea voyages were chronicled in detail by Luke and yet by the time of Paul s first Roman imprisonment, Paul had been shipwrecked only once (at Malta in Acts 28:1). The other two shipwrecks must have occurred subsequently to that and before Paul wrote this. [a] This is the same Greek word 2"DDgT as in the previous verse. 12 / 13

13 [b] This was no doubt what had been reported to him by Titus, who had just come from Corinth. [c] The word used here is the same Greek word FL<4FJ"T which means present or introduce and was used by Paul in Chapters 5 and 6. [d] The Greek word mevtron which means measure or measuring cup. [e] The Greek word mevtron which means measure or measuring cup. [f] Jeremiah 9:24 [g] One of the times he was in prison, not recorded in Acts is noted in Romans 16:7. This was probably during his time in Tarsus after he was a believer. 13 / 13