So You’re a Priest: Jealousy Rears Its Beautiful Head

This is part 25 of a sermon series through 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 11:1-15

Commentary

v1 put up with. To endure, or to suffer through. 2 Corinthians is the only NT book to use this word more than once, and all 4 instances are in this chapter: v1, v4, v19, v20. The only record of Jesus using the word is when he asks the disciples, "How long shall I put up with you?" (Mark 9:19).

foolishness. Of all his letters, Paul only uses the word 3 times—all in this chapter: v1, v17, v21.

v2-3 virgin ... Eve. Just as Eve was Adam’s bride, the church is the bride of Christ: Matt. 25:1-13; John 3:22-30; Rev 19:6-9; 21:1-10; 22:17.

v9 need. The word group is used repeatedly in this letter (8:14; 9:12; 11:5,9; 12:11). This passage should be read in the context of chapters 8-9. In those chapters, Paul speaks of taking a collection from the Corinthians to help other churches in need. Here he reminds them that he eschewed any help from them while he was with them; rather, he was supported by another church.

v10,12 boast. We saw this word last week. The word group appears in the NT 52 times, of which 26 are in this letter, including v10, v12.

v12-15 Read these verses in the light of v2-3.

Application

Have you ever had a friend who was cheating on their spouse, or their fiancé, or even their "significant other"? What did you do? Did you stay of out it, or did you try to give your friend advice? Did you counsel them to be faithful, of did you tell them to do what would make them happiest? How did it turn out?

Paul’s passion, his jealousy (v2—perhaps better translated as "zeal") is something like this. In v2-3, Paul compares the church in Corinth to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Just as Eve was lured by the serpent to try something better than what God had for her, so the Corinthian church is being lured by those Paul calls the super-apostles (v5) to try a different gospel. By their boasting (defined, as we read last week, as the thing in which they was placing their confidence) they show that they are trusting in themselves and not in Jesus.

Paul’s jealousy is not pettiness at being scorned by his converts. Rather, as the church is the bride of Christ, his passion is to keep her safe and pure for her bridegroom.

Points to Ponder

Compare the Paul’s false apostles (v13-15) with John the Baptist (John 3:22-30). How are they different?

So You’re a Priest: Keeping Healthy Boundaries

I struggled with today’s sermon text until I realized that this passage is closely related to the e-mail from Gary Benedict, President of the C&MA regarding cuts in missionaries and the missionary budget. I had been planning to pass this e-mail on to you anyway, for our financial woes at church are part of a larger problem nationally and internationally.

2 Corinthians 10:7-18

Commentary

v7-11 This section is an extension of Paul’s previous defense of his apparent timidity. Humility to Christ is divine power, although on the surface, it may not look like much.

v12 themselves. The word appears 5x in this single verse. The criticism of Paul appears to originate among a group of people who are saying, in effect, "Look at me! I am doing it the right way whereas Paul is all wrong!"

v13 field. The word appears 2x in this single verse. Is it possible that Paul has been assigned a field—an area of responsibility—while his detractors from v12 have been assigned a different field? Is it possible that Paul’s detractors are Judaizers, Jewish Christians who measured their piety in terms of their ability to adhere to Torah?

v13-17 boasting. Although generally the word has negative connotations of self-pride, here boasting can refer to anything which is a source of confidence. In these 5 verses, what is the reason for confidence—for better or worse—in each.

Application

What reasons do we have for confidence? v13-17 lay out a spectrum of possibilities. On one hand, priggish religious devotees take pride in themselves (v12); they imagine that their conformity to a certain religious standard proves that they are making the grade. On the other hand (v17), ultimately we know that the without Jesus in our lives, we have no basis to be confident in anything. These ends of the spectrum, however, are the "Sunday School answers"—anyone with a wit of sense knows this much.

Jesus says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you & appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last" (John 15:16). That fruit, typically, is found in the context of relationships, in the kingdom of God simultaneously touching the lives of us and those around us. We have each been given a field in which to be fruitful (v13), a field of family, friends, and strangers. As the fruit multiplies, often our fields will change (v15-16). The question for each of us is, "What relationships has God assigned to me and what fruit am I seeing?"

However, Paul also talks about working another person’s field (v16b). Frequently, churches and individuals, each with an overweening sense of themselves, intrude into a field being working by another. If God is speaking to a somebody through another person (or church), who am I to think that I can speak on God’s behalf better than the person (or church) that God has sent?

Points to Ponder

In v17, Paul refers to Jer. 9:24. Read Jer. 8:4-10:16. What do you think Jeremiah would say to Paul?

Budget Woes at the National and International Church.
From: Gary Gary Benedict, President C&MA
To: International Workers
Date: March 16, 2009

Dear Colleague,

In my previous updates, I shared about declining revenues and the resultant budget implications.

At the Board of Directors meeting in February, the budget for next fiscal year was set at $37.5 million, which is a decrease of $3.2 million from the present budget. I have been working with the team in Colorado Springs to make the appropriate adjustments. As difficult as it is, we are at the point of personnel reductions. This is an agonizing experience for leadership and the workers affected. The first week of March, personnel reductions were made at the National Office.

To meet the reduced budget target of $1.8 million less in International Ministries, plans have been made for a 5 percent reduction in missionary personnel above normal attrition. This represents 30 people. The International Ministries team, including field, regional, and National Office leaders, has poured itself out on a number of fronts to deal with the financial realities. Included have been focused times of prayer and fasting, initiatives to increase revenues, capping new appointments, additional cutbacks in field budgets, careful use of reserves, and selling of some assets to provide additional revenue streams. Many of the people who are working on this are present and former missionaries who have felt deep anguish over all of this.

The decline in GCF revenues, inflation in many nations, and increasingly high costs to support an international worker have all contributed to this difficult decision. We are committed to having a smaller number of missionaries who are adequately funded rather than a larger number without the needed resources to get the job done. Our present revenue streams cannot sustain the number of fully funded personnel. For the first time in recent memory, four missionary units up for appointment were not approved by the Board of Directors at the February meeting due to financial limitations.

We have diligently sought the Lord’s leading in every decision. Our faith is unreservedly in the Lord for His wisdom and courage to make appropriate decisions. With whatever He generously supplies, we will embrace biblical principles of stewardship and best practices for a Christian nonprofit organization. We must live within the means the Lord supplies. As painful as it may be, reducing the number of personnel is prudent at this time for the overall vitality and effectiveness of C&MA ministries.

Within the next five to seven days, some of our colleagues will receive the news that they are part of the reduction in personnel. This will be a gut-wrenching experience for the worker and for the ones communicating the decision. Many of our U.S. C&MA churches and other Christian organizations are going through this stinging experience as well. Recently, one of the three pastoral positions was cut at the church where I am a member.

My prayer is that we will have expanded capacity to receive God’s amazing grace as He pours it out on every Alliance worker, especially the ones who receive hard news. We’re working diligently on multiple fronts to help those who will be returning home, desiring a "soft landing" for them. We want to extend compassionate care and dignity at an incredibly difficult time. I trust that home churches and districts will be havens of rest for those directly affected.

We know the Lord is sovereign and has laid out the boundaries for each of our lives and the ministry of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. He is now lovingly carrying us through these times to refine, strengthen, and prepare us for additional sacrifice leading to growth at home and overseas. This has happened in the past as experienced during the Great Depression. We are being crowded to Jesus and forced to think creatively, discovering new wineskins for carrying out the Great Commission. There can be no retreat from this mandate. While I’m not sure how the future will develop, I trust Him when He says,

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God . . . (Isaiah 43:1-3).

Paul’s statement also brings perspective to us:

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But ONE THING I DO: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12b-14).

I count it a privilege to be serving with you in Great Commission ministries. God bless you.

So You’re a Priest: Super-Christians

This letter to the Corinthian church now takes a sharp turn. Far from the generally encouraging tone of the previous chapters, most of the remainder of the letter is critical of certain factions within the church. The remaining chapters need to be read as a group, and isolated verses should not be taken out of context from these chapters, because Paul’s tone is now frequently sarcastic, and sarcasm taken out of context can frequently lead us astray!

2 Corinthians 10:1-6

Commentary

v1 Timid … bold. The criticism of some in the church was that Paul talked tough in his letters, but was mild and unimpressive in person. We want our leaders (presidents or pastors, parents or spouses) to look and act like leaders. But Paul asserts that the way of spiritual power is found through humility and forbearance (meekness and gentleness, in the NIV).

"timid" … "bold". There is no such thing as quotation marks in NT Greek, so the punctuation here is the NIV’s attempt to convey Paul’s sarcasm. However, over the next four chapters, Paul is frequently sarcastic, but quotation marks are rarely used, leading the casual reader to take sarcastic remarks at face value.

Timidity and boldness are first of many pairs of contrasts Paul offers over the remaining chapters, including: obedience vs. disobedience (10:5-6); Paul’s gospel vs. a different gospel (11:5); Paul the fool vs. the super-apostles (12:11). Through this Paul offers up two visions of Christian life—one is focused on building up self, while the other is willing for self to be set aside while following God.

v5-6 The word for obedience has the sense of a change of action that comes by hearing: to hear God is to be changed. The world tells us to live by a certain set of rules, but when we finally hear from God, we have the resolve to live by those rules no longer.

Application

When I first became a Christian, I went to the assistant pastor at my church, Don, and told him, "I really want to study the Bible—really in depth." What I didn’t say out loud—but what I was thinking inside—was, "Hey, I’ve been to college and grad school. I am ready to dig into the Bible like most people can’t. I can be a super-Christian."

Studying with Don didn’t go quite as I had imagined it would. He’d give me reading assignments and then we’d get together and discuss them. When I’d offer up an opinion on what something meant, his typical response was, "Hmmm. That’s interesting." Sometimes he’d even say, "Hmmm. That’s interesting. How do you think that would work?"

I was continually frustrated and for a long time I did not understand what Don was up to. My worldly stronghold was mental—a bastion of ideas, a way of thinking that interacted with the world while keeping the world at a distance. In Jesus’ words, I was "ever hearing but never understanding" (Mark 4:12). If Don had tried to fight my ideas with new ideas, my Christian life would have been a mental game. Don would have lost me by fighting as I was used to fighting. I needed to struggle with these new ideas on a different level, learning to hear with my heart instead of my head, learning by doing instead of by studying.

I read these chapters, and I wonder if Paul could have seemed like Don to the Corinthians. Like me, the super-Christians in Corinth were puffed up and proud. While Paul modeled a spiritual life that was humble and self-effacing, they had the audacity to call him a dullard, a fool, a failure. Until they were willing to adopt a lifestyle that looked foolish, they would never be able to learn a new way to live.

Points to Ponder

v6 sounds a bit harsh, but try reading it like: Once you have begun to change your ways, being faithful to follow what you’ve heard God telling you to do, only then will we be able to go back and help you set right the things that you foolishly did out of disobedience.

So You're a Priest: Addition by Multiplication

This is part 22 of a sermon series through 2 Corinthians. Last week about being a cheerful giver (a hilarious—i.e. unconcerned—giver). The image that predominated in last week’s message was the sower broadcasting seed without undue concern about the ultimate disposition of each individual seed.

A change in how we give—whether we are giving grace, time, attention, money, or something else—does not come from a change of mind, but rather a change of heart. Last week I said, “Our attitude towards giving is determined by how much we trust God with the circumstances of our lives. Where and when do you think God let you down? Could it be that God’s plan and your plan were different? Could you give God another chance?”

What would it take to trust God more completely?

2 Corinthians 9:10-15

Commentary

v10-11 This verses parallel each other. Consider:

“he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food” vs “you will be made rich in every way”

“[he will] supply and increase your store of seed” vs “you can be generous on every occasion”,

and

“[he] will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” vs “your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God”

supply and increase. More literally, provide for and multiply. The heart of the secret for God’s provision is right here: seed multiplies by being sown; seed multiplies by being buried in the ground and dying (John 12:24).

v12-15 See in these verse examples of the multiplication of God’s provision: the overflow of expressions of thanks (v12); praise (v13); changed hearts (v14).

Application

A common lament among parents is the lackadaisical attitude of their children towards money. My father used to grouse, “You think that money grows on trees!” Not every child grows up amid prosperity, but poverty is a learned attitude; many from humble beginnings say, “I didn’t realize that we were poor until I grew up.” In many homes, the children learn to trust their parents for a sufficiency.

God will almost never tell you that you are poor. In most areas of areas of your life, only the world will tell you that you are poor. Jesus’ statement, “You cannot serve two masters” (Luke 16:13) pertains to exactly this. In your life you will either live trusting in your Father in heaven for a sufficiency—not thinking of yourself as poor, and being willing to give freely to others—or you will live cursing God for not giving you what the world has told you is your due. On the one hand, you will be like the farmer, willing to sow his seed, trusting in the God of creation to multiply that seed 30, 60, or 100-fold; on the other, you will be like a farmer, unwilling to sow the seed for fear that he will starve before the harvest comes in.

The one will prosper, while the other will perish. Ironically, each will point to their life and say, “See, I was right about God!” The only thing that can save the second farmer is a change of heart, but a change of behavior must precede the change of heart. The mind must will the trust in God before the heart will see and believe.

Points to Ponder

Where will God tell you that you are poor? (Hint: Matthew 5:3) Why does God call that part of you poor?

Reminder: We’re not just talking about money! We are talking about any blessing God has given you: forgiveness, peace, comfort, prosperity, acceptance, love, mercy, etc.