MPC, 23rd September 2001.2 Corinthians 10-11 - "It's a Knockout!"
Stuart Atkinson MPC, 23rd September 2001.
Does anyone know who Zbigniew Pietrzykowski is? No? Well that's because he is a nobody. Well, he's a nobody according to the ANZ bank ads anyway. Because when he fought Mohammed Ali in the boxing at the 1960 Olympics, he lost. Mohammed Ali got the gold. Pietrzykowski got the silver. Ali went on to become one of the greatest boxers of all time, and nobody knows who Zbigniew Pietrzykowski is. And as the ad wants to tell us, to be a somebody in this world you have to be the best. Better than the rest. Success is all about beating your opposition. Faster, stronger, smarter, richer. Nobody remembers a loser.
That's the sort of thing we're dealing with in these chapters of 2 Corinthians. The sort of thing that's happening at Corinth. We've seen in Acts that Paul gets told by Jesus to bring the gospel to the gentiles. The Corinthians get the gospel from Paul and become followers of Jesus. But we see from this letter that some NEW apostles have come to town to muscle in on Paul's territory. And the problem is, they're preaching a gospel that's NOT the real gospel, and some of the Corinthians are eating it up. These guys are better looking, better sounding, they boast about visions and personal encounters with God. They've got letters of commendation and were obviously more important because they charged a lot of money for their services.
In true Ali style its like - we got visions, we got style, we better than Paul by miles and miles! They're legends in their own minds. And they're mouthing off accusations at Paul thick and fast. He's a nobody. He's weak as water compared to us. We're the best..
They're trying to say that Christian leadership is like the Olympics - who's the fastest, who's the strongest - second place is first loser.
What's Paul got to say about these bone crunching Christians? Have a look at the second half of verse 12 He says they're doing something DUMB. They're performing entirely to THEIR OWN SATISFACTION. They're legends in their own minds. He says,
When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
It's stupid to compete for the title of best Christian leader. And they're only competing with THEMSELVES anyway. That's not the comparison that counts. Have a look what he says in verse 18:
He says in verse 18:
For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Paul says there is TWO WAYS TO LEAD. And it's important to see the difference. One is the type of leadership where you fight to be on the top of the podium. The somebody. The one who gets remembered. Faster, stronger, higher. The other is more like the coach, the one who builds others up. And Paul points out some of the key differences between the two. The fundamental differences between what the WORLD says being number one looks like. And what GOD SAYS.
If we look at 10:10 they're accusing Paul of talking tough in his letters, but being a wuss in person. Read it with me for some say 'his letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.'
They're saying that leadership should be imposing. A strong leader has to be intimidating and impressive in his use of authority. It's like his followers should be scared of him. But Paul, he's just like the dog on the other side of the fence - all bark and no bite, So in reality, he's WEAK.
In grade six and seven I had a teacher by the name of Mr Treloar. Mr Treloar apart form having a really scary name the most imposing, intimidating man I had come across. He could kill you by looking at you. I think his motto was learn or burn. It wasn't just me, the teachers were scared of him as well.
But Paul's not like that at all. If you read right through the letters to the Corinthians, you get this overwhelming sense of Paul's love for them, his concern at the sin in their lives and for the desire to see them become mature in Christ. He's more like a parent than a ruler. Listen to this from ch 6 verse 12. He says- 6:12:
We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange - I speak as to my children - open wide your hearts also.
And just have a look ahead at ch 12 and verse 14:
12:14 what I want is not your possessions but you. After all children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well.So he says - 'think of me as your dad, not your boss. And whatever he does, he does for their building up, that's where his authority is. And he says that VERY CLEARLY here in chapter 10 and verse 8. He HAS authority. But look what he wants to use it for. It's AUTHORITY FROM JESUS. But it's for a purpose:
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.
Like every dad, he does what is best for his kids. If he needs to be harsh, he will. But it will be for building them up. Like your dad used to say - 'this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you'. And he means it!! The whole reason he writes weighty letters is because he wants them to turn back from their sinful ways so he doesn't have to punish them.
Look at 10:1 You can see what I'm saying:
10:1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ I APPEAL TO YOU
10 :2 I BEG YOU that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.
That's the voice of a dad who loves his kids isn't it? Wanting what's best for them.
And it's not strange that that, reflects exactly how our heavenly dad behaves towards us, his kids. The way he gently leads us and guides us in the way we should go. The way he pleads with us to turn from our sin.
Paul says it's not about being tough, it' s about loving leadership and guidance.
What about the statement that Paul is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing. You can see it there in the second half of verse 10.
To these guys appearances were everything. They would have been wearing their Armani robes and their Gucci sandals. Dressed to impress. Public speakers in those days trained themselves physically and in their speech for hours and hours so they would look and sound impressive. And that was one of the powers they had. The power of persuasion. The power to IMPRESS in every way they could. And as far as they could see, Paul didn't have speech or looks. Compared to them, he was a nobody.
Paul's says its not important to rely on looks or clever speech. This is what he says back in 1 Cor 2:2 he says:
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that you faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on Gods' power.
So its almost like he turned the charm dial down, just so the gospel was in the limelight, not him. And even the demonstrations of the spirits' power wasn't something that gave glory to Paul, it gave glory to God.
It's not about looking good, its about turning peoples attention to Jesus.
So in the red corner, looking grand in their fine apparel, sounding great in their speech, they're tough, they're forceful, they're impressive looking, they can talk to God. They'll take you higher. The Mohammed Ali's of Christian leadership. It's the SUPER APOSTLES.
And in the Blue corner we have the other guy. In his own words he knows nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. He comes in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. He is Paul the tentmaker.
You'd have to think that the false apostles have got it sewn up in round 1. This guy can't be a threat. We'll be the new head honchos around here.
If you have a look at 10:3 Paul talks about competing by a different standard.
And in 10:3 he says:
I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with ARE NOT the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
They think that their accusations will be a knockout blow. But Paul isn't going down. I wasn't trying to win the title of Most Impressive, I was never in the race for best performer. I wanted to win the hearts and minds of the Corinthians, and I do that by the power of the gospel. Not by the standards of this world. It reminds me of Jesus when the priests and soldiers came to take him away and someone with Jesus drew his sword. Jesus said 'put it away' the war is not won like this. And Jesus then demonstrated how the war was to be won by the power of the cross. Loving leadership was never demonstrated more powerfully than on that day. Paul knew the power of the gospel. It demolished his rebellious heart toward God. It took captive his thoughts, and made them obedient to Christ. And if you and I are Christians, we know that too. In the end the meekness and gentleness of Christ is a stronger weapon than the powers of the false apostles.
And that's why Paul can say with such confidence that he expects those Corinthians who truly accepted the gospel, whose sinful lives were turned around, to be obedient to Jesus. and when he says punish every act of disobedience, I think that means showing these false apostles the door. Have NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.
It's obvious that some of the Corinthians are starting to believe the false apostles. They think they're better than Paul too; to which he says stop looking just on the surface, we all belong to Christ.
10:7 You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he.
If anyone is someone special, if anyone has reason to think that they are some kind of super christian, Paul does. Jesus himself appeared to HIM, HE does miracles on Jesus authority. But he says its NOT about climbing over the top of each other. If anything, we need to think of others as better than ourselves. And it's a real danger for us isn't it, getting into that - who is the best christian thing. Who prays the best, who is a leader in youth group, and for our pastors and ministers, they have to be very careful they don't get caught up in the super christian mind set. If you want to compete with each other, compete for best servant. Remember competing for the purpose of making you look good is STUPID.
And that brings us down to the last thing Paul talks about. He's fed up with the comparisons. Stop it already! he says. Enough! You've forced me into it. You've made me into a fool. You've forced me to do what I hate. To compare myself like they do. But if it will shut you up - here goes.
11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites. So am I. Are they Abrahams' descendants, so am I.
Get the picture? He goes on. Can't stop him now. I have worked much harder, been in prison more, been flogged more severely, been exposed to death again and again. v27 I have laboured and toiled, gone without sleep. I have hungered and thirsted and gone without food. And he goes on and on about the things he suffered for the gospel.
But then in v 30 he says, "If I must boast, I will boast of things that show my weakness."
In other words - all that is rubbish, it's useless unless it has value in building people up. in other words, the ANZ ads got it all wrong. Its better to be the supporter than the star. So stop comparing, and start serving. It's a strong message.
Well that's because this is serious stuff. Paul says that if we listen to these false apostles the Corinthians are in danger, and we're in danger of being deceived just like Eve.
3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. …
Because when you take your eyes off the central message of Christs' life, death and resurrection you're in deep water. Paul talks about this stuff as all being part of Satan's plan. They call themselves SUPER APOSTLES. Paul calls them Satans' messengers. FALSE apostles. And their message leads to pride, their message leads to impurity, their message leads to sexual sin and wild living. But Paul's plan for the Cor and God's plan for us is that we reach spiritual maturity. And that's not about being more spiritual, seeing more visions, being a somebody. It's about reflecting the life of the one who had it all and layed it down to serve others.
So you and I have to look for leaders like that, and if we want to be effective Christians, ones with the authority to build people up, we have to take our eyes off the podium finish, with the crowd cheering. Fight the fight with the weapons we've been given. Keep your eyes on the cross of Christ. The Lord of all made a nobody for our sakes.