2nd Corinthians Lesson 6

2 Corinthians 1:10-

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

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Lesson Transcript

Opening

Good evening. Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians. We’re still in chapter 1. We’ll be picking up with verse 10, where we left off last week. I’m going to have to pick up the pace a little bit. We have through the end of September for these first three chapters, and we’re still in chapter one. So we will probably pick up a little bit, but maybe not tonight. So we’ll see.

Verse 10 - God’s Deliverance

Verse 10: Right before verse 10, where we talked about last time, we heard up from Paul about some horrible event that had happened to him in Asia. And in fact, it caused him to despair even of his life. And he talked about how horrible it was. We didn’t know what it was, but we knew the effect it had on the Apostle Paul. And he’s continuing with that discussion here in verse 10. But here he’s talking about being delivered from that horrible calamity by God.

“Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, and whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.”

God delivered Paul from that sentence of death, as he described it, that he was facing. Here he describes it as “so great a death.” Paul, it seems, had seen no way out of this situation, but God had delivered him from it. And you’ll notice that it’s not just past tense, it’s “God doth deliver,” and “he will yet deliver.” It’s past, present, and future. All mentioned in this one verse.

God delivers his people. As we saw last week, God raises the dead. Those are facts to build your life around.

Biblical Hope vs. Vague Wishes

And once again, here we see the word hope or trust, as it may be translated. And once again, we’ll point out that that’s not just some vague wish, like I wish it would rain. But it’s a firm and knowing expectation. That’s what the biblical hope is that we see here and elsewhere when Paul talks about hope. We don’t just wish for deliverance. We hope for it. We trust God for it. We have a knowing and sure expectation of it, much more than just a vague wish.

And there’s a lesson here for us, too. No matter how dark things seem, no matter how far we seem to fall, no matter how much pressure is on us, no matter what we face in this life. God delivers his people. God will deliver his children. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30, verse 5.

Paul’s Purpose in Sharing His Suffering

Why did Paul include this discussion here? Well, remember the context. He was being attacked by false apostles who were in fact using Paul’s suffering against him. They were pointing to the suffering and saying, look, that’s evidence that God is not on Paul’s side because he’s suffering. In other words, if God were on his side, then he wouldn’t be going through any of this suffering.

But far from calling his apostleship into question, as they were doing with that, Paul is explaining here that his past deliverance and his present deliverance in the midst of this suffering, he’s explaining that that’s how God was displaying His willingness and His ability to deliver His people and provide them comfort. Paul’s experience in Asia was a lesson. It was an object lesson of the divine faithfulness, the divine power that was portrayed in the cross and in the resurrection of Christ.

To reject Paul because he suffered was to reject Christ because Christ also suffered. It’s to reject the entire gospel. And that’s the point that Paul is making here and will continue to make throughout this letter.

The Theme Continues

Keep in mind the theme of this letter, strength through weakness. Paul was comforted in the midst of this adversity. What is that? That’s strength through weakness, comfort through adversity. That’s the theme of this letter: the paradox of strength from weakness. And we’re seeing it already here at the beginning of this chapter.

Two False Extremes About Suffering

You know, there are two false extremes when it comes to suffering in the life of a Christian. On the one hand, some people see the gospel as just some kind of a coping mechanism to help us deal with and accept suffering in life as if that’s all it’s there for. No. Yes, the gospel can help us understand suffering. The gospel can help us deal with suffering, but it’s so much more than just a coping mechanism.

And as for accepting suffering and death, keep in mind what Paul told us back in 1 Corinthians 15. There, Paul described death as a what? As an enemy. As an enemy. And we don’t just cope with it. We fight back against an enemy. So we don’t just need to accept suffering and death, but we need to understand it, understand its role and its place. And how the gospel can give it meaning and help us understand it. But the gospel is not just some way for us to cope.

On the other hand, the other extreme, you get the health and wealth gospel that we’ve talked about. And that’s the view that true Christians don’t suffer at all. And if you’re suffering, that means you’re not a true Christian. And as we’ve said, you can hear that on the TV every day. That’s what these false apostles were saying. That’s a first century heresy that we see today on the TV. They’re saying Paul’s not a true apostle because he suffered. That’s the health and wealth gospel, and that’s the opposite end of that spectrum.

We need to be careful. We avoid those extremes. We need to view suffering and hardships in the right way. And there’s probably no better explanation of that right way, that right view, than what we see here in 2 Corinthians. Because comfort, strength through weakness, suffering, those are the main themes of 2 Corinthians. So if you want to understand suffering in the life of a Christian, you go to 2 Corinthians.

Verse 11 - The Role of Prayer

Verse 11: “Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf.”

Well, what role did the Corinthians play in all of this? Were they just passively sitting by on the sideline? Were they just spectators? And the answer is no, they were praying for Paul, at least those who were supporting Paul. As we’ve seen, the Corinthians seem to have been divided into two camps when it came to Paul, but those who were supporting Paul were praying for him, and those prayers were heard.

The gift that Paul received had come to him through the prayers of many. And of course, here’s another lesson for us about the power of prayer and the importance of prayer. And after we’ve been delivered from some situation or some illness through the power of prayer, we should thank God, of course, for that. But we should also remember to thank those who were praying on our behalf. They also deserve our thanks.

And likewise, those who have been praying for that deliverance should give thanks to God when they witness it. They’ve been praying for it. It’s happened. Give thanks to God. Everyone, the one that’s delivered, the one praying for it, they should all give thanks to God for that deliverance. And that’s what was happening here in Corinth.

Moving into the Body of the Letter

Now, as we move into verse 12, we’re getting into the body of the letter. We’ve been in the introduction for the last month and a half, I guess, but we’re now moving into the body of the letter in verse 12. And this body of this letter is going to start a lengthy section that’s going to be dealing with all these accusations that have been leveled against Paul by these false apostles. They’ve been leveled against his character, they’ve been leveled against his conduct, all sorts of things.

Now, by the time that Paul wrote this letter, 2 Corinthians, He had already heard a good report from Titus that most of the Corinthians had been reconciled to Paul, that most of them, in fact, had turned away from the false apostles, and he knew that by the time he wrote this. You can see it in chapter 7, verse 7: “When he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me, so that I rejoice the more.” Paul knew that when he’s writing this letter.

The Accusations Against Paul

Yet, because Paul had changed some of his plans, and in particular some of his travel plans, the Corinthians, it seems, at least some of them had become suspicious about Paul. Now it may be that some of those who had become suspicious by this time had repented of that and were now back on Paul’s side, but I’m sure many of the ones who were against Paul remained suspicious. And I’m sure they were suspicious with the help of these false apostles, feeding and fueling that suspicion.

They were suspicious of his motives, Paul’s motives. They accused him of duplicity, of double-mindedness, and especially with regard to his travel plans. Why, for example, did Paul delay his third visit? Why, instead of coming to Corinth, did Paul write that tearful letter after his painful second visit? And then, why did he go to Macedonia first instead of coming directly to Corinth?

Paul’s motives regarding the Jerusalem collection, I think, were also under attack here. These false apostles seem to have been accusing Paul of wanting to embezzle the contribution. And on what basis did they make a charge like that? Well, in 1 Corinthians 9:15 through 18, you’ll recall that Paul had refused support from the Corinthians. He said, I don’t want support from the Corinthians, from you, he said.

But in 2 Corinthians 11, we’re going to find out that Paul had accepted support from the Macedonians. So he didn’t want support from the Corinthians. He did accept support from the Macedonians. And in 1 Corinthians 16, we find that Paul had instructed the Corinthians to take a collection for Jerusalem.

The False Logic

Okay, will you take all those facts and put them together in a suspicious, false apostle’s mind? And what comes out is that Paul is planning to take the collection for himself. That he’s just making the Corinthians think he’s not getting support from them for some reason. He’s getting them to get a collection together, and then he’s going to run off with the collection.

Of course not. We know, of course not. But the false apostles had planted that view. Why do we say of course not? Because we know the Apostle Paul. We know Paul. We’ve studied Paul all our lives. We know what kind of person Paul is. And that is precisely why Paul is so hurt here. Because the Corinthians should also have known that. They also knew the Apostle Paul. They also should have looked at those false apostles and said, what are you talking about? You think Paul is stealing the contribution? How ridiculous is that? That’s how they should have reacted. But they didn’t. Apparently, a lot of them believed those false apostles. And that’s one reason Paul is so hurt when he’s writing this letter.

Paul’s Strategy

Now, before his next visit, which will be his third visit, Paul needs to handle this situation. He needs to handle these accusations. He needs to clear up these misunderstandings. He doesn’t want a repetition of the catastrophe that occurred on his second visit when apparently he was confronted by one of those false apostles and all sorts of bad things happened. It was a brief second visit, which we’ve studied.

So, Paul is going to clear all that up before he comes again, which will be his third visit. Paul is going to refute the accusations that he’s unreliable, particularly with regard to these changes in his travel plans. He’s going to say, no, he’s going to say, this is all grounded in my apostolic commission. He’s going to say, and he’s going to remind them that he’s an apostle, comes from God. And he’s going to declare that, second, that he was faithful to that commission. And that he changed his plans when the situation changed. That’s what caused the plans to change. And he’s going to explain all that in verses 12 and following.

Verse 12 - Paul’s Clear Conscience

Verse 12: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly to you-ward.”

Paul begins this section with just a general declaration of his innocence. He says that his conscience is clear, both in the world in general and with the Corinthians in particular. He has a clear conscience. Paul refutes these false charges by appealing to the witness of his conscience here.

Now, he’s made similar appeals elsewhere. Romans 9, verse 1, for example: “I say the truth in Christ. I lie not, my conscience also bears me witness in the Holy Ghost.”

The Role of Conscience

The conscience, as we know, is our faculty for self-critical examination. And in a sense, it can act as an independent judge. It can act as an independent judge over our behavior. It can be, in that sense, called to testify. Did we violate our conscience or did we not violate our conscience? Paul here says his conscience is clear.

Now, the cynic among us might ask, when was Paul’s conscience not clear? Because as we read in Acts 23, verse 1: “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day,” which included the period of time in which he was actively persecuting the church. He was living in good conscience.

Well, Paul well knew better than most that our conscience can deceive us. He made that very point, in fact, in the first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 4, verse 4: “For I am not aware of anything against me, but I am not thereby acquitted,” he writes, “it is the Lord who judges me.” In other words, his conscience is not going to determine his fate.

Our conscience, as we know, can become seared with a hot iron, 1 Timothy 4:2. So, how then can Paul depend on his conscience here? How can he call it to testify?

Conscience as Indicator, Not Guide

It can be trusted because Paul is not using his conscience as his guide. God was Paul’s guide. His conscience simply told him whether he was following that guide. And that’s what he’s calling it to testify to. Was I following the counsel of God or not? He’s calling his conscience to testify to that fact.

Jiminy Cricket gave very bad advice when he said, “Let your conscience be your guide.” The conscience is not a guide. The conscience is not a source of truth. The Word of God fulfills those roles. And we err when we replace the Word of God with anything, including our conscience, as so many in the world today have done. They’ve replaced the Word of God with their seared conscience.

The conscience is not a map. The conscience doesn’t tell us where to go and how to get there. The conscience is more like those lane bumps that when you get out of the right lane, they let you know and they start bumping. That’s the conscience. But the conscience is not the map. It’s just kind of keeping you in the right lane. The Word of God is the map.

Paul wants the Corinthians to know that his conscience is clear in this matter. Can they say the same? I think is the unwritten question here that Paul’s asking them.

Simplicity and Sincerity

Paul writes, “in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we had our conversation in this world.” What does that mean? Well, some of the ancient manuscripts in place of simplicity have the word holiness. And some commentaries think that has better support, and others say the other, both are true. We know Paul lived in both simplicity and also in holiness.

Paul’s point here is simple. And it’s the same exact point that Jesus made in Matthew 7, verse 20: “Wherefore by their fruits you will know them.” That’s the point. By their fruits, you will know them. Paul is saying here that his outward behavior is confirming his truthfulness. Could those false apostles say the same thing? That’s the unwritten question there.

Paul did not live his life according to fleshly wisdom, according to worldly wisdom. He lived his life in simplicity, in holiness, in godly sincerity by the grace of God. And, friends, if we do that today, as Paul was doing then, we will always have a sharp contrast with this world. Always, both then and now, that will present such a sharp contrast with the values of this world.

Verse 13 - Transparency in Writing

Verse 13: “For we write none other things unto you than what you read or acknowledge, and I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end.”

Verse 14: “As also you have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

Well, evidently the Corinthians had charged Paul with having a hidden agenda in his letters, or some of them had anyway. They would say, he wrote one thing, but he did something else. The problem was not that Paul’s letters were difficult to understand. That’s a problem that’s mentioned elsewhere. The problem that’s mentioned here, they’re saying, is that, look, they’re not difficult to understand. Instead, they’re deceptive. “You have deceived us with what you wrote,” apparently, some were charging Paul.

Well, of course, Paul denies that charge. Wasn’t true at all. And he’s saying, look, the motives are transparent. They’re for all to read, all to understand. Paul writes here: the Corinthians had already understood him in part. Now, I don’t think that means that the Corinthians had just understood part of what he wrote. I think that means only part of the Corinthians had understood it. The others had not understood it, those that were still opposed to him.

Now, Paul can already rejoice in the Corinthians. And he expects to be able to do so, it says here, until the day of the Lord. Paul expects that by the day of the Lord at the latest, these Corinthians are all going to understand what’s going on here. Now, with some of them, it may not be until the day of the Lord, but then at least they’re going to understand. I think that’s the point Paul’s making here. Eventually, they’re going to understand this thing. Maybe the end of the world, but they’re going to understand at some point. Paul is confident they’ll understand it eventually.

Paul’s Boasting vs. False Apostles’ Boasting

Now, in verse 14, in most translations, instead of the word rejoicing, you see the word boasting. Boasting. English Standard, for example, says that “on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.” Was it right for Paul to boast? Was it ever right to boast?

Paul’s rivals, the false apostles, we know they were very boastful because that’s how they operated. That’s how they got students. That’s how they made a living. They boasted about themselves constantly. And in doing so, they belittled Paul. And we see that here also.

Paul’s boasting is so very different from that. And I think he’s using this word here to show the Corinthians the contrast. He’s telling them, look, you’re used to these boastful, false apostles. Let me tell you what I boast in. Let me tell you what you should be boasting in.

Paul boasted in the things of God. We read about it, for example, in Galatians 6:14: “But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul wrote. Jeremiah 9, 23 through 24 talks about this: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, saith the Lord.”

That passage from Jeremiah 9, it’s cited later in this letter to 2 Corinthians, chapter 10, verses 17 and 18: “But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord,” Paul writes. That’s from Jeremiah 9. “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.” Let him glory in the Lord. And that’s what Paul was boasting in.

Paul did not boast, nor did he ask others to boast, in the great Apostle Paul. No. Paul boasted, and he wanted others to boast, in God who could use the weak thorn afflicted, suffering Paul to convince, to convert, and to comfort the Corinthians. That was the boasting that Paul’s talking about here.

Verse 15-16 - Paul’s Travel Plans

Verse 15: “And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that you might have a second benefit,”

Verse 16: “And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and you to be brought on my way toward Judea.”

In these verses Paul begins to explain these changes in his travel plans, which it seems had been blown out of all proportion, all possible proportions, and Paul is going to explain them here. If you’ve ever had someone follow you around putting a bad spin on every single thing you do, you weren’t the first. That’s what’s happening to Paul here. The false apostles are looking at every single thing he does, and they’re putting the worst possible spin on it. And some of the Corinthians were believing them.

Now, initially, Paul had planned to visit Macedonia first and then go to Corinth for an extended stay in Corinth. Paul talks about that in 1 Corinthians 16, 5 through 7. In his itinerary here, though, in verses 15 and 16, Paul outlines two visits to Corinth, one directly after sailing from Ephesus, and the other following a visit to Macedonia. And in this way, the Corinthians could then send him on his way to Judea with the collection.

It seems his original plan to tarry for a while in Corinth with the Corinthians had been changed. And the false apostles, it seemed, had latched on to that and said, “Look, that’s a sign of Paul’s contempt for you. He was going to come stay with you for a long while. Now he’s just going to show up long enough to pick up the money.” That’s what they were saying. And Paul is here having to explain his changes in his travel plans.

The “Second Benefit”

Verse 15 ends with a difficult phrase. It’s caused all sorts of false doctrines and things to come up with, which we’re not going to deal with all of those, but it’s the phrase, in many translations, it’s called a “second grace.” A second grace. In the King James, as I read, it was a second benefit. It’s been translated in a variety of different ways: a second experience of grace, twice receive a blessing, a double favor, a second opportunity. Commentaries have given all different sorts of views about it.

I think the most likely view is that Paul’s visit to them would result in a second or double spiritual blessing for them, for the Corinthians. And I think that’s what’s really being talked here. The double benefit, I think, here refers not to his second visit, in other words, that that was the double benefit in relation to the founding visit, but rather to the two stopovers he planned to make in Corinth in accordance with his revised travel plans.

In that case, the Corinthians would have a double benefit because Paul would have made Corinth both the starting and the finishing point for this collection, and the Corinthians would have had two opportunities to contribute to it.

Verse 17 - Rhetorical Questions

Verse 17: “When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness, or the things that I purpose? Do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay?”

Well, here we get some rhetorical questions from Paul, and Paul draws a conclusion from what he said about his changed travel plans in verses 15 and 16. A conclusion that reflects the charges that have been leveled against him by the Corinthians. And of course, these rhetorical questions expect negative answers.

When Paul revised his itinerary, he did not do so lightly. He did not do so capriciously. He did not do so double-mindedly. He had a definite purpose in changing his travel plans: to give the Corinthians a double opportunity to participate in this collection.

And second, Paul’s not the kind of person who makes his plans in some worldly manner, literally according to the flesh. Later in 10, verse 2, Paul’s going to refer to the people of Corinth who thinks he walks according to the flesh. And he’s going to respond to that.

Yes, Yes and No, No

In verse 17, I think he’s responding to the accusation that he spoke with a forked tongue so that no one knows whether he’s saying yes or no to anything. That you can’t believe Paul. You don’t know if he’s saying yes or no.

Now, there are two general interpretations of this “yes, yes, no, no” part here in the verse. I think the better view is that it’s related to an oath. In fact, they found this in other literature of the time, that it was kind of an oath formula, that when you took an oath, you would say, “yes, yes.” Or you would say no, you’d repeat the yes when you took the oath, or you would repeat the no here when you took the oath. And I think that’s likely what’s going on here with regard to the yes, yes, and the no, no.

In effect, Paul is answering this charge that he was vacillating in his travel plans by stating that the Corinthians have forced him into establishing the truth by taking an oath, by saying, “yes, yes, no, no,” taking an oath here.

Verse 18 - Paul’s Oath?

Verse 18: “But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.”

Well, it looks like he is taking an oath here in verse 18. “As God is true,” he says. And then he says something based upon his statement that as God is true, then the following: our word was not yea and nay. Paul is invoking God as his witness here. And he’s speaking the truth and invoking God as His witness.

Now this looks a lot like an oath, doesn’t it? But how can Paul really connect his own truthfulness here with God’s faithfulness? Is in fact Paul taking an oath here? And if so, what do we say about Matthew 5, 33 and 37? What do we say about James 5, verse 12, and oath-taking?

Next Week

And we will pick up with that question next week. Thank you very much for your attention. When we get to the end of chapter 1, I am going to ask for questions and comments. Free to make them at any time, but like we did when we studied Daniel, I’ll stop at each chapter and specifically ask for them. Thank you very much. Let’s have our closing prayer.