2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER
12:11-21, “Fool’s Speech Part 4: The
Fear Of Not Meeting Each Other’s Expectations”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we continued to look at Paul’s “Fool’s Speech,” and
we saw that he brought it to a climax as he told us about his own visions and
revelations that he had received from the Lord and yet how that the Lord had
allowed an infirmity to remain in his life so that he would not be lifted up in
pride because of those visions. Then,
1.1.1. Paul then told us that how
that power comes through our weakness
1.1.2. Paul climaxed his argument
in his “Fool’s Speech” by saying that he would therefore glory in his
weaknesses that the power of God might be made strong in his life
1.1.3. We saw that in the New
Testament, looking at the lives of Paul, Trophimus, and Epaphroditus, that we
Christians are not guaranteed that the Lord will always answer our prayer for
ourselves or someone else to be healed, for when we pray for healing sometimes
the Lord heals, sometimes He says no choosing not to heal, and sometimes He
will heal but not right now (we saw this with Epaphroditus who had an extended
illness that he almost died from then the Lord finally had mercy on him and
allowed him to be healed), and sometimes the Lord chooses to heal
1.1.3.1.I grieve at some Christian
leaders and groups who, when the Lord has chosen not to heal someone who has
been prayed for, they claim that the person praying for the healing either
doesn’t have enough faith to be healed or has sin in his life, and this is the
reason that the Lord has not healed. The
scriptures do not support the notion that the Lord will always heal us when we
have confessed our sins and pray in faith, and this type of condemning attitude
in some Christian groups has damaged the faith of many a Christian who, like
Paul, the Lord chose not to heal when he was prayed for
1.1.3.1.1.If anyone had great faith
and walked a sanctified life forsaking the path of sin and rebellion against
the Lord, it was the apostle Paul.
However, because the Lord was doing a work in his character He chose not
to heal Paul of what he has called this “thorn in the flesh” that he had. We saw in our last study that in the book of
Acts that during this time period when Paul wrote this letter that he was
praying for others and they were healed, and yet he himself was not healed
1.1.3.2.We looked at specific
examples from my own life of how the Lord uses my weaknesses, specifically in
relation to not being a morning person and getting up in the morning, to cause
me to look to Him and His power to fill me
1.1.3.2.1.In Paul’s life, we have seen
so many of his weaknesses, all of whom were being used by the Lord in his life
to bring him to the point of looking to the Lord to be his help, hope, and
strength. We’ve seen Paul express
weakness as a result of pain, depression that often experienced, persecution,
hunger, thirst, danger in his travels, temptation, disappointment, grief,
sleepiness, being too cold or too hot, and even nakedness. Any and every weakness that we experience in
our lives ought to cause us to look to the Lord to be our strength, help and
hope
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look at the last section of Paul’s
“Fool’s Speech” which has been called it’s epilogue. Paul is expressing that he is concerned that
when he comes to them that those who are in sin will not have repented and that
he and the Corinthians will not be what each expects of the other and that
there will be many fleshly reactions by them at that time
1.2.1. We will look today at the reactions
which come from us as a result of walking according to the flesh, or fleshing
out, verses the reactions that come from us when we are walking filled with the
Holy Spirit
1.2.2. We will see also that
sometimes we Christian do not match up to the expectations of others, even
those of some Christians, however sometimes the motivations of those people are
not from God because they are walking according to the flesh instead of by the
Holy Spirit and His filling and leading
2.
VS 12:11 - “11 I have
become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been
commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent
apostles, even though I am a nobody.” - Paul
admits having become foolish in his letter to the Corinthians but shames them
for not commending him as they should have done
2.1.
Paul admits his foolishness here for boasting about himself as he has done in this
letter, although we know that Paul had been ‘compelled’ to boast
about himself in this way in order to defend himself against the
“super-apostles” in the Corinthian church who were constantly boasting about
themselves and yet were his critics.
2.2.
Paul shames the Corinthians also because they knew better than what they were
doing. Why didn’t they commend Paul
to these “super-apostles” who were constantly criticizing Paul before the
church? Shame on them!
2.2.1. Didn’t the Corinthians owe
their very lives to Paul and his preaching of the gospel to them?
2.2.2. Wasn’t it Paul who had
sacrificed and laid his life down for the Corinthians to such a degree in seeing
that the Corinthian church got a proper foundation in Christ?
2.3.
Paul tells the Corinthians that he was in no way inferior to the
“super-apostles,” and we have to say that Paul was in no way inferior to, not only
this group of self-proclaimed “super-apostles,” but also to any of the other 11
“Capital-A” apostles called by Jesus Christ.
2.3.1. Paul will go on and makes
this very point by asking rhetorically whether or not it the deeds that proved
apostleship were performed at his hands.
2.4.
Paul reveals his true
humility by saying that though he was not in any way inferior to the
greatest of apostles, none-the-less, he was ‘a nobody.’ Paul knew that he was just a guy that the
Lord happened to choose to use in a great way, however God could have picked
anyone else and used them just as greatly.
The greatness does not reside in the one gifted, you see, but in the
gifter!
3.
VS 12:12 - “12 The
signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by
signs and wonders and miracles.” - Paul gives
further proof of his calling as an apostle by telling the Corinthians that ‘the
signs of a true apostle were performed’ among them
3.1.
In the New Testament, we see that the Lord granted special anointing
to and worked in a powerful way in the lives of those who were part of His
group of 12 “Capital A” apostles. The
New Testament also tells us of the incredible miraculous works of power
accomplished through Paul and his ministry, showing indication of the Lord’s
choosing him to be a “Capital A” apostle:
3.1.1. In Heb. 2:3-4, the author
of that book writes about how that the Lord confirmed the message of
the gospel preached by the apostles by providing incredible signs and
miracles, “3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by
those who heard,4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders
and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own
will.”
3.1.2. In Rom. 15:18-19, Paul
wrote about how that the Lord had worked mightily through him in ‘signs and
wonders’ and in the ‘power of the Spirit,’ “18 For I will not presume
to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting
in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,19 in the power of signs and
wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as
far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”
3.1.3. In Acts 19:11-12, we
read of extraordinary miracles being performed through Paul and that so many
people were healed through his ministry and prayers that people in Ephesus
stole his handkerchiefs and aprons believing that if they just touched them
they would be healed, and they were healed by the Lord in doing this, “11
And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,12 so
that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and
the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.”
3.1.4. In 1 Cor. 9:2, Paul
wrote about how that the church in
3.2.
There has been a modern day trend in the church in recent years where
leaders have claimed that the Lord was restoring the office of apostle as He
had done with the early church, however this movement has sort of fizzled because
the Lord has not worked in such a powerful way in men’s lives in our day as He
did in the book of Acts of the early church.
I do not believe that the Lord will restore this office of a “Capital
A” apostle either because His purpose in gifting these “Capital A” apostles
as He did in the early church was to show His approval and inauguration of His
church and the gospel message itself.
3.2.1. Today, there are many lower
case “a” apostles though who are being sent out all over the world to perform
ground breaking ministry work for the Lord.
3.3.
Interestingly, Paul mentions here that not only were signs and
wonders performed through his hands because of his calling of apostleship by
Christ, but he also ‘persevered’ in the performing of those signs and
wonders. In other words, the
miracles weren’t just a one time shot that someone could construe to have come
about coincidentally, but rather they continued to occur throughout the time
of Paul’s year and a half ministry in
4.
VS 12:13 - “13 For in
what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except
that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!” - Paul asks the Corinthians to demonstrate to
him how in any way their church had been treated or considered inferior to any
of the other churches, except for the fact that he had not allowed them to
support him financially?
4.1.
Paul is evidently responding to the fact that some in the church had
said that Paul must not have allowed the Corinthians to support him financially
because he didn’t trust their motives for doing so.
4.2.
We know that the church was hurt because many did want to
financially support Paul, their pastor, and some had felt that Paul must
not love them if he didn’t let them support him.
4.3.
It is a bit ironic that Paul would spare the church in
4.4.
Ironically, Paul asks the church to forgive him the wrong of not allowing them to
financially support him. Paul had
done them no wrong, but he felt that if they accepted his apology perhaps
his relationship with the Corinthians could be healed.
4.4.1. Apologizing to someone when
you know that you really aren’t in the wrong is sometimes the wise and mature
thing to do, plus it demonstrates humility.
Apologizing in this way can be used by the Lord to defuse a situation
and bring reconciliation. This was
exactly what Paul was attempting to do here.
5.
VS 12:14-15a - “14 Here
for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to
you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible
to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 And I will most gladly spend and be
expended for your souls.” - Paul tells the Corinthians
that he is ready to come to them again and that yet again he will not be a
burden financially to them
5.1.
Paul speaks as a parent would speak to the Corinthians in these
verses. Parents have a responsibility,
as well as an instinct, to provide for and encourage their children until they fully get on
their own feet and established in their own family. As the one who had led the Corinthians to
Christ and saw that their church was planted, Paul felt a great parental love
for the Corinthians. They were his
children in the Lord, and he felt that it was his responsibility to care for
and take care of the Corinthians, not visa versa.
5.2.
In my life, I have been humbled by the love of my parents as well as my
parents-in-law. To this day, both my dad and my
father-in-law will never let myself or my wife pick up a restaurant tab. They both have given so much to my wife and I
over the years. This past week was my
father’s birthday, and I found a card for him that perfectly fit what I
wanted to say to him, but also had some humor in it. The front cover said, “Dad, you just give,
give, give.” On the inside it says, “I’m
just glad that I could be there for you in those times!”
5.3.
Paul would pay his own way to
6.
VS 12:15b - “If I love
you the more, am I to be loved the less?” -
Paul asks a question that brings up another irony, he is puzzled about
the fact that the more that he loves them the less they seem to love him in
return
6.1.
This verse really brings out the real problem in the Corinthian
church. They were lacking in the love of
God.
6.1.1. Paul had brought out in 1
Corinthians how that they were walking according to the flesh, and that this was so
clearly seen in the fact that the church was divided up into various groups
claiming to be of Paul, Peter, Apollos, Christ, etc.
6.1.2. Because they were for the
most part walking in the flesh, thus they were not filled with the love of
God.
6.2.
This brings up the point that at times we Christians are not going
to be able to meet people’s expectations for us, even those of Christian
brothers and sisters, because their expectations do not come not from God
but because they were walking according to the flesh. Sometimes people can be completely
unreasonable and cannot be pleased no matter what we do. We’ve all experienced this at some point in
time, and it is very difficult to deal with.
6.2.1. This fact though doesn’t
excuse us from loving and serving as Christ would have us to do. Just because someone else “fleshes out,” so
to speak, it doesn’t mean that we have any excuse for fleshing out ourselves.
6.3.
We Christians also need to realize that we are setting ourselves up to
be disappointed whenever we allow ourselves to place expectations upon others, especially those whom we
love. People are just people and will
often let us down in our expectations.
It is best for us if we just try to love others and not expect anything in
return, and then just be thankful when the reciprocate their love to us.
6.3.1. I know this can be hard to
do, but it is the best way to go usually, and one thing about it is that you’ll
never be disappointed this way. You
might however be pleasantly surprised.
6.3.2. Husbands and wives sometimes
get in a catch-22 where they refuse to fulfill their responsibility that the
Lord would have them to do as a spouse until they feel that their spouse has
met their expectations.
6.3.3. It is essential for a healthy
marriage for a person to love and treat their spouse as the Lord would have
them to do, regardless of the fact that their spouse is not meeting their
expectations as they should. If you
work on yourself, I believe that the Lord will begin to work on your spouse and
his/her responsibilities in the marriage.
7.
VS 12:16-18 - “16 But
be that as it may, I did not burden you myself; nevertheless, crafty fellow
that I am, I took you in by deceit.17 Certainly I have not taken advantage of
you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I?18 I urged Titus to
go, and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did
he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?” - Paul tells the Corinthians that not only did
he never take advantage of the Corinthians, but neither have any of those sent
to them by him done so
7.1.
To answer the criticism of him that some in the church in Corinth had made that
Paul was actually deceiving them by saying that he was not taking any money
from them for his financial support, for he must be getting their money
somehow funneled back to him, Paul responds by saying that not only did he
never allow himself to receive financial support from the Corinthians, but he
didn’t even allow any of the men whom he had sent to the church to receive
support from them either.
7.2.
Titus had taken Paul’s “severe letter” to the Corinthians and then
stayed with them for awhile so that he might answer any questions about the
letter and minister to the Corinthians.
However, Paul points out here that Titus hadn’t received any
financial support from the Corinthians just as Paul had done. Likewise, none of the other men sent by Paul
to the Corinthians accepted financial support from them.
7.3.
The consistency of Paul as well as all of those whom Paul had sent to the
church in not receiving financial support from the Corinthians should have
spoken volumes to the church, that is, if they would just take a minute to
think about it.
7.3.1. Unfortunately, those who are
walking in the flesh seldom are in their right mind and think rationally and in
a godly fashion about matters!
8.
VS 12:19 - “19 All
this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you.
Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and
all for your upbuilding, beloved.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that he knows that as they have been reading his letter that
they have been thinking that Paul is just trying to manipulate the situation
and defend himself, however Paul tells them that he has been speaking to them
in the sight of God and for their upbuilding
8.1.
This letter of Paul’s did not come about from his flesh and trying to
manipulate the situation to make himself look good, the way that worldly men
try to defend themselves by argument. This
letter was a work of the Holy Spirit and written straight from the love and
throne of God Himself.
8.2.
It was not Paul really who was on trial before God in this situation and with
the writing of this letter by Paul, it was the Corinthians. The response of the Corinthians to this
letter would now determine where their hearts truly were at before the Lord.
8.3.
Not only was this letter written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit
and from the love and throne of God, it was also written so that the
Corinthians could grow up and be built up in their faith. Paul had pleaded with and begged the
Corinthians to be reconciled to God for they were in danger at this point
of falling completely away from him. Now
the genuineness of their faith was to be tested by whether or not they would
humble themselves and repent of their sinful attitudes and walking in the
flesh.
9.
VS 12:20 - “20 For I
am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may
be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there may be strife,
jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;” - Paul tells the Corinthians that he is afraid
that when he comes to them that he and they will not meet each other’s
expectations and that there may be some outbursts of the flesh
9.1.
Paul is basically afraid that the church herself will not have repented
of their sinful party spirit and fleshly motivations and that when he comes to
them he is going to have to confront a church filled with a bunch of people
reacting in the flesh and with fleshly sinful attitudes.
9.1.1. Paul lists several of the
characteristics mentioned in Galatians 5:16-24 as coming from walking in the
flesh, or
old sinful nature, “16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
carry out the desire of the flesh.17 For the flesh sets its desire against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one
another, so that you may not do the things that you please.18 But if you are
led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.19 Now the deeds of the flesh are
evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,20 idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,
factions,21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I
forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law.24 Now those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.””
9.1.2. Paul wrote there in the
passage in Galatians chapter 5 about the two natures, the flesh and the Holy
Spirit (new nature), that constantly war within the Christian and the fruit that is
produces in our lives because of the influence of the control of either
nature.
9.1.3. Paul is afraid that when he
comes to them that the Corinthians are not yet going to have Christ on the
throne of their lives and thus have as their motivational force or animus their old nature
with its sinful desires and attitudes.
9.1.4. Many years ago when I was
first beginning to walk with Christ, I had spent a day with a Christian
brother, and it had truly been a blessing to fellowship together. We had had a Bible study together and prayed
and had a great time. Then, later in the
day I was driving my car with this brother and speeding and driving a little
bit recklessly as had been my habit before coming to Christ. This brother then asked me, “Jim, are you
filled with the Spirit right now?” I
answered him sheepishly, “Right now?!”
“Yes, right now,” he replied. I
felt like a kid with my hand in the cookie jar because I knew the answer to his
question. We Christians sometimes
compartmentalize our lives in such a way that we don’t think that our Christian
walk is reflected in the day to day routine things that we do. We tend to think of our Christian walk
perhaps as being those times when we are praying, reading our Bibles, attending
church, fellowshipping, etc. However,
our choice to obey Christ and to have him on the throne of our life is a
moment-by-moment decision that we make.
The fruits of either walking in the flesh or walking in the Spirit is
displayed in our life on a moment-by-moment basis, and if our life is
demonstrating the behavior that typifies the flesh then that is because at that
moment in time we have kicked Christ off of the throne of our life and chose to
let our old sinful nature reign on that throne.
We came to salvation at that moment when we let Jesus assume the throne
of our life as we yielded our life to Him, however from that moment on it is a
moment-by-moment choice that we make to submit to Him and allow Him to reign on
that throne of our life.
9.2.
We Christians must always be careful to keep the flesh in check. When our behavior reveals the works of the
flesh, then we need to realize that we are on the throne of our lives and
re-surrender the throne to Jesus.
9.3.
The various fleshly attitudes and sins that Paul is afraid that the
Corinthian’s will express are:
9.3.1. Strife.
9.3.1.1.James who wrote the book of
James in the New Testament wrote about what is the source of strife in our
lives. In James 4:1-2, James
wrote about how that quarrels and conflicts in our life are the result of our
flesh and it’s pleasures waging war against the Holy Spirit and our new nature,
“1 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the
source your pleasures that wage war in your members?2 You lust and do not have;
so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and
quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”
9.3.2. Jealousy.
9.3.2.1.We can surmise that the
“super-apostles” were jealous of the apostle Paul and how the Lord was using
him.
9.3.2.2.In the first chapter of the
book of Philippians, Paul writes about how that since he was imprisoned that
some were preaching the gospel out of envy and strife towards him because they
were jealous of Paul and his calling as the apostle to the Gentiles.
9.3.3. Angry tempers.
9.3.3.1.We can surmise that when
Paul had last visited the church in Corinth when he had returned shortly after
writing the letter of 1 Corinthians, because he knew that he had to confront
some who were living in sin, that when a man opposed Paul face to face that
there were some outbursts of anger expressed by those in the church.
9.3.4. Disputes.
9.3.4.1.In the Greek this word ‘eritheia’
means “the type of disagreements that arise from a party or factious
spirit.” This brings to mind that, as
we saw in 1 Corinthians, the Corinthian church was divided up into these
various groups who were of Paul, Peter, Apollos, Jesus, etc.
9.3.4.2.When Paul returned to the
Corinthians, he didn’t want to get into a big argument with the Corinthians about
minute details about who had done what wrong. He
knew that he could directly confront some in the church who were in sin but he
would much rather that the people in the church do their own policing and
removing of the evil that was in their midst at this point in time.
9.3.5. Slanders.
9.3.5.1.When Paul returned to the
Corinthian church, he didn’t want to have to deal with various members of the
church judging and speaking derogatorily about other members and passing around
vicious rumors. Again, he would rather have the
church take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and make people accountable for
their tongues. Then, he could come to
them in peace and they could enjoy one another’s company.
9.3.6. Gossip.
9.3.6.1.We can imagine that with the
different parties within the church that there were rumors consisting of
half-truths and complete fabrications flying all around the church. However, these things should not be within
the body of Christ. The Corinthians
needed their leaders to confront those who were gossiping about others so that
Paul wouldn’t have to hear all of the rumors when he came to them.
9.3.7. Arrogance.
9.3.7.1.There were more than a few
individuals in the church in
9.3.8. Disturbances.
9.3.8.1.Paul really didn’t want to
come to Corinth and have a bunch or even a few people make a bunch of
disturbances doing and saying things that were from the flesh nature and
inappropriate.
9.4.
Paul is afraid also that concerning him that when he comes to visit
them some in the church are still going to be critical of him, doubting his calling and
authority as an apostle of Christ, and questioning his motives.
10.
VS 12:21 - 21 I am afraid that when I come
again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those
who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and
sensuality which they have practiced. - Paul tells
the Corinthians that he is also concerned that when he comes to them again that
that the Lord may humble him when he is there and that he will mourn over those
who have not yet repented of their sins
10.1.
I have to believe that Paul was a very loving man and very sensitive to
the Lord in his life. He was very concerned that
when he came to the Corinthians that there would be people in the church
whose lives would be in such a state of sin and rebellion against the Lord that
he would be overcome by grief and be made to weep uncontrollably in front of
all. Paul may have done just this on
his previous “difficult visit” to the church.
10.2.
We believe that Paul’s difficult visit to the Corinthian church
that occurred shortly after his writing of the letter of 1 Corinthians came
about because he had found out that there were some in the church who were
committing sexual immorality, probably as a result of their involvement in
the fertility worship of Aphrodite in the Greek culture. Paul was concerned that there were still
brothers, and perhaps sisters, in the church who hadn’t repented of their sin
of committing sexual immorality.
10.2.1. There were horrible sins of
the flesh still being committed by some in the church.
10.2.2. If there were still those in
the church committing sexual immorality, Paul was ready but not looking forward
to boldly confronting them because of their sin.
10.3.
The Greek word ‘akatharsia’ that is translated ‘impurity’ here means according to
Strong’s Greek Dictionary, “uncleanness in a physical or moral sense, and if
in a moral sense then the impurity
of lustful, luxurious, or profligate living.”
10.4.
The Greek word ‘porneia’
which we have seen many times in these two letters to the Corinthians is
translated here ‘immorality,’ and the word according to Strong’s Greek
Dictionary means “any kind of sexual
intercourse which is outside of marriage.”
10.5.
The Greek word ‘aselgia’
which is translated ‘sensuality’ means according to Strong’s Greek
Dictionary “unbridled lust, excess,
licentiousness, lasciviousness, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness,
insolence.”
11.
CONCLUSION:
11.1.
Realize that whenever and wherever you are exhibiting the behavior that
is characteristic of those who are walking according to the flesh that it is
because you are walking in the flesh
11.2.
Realize that whenever you are walking in the flesh that you need to get
off of the throne and let Jesus assume that throne in your life
11.3.
Realize that you will never be able to meet the expectations of those
who are walking according to the flesh, however also realize that this doesn’t
excuse you from being obedient and fulfilling your responsibilities as a child
of God and loving and serving in humility
11.4.
Paul wrote that he felt such a great parental love for those in the
church in Corinth, however we ought to consider the fact that we Christians
have such a great loving heavenly Father.
He only desires and does those things that He knows are the very best
for us His beloved children. He also
just continues to give and give for to you His child as He is also desiring to
see that you grow up and mature into the very image of His Son, Jesus Christ