Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

“For we do not dare to classify or to compare ourselves with some who commend themselves, but they themselves, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, do not understand. But we will not boast beyond limits, but according to the measure of the assignment that God has assigned to us as a measure to reach even as far as you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, because we have reached even as far as you with the gospel of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:12-14)

Chapter nine is the completion of Paul’s plea to the Corinthian church to keep in mind the needs of the Body of Jesus – the wider world church. He isn’t looking to guilt them, but to give them the opportunity to give. Because giving as worship, with a joyful heart, opens opportunities for the giver as well as the receiver. It is a glorification of God for the profession of our trust in god to meet everyone’s needs and to be a blessing because we are blessed by God. It is one of the most edifying things we can do, and it is wrong not to give people the opportunity to give to God to help others – which is why Paul has spent so much effort on it.

Chapter ten is somewhat of a sad chapter. People had come to the church in Corinth badmouthing Paul AND his ministry. Here, Paul defends his ministry as set in place by Jesus. It isn’t that Paul is something special, but rather Jesus has allowed Paul to cooperate with Him in this ministry. They were belittling Paul and Paul was saying that he wasn’t a big deal at all anyway. It was Jesus IN Paul who was doing the work. It was Holy Spirit moving THROUGH Paul that was accomplishing the letters, the deeds, and the signs. Paul refused to boast in himself, but he boasted a LOT about the Lord.

Chapter eleven takes it a step further. Paul laid out that the false apostles (there were a LOT of apostles, but not all of them were genuine) were around for bad reasons. And it showed by their motivations and their works. Paul hadn’t boasted about himself when we was with them. Paul hadn’t been a burden to them. He wasn’t in it for the money or the glory as some were. He takes it a step further and peels back the curtain on what he has had to endure in order to participate in this ministry of Jesus. He doesn’t just go into his religious qualifications, but he points out his sufferings. He points out that it isn’t HIM who does anything, but Jesus who does it. Holy Spirit who performs it. And the Father who wills it.

Chapter twelve goes into the reasons that Paul doesn’t boast: set against what is awaiting us in Heaven, it is nothing. It is brief. It is small. But Paul acknowledged that it did make him a target. The devil sent a spirit to torment Paul to keep Paul from being held up as a good example in order to defeat the message Paul was preaching (it was NOT a physical infirmity as the Word clearly spells out – 2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul sought the Lord to remove the spirit, but Jesus told Paul that Paul ALREADY had the authority to deal with it. Paul only had to wield Jesus’ authority and it would be gone. Not by Paul’s strength or Paul’s will, but by the application of the Father’s will by Jesus’ authority through Holy Spirit’s power (Matthew 6:10). Paul goes on to give his personal concerns for the Corinthian church and his ready desire to visit them again. He pleaded with them to realise that none of that meant Paul was seeking to aggrandize himself OR to take advantage of him. Not even Titus did that. No one sent by Paul EVER did that. And God wouldn’t have Paul do it either.

Chapter thirteen contains Paul’s final words, warnings, and the greetings that he held back until this point in the letter. His upcoming visit to the Corinthian church would be the third visit he made and he was looking forward to it. He again focused on the truth that we are weak, but Jesus in us makes us strong because we rely on HIS strength and not our own. We overcome because He first overcame – exactly the same way we love because He loved first. He blessed them and shared his prayers for them. He closed with a final greeting from all the saints around him and a benediction of love.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jesus, Paul

Key Verse(s): 2 Corinthians 9:10-11; 10:12-18; 11:5-11; 12:1-10; 13:1-5