II Corinthians 12:14-21

More frustration and sarcasm from Paul. Verse 16 is particularly telling: But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. He didn’t take money for his labors, so his preaching was diminished (in their eyes), and what he did say must have been compelling enough for them to buy into it, but again (in their eyes) must have been misguided. I truly feel sorry for Paul in all this! He spent 18 months there the first time, working alongside them and even made some good friends. Now false preachers, those “most eminent apostles” have come along and done their best to destroy him and his teachings. He must be well beyond frustration and disappointment, well into anger and hurt. So sad…!

Ironically, what we have from all this is the blessing that is II Corinthians. We have encouragement from Paul to “test the spirits”, to weigh the words and opinions of others to see if they stand up to Scripture. Granted, the issues in Corinth back then are not the same that we deal with today, but testing the spirits is what has led to the formation of St. Andrew’s, ADOTS, and the Anglican Church in North America, testing those “spirits” coming out of St. John’s, the Diocese of Lexington, and the Episcopal Church. Fundamentally, we are blessed today having followed Paul’s difficulties and having his reflections (and frustrations) as to how he dealt with them. Thank you, St. Paul!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 12:1-13

Paul is clearly frustrated with the Corinthians and how easily they have been led astray by these “…most eminent apostles” (v. 11). In my previous years of reading II Corinthians I have wondered about Paul’s “boasting”, especially in these last few chapters that we have been reading. But as we have read, studied and pondered these chapters in smaller sections, I’ve come to see the depth of Paul’s anger at these false teachers and how they’ve captured some of Paul’s beloved Corinthians in their legalistic traps. With it all I now see Paul’s boasting as purely defensive. He is trying to make the case for himself as a “true apostle”, much more deserving of the Corinthians’ following than the false teachers. So his “boasting” is warranted. I’ve long had a problem with “tooting my own horn”, but as my friends have occasionally told me, it’s not “boasting” (bragging) if it’s true!

In Paul’s vision he speaks in the third person of “…a man in Christ”: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven… (v. 2a) Then later he seems to make it more first-person: So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations… (v. 7a, my emphasis added) So who is it, Paul or someone else? Scholars disagree, but his making it more personal in verse 7 sure leads me to believe that Paul is speaking of himself. And I daresay most conservative scholars would agree.

It’s amazing how much Paul put up with for the sake of the Gospel. Impressive…!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 11:16-33

Paul continues with his sarcasm directed at the Corinthians’ response to his Corinthian detractors, especially with his phrase “…being wise yourselves”: For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. (vv. 19-20) He clearly sees them being dominated by these false preachers and is troubled that they cannot discern these pretenders. His words take on a harsh tone, but that appears to be necessary to deal with this issue of the false preachers.

I have always been impressed with Paul’s account of his sufferings in verses 22 to 28. I can even recall being touched by these verses when I was a youngster in the Catholic Church. These verses then became more alive when I started reading Scripture myself, especially the book of Acts where we see him stoned in Galatia, beaten in Philippi, and then shipwrecked on his way to Rome. In my mind I see Paul accepting these hardships as his just desserts for having persecuted the church in his earlier days.

Verse 30 should hit home for all of us: If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. What Paul is talking about here, realistically, is the “glory sightings” that we do as a church. The intent behind these glory sightings is to remind ourselves of the Lord’s hand in the world around us, in everything we do – in the little things and in the big things. Paul highlights his weakness, his seeing the Lord at work when he has yielded himself to God’s authority in his life. I am always happy to offer glory sightings, to report on the Lord’s working in my life. But I am often torn between a perspective on whether I am reporting on what I have done or on what the Lord has done through me. One time I reported on praying for a cashier in a grocery store in the early days of the pandemic. Yes, I felt “moved” to pray for her, but I was the one who offered to pray and I was the one who prayed. To me, God’s glory was revealed in that I was moved in a moment to pray for her, but the rest was me. How to keep myself diminished and God glorified – that’s a trouble I constantly deal with!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 11:1-15

For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. (v. 4) Paul is troubled that there are other preachers (one or more) who are leading the Corinthians astray (…another Jesus, …a different spirit, …a different gospel) and that they put up with it readily enough! Clearly he is frustrated, disappointed and angry, even to the point of sarcasm: I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. (v. 5) Read “super-apostles” tongue-in-cheek. He sees his detractors as showmen, clearly fluent compared to him, but preaching a misguided message.

Paul talks about “boasting” in verses 7-10. But his boasts have to do with his humility, the fact that he preached the Gospel to the Corinthians without charge. This is in contrast to the false pretenders who preach to raise money. They claim that Paul’s failure to charge for his ministry means that his preaching is worthless. The only proper preaching, in their minds, is preaching for which the preacher gets paid. Paul refuses to take the bait. In verse 10 he closes this argument with his strongest statement: As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. He will continue to preach the Gospel without remuneration, no matter what others think! Paul will later say in Romans 8:31, If God is for us, who can be against us? We need to claim that for ourselves!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 10:1-18

A few brief comments as an introduction to chapter 10… A number of Biblical scholars maintain that chapters 10 to 13 are not really a part of the letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we now call II Corinthians. They maintain that these chapters may well be all or part of a “lost letter” that Paul wrote to the Corinthians sometime between his writing of I and II Corinthians. The tone of the letter changes dramatically from Paul’s tone in the first nine chapters, especially with respect to his high praise for the Corinthians in chapters 8 and 9. In chapter 10 he again expresses his frustration that some people in the Corinthian church are against him, attempting to elevate themselves by speaking lowly of him, as in For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” (v. 10) So we see him actively defending himself in chapter 10. However, the more conservative scholars accept all 13 chapters of II Corinthians as one letter, maintaining that his change of tone in these later chapters is directed to a few individuals, not the entire Corinthian church.

A few comments on a few verses… But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (v. 12) I find myself fully guilty here, all too often like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, who says God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. I think it’s especially easy for us to compare ourselves to other denominations – happy that we are not Baptists or Methodists or (gasp) Episcopalians!! If I catch myself doing anything like that, I can easily ask myself how I compare to Jesus. That sets me on the right track! Verse 18 closes this thought and this chapter nicely: For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 9:1-15

More on giving… I think we all know the verse, “…God loves a cheerful giver.” (v. 7b) To know that verse is one thing, to embrace it is another! I can remember how I had serious misgivings whenever I wrote our tithe check to our former church. I was doing what I thought we should be doing as responsible Christians, but we were troubled at where the Episcopal Church was headed and were sorry to see our donation supporting its misguided leadership. Now, however, I am delighted whenever I write a check to St. Andrew’s, mostly wishing that we were in a position to give more! What a change in perspective this has been!!

Paul, the control freak…??!! But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. (vv. 3-5) Paul is both confident of the Corinthians’ generosity and at least marginally suspicious of their ability to act on their commitment. I think that Paul recognizes the many gifts in the Corinthian community, but he has also seen so many problems in that community that he doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. He doesn’t want to be embarrassed when he comes and finds them unprepared and he does not want the Corinthians themselves to be embarrassed. So, better to spell it out completely in writing before he comes. Control? Maybe. But not without a good heart intent…

You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way… For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of … the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you… (vv. 11-14, edited) I removed a few phrases in these verses to get at the heart of what Paul is saying. The Corinthians will be blessed by their donation – from those in the Jerusalem community thanking them and thanking God for them and praying for them and, in effect, truly embracing them! God loves a cheerful giver. So do the gift recipients…!!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 8:16-24

With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. (v. 18) Immediately I am asking the identity of this brother. My first guess was Silas, but that was only a guess – he had, after all, been a traveling companion of Paul’s during Paul’s second missionary journey, most prominently noted in their arrest in Philippi. However, my Study Bible suggested Luke and possibly Barnabas. I personally ruled out Barnabas; it seemed that his split with Paul was complete (Acts 15:36-40). Then I went online and almost every commentary suggested Luke. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_corinthians/8-18.htm I have no problem with that “brother” being Luke.

And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. (v. 19) And then immediately in the following verse – this brother was appointed “by the churches”… Typically I sense that any reference to “the church” implies the church in Jerusalem or Antioch. But here, the plural “churches” suggests otherwise – most likely the churches in Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea). They were appointing someone to travel with Titus to continue the collection for the relief of the brothers in the Jerusalem church, donations which they had already made. Titus and his companion were headed to Corinth, with Paul following later. I’m guessing that the collection went with them, since I recall that Paul then had plans to go from Corinth to Jerusalem, possibly by way of Ephesus. He later reversed course and went back through Macedonia (possibly due to even greater generosity by the Macedonian churches?), but still I’m guessing that the collection went from Macedonia to Corinth with Titus and his companion.

We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us. (v. 20) Here Paul is talking about his own accountability associated with these gifts. He doesn’t want anyone to think that he is not trustworthy – so much so that it seems that he is being “hands free” from touching these donations at all, but rather that he is putting his trust (and the trust of others) into the hands of Titus and his companions. It’s a good model for church stewardship. Our pastor, David, never wants to know who in the parish is giving how much – unless they speak directly to him about a gift. He keeps his hands free from any connection to our revenue, except in hearing or reading our aggregate reports. And those of us who are entrusted with the church’s funds have guidelines to follow and mechanisms in place for others to look over our shoulders at how we are handling the funds that are given to the church. There are too many examples of people guilty of church embezzlement for us not to be careful!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 8:15

…they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. (v. 5b) Here Paul is speaking of the Macedonians’ contributions toward the financial relief of the Jerusalem church. I understand “giving themselves to the Lord” to mean that they prayed and sought the Lord’s will in their donations. That’s what David tells us on Ingathering Sunday, not to pledge or give out of guilt or some sense of responsibility, but to seek the Lord and give with a happy heart.

Understanding the geography and the chronology often helps us to fill in the gaps and understand Scripture better. That’s clearly the case with verse 6: Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. Paul had sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth, with either I Corinthians or Paul’s “lost letter” in hand. Part of Titus’ mission while there was to encourage the Corinthians in their giving. Paul had earlier instructed them as to his wishes (I Corinthians 16:1-4). So Titus went to Corinth and stayed there a while, then headed to Macedonia to meet with Paul, who is in Macedonia writing II Corinthians. Now Paul has met Titus in Macedonia (with joy!) and now is sending Titus back to Corinth to get them to finish their Jerusalem collection before Paul, himself, goes to them as he leaves Macedonia. Yes, it gets confusing!

As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” (v. 15) Paul is writing here about the manna in the wilderness. I had always imagined that verse to suggest that each person gathered exactly when he/she needed. But my Study Bible suggested that there was sharing of the manna among the people. Some gathered more than they could eat and gave their excess to those who had gathered too little. Such a nice thought; I had never considered that!

Slava Bohu!

II Corinthians 7:1-16

Today’s reading, in one word: JOY!! I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy. (v. 4b) And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. (v. 13) I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you. (v. 16) In addition, the word “rejoice” appears also in verses 7 and 9 and the word “comfort” appears seven times, in verses 4, 6, 7, and 13.

Paul has joy and is comforted when Titus brings word of the Corinthians’ positive response to his (Titus’) visit and of their acceptance of Paul’s chastisement of them in one of his lost letters – that their grief and sorrow led to repentance and re-acceptance of Paul’s position in their lives. And Titus has joy at being so well received by the Corinthians as he was headed to them on the heels of Paul’s stern letter. They received him warmly – that alone would have made Titus joyful. But then when he heard them tell of their repentance, he was made even more joyful. So he left there in high spirits as he went north to meet Paul in Macedonia. And again, I imagine Titus’ personal joy in delivering the good news report of his time in Corinth. All in all, joy all around!!

But what does that say to us? First, there is joy in being well received by anyone on any occasion, whether previously known to us or not. So when we are receiving someone, our first response should be joy in their visitation. Second, there is joy in seeing hearts turned from wrongdoing to repentance. While it is not common that we very often will see the fruits of repentance in others’ lives, there will be joy in others’ hearts when we report of our own repentance. Third, there is joy in someone’s heart when he or she can be the bearer of good news. So let me be joyful in this moment – in case you have not heard, Samuel has accepted a position as senior Pastor in a Methodist church in Peru, Indiana. He and his family will be a couple hundred miles from us, but that’s only a three-hour drive. YAY, Samuel and Christianah, JOY!! Finally, there is joy in someone receiving good news. I trust that those of you reading this note are truly joyful at Samuel’s news, especially if you are hearing it for the first time. Again, JOY!!

There is bountiful JOY in the Lord, so long as we are seeking Him in our own lives and in all our interactions with others. GLORY!!

Slava Bohu!