2 Corinthians 10:7-18

Text:

2 Corinthians 10:7–18 ESV

7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. 13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. 17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

1. Salvation for All People (7)

What does a Christian look like?

Paul is asking of those in this congregation that would say they are Christians because of something outward that they possess, or call themselves Christians because of some special relationship to Christ… if you think that you belong to Christ, so do we…

Philippians 3:1–6 “1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”

Whatever it is that makes you think that you are a Christian, we have it too.

Question

What outward things do we look for in believers? There’s a right answer and a real answer and many times those lines get blurred.

Paul is telling his readers that whatever inside track you think you have, I have it too. I’m a Christian too.

Vs. 8

Paul is not saying here, “Even if I boast - or am prideful in my authority.” He’s saying, even if I had used it more. Even if I had said more things and commanded more things as an authority - as an apostle who has received his commission directly from Jesus on the way to Damascus.

That authority that Paul had was for the building up of the church

Question

When you think of the elders of a church, do you think of authority that has been given by Christ to build up his church?

Has your experience shown those who have been given authority to always use it to build up the local church?

Headlines….

The elder board (session) of First Presbyterian church has been given real authority over the people here at First Presbyterian church to build it up, not to abuse it or to use it for their own personal benefit.

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Vs. 9

2 Corinthians 10:9 “9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters.”

The use of authority is not to be frightening, but to direct and to encourage and to reprove…

Hebrews 12:7–11 ESV

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

It’s never pleasant to be disciplined, but it is always for our good when it is God who is the foundation of that discipline

Vs. 10-11

2 Corinthians 10:10–11 “10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.”

Have you ever heard someone on the radio singing, or speaking, then found out what they look like and were surprised?

Or even reading a book series that kind of paints a picture of what the author is like, only to discover they are nothing like that.

For Paul, he was a dynamic writer - but evidently, his appearance didn’t match it. It wasn’t that the message changed, but that he may have been shorter and more feeble. We’re not sure - but what we do know is that Paul is actually fighting against the charge of his accusers that his words on the page don’t match his actions.

Paul is adamantly against that charge and is saying in vs. 11, “whatever I say when I’m absent, or whatever is written down by me, you will see that my actions when present will match those.”

Do as I say, not as I do

Vs. 12

2 Corinthians 10:12 ESV

12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

There are a lot of words in that sentence and it reminds of a grammatical example I use often. I can can a can of peas. The same word is used often and just makes it confusing.

But I think it’s as simple as saying, Paul’s critics are stuck in an echo chamber.

In other words, Paul is saying, “I wouldn’t dare compare ourselves in a good way with those who continue to lift themselves up.”

“The way that they are measuring themselves is by themselves. It’s like standing beside a child and saying I’m tall. That’s a bad standard.”

Or on the other hand, you’re looking at one another as the standard and thinking that you’ve got it pretty good.

Question

But don’t we do the same thing?

We try to make ourselves feel better about ourselves by comparing ourselves with people who are worse than we are at a particular aspect of life.

At least I don’t cuss like John does.

At least I don’t skip church like Sally does.

Or we’ll surround ourselves with people who make us feel better about our sin because they struggle with the same thing.

Gossip is declared a sin in Scripture but when I get together with John and Jane and Bob and Sally, we just call it a prayer group.

This is the wrong standard

What is the only standard by which we are to judge our lives?

The Word of God

Because it is an unchanging standard and because it is a reflection of the character of God.

Vs. 13

2 Corinthians 10:13 “13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.”

Paul isn’t going to take credit for something that he didn’t do.

Which when you think about those who abuse authority - is it not their M.O. to talk about their achievements, their accolades, and often times it is actually something that someone else has accomplished under their watch and they take credit for it.

This is not an old problem that we don’t have to deal with anymore.

Paul is only going to boast - or use the authority that God has given him in the sphere that God has given him.

Paul was called to the Gentiles.

It is in the Gentiles that he will boast, but not beyond those limits. This is the Corinthian Church. God gave Paul the authority and sphere to reach Gentiles including those in Corinth.

Vs. 14

2 Corinthians 10:14 “14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.”

Paul’s boasting is not an arrogant or prideful boasting. It is in the fact that God allowed him to be among the first to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to those in Corinth and to see fruit from that preaching. And not only initial converts, but letter after letter correcting them and discipling them - all to see them looking more like the Savior that he proclaimed.

Application:

So I would say that it is right to boast when God uses you to share the Gospel and someone comes to faith

You are not boasting in your own accomplishments or in your own abilities, but that God would use you to glorify his OWN name in the earth and that God would use you to expand the kingdom here on earth. That God would use you as the means to add another name to the book of life. We boast in Christ because those are things that absolutely should be celebrated.

Vs. 15-16

2 Corinthians 10:15–16 “15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence.”

Paul doesn’t want to take credit for what someone else has done…

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 “5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

This isn’t a new concept for the Corinthians. He has been pushing this idea in all his letters.

BUT - his hope is that as they grow in their faith, they will recognize the true teachers from the false teachers

He hopes that they will recognize those who are truly offering Christ, and not something else

Because Paul recognizes (and the existence of this letter is proof) that what Christ offers is more than initial salvation. It is an ingrafting into Christ, a union with Christ that makes us a new creation and has an effect in every moment of our lives and eternity.

AND - he wants to see Corinth as a springboard into new areas that haven’t heard the Gospel yet. He wants to see this church plant be a church plant that plants other churches

And is exactly the model of church planting that we find ourselves in with the PCA and the Detroit project.

Think of Dom.

….

So when this goal is accomplished there will be boasting. Some will say it was their own abilities that accomplished it. Some will take credit for it that had no part in it. But Some will actually boast in the Lord Jesus Christ - that he used poor servants to accomplish his goals of taking the Gospel message to the end of the world.

Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.””

Vs. 17

2 Corinthians 10:17 “17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

So where is our boasting? It is in the Lord

We should celebrate

We should rejoice

But let us boast in the one who is sovereign over all

Vs. 18

2 Corinthians 10:18 “18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

'To glory in the Lord,' is either to regard God as the ground of confidence and source of all good, and to ascribe every thing we have, are, and hope to his grace; or, it is to exult in his approbation (praise, approval, recognition). Instead of comforting ourselves with our own high estimate of our attainments and efficiency, or allowing ourselves to be inflated by the applause of men, we should be satisfied with nothing short of the divine approbation. The connection is here in favour of the latter view. 'He that glories should glory in the Lord, i. e. he that rejoices should rejoice in the approbation of God, (not in his own good opinion of himself, nor in the praises of others,) for not he who commendeth himself is approved, i. e. is really worthy of approbation, but he whom the Lord commendeth. Paul did not commend himself; his claims were not founded on the suggestions of self-conceit; neither did he rely on the commendation of others, his eye was fixed on God…

Charles Hodge (2 Corinthians)