2 Cor 11:1-15
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 16 viewsNotes
Transcript
Kiddos!
[[Ideas]]
“Hey, it’s me! Pastor Matt!”
What? What do you mean I’m not Pastor Matt?… How do you know?
Alright, alright… So, we’re alike. Buuut… I’m like a waaay better version of him, and I can show you how.
(1) The way I talk is better
people say my voice is deeper and someone said he’s “kind of whiny”… or something like that
(2) He’s going through waaay more hardships than I am.
Ask him how early he wakes up!
Ask him how buuuusy he is with all his “work”
and I sleep whenever I want and relax waaay more than him!
(3) I bet he’s doing all this for himself!
Why does he want to be your pastor? To have all that “Glory” stuff pastor Eric was talking about!
Ok, Ok… I’m not Pastor Matt. And Pastor Matt is a fabulous Pastor Matt. The reason I said all this was to get you thinkin about what the Apostle Paul was going through with the church in Corinth. They had people who thought Paul wasn’t a reaaal Apostle, and were calling themselves Apostles! Wait… what’s an apostle again?
“Sent one”, Oh, ya! These guys didn’t just question Paul as a “Sent One”… They saw themselves as “Sent Ones”, and even thought they were better “Sent Ones” then Paul! All becaue:
(1) Paul didn’t speak as fancy as they did
(2) Paul had been through A LOT of tough times
(3) They believed Paul was doing everything for himself
Welcome...
Introduce self...
Read...
Pray...
2 Corinthians 11:1–15 (ESV)
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 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. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Context:
Paul is writing what many believe is his 4th letter to the Corinthians! He’s written this letter to vindicate his ministry in order to:
(1) strengthen the faithful majority in Corinth ( see the first 7 or so chapters)
(2) Encourage them to contribute to the financial needs of other believers, as an expression of their repentance (See Chapters 8 and 9)
(3) and offer the rebellious minority in Corinth another chance to repent before he returns to judge those still rejecting him and his message (primarily chapters 10 - 13)
-Exegete the text:
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
>> Paul is engaging in what he calls “Foolishness” in his defense
>> Paul compares himself to a father, presenting his daughter to her betrothed, and is concerned about her devotion to her bridegroom
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 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.
>> Paul presents his fear, drawing our attention back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3
>> Paul gets sarcastic, essentially pointing out “you’re pretty happy to tolerate the fox in the chicken pen”, see the message version:
It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached—different spirit, different message—you put up with him quite nicely.
Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
>>Paul addresses the “elephant in the room”, or, the “foxes in the chicken pens”, these “super-apostles”
>> Lets talk about apostles and their significance:
(1) Apostle >> Greek verb “to send out”
Apostles come from the greek ‘apostolos’ meaning “to send out”
(2) apostle ≠ Apostle
Lower case apostle simply means “one who is sent”
Upper case Apostles have recognized authority in Church History, unique in their authority purely because they were witnesses of the risen Lord and directly commissioned/sent by Him. Today, we do not recognize others as having the office of Upper Case Apostleship
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
>> Paul is ready to jump on the defense
(1) Humbled himself, exalted them
(2) Funded by others, “free of charge” to them
(3) Fueled by love for them
And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
>> Here, we will draw three main points that are necessary to unpack as we enter the rest of Paul’s defense throughout his letter
(1) Paul is an Apostle of Christ
>> Many false religions today deny Paul’s authority
>> Consider the marks of these “super apostles” are: Falsehood, Deceit, Disguise
>> They reflect their master, Satan
So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
>> Paul reflects his master, Jesus… As we will see in the next few weeks
(2) Discern falsehood from Truth
>> Bible Literacy
>> Counterfeit vs Real dollar
(3) We are “apostles” of the Apostle Christ
>> Hebrews 3 calls Jesus an “apostle and high priest of our confession”
>> Genesis chapter 3: gods prophetic word of Christ announcing the Apostle Jesus (Protoevangelium)
>> Over and Over, Jesus tells the people in John’s gospel that they must believe in the one whom the Father has sent :
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
>> The Great Commission “sends us” into the world to Make Disciples
>> Do you look more like the Master, Jesus? How can you claim to follow God if you do not reflect the one who He sent?
Prayer
-Genesis chapter 3: gods prophetic word of Christ announcing the Apostle Jesus (Protoevangelium)
-Starts in genesis
-Paul’s apostle ship-his testimony and who he is sent from
-Are we as little “a” apostles, reflecting the one we are sent from? what are we marked by? Resurrected life or dead in our sin?
-Biblical literacy-know Jesus and identifying the counterfeit, when someone asks us and we feel uncomfortable we shouldn’t despair but should seek the truth.
Trust or believe Paul’s apostle ship
- Identify or discern false apostles or teachers or doctrine
Imitate Christ as his sent ones - Christ is the first apostle, reflecting the father perfectly, we are to reflect him
