Continued Concern- Part 26

Introduction- II Corinthians 10:12-18

Last week we considered Paul’s defense of his ministry against those who sought to cast doubt upon it and who sought to gain influence in the lives of the believers in the church at Corinth.

Paul expressed his sincerity and challenged their assessment of he and his ministry as well as indicating that his purpose remained unchanged—their edification.

While the false teachers that had entered among them sought to impress by their outward appearance and their seemingly impressive credentials—Paul simply states the fact that he ministers on Christ’s behalf.

The passage before us today deals with the danger of comparison and challenges those who minister to seek commendation not from men but from God.

Paul and his companions had accomplished much and yet they understood there was still much work to be done—they were not interested in congratulating themselves for what they had already accomplished, but instead they were intent upon continuing to faithfully serve the Lord in the hope of accomplishing even more.

The Danger of Comparison (Vs. 12)

This passage continues Paul’s defense of his ministry against those who sought to cast doubt upon it and to limit usurp his authority among the believers in Corinth.

This section opens with Paul indicating his unwillingness to be like them in their efforts to compare and commend themselves.

Those who were seeking to gain influence among the Corinthian church were apparently commending themselves by measuring themselves by themselves.

They had essentially set themselves up as the standard by which all others were to be measured, somehow imagining that they were to be considered the standard of excellence.

This was a foolish practice because they were only comparing themselves among themselves without any consideration for those outside of their ranks.

Many believers and even ministry leaders have fallen into this trap of comparing ourselves among ourselves.

The scripture plainly states that to do so is unwise—this is because the standard by which we are to be measured is not ourselves or others like us.

Paul would not measure his own ministry’s effectiveness or success by comparing it with that of others and neither should you and I.

The false teachers in Corinth who sought to minimize Paul’s ministry among them were guilty of measuring their ministry by the wrong standard and thus arriving at wrong conclusion about the nature of their own ministry.

They claimed success and commended themselves because they considered themselves to be the standard by which all others were to be judged—they would have insisted that theirs was the ministry which set the standard for all others and that those who deviated from their line of thinking or means of ministering were to be judged erroneous.

There are many men today who have this same attitude—who somehow imagine that their ministry is to be the standard by which all others are to be judged.

Paul refused to take this approach—he would not measure his ministry by comparing it with that of others.

This is true more broadly as well in our Christian lives—it is foolish to measure ourselves by comparing ourselves among ourselves.

There is no man which serves as the standard by which all others are to be judged (apart from Jesus Christ) and there is no ministry which serves as the standard by which all other ministries are to be judged either.

The remainder of this passage will help us to see that the true measure of success and effectiveness is to set ourselves against the standard which God has set for us.

Proper Boasting (Vs. 13-16)

Paul now speaks about “boasting”—not the sense of boasting in his own abilities as we will see—but boasting in what God had done through Him.

He was not opposed to this proper boasting and yet he was careful to limit his boasting to the sphere of influence which God had actually given to Him.

He insists that he and his fellow laborers would not boast of things “without our measure”—this simply means that they would not boast about things which they had not actually been responsible for—that which was outside of their own sphere of influence.

God had directed Paul and his companions to labor in Corinth and it was evident that this was an area where God had given them some measure of influence and authority—as is evidenced by the fact that a church was planted there which continued to this day.

Paul and his companions were careful to restrict their ministry and their boasting to the sphere of influence which God had plainly given them and were unwilling to go beyond this to attempt to gain influence or authority in an area that God had not sent them to.

God had certainly directed them to Corinth and they had certainly been effective there in reaching and discipling men—but as of yet God had not allowed them the liberty to go the regions beyond Corinth.

It was not as though Paul and his co-laborers had no desire to press further into the region with the gospel—yet they restricted themselves according to God’s direction.

God had most definitely led them as far as Corinth and had blessed them with success there—but He had not yet given them liberty to go to the regions beyond Corinth.

Paul and his companions were also careful not to boast of thing which had been accomplished by others—they would not take credit for what others had done.

This is in sharp contrast to the false teachers in Corinth—they were apparently boasting about the reach of their ministry—the problem is that they were attempting to extend their influence and authority not at the direction of God but apparently out of their own ambition and desire for greater and greater recognition.

This is true in the lives of many today who seek greater and greater influence and authority, and who extend themselves well beyond the sphere of influence which God designed for them.

These often attempt to influence men whom God has clearly not placed beneath their authority and which are actually rightly under the authority of another.

We must be careful to limit our influence to that which God has actually given to us as Paul and his companions did.

Paul expresses here his desire that in the end he would have the opportunity to extend his ministry beyond Corinth and that they would play a critical role in this extension of his ministry to the regions beyond them.

His hope was that their growth in faith would then serve to commend him to others beyond them so that he might extend his ministry to others in the region effectively.

Their intent was not to go where others had already gone and to lay claim to what had already been accomplished—rather their desire was to do a pioneering work in new regions where the gospel had not yet gone.

We may learn from their example that we ought not to seek after influence and authority out of selfish ambition—rather we should allow God to lead us taking full advantage of whatever authority and influence that He may give to us.

We ought also to be careful not to take credit personally for what others have accomplished and to refrain from seizing upon another man’s work for our own personal benefit.

There should be within each of us—just as there was in Paul and his companions—a desire to extend the reach of our ministry, but we must allow God to direct this extension, not stretching ourselves beyond what He has appointed.

Commendation (Vs. 17-18)

In the end it is vitally important that when we glory we glory in the Lord—this simply means that it is proper for us to boast so long as we boast in what the Lord has done and we do not somehow claim the credit for ourselves.

Whatever you and I may be able to accomplish in this life for the cause of Christ, it is all by the grace and power of God and He alone deserves the credit for all our success and effectiveness.

Paul was careful not to glory in himself—rather he would consistently glory in the Lord.

His desire was that his life and ministry should bring glory to God and that everyone should know that whatever he accomplished in ministry it was the product of God’s work in and through him.

The same ought to be true for you and I—we should never glory except to glory in the Lord—we should want all to see and understand that whatever our accomplishments it is the Lord who is responsible for all our successes.

The final point here is that approval from God does not come to those who commend themselves, but to those whom God commends.

There is a real danger that we may “pat ourselves on the back” or congratulate ourselves for what we have accomplished and yet not be met with approval from God.

God is not impressed by our accomplishments or credentials or our success measured by means of comparison with others.

God’s commendation and approval are reserved for those who will carefully follow His will allowing Him to direct them and who will take full advantage of the opportunities that He has given them.

There are many men/women who may appear to be successful from man’s perspective but who have gone outside the will of God and who have extended themselves beyond what God intended for them and who have gloried in themselves rather than in the Lord and thus will not receive commendation from the Lord.

The standard by which we ought each to measure ourselves is that which God has set for us—we need not compare ourselves with others and we need not measure ourselves by any earthly standard.

The true measure of any man is his willingness to yield himself to God’s control and to allow God to direct His life as He chooses while also being careful to make sure that God receives all the credit for all his accomplishments.

It is not enough to commend ourselves or even to have the commendation of others—the only thing that truly matter is God’s commendation and His approval.

Conclusion

This entire passage demonstrates the difference between Paul’s perspective on ministry and that of his detractors.

Paul was not interested in comparing his ministry to others or in setting himself up as a standard by which others were to be judged.

Paul’s concern was faithfulness to the Lord and His will—this meant that he was intent upon going precisely where God led him and upon doing precisely what God had called him to do—nothing more and nothing less.

He certainly had a desire to reach the regions beyond Corinth, but he was intent upon waiting upon the Lord and ministering to the Corinthians until God directed him to go further.

He hoped that his ministry among the Corinthians would ultimately allow him the opportunity to reach into the regions beyond them.

Paul was also careful to glory in the Lord attributing all his accomplishments in ministry to Him—he was well aware that it was God who was at work in and through him which allowed him to enjoy success in ministry.

He was not interested in commending himself nor was he concerned with receiving commendation from others—rather he focused only upon receiving commendation from the Lord and meeting with His approval.

In the end our lives and ministries will not be judged on the basis of comparison with that of others but rather on the basis of our faithfulness and obedience to the Lord!