The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 32, 2 Corinthians Intro; "Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch"

Corinthian Correspondence, Part 32 2 Corinthians Intro "Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch" A guy named Daniel Schwartz says this in regards to what I have titled this message, "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch": Imagine a Western movie, where there are problems at the ranch, and so some people get on their horses and ride off to deal with the source of the problem. Now we have two stories that interest us - how people at the ranch are dealing with their problems, and how the riders are coping with theirs. So we watch the riders for a while, as they try to track down the source of the problem and deal with it. But we don't want the basic plot to get stale, or for the viewers to wonder impatiently what's going on, so the narrator says "meanwhile, back at the ranch", and we switch to see how they're doing. You might be thinking, "Why in the world are you starting your message this way? We are beginning 2 Corinthians today." Let's look at it like this. Last week we sort of closed the book on 1 Corinthians. But the church didn't close. Their lives went on. What happened to them? And after Paul finished writing 1 Corinthians, his life and the lives of his friends serving the Lord went on. We now have 2 stories that we want to track. And to introduce 2 Corinthians we will do just that. We will spend much of our time on Paul's story today, but there is a reason why Paul wrote what he did in 2 Corinthians. In short, the Corinthian church set themselves up for a couple of real problems because they evidently did not take care of some of the issues Paul raised in this first letter. In some ways, things got a bit worse between the time Paul wrote his 1st and 2nd letters. How so? We'll look at that in due time. Paul was very involved in the lives of Christians all over the Roman Empire. As a single man he was fully available not only to the Corinthians but to all the churches. In our day of fast travel, we can go around the world in a matter of hours. Think of the Amblers who are as, we speak half way around the world. But compare our day to the time Paul lived 2,000 years ago. I find it truly amazing how well Paul kept up with all the churches. Which just goes to show how much can be accomplished when we are determined. I'm reminded of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 when he said that by the grace of God he was about the hardest working Christian around. Paul was a man on the move, this much we know. We might even say that the only thing that could tie him down was the church or jail! But when Paul was in a certain place for any length of time, he was preaching the gospel, or teaching the believers, or writing letters. We have 13 of them in the New Testament. In short, Paul was consumed with doing what the Lord Jesus directed him to do. What I want us to do today is follow some of Paul's movements as his life intersects with Corinthians. Admittedly, some of this will be a review of how Paul got to Corinth in the first place. But I think we will find some powerful things to apply to our lives. And as an aside, who was Paul? Just an ordinary man. He was good at what he did in his B.C. days, but God took him, and formed and shaped him into a very sharp instrument in his hands. There was a LOT that Paul had to unlearn. And God's instrument of choice to unlearn him was affliction. Suffering. We will see much of Paul's understanding of God's purpose for suffering as we go through 2 Corinthians. Paul, as an ordinary man was profoundly changed by the gospel. I have said it before but it bears repeating: Paul never got over the wonder of Christ's salvation. This was Messiah Jesus who hung on the cross. He is the One mediator between God and man. He, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in human form, came to Paul, confronted him and changed him forever. He asked Paul "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" as he traveled down the road to Damascus as he hunted down Christians like dogs. Paul's world crashed in with those words. In an instant, everything in his world changed forever. Like when Jesus called James and John and said, "follow me." Likewise when he said "follow me" to Matthew, traitor to his nation, now the risen Christ commanded Saul, who became Paul, to repent and believe the Lord. And he did so with reckless abandon the rest of his days. And all who are truly born again have responded to the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. All of us, some whom the world highly esteems, but God is no respecter of persons, are truly ordinary people in his eyes. Ordinary, but in the hands of God, become extraordinary. It's been said that God will use anyone who is willing to be used. But our usefulness for him requires that he forms us and shapes us for his purposes. So let's follow some of Paul's movements as we catch something of how the Lord formed and shaped him. Our story begins with Paul's 2nd missionary trip. Remember that Paul went on 3 of them. But things did not start off so well, as he had a falling out with a fellow missionary, his dear friend Barnabas over John Mark who was Barnabas' nephew, and writer of the gospel that bears his name. When they went on their first trip, John Mark went with them for a time but wimped out. He went home. In Paul's eyes, John Mark failed and Paul would not give him a second chance, even though Barnabas insisted they allow him to go. This resulted in Barnabas and Paul splitting up and it required Paul to choose a new partner--Silas was his name. Now, there is a lesson we can learn here. Barnabas, in keeping with his name--son of encouragement--was able to serve his nephew, so much so that at the end of his days, Paul told Timothy to bring Mark with him when he visited him in the prison, for "he has become useful in the ministry." My encouragement to us is: like Barnabas, keep at it. Serve the Lord. Let's recall what Paul said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:58: Be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Remember as well Paul's words to the Galatian churches, and to us, to not grow weary of doing good for in due time we will reap if we do not give up. And as we have opportunity, let's do good to everybody and especially to fellow Christians. It is clear that Barnabas did not give up on his nephew. He watched Mark spiritually grow. But it takes time! Be patient. But keep at it! Paul and Silas made it a point to return to some of the churches that Paul started during his first missionary trip in what we call Turkey today--in the Scripture it's referred to as the Galatian region. They find a young guy named Timothy and together the 3 of them serve the Lord. One day, Paul had a vision to go to a place called Troas--located in we would call Eastern Europe. They traveled to Philippi and started a church, after a little persecution and conversion of the jailer. They left there and went to a city called Thessalonica and started a church there, too. These Thessalonians received the gospel Paul and company shared and they made a complete break with their old ways. The Lord worked in the Thessalonians to such a degree that their testimony became famous throughout the region, and Paul held them up as an example of how following Jesus was done. Later on, while Paul was in Corinth he wrote them a letter and described their conversion to Christ this way: 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10: For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. What an amazing description of these brothers and sisters! Just before Paul arrived in Corinth, he visited Athens and had a huge opportunity to appear before many and preach the gospel. Though the vast majority rejected Paul's message, thankfully some responded. Luke records that just a few believed Paul's gospel, but every person is worth it to spend our efforts on. In my very early days as a Christian, I was a single young man on Guam. My Christian brother named Jim and I encountered a drunk guy also named Jim in Agana, the capital city. We were able to talk to him and give him the gospel. When Jim and I walked away, we sort of looked at one another and said something like, "It will take a miracle to have gotten through to him." About 6 months later, Jim and I were together again, and we actually encountered Jim the drunk guy. Only this time, he was not drunk. He was a different man. And he showed us a small bible he began to carry. Jim thanked us for taking the time to share the gospel with him. He was in church now, and knew that the Lord had saved him. The point is, even though we may only see a few people come to Christ in our lifetimes, those few are precious souls. Keep at it! From there Paul went to Corinth. As we know he spent 18 months there preaching the gospel and making disciples. He met Priscilla and Aquila and they became partners in ministry. Many people came to Christ in Corinth during that year and a half. And Paul had his hands full teaching these new Christians the way of the Lord. And sometime in the middle of this, Paul sent Timothy to Thessalonica to encourage them in their faith. Well, on to the next place, Ephesus, where he spent only a short time, anticipating a fruitful ministry sometime later. Then Paul and his friends returned to home base--Antioch. His 2nd missionary trip was done. But Paul wasn't finished. He soon went on a 3rd trip. Once again, he visited the churches he started. How he loved them with the love of the Lord! He was very concerned for their spiritual welfare. He wound his way back to Ephesus, and eventually stayed there for 3 years preaching the gospel to the lost and discipling the saved. During this time is when he wrote what we call 1 Corinthians. But there are clues that tell us Paul wrote even more than 2 letters to them. For example, in 1 Corinthians 5:9, he refers to a letter that he had already written to them: "I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people." Evidently, in God's providence, this letter was not included in our New Testament. And we will see in 2 Corinthians that Paul refers to one and perhaps even more letters not included in the list of New Testament writings as well. Now we would think that the Corinthians would engage in the homework Paul gave them in 1 Corinthians, especially in the all-important area of living together in love and unity. Apparently such was not the case, because they were still very much divided. I'll get back to that later. Sometime after Paul sent 1 Corinthians, he got wind of something that was about ready to decimate the church. According to one learned guy, it required Paul to make an emergency visit to them take care of this issue. Here is what scholar Mark Seifrid had to say about it: It is impossible to discern precisely what brought Paul to make the journey, but the visit did not end well. As Paul sums up the matter in 2 Corinthians 2:1, he notes that he "'came to them in grief.' A leading figure within the church stood up to Paul, resisting his authority. The church, by doing nothing, gave its support to this person. . . ." Seifrid continues: "The authority of the apostle is at stake. Everything else recedes into the background. In the end, it is this issue that must have prompted Paul's visit." So, after this painful visit, Paul probably returned to Ephesus and wrote at that time, not what we call 2 Corinthians, but another grievous letter, which he actually refers to in 2 Corinthians 7. And after that letter was delivered, he somehow heard back from them and then wrote what we call the one we are beginning to go through, 2 Corinthians. In other words, Paul had a very complicated relationship with his beloved Corinthians. Again, he expended much energy, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears over these fallen saints and sinners whom he loved so very much. As we saw, Paul's life was full of adventure in the Lord. Truly, he experienced what Jesus described as an abundant life. But what abundance! Joys to be sure. Happiness? Not so much. Dynamic witness? Absolutely. Satisfaction that the Lord was using him to accomplish even more than he could ask or think? Most definitely. How about trials, tribulations, physical difficulties, extreme pains in body and soul? Yes to that as well. As we go through this letter, we will see Paul baring his soul to the Corinthians, and for God's people down through the ages. Many people who have studied this letter for a living say that 2 Corinthians is the most personal of all of Paul's letters. He will describe his afflictions in detail, his griefs, his sufferings, and even what keeps him going in spite of it all. Heaven, and the judgment seat of Christ awaits him, and us in the life to come. But the love of Christ which captured the very core of Paul's being was what compelled him in this life. Though we will read and study about all of these things, we will see how the apostle to the Corinthians deals with a supreme challenge. This challenge is to his divinely appointed authority that the Lord Jesus gave to him, as he said at the end of this letter, to build them up and not to tear them down. And it is this challenge to Paul's authority is what I want to focus on now. I mentioned earlier that the Corinthian Christians set themselves up for huge problems that Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians. How so? Primarily, they did not deal with the number 1 issue in 1 Corinthians. What was that? Again, disunity. Remember how from the get-go Paul dealt with disunity. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-13 his said, "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,' or 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" And throughout the letter, whether it was brothers in Christ following their favorite leader to the detriment of other leaders, Christian going to court with fellow Christian, hanging their dirty laundry out for the world to see, or one group of Christians unable to share in the Lord's table, that and so much more tore at the unifying fabric of the church. As Paul demanded, rather forcefully I might add: "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" Because of the self-inflicted tears of disunity, the Corinthians gave the enemy an opportunity to finish the job, in the form of false teachers. Because they did not, as one church submit to the authority the Lord Jesus gave Paul, the enemy of the church, the devil, sent his workers to wreak havoc in the church in Corinth. As we will see later on in this letter, Paul has a number of non-politically correct terms that he labeled these alien workers: Satan's servants, false apostles, and deceitful workmen among other choice descriptions. And the defense of Paul's apostolic authority is at the heart of this letter we call 2 Corinthians. But we will notice that it was not with a heavy hand, but a heavy, grieved heart God's true apostle lays before the Corinthians. The so-called ministries of the so-called super apostles were the satanically animated shiny objects the Corinthians were tempted to go after. And what a timely message for today. The very heart of salvation has to do with authority. Paul described it, again, as that which God's true servants use to build up and not tear down. And think of the gospel itself. It is good news--of a King: the King of kings to be exact. His Father has given him all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore, we are to go and proclaim the gospel. Therefore, we are to go and make disciples who make disciples. Therefore we are to live together in love and unity. Today, the authority of Jesus is scarcely mentioned. His Saviorhood is exalted to the highest heaven. But not his Lordship. As I mentioned in the past, the description of Messiah Jesus as Savior occurs 5 times, but Lord over 500 times. Do you think there might be something to that? It is the Lord Jesus who was crucified and rose again. It is the Lord Jesus whom we follow. It is the Lord Jesus to whom we will give an account. And it is by his authority we tell others the gospel. It is by his authority we make disciples. It is by his authority we live together in love and unity. And over the years, I believe the Lord has allowed us to weather some storms by encountering challenges to his authority even in our midst. There were those who had a conviction that the authority for a certain message resided in the heart of the preacher, and not in the word of God, even to the degree that Scripture could be changed to fit what "God laid on his heart." And there were those in our midst who actually said that Muslims could be saved even if they did not acknowledge Jesus as Lord and that he died and rose again, but only saw him as a prophet, and not even the highest of the prophets. I bring these 2 painful issues up to remind us of this vital truth--no church is immune from satanic attacks. We as Grace United, and every other church which honors the Lord Jesus Christ must continue to live under his authority. How do we do that? Obviously, we do not have apostles today. So where is the authority? In his word. We put our full confidence in the Scripture. The plain teaching of Scripture, rightly understood is where our authority lies. So, as we bring this message to a close today, how we need to recommit ourselves as one small cell in the body of Christ, to the authority of the Lord of the church. A former president proclaimed as a campaign promise that he was going to fundamentally transform the United States. I don't think he quite did that. However, I am convinced that the church of Jesus Christ has in many ways been transformed over the last decade or so. Tragically, brothers and sisters in Christ cannot discuss political differences without seeming to hate one another and even accuse the other side of sinning. The Black Lives Matter movement is another area where there is deep division in the body of Christ, as is the issue of covid. With that said, I am very concerned over the moral issues of our day, which far too many, even those who call themselves Christians label as political issues. We know the national sins of abortion, homosexuality, heterosexual fornication and adultery, pornography, corruption in government at all levels, improperly viewing fellow image bearers of God with differing shades of melanin and even falsely accusing one another over this, and so much more. I am also very concerned about the direction of our country and what the candidates actually stand for and seek to promote. Scripture tells us in Proverbs 14:34: Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. As your pastor, let me implore each of us to prayerfully and intelligently vote. We will be held accountable for how we vote in this election, as we will for every election. The watchword is "vote biblically". How we as the church of Jesus Christ need to return to the authority of Scripture. How we need to repent of our sin. How we need to get back to what the Lord told us all to be doing--3 things only: evangelizing the lost, discipling the saved, living together in love and unity. May we hear Paul's defense of the authority that King Jesus gave him. And may we live under that same authority by rightly dividing and living out this letter, what we call 2 Corinthians.