The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 34, 2 Corinthians 1:12 - 2:4, "Paul, the Broken Hearted Pastor"

The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 34; 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4: "Paul, the Broken-Hearted Pastor" Author Jim Collins interviewed Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest-ranking officer in the Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. Regarding the prisoner of war camp, Collins asked Stockdale, "Who didn't make it out?" "Oh, that's easy," answered Stockdale. "The optimists." "The optimists? I don't understand," responded Collins. "The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart." Ever been there? Situations that you have to face which are of the most gut wrenching kind. You feel as though you're in a room with no exit, back against the wall, and the wall in front of you is closing in. No escape. You must act, but you see yourself in a lose-lose situation. What to do? Today, we are going to see Paul in this kind of situation. He clung fast to the Lord. But there were some new kids in the church in Corinth who were doing a good job at undermining the authority the Lord gave the true apostle. Paul and his friends were losing the influence they had on the church. And the church was, on the whole beginning to go into a slippery slope. We were reminded last Lord's day that Christ Jesus gave Paul divine authority to begin a church in Corinth, one of the most wicked cities in the Roman Empire. They had a lot of issues, but the genuine followers of Christ clung to the authorized gospel--the only true gospel. But a shift began to take place in the church in Corinth. False teachers came to town. Very persuasive ones. Mesmerizing. Powerful. Dynamic. They pulled out all the stops and used worldly wisdom to put forth their brand of good news. They seemed to make a lot of sense--more than this "Christ and him crucified" foolishness of a gospel that Paul preached. So much so that the believers in Corinth were tempted to turn their backs on the true gospel and opt for a different one, offered by those who had a new kind of authority. In their day, and in ours, there was one true gospel and many false gospels, and preachers who promoted them. We will talk about the false gospels in our day in a few minutes. Naturally this undermining of Paul's authority and the preaching of a different gospel got the apostle's attention. He had to drop what he was doing to pay the Corinthian brothers and sisters a visit sooner than expected, for Paul had plans to visit them later. The apostle dealt with the people he had to deal with but we are not told exactly how he did it. Then he returned to the open door of ministry that existed in Ephesus. But he could not stop thinking about and praying for his beloved Corinthians. Souls were at stake. As we know from Paul's B.C. days, he had a volcanic temper. I imagine Paul going in there and verbally rip the false teachers apart. The Corinthians Christians probably never saw Paul so animated. Giving a false gospel is truly heinous! So, what to do, now that he was back in Ephesus resuming his ministry there with his broken heart in the aftermath of the spiritual carnage? There were 3 options. First, Paul could stay in Ephesus and pour himself out in prayer over them and this situation. Second, he could return to Corinth in person and further deal with this issue. Third, Paul could write a letter. He opted for the letter. And was attacked for even that by the enemies of the gospel. And with this as a background, let's get into our passage for today, 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4. Today we will see Paul begin to deal with his broken heart over the Corinthian believers, defend his apostolic authority, and ultimately defend the one true life-giving gospel. As we know, chapter and verse designations are not inspired. The thought in this passage does not end at the end of the chapter. That's why we're going to include as part of our study today the first 4 verses of chapter 2. Let me give you the lay of the land for today. I want to highlight 3 things in this passage. First, Paul's testimony of how the Lord, through the true gospel changed both him and the Corinthian believers. Second, we will see how Paul dealt with his accusation of, as the ESV has it, "vacillating" over the change of his travel plans. There is more here than meets the eye. Third, let's take a look at how Paul handled his broken heart over this threat of a hostile gospel in the midst of the church, a gospel that cannot save them. It was painful thing for Paul. These were real people, both his friends in the church in Corinth and even the false apostles. And my prayer is that the Lord will open our hearts to really hear what is going on in this passage, for these verses are so timely in our day. Because we will need to bounce around a bit, let's read the entire passage at once. 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4: For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand-just as you did partially understand us-that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you. Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. But I call God to witness against me-it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. As I mentioned, let's look first at Paul's testimony of how the Lord, through the true gospel changed both him and the Corinthian believers. Paul reminded them of who he was and how he lived his life before them. Paul gave a testimony of his conscience, describing his behavior as a Christian and as an apostle, one sent by Christ as showing simplicity--literally holiness, godly sincerity--or one having pure motives, and not with earthly wisdom but in the grace of God. Paul's life was not showy or flashy. There was not much that impressed people when they looked at him. But Paul did not live his life to impress others. Let's review Paul's view of life that I introduced you to last week: theocentric. For Paul, little else matters. When it came to making an impression on the world, people faded into the background. Gaining the Lord's approval was the only thing Paul cared about. It was not great talent but deep godliness and holiness that Paul wanted to put on display. And it was, and is, these things that cannot be imitated. We find another display of character that Paul showed the Corinthians, and it was love, expressed in much affliction and anguish and many tears over this very difficult situation. Let's not forget that about 20 years prior to this letter that Paul hated non-Jewish people--or at least treated them with distain. One of a Jewish leader's daily prayers was, "I thank God that I am not a woman or a gentile." The Lord through the gospel thoroughly changed Paul. He completely transformed him from being a man who hated all who were not like him to actually shedding tears of anguish over them. Think about your life. How has God's gospel changed you over the years, or even in recent days, if you haven't been walking with the Lord for very long? I'm sure you can say with me, that any hardship is worth enduring as the Lord does his work in our lives. The sweet fruit of holiness, purity, a clear conscience, love. This is what the Lord through the gospel produced in Paul. And as a result was able to humbly and boldly proclaim these things to the Corinthians. Now let's take a brief look at Paul's reminder to the Corinthians of what of what the Lord did in their lives. First, notice Paul's confidence that they will stand before the Lord one day, and marvel and rehearse all that the Lord had done in the relationship of Paul to the Corinthians and of the Corinthians to Paul, the mutual ministry they had in one another's lives. Isn't that going to be a great day, my brothers and sisters? It is true that we will stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives. We often think of the bad things we will have to answer for. But the Lord will also reward us for the good deeds we did as well, especially regarding our ministry in others' lives! Who are the significant mentors in your life that you will give the Lord praise for when you stand before Him on that day? Who will you be able to give the Lord praise for in those whom you personally helped to be more like Jesus? And by the way, let me put in another shameless plug to join us today for our Pastor's Brown Bag Lunch after corporate worship. We ask for 1 hour of your time to share a meal together and talk about disciplemaking! God gave the Corinthian believers-and us--promises that are fully trustworthy because he is trustworthy: vv.21-22: And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. God gave the Holy Spirit to us as his people, a guarantee of his faithfulness to deliver on every one of his promises to us. God has justified his people through the gospel. He has declared us to be in a forever right standing with himself. This means we have been saved from the penalty of sin-the ultimate wrath of God in hell. We are also being saved from the power of sin in this life as he works in us to make us more like Jesus. This is sanctification. And we will be saved from the very presence of sin when we get to the other side: glorification. To God be the glory! And there's more! God enables the Corinthians-and us--to stand firm in our trust in the Lord. It's also God's desire for his people to experience the fulness of joy as Paul shares with them this truth in v.24. The wonderful thing about this truth is v.24 is not the only place in Scripture where God tells us about joy. God through David says in Psalm 16:11 that in the Lord's presence is the fullness of joy and at God's right hand are pleasures forever! No wonder Paul could say in v.20 that all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. It glorifies the Lord when we express our hope in our good God's faithfulness-for that is what we do when we say "amen"-"So be it!" I don't know about you but this is so rich, I could just stop here and take this in for hours! Imagine, the God of the universe giving his people such incredible gifts. He is completely faithful to keep his promises. Hallelujah! But we need to look at the next point in this passage: how Paul dealt with his accusation of vacillating over the change of his travel plans. It seems such a small matter. Ok, so Paul had to change his plans to see them. He loved them. He wasn't going to abandon them. He already proved that by paying them a visit to defend the gospel, keeping the wolves in sheep's clothing at bay. He had to change the timing of his visit. "So what?" we might think. "Who cares as long as you get here, Paul!" I'm sure that this would have been the case if the false teachers had not infiltrated the church in Corinth. Obviously, Paul was accused of not caring about them. "How can Paul care about you? He makes a promise to you and does not follow through. He's talking out of both sides of his mouth." And some were beginning to believe it. This is probably why Paul brought up the issue of vacillating in his plans. But here I want to point out 2 truths pertaining to this charge. The first is, yet another indication of Paul's theocentric view of life. Look again at vv.17-20: Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. What is Paul saying in light of the charge? First, remember how we just saw Paul describe the testimony of his conscience, that he simply did not live his life according to the flesh; rather he lived his life by the grace of God. Remember as well in 1 Corinthians that Paul said those who are born again have access to divine wisdom. In short, Paul simply highlighted the fact that he lived his life in faithfulness to the Lord, so why in the world would he want to show unfaithfulness to those he cared so much about? Could it be that the charge the false teachers made about Paul was because they themselves were guilty of vacillating in their plans? How often do we see this in our day? In Romans 2, Paul says that when we judge self-righteously we are guilty of the same thing. That's why a person can see the flaw so clearly in others because it is a reality in his or her life. It's that log and speck thing the Lord talked about. And this is where Paul's theocentric view of life becomes crystal clear. He not only let the charge roll off his back, but he was able to actually exalt the Lord in this. In essence Paul said, "all right, go ahead and accuse falsely. But we are here to say, 'ALL of God's promises are yes;' even if you think we are being unfaithful, God is never that way." In other words, because the Lord was absolutely central in Paul's life, rather than take the issue and try to defend himself, Paul was able to turn the false accusation around and glorify the Lord, and in this case exalt God's faithfulness. What a lesson for us as well. Again, Paul "allowed" the accusation to stand-he did not get defensive over the false charge. However, what Paul did defend was the truth of his words regarding Christ and God's faithfulness. How we need to wisely find ways to lift up the Lord in our conversations with others. But that requires the Lord be central in our lives, before we have those conversations. Otherwise, we will be tempted to get defensive, and blow our witness. The 2nd truth I see here is Paul's authenticity regarding the charge. He was falsely accused, probably in reference to his motives-that he does not care about them. But is that true? Not by a long shot. Vv. 23-24: It was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. Short answer? Paul was convinced that should he return to them face to face to take care of this issue between them and the false teachers, it would do further damage to the fellowship. He may win the battle-get rid of the false teachers--but lose his relationship with the Corinthian believers. Just thinking about this caused him much pain and anguish. His desire for them was their stability and joy in the Lord. Paul was not the kind of pastor who wanted a cult following. In essence he wanted them to stand on their own, joy-filled foundation of the gospel. Remember what he said to them in 1 Corinthians: "It's not me you owe your life to, it is the Lord." The last thing Paul wanted was "the church of Paul". This was the church of God in Corinth, not the church of Paul in Corinth. As he said before, Paul was a fellow worker, a mere servant of the Lord when it came to the ministry he had with the Corinthians. What do we have so far? Paul's testimony of how the Lord, through the true gospel transforms people to his glory. He dealt with the charge of vacillating over the change of his travel plans. Now let's take a look at how Paul handled his broken heart over this threat of a hostile gospel in the church at Corinth. How Paul struggled! He did what he knew he had to do-fend off Satan's wolves feeding Christ's flock with a so-called new gospel. It was fresh. Exciting. But deadly poisonous. And Paul was livid. Dropping what he was doing-significant work in Ephesus-he probably arrived with guns ablaze to defend the gospel and his authority. And he no doubt had it out with the false teachers. I would imagine him going in like a spiritual Rambo, taking no prisoners. Then he left. And Paul took no pleasure in this. There are hints in this letter that Paul expected the Corinthian believers to take up for him in his defense, but apparently they did not. So, Paul left Corinth, heartbroken. Obviously, there was a problem between Paul and the Corinthians. Though he could have returned in person, he decided to write a letter. He refers to this in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4: And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. Can't you feel Paul's anguish here? He had to do something about the issue. It would not be pleasant. Even when he went back to Ephesus, Paul had one thing on his mind: the clear and present danger of the Corinthians turning to a false gospel and deserting the Lord consumed him. It was strongly worded letter, perhaps worded bit too strongly. Paul will say later in 2 Corinthians that he regretted writing it. The Corinthians may have gotten the wrong impression about it, for after all, Paul was falsely accused over a seemingly petty thing like changing his travel plans! Can you imagine the words spoken about him in Corinth in his absence! But Paul loved them dearly. He didn't want a broken relationship with them. Doubtless, the parchment Paul wrote this now lost 3rd letter to them on was tear stained. And when he finished that letter, he gave it to Titus who delivered it to them. We will find out later how the Corinthians received that letter, again which we do not have. So, here was Paul, a broken-hearted pastor. He did what he had to do, though he did not enjoy it. Through many tears and much anguish. Here's a lesson for all of us as Christians. Sometimes we must confront our spiritual siblings. It is painful to do so. Indeed, if we care about others, confronting them in their sin ought to be painful. But it ought to be done. The Lord commands it. Matthew 18:15-17: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Paul confronted the false teachers, and wept over the situation. Weeping over the issue and the people involved is good and right--the absence of any pain should raise red flags. Because as we know, every person we confront in the body of Christ is our brother. Our sister. The Golden Rule applies here. As you would want someone to approach you when it is necessary for that to happen, you approach them the same way. The issue is one of love, seeking to restore them. Now let me turn the corner and bring into focus what made Paul so upset: false teachers bringing to the Corinthians a false gospel. Paul's enemies were those who were convinced that in order for a gentile to become a Christian he or she had to become Jewish first. After all, the Jews are God's chosen people. Paul called these carriers of a false gospel false prophets. Deceitful workers. Satan's servants. Paul chided the Corinthians that they readily accepted these false prophets who brought them another gospel. That was the line in the sand for Paul. The souls of the Corinthians were at stake. For there is no other gospel which saves. For lack of time let me just mention that Galatians deals with the dangers associated with a false gospel and those who teach them. A horrifying indictment! In short, even though Paul had a wide open door of ministry in Ephesus, he believed it was important enough to drop what he was doing there and set the Corinthians straight over this absolutely vital issue. And for a few minutes I want to remind us about 3 false gospels that are proclaimed by many false prophets today. These gospels have elements of truth in them but they are deadly. There are many who cling to these very popular, but false gospels today throughout the world. Horrifically on the Day of Judgment the Lord will tell them, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Let me briefly cover them. The first one is what used to be called the Social Gospel. I say, used to but now it almost always goes by the label of Social Justice. The Social Gospel from the get-go was an application of Christian principles to the problems that came along with bad working conditions during the industrial revolution. The emphasis of the Social Gospel is on the betterment of people overall with equal rights for everybody, with the ethics of Jesus as its foundation. The Social Gospel was made very popular by a book called, "In His Steps." Simply WWJD. If you think that the Social Gospel has a lot in common with Marxism, you would be correct. The bottom line is simply that the Social Gospel tries to use Jesus to make the world a better place. The second false gospel is the Prosperity Gospel. The idea here is that it is God's will for God's children to have their material needs and desires met. If we have enough faith, we will get what we desire. But to be fair, those in the Prosperity Gospel emphasize that God blesses us to be a blessing. There is so much I need to say, but the clock is so unkind! So, let me make this bottom line comment: The Prosperity Gospel tries to use Jesus to make my life materially prosperous. The third false gospel is a mouthful: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. This false gospel appeals in large measure to the Millennials and younger. Please allow me to quote a very smart man Kevin Van Hoozer: "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism," or MTD for short, is not a bad acronym for a socially transmitted disease. If those who hold this faith could boil it down as a statement of what they believe, it might go something like this: I believe in a creator God who orders and watches over life on earth. I believe that God wants people to be good and act nice to one another--this is the moralistic part. I believe that the central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself--that's the therapeutic part. I believe that God is not involved in my life except when I need Him to solve a problem. I believe that good people go to heaven, and that almost everyone is good or at least nice. God watching from a distance is the deism part. The bottom line with this false gospel is that it tries to use Jesus to make me feel happy and well-adjusted. All 3 false gospels totally fail to give us what we really need: salvation and true love. All 3 false gospels are focused in this world and this life. All 3 are ultimately self-centered: I don't like the uneasiness in the world because sinners live like sinners; I don't like not having what I need and feel deprived of things; I just want to be happy and to know that God is there when I need him. With that said, though all 3 false gospels have a ring of truth--when Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom. For example, what will life will be like then? The world WILL be a far better place. Social Gospel! When Jesus sits on the throne, we WILL have everything we need and want, as God defines needs and wants. Prosperity Gospel! And with Jesus reigning over the earth we WILL be happy and well-adjusted. But in order to get there, we all need God to save us here, not indulge us in our sin. We need to be prepared for the next life while knowing what our Creator wants of us in this one. Only the true gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified saves us from ourselves: The King died in our place and rose again. The true gospel's goal is 1 Timothy 1:5: The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Like Paul, the Lord has given us his authority to preach the true gospel. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't have that right: No government, no family member, no other human being. And so let's leave it right there. Let's return to what author Jim Collins said at the beginning of the message. Why did those in the Hanoi Hilton die of a broken heart? The soldiers built themselves up with false hope. Their hopes could only be dashed so many times before they lost it. But in Christ, we are more than conquerors! "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory." Let's trust the Lord of the Promise, for are all his promises are "Yes"! May we thoroughly know, faithfully live and vigorously defend the real gospel. May we do what it takes to help our brother and sister to live a life worthy of the gospel, even though it will require a broken heart at times. And when we stand before the Lord we will be able to rejoice as to how the Lord used us in his life, her life, for his honor and glory.