The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 52; 2 Corinthians 13:1-14: "Prepping to Pass the Test"

The Corinthian Correspondence Part 52; 2 Corinthians 13.1-14 Prepping to Pass the Test Well, after pausing in our time from the Corinthian correspondence, we have returned to our regularly scheduled series! I trust that you found the messages on Pentecost to be helpful. I know I did! A little sneak peek: we will return to some more of Dr. Heiser's stuff when we get to our next series, "The Gospel According to Moses." There are several things in our next series where the Heiser approach will greatly help us to make sense out of some of what is going on. But that is not today. We are at the tail end of our Corinthian Correspondence series. After today we will have 2 more messages to tie things up, to include what has become somewhat of a tradition when we finish up a book. We put things "in a nutshell." Part of our mission statement is that we learn the Bible. "Nutshells" help us do that. But have you ever wondered what happened to the church after the Scripture writers wrote his letter or letters to them? Take Paul's letter to the Philippians. Do you ever wonder if they went on with the Lord? Or, what they actually did with the letter Paul wrote to them? Next week, I want to walk us through some fascinating things in the Corinthian church. Things that let us in on how the Corinthians responded to his 3rd visit. So, come next week to be encouraged and equipped to more fully understand and apply not only 2 Corinthians but even 1 Corinthians as well. Today though, we are going to talk about tests. For those of us in high school on down, that's an ugly word. A dreaded word. And a religious word! Not kidding! With all this talk about separation of church and state in our country--which does not appear anywhere in the Constitution by the way--you did know that, didn't you?--taking tests can be a religious act. I've heard it said, "as long as there are final tests, there will be prayer in school!" When you graduate high school, and move on to college or the military, or trade school, guess what? More tests. But unlike high school, taking these tests is a little different. Many of us want to take these these tests and have a lot of incentive to pass them. For a couple of reasons. First, we want to get the courses in our rear view so we won't have to pay more money to take the course again! And second, when we pass our courses of study, then what? We get the degree or the certification! That piece of paper that says, "you can now search for a job!" Then it's on to yet another test: the job search. Think resume. Interview. And on and on. For those of us who have ever had to look for a job, we know that in itself is a full time job! In our passage for today, 2 Corinthians 13.1-14 we are going to see Paul encourage and warn his beloved Corinthians about a test. But it's not a test to pass a course. It's not about a test for promotion. It goes far beyond that. It's the most important test that anyone could ever take. Literally, eternity hangs in the balance depending on the outcome of this test. And it's not only the Corinthians Paul is concerned about. In the eyes of the Corinthians he is also concerned about passing the test. We will see that a little later in the message. So, let's jump in to 2 Corinthians 13.1-4 as we see Paul giving the Corinthians what I call a pretest warning. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them-since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. Paul is here saying, in as loud a way as he could say it through parchment and ink, "Warning!" If Paul had email, his message would be done in all caps, in bold, and underlined. He is serious here, warning them about dealing with their sin. And I will ask the question: Why? Why is Paul warning them about their sin? Why not the leadership of the church? In short, the leadership is not doing their job. Let's not forget, 2 Corinthians is not the first time Paul dealt with them. Let me give you just a few of the problems. Divided congregation due to powerful personalities. They saw ongoing sexual sin as a point of pride--sexual sin that even their pagan neighbors found disgusting. "Look how progressive we are!" they would say. "We just love everybody." Let's continue. Fighting between church folk was out there for the world to see--brother going to court against brother. Not only did the leadership allow sin and disunity run unchecked, they also tolerated false teaching. Some who were attached to the church actually denied the teaching of the resurrection of the dead. Remember Paul telling them in 1 Corinthians 15, that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is still in the grave. And we have no hope of salvation. And all this was in just Paul's first letter to the Corinthians! The second letter had to do with the leadership not guarding the purity of the truth. False teachers bringing to the Corinthians a false gospel is what is largely behind this second letter. The false teachers kept lying about Paul and his friends, and were beginning to win the Corinthians to their way of thinking, and their brand of religion--a gospel that does not save. Paul even called these guys as being in league with Satan. So, I will ask again, Where are the shepherds? Apparently, nowhere to be found. There's a lot I can say about this, and certainly you could add your perspectives of churches and their lack of real shepherds, but I will go on. Paul was the real pastor, with real Christlike love for the Corinthians. Paul knew a thing or 2 about love. He literally wrote the book about love--1 Corinthians 13, the greatest description of love anywhere. And Christlike love compelled him to deal with the ongoing sin of those who attached themselves to the church in Corinth. This compulsion to deal with sin was a solemn, extremely serious deal with Paul. He sets up this chapter by essentially quoting Deuteronomy 19.15: This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. This command in Deuteronomy has to do with crimes committed in the community. Paul considered his visits to be all the witnesses he needs to deal with their sin-their spiritual crimes. Now, in v.2 Paul says that he will not spare those who sinned. Now, we look at that and we might say, "Paul, preacher of grace, aren't you being just a little harsh here? God's people still sin, Paul. Can't you lighten up?" It does seem as though there is no room for grace here. And if we knew the original language we would clearly see the problem. "Sinned" in v.2 can be described this way: "you had sinned in the past and you have not stopped." In other words, those whom Paul promised to deal with, as in exercising church discipline, are those who live in unrepentant sin. Now, let me briefly make 2 points here before we move on. First, 2 Corinthians 13.1-4 comes right after 2 Corinthians 12.21. Pretty obvious, but when was the last time we were in 2 Corinthians? Three weeks ago. So, let's review the context. What was in Paul's heart when he wrote 2 Corinthians 13? Let's read together 2 Corinthians 12.21: I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. Church discipline was a painful thing for Paul. It was not fun for him. And remember what happened before he wrote 2 Corinthians for those who have been around for awhile, or have studied this letter on your own? Paul paid an unexpected visit and blasted at least 1 church leader for allowing the false teachers to have some influence there. After he left, he felt great pain in his heart. So much so, that he wrote a letter, stained with many tears. So, church discipline was something that Paul did not relish. But he did it when necessary. And in our day, any pastor in any church trying to be faithful to the Lord's ways feels the same way. It is painful. But if it is needed, it must be done. Some of the most difficult times of my life was over the church discipline I had to do here as your pastor. And some of you assisted in this painful process. I shared a few weeks ago John MacArthur's perspective on church growth. His take is that church growth is built on the foundation of the holiness of God. And what is the mechanism to maintain the holiness of God in his church? Church discipline. Again, the growth may not be an increase in numbers. But when church discipline is accomplished in the way it needs to be done, it will result in the growth of God's favor on the local assembly. And I would much rather have the favor of God with a few people than little to no favor of God with many people sitting in the pew. And I'm sure you are committed to the same. So we need to pray for increased holiness at Grace United. And if need be, to exercise the painful but necessary process of church discipline. So, for Paul exercising church discipline with the unrepentant was something he would rather not have to do. But it was necessary. The second point here is that Paul was trying to persuade the Corinthians, once again, that he had the authority of Christ, unlike the false teachers. This is the main point of vv.3-4. Time and again, Paul was locked in a battle with the false teachers. And let me remind us, real false teaching is spiritual cyanide. I'm not talking about fine points of doctrine like when the rapture will happen. True Christians can differ over many things. But I'm talking about teachings like what the gospel is. Who Jesus is. And so Paul continued to hammer away at how he was the one who gave the Corinthians the truth. Why? Because the Corinthians, in the words of the prophet Elijah, continued to halt between "2 opinions." For again, who were these false teachers? Those who appealed to the Corinthians. They were flashy. Showy. Had it all together. Dynamic. And they were after their money. But Paul was none of these things. His ministry toward them was that of a servant. Hear again Paul's mindset toward them in 2 Corinthians 4.5: For what we proclaim is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. Bottom line here is that Paul was more than willing to deal with their sin. Because the love of Christ constrained him, he was ready to call them out and exercise church discipline. He would much rather not, as he says in v.4: "for we also are weak in him." In other words, he really wanted to be warm and affectionate, not having to be heavy handed, but "we will live with him by the power of God." So, having sounded the pretest warning in vv.1-4, Paul now issues the test itself, found in vv.5-10: Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong-not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. How sobering are these words! Do you realize, my friends, that the words of this test, were spoken to exactly 1 church? We read words of warning to a number of churches in the New Testament. Let me give you just 2 examples. The Lord Jesus, through John writes to the church of Sardis: I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains. And Paul warned the Galatians, You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. These indeed are stern warnings. But here in 2 Corinthians 13.5, Paul is offering them, it seems one final opportunity: "Examine yourselves. Test yourselves." It's as if Paul is saying, "Ok, final test time. Where does your loyalty lie? In a word, either side with me and the truth or side with the false teachers." Let me break this down, first by pointing out some things that may not be obvious. Notice the plurals here. Examine yourselves, to see whether you--literally, y'all are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do y'all not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in-or among y'all?-unless indeed y'all fail to meet the test! Notice Paul's test is not primarily given to individuals in the church, though it definitely applies on an individual level. Again, Paul was calling the church as a whole to stand for truth. His warning came with a challenge. "As the church in Corinth, prove that Jesus Christ is still your Lord. You do that by getting rid of the false teachers." It's been said that the Lord will not go where he is not wanted. This rings true. Think of the church in Laodicea. After Jesus dictated to John to write that they had no need of Jesus, in that they said they had need of nothing, apparently the presence of Jesus slipped out the door. Notice what he said in Revelation 3.20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Jesus was outside the door of the assembly. And inside no one noticed. Here was a really wealthy church. Probably attractive to many. The assembly had the finest of everything. Certainly if somebody had a need, it would be taken care of. They didn't offend anybody. It was probably a very comfortable gathering. But who was missing? Jesus. Because they felt no need for the Lord Jesus, he just left. Literally he has been standing outside the assembly for awhile. And he knocks. Who will hear the Lord? Will there be anybody to turn toward the door, open it and welcome him in? The Laodicean church suffered great loss. The Corinthian church was at the crossroads. Would they experience the loss of the Lord's presence? I think of what is happening today. How many churches have the Lord standing outside their door? I can go on all day about this. But let me give you just one example: LMX--Liberation Methodist Connexion. The United Methodist church is due to break up into 4 different denominations within the next 18 months or so. If it wasn't for COVID it would probably already be split. Liberation Methodist Connexion apparently already split about 6 months ago. Let me give you a little of what they are about: We are a grassroots denomination of former, current, and non-Methodist faith leaders working on the unfolding of the kin-dom-not kingdom of God. We are journeying toward a new way of being followers of Christ that refute the imbalance of powers, principalities, and privileges that has plagued Methodism: colonialism, white supremacy, economic injustices, patriarchy, sexism, clericalism, ableism, ageism, transphobia, and heteronormativity. We trust God's presence and our collaborative labors will guide us toward a new, more liberative way of answering our calling and being in connexion together. I have a question: where is Jesus in LMX? And how many other assemblies are like that? May the Lord be pleased to save some from that spiritually deceptive organization. Jesus has no qualms about leaving an assembly which does not faithfully represent him. Paul also said to the Corinthians, "Examine yourselves. Test yourselves." Clearly Paul means for this to be applied personally as well. The Corinthians, and we by extension are to examine ourselves, to see whether we are in the faith. This is indeed the most important test we will ever take. Heaven and hell are at stake, definitely. And God will glorify himself regardless of whether a person goes to heaven or hell. If we go to heaven, God will glorify himself in displaying his mercy and grace. If we go to hell, God will glorify himself in displaying his justice and wrath. But as we know, tragically, even though people will wind up in hell, it was not made for people. The Lord Jesus said it was made for the devil and his angels. Also God through Peter told us is it not his will that any perish but that all come to repentance. In other words, God would much rather save people for heaven than to condemn people to hell. Christ died so that we would not have to suffer the wrath of God. So, how do you and I know if we have passed the test? By following the true Jesus. And this shows itself in 2 ways. First be sure it's the true Jesus you and I are following. There have always been many different people who have claimed to be Jesus down through the centuries. But which one is the right one? The one proclaimed in Scripture. The true Jesus is the sinless son of the living God, Second Person of the Trinity clothed with humanity. He is 100% God and 100% man at the same time. As the Second Person of the Trinity, he was the agent of creation. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. The true Jesus is the Messiah, born of the virgin Mary, died on a cross, was raised again 3 days later, ascended to the Father's right hand, and one day will return to judge the living and the dead. This my friends, is the only true Jesus there is. Only this Jesus can eternally save us from our sins, no other. So, to pass the test we have to follow the correct Jesus. But there is another part to this test. We must follow the correct Jesus. That means we are loyal to him. We understand this. As I husband, my privilege and responsibility to Kitty, and the vow that I made to her on our wedding day 42 years ago is that I will stay loyal to her and to the vows I made in the sight of God. Now, anybody who is married, or was married, or is liable to be, and that covers just about everybody, we know that loyalty does not mean perfection. You don't have to ask her right now, but if you were to ask her, I'm fairly confident that Kitty would tell you that I am not perfect. I've been wrong at least once! It's the same way with Jesus. We loyally, not perfectly follow the Lord. But now, loyalty is not the same as license to sin. Jesus makes that clear in Matthew 7.23 when he will tell many people to depart from him. Horrifically what is the reason? He tells us: "I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness." In other words, we can correctly identify who Jesus is. Many will refer to him as Lord on the day of judgment. But he will tell them to go away because their way of life did not change. They were practicing lawlessness as a way of life before they acknowledged Jesus as Lord. And they lived their lives still practicing lawlessness. Their lives reflected a contradiction. They proclaimed Jesus as Lord, but it was they who stayed on their own throne. See, when we make room for the king we need to remove our posterior from the seat. And we take our rightful place where we belong. At the feet which were pierced for us. So, this morning, I have a challenge for all of us. We need to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith. We need to make sure we are following the correct Jesus. We also need to make sure we are loyally following him as well. We can look at it like this: the ultimate being in the universe has invited you and me to have a forever love relationship with him. The only thing we deserve from him is his wrath. He would be perfectly justified in pouring it out on us. But the king desires our loyalty to him. He is willing to salvage our lives now and for eternity. But it is our turn to respond. In a few moments, I will make a challenge. I will ask us to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith. We need to make sure we are committed to the correct Jesus. And we need to make sure we are loyally following the correct Jesus. Time marches on and so does this message. I don't have time to go into any depth for vv.6-10, so let me just sum up what Paul is saying. Paul reminds the Corinthians, again, that they really do have a choice to make. The Corinthians will show Paul that they believe that he has failed the test if they choose to go with the false teachers and not him. But in the end, though he does not want to be heavy handed in the use of his authority the Lord gave him, he will do it if he has to. Now having seen Paul give his pre-test warning and his issuing of the challenge to examine themselves to see whether they really are saved by the Lord, now he turns his attention to what can rightly be called a posttest celebration in vv. 11-14: Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. In a word, Paul is now telling those who have passed the examination to joyfully live out their loyal commitment to Christ in the ways he has listed. Obviously, much more can be added, but Paul was inspired to write this list to brothers and sisters--members of the true church in Corinth, and us by extension. Rejoice! That is a command. Paul says it well in Philippians 4.4, where God's people are to rejoice in the Lord. Not in circumstances. Not in socio-economic status. Not in material possessions or health. But in the Lord. Aim for restoration--literally: make it their aim to become mature in Christ--to use a very old army slogan, by the power of his Spirit, "Be all you can be" for the Lord. Then notice a string of actual or implied, "one anothers". Comfort one another. Agree with one another. Live in peace with one another. As what probably amounts to the remnant believers in the church at Corinth, when God's people faithfully apply the one anothers, what happens? He is pleased to draw near in manifest presence: "The God of love and peace will be with you." What a way to live as God's people, don't you think? Greet one another with a holy kiss. We need to take into account the culture. The holy kiss is something we in this culture do not do. We do things like holy handshakes or holy hugs. The point is we show one another affection in culturally appropriate ways. Then notice v.13: All the saints greet you. A great statement! In brief, the body of Christ is bigger than a local assembly. That is obvious. But it can be easy to live as though our assembly is the only one. Let's make sure though, that when we fellowship with other churches, they are true churches, loyally following the true Jesus. And finally, Paul gives a typical benediction. Notice it is a Trinitarian benediction: the grace of the Lord Jesus. The love of God the Father. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amen. So, did they, as a church, side with Paul, or go with the false teachers? What became of them? Did Paul's letters and visit have any effect on the Corinthians, or did they just fade into oblivion, where they were sort of reabsorbed into the culture? Or did some make it through and persevere and establish a strong church there in one of the most if not the most wicked city in the Roman Empire? Tune in next week for some answers--and what we can learn. Right now, though, I want us to take a few moments to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith. Of course that is Paul's way of challenging them, and us to see whether we have placed our faith in Christ and all that it means. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by grace through faith. God offers his grace in Christ. And we place our faith in him. Grace and faith are both vital here. The only thing we deserve from holy God is his wrath. But in Christ, he offers us his grace. That's one side of the coin. The other side of the salvation coin is faith. Everybody has faith. But not everybody places their faith in the same object. Some place their faith in the object called the true Jesus and are saved. Some place their faith in an object called the false Jesus and they are lost. The point is every one of us has placed our faith in something or someone. Into what object have you placed your faith? If it is the true Jesus, then let's show it by loyally following him. If the object of our faith is something else, we will show that as well.