Wisdom From the Fool's Speech

Nomenclature:

E: Explanation

I: Illustration

A: Application

T: Transition

Introduction

Good evening, Christ Covenant Church. Our passage today as we continue to find our way through Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians is to be found in chapter 11 of this letter, and we will be studying verses 16-33. While you find this in your Bibles, let me take this opportunity to thank you for how you’ve been loving and encouraging me and my family throughout these years. My family and I love this church, and that’s why it is indeed a great honor and a privilege to be here with you today. We value your love very much.

Value is something with which we interact everyday. We pay for stuff, and we charge for stuff. We set apart our time for those things we consider valuable. And, if we think about it, there is an intrinsic relationship between what we value and what we boast about. We tend to boast on that which we consider to be more valuable.

Think about that for a second. When was the last time someone boasted about such a common object as a napkin or a pen?

And so, Paul has stated already that there is a wrong kind of boasting and a godly boasting. The first is called “boasting in the flesh” and spoken of as “foolishness.” The other kind of boasting has been called “boasting in the Lord.” Our passage today is going to bring a good example of both, and more than that, is going to give us the proper tools to know if we are boasting in the right things and in the right way. So, with this in mind, let us read from 2 Corinthians 11:16-33:

English Standard Version Chapter 11

16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool.

18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.

19 For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!

20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.

21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.

23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.

24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;

27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,

33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

My purpose this evening is to give us from this text the tools so that we may recognize what kind of boasting we’re engaged in. In other words, now that we are aware that there’s a wrong kind of boasting, the question now is, how do we know where we are concerning our own boasting?

Now, it is appropriate the remind ourselves of some of the sarcasm in Paul’s speech here. Failing to recognize it, will make interpreting this passage really difficult. So, a good way to recognize and interpret this kind of ironic language is by asking questions. What are the themes that are drawing these sarcastic statements to the picture? Also, how is the sarcasm functioning here? Well, I’m convinced that the sarcasm in this section is designed to make evident the wrong ways in which the Corinthian church and the False Apostles are boasting.

To show this, in the next 20 minutes or so, we are going to be asking three diagnostic questions, which are going to be today’s sermon’s main points:

What are we receiving?

Why are we relishing those things?

How are we reacting when things don’t go ‘our’ way?

So: receiving, relishing and reacting.

Hence, let’s pray that the LORD will aid us in doing this this evening.

What Are We Receiving?

E: So the first question we ought to answer from the text is ‘What are we receiving as valuable?’

Paul has been clear in expressing his discontent with the fact that the Corinthian church is taking heed of what the Super-Apostles are saying about him, his apostleship, and therefore, about the gospel. To show the Corinthians the foolishness of they arguments, Paul himself will engage in what is commonly known as the Fool’s Speech. He will speak, not according to the Lord. This doesn’t mean that Paul ceases to be inspired here, but that he will engage in an argument according to human foolishness so that the Corinthians will turn again to boasting in the Lord rather than in the flesh.

Paul’s accusation here is that, by valuing the wrong people, by receiving the wrong “apostles” the Corinthians are being willingly destroyed instead of being built up. Paul says: “These people are enslaving you! They are devouring you, taking advantage of you! They’re slapping you in the face, they exalt themselves, and you Corinthians aplaude that. You receive that.”

I: In a very real way, this is Stockholm’s Syndrome in the Church. You know Stockholm’s Syndrome, what happens when hostages or victims of abuse are basically brainwashed to commiserate with their captors? The Corinthian church is being held hostage by false teaching and they are siding with the false teachers.

A: So maybe the first filter to know if we are boasting in the right way is to ask ourselves what are we receiving? Maybe you boast in the great house you have. But the cost of that house was neglecting your family for years. And you received that. Maybe a promotion at work? But if you had to step over people or be unfaithful to God, is that a good cost to pay? Are we to receive that so that we may boast? Maybe you are boasting in having an excellent life without counting all the slapping you willingly received so that you would be able to boast. Maybe you have boasted in not being caught in your sin, while not considering that receiving discipline is far better than receiving hell.

What we are willing to receive in order to boast show state of our heart, and what our souls are valuing the most. The Corinthians were willing to be abused by these Super Apostles.

T: How can this be? The thing is that the False Teachers have convince the the Corinthian church that there was value to be found in something different than the Gospel.

Why Are We Relishing in Those Things?

E: And so it is not enough to ponder what am I willing to receive in order to boast, but also why am I relishing so much in certain things? Why is it that I’m ascribing value to the thing I want to boast about, so much so, that I’m being willing to receive all kinds of troubles for it?

I will not go point by point over all the items of Paul’s list, but it think we can group them and take them not as an exhaustive list, but as common examples of things we value.

Our Heritage. Our Origins. Our Family. Our Ministry. Our Work. Our Personal Achievements. Our Trouble and Hardships. Our External Pain. Our Internal Pain.

The list seem to go from the most positive aspects to the most negative experiences, all which is called madmen’s speech (v.23).

“I come from a ‘good family.’” “I have built this ministry.” “I grew this business out of nothing.” “Life has struck me many times but I continue to get up. I’m a fighter.”

I can rejoice with those who are thankful about their families, ministries, work and circumstances. But there’s a large gap from there to boasting in these things. The one who boasts relish these things because they ascribe strength to him. They place him forth as the one to whom glory and honor is due.

At the end of his speech, Paul’s logic is reversed:

v. 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

And I as we will come to see next week, Paul’s reason to boast in those things that show his weakness is so that the strength of God will be magnified. So that God and not men will receive honor, and glory.

I: Maybe the best illustration we have of this is Jesus himself. Being God the Son he took on flesh and came as a baby to this world. He was placed on a manger surrounded by animals, the king was trying to kill him, he had to flee to a foreign land. He who created everything and without whom nothing that is made was made, he who is permanent over all had to learn obedience. Can you imagine how was it for the Holy One of God to submit to imperfect parents? Unrighteous religious leaders? Unjust Roman authorities? The Creator of the Universe to be insulted, spit upon, ridiculed and nailed naked to a cross? But he withstood all these, so that the strength and mighty power of God would be shows forth in the resurrection. And so he made evident that the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

A: Which should lead us to ask, why are we giving value to certain things? Who’s setting the standard of strength? Is it human strength? Are we boasting according to the flesh (v.18)? Or are we boasting in what pertains to our weakness (v.30)?

Do we boast because we have a better house? A better car? A better life? Better grades? We got into a better university? We have a better vacation destination than last year? Children, because you’ve got better toys this year?

Again, don’t get me wrong, we ought to be thankful for all these things. But the things we ought to boast about need to be more valuable, they need to go above and beyond these earthly things, and the only thing, the only Person who fits these category is Jesus himself. All other things will come to an end, but we were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever. And when we boast in Christ we are immediately reminded of why we need him in the first place. It’s due to our prior sin and misery. It’s precisely due to our weakness that we need God’s strength in Christ Jesus.

T: Thus, we have seen that what we are willing to receive and why we relish some things over others say something about the kind of boasting we’re engaged with. As a result, when we do boast in that which shows our weakness, it will also influence the way we’re going to react to adverse circumstances. What happens when things don’t go our way? How do we react when our expectations or desires are not met?

How Are We Reacting?

E: This will also show us in what kind of boasting are we engaging. Are we boasting in the flesh? If so, when things do not come our way, we will despair. We will be humiliated. We will be stripped off from that which is giving us value and our identity will be shaken. On the other hand, when we boast in the Lord, we are willing to accept, embrace, and even rejoice in the hardships of life; not because of our own strength, but because we are thrilled by what our sovereign Lord will bring out of it.

And so, Paul gives us a superb example on how re reacts to this circumstances:

31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

The Apostle not only makes an oath to sustain his claims. Unlike what the false-apostles are saying, what he is claiming is backed up by God himself. Furthermore, in the midst of remembering all of his apostolic hardships, the dangers of death he has been put through, the anxiety he feels for all the churches, in the middle of it all he burst into a blessing. —“He who has put me through all these, He is blessed forever! And he knows that I’m not lying.”— Then, he goes back to the beginning. He calls to mind the moment when everything started.

There was a time in which Paul had all those things that were being “required” of him by the Corinthians. There was a time in which Paul had authority, he was harsh and severe in person, he had letters of recommendation to bak up his mission, he was leading an armed group. That was Paul in his road to Damascus. If somebody knew about boasting in the flesh, that was Paul. And there he was brought low. There he tasted God’s grace and mercy, and that transformed him for life. So when he went to Damascus with the plan to exercise his authority, he was given a distinct kind of authority. He was given that authority and the task to proclaim the Gospel to the gentiles, and he was granted to suffer for this cause (Acts 9:13-16).

That’s the time in which Paul was lowered in a basket through a window in a wall so that he would escape death. He who though himself to be much, who boasted of his origin, his heritage, his work, his mission, was being lowered in a basket. And in this letter to the Corinthian church is using this same episode to boast in his weakness, to boast in the Lord.

A: So, the final question for us today is this: how do we react when things don’t go our way? Are we good with boasting in our weakness? Are we able to find confidence in what God has done in granting us the grace of Christ’s Gospel? How often is this our first reaction when we face trouble?

I would encourage you to listen to so many of the stories around Christ Covenant of people facing hardships. Pay attention to those who are able to find joy in the midst of dark times. See what they’re boasting on. There are many examples here. That’s one of the reasons why we value this church so much.

If you’re one of those who have been boasting in the Lord, let me thank you for setting an example for others, and let me join you in thanking God for the way he has worked in your life. However, if by the diagnostic questions we have made today you find yourself to be in the other side of Paul’s argument, if you’re boasting in the flesh. If you are receiving things you ought not to receive; relishing things you ought not to relish; and reacting in ways you ought not to react, let this sermon be taken as a warning and an invitation! Find what true value is all about, find a real reason to boast in Jesus the strong savior.

Only the Gospel of God, only through the work of the Spirit, only by remembering the person and work of Jesus Christ you will be made able to do so.

Let’s pray.