Scripture

When I was with you, I certainly gave you proof that I am an apostle. For I patiently did signs and wonders and miracles among you.

Observation

Paul is not inferior to the so-called “super apostles”, even though he is nothing at all. Paul proved his credentials as an apostle when he was with them by performing many signs and wonders.

Paul will visit Corinth a third time, and he will not be a burden to them. Some people claim he was tricking them. Paul asserts that everything he does is to strengthen them.

Pail is afraid that when he comes, he will find them engaging in the same fleshly behaviour and that they have not repented of their sexual immorality.

Application

One of the generally accepted signs of apostolic grace is the gift of miracles. Here, Paul says that he performed signs, wonders and miracles in Corinth.

Having said that, signs, wonders and miracles should not be seen as the exclusive domain of apostles. These are things that every child of God should experience as the normal christian life.

What would a life of supernatural gifts look like?

Firstly, we must always have the same attitude of Christ. He did these things patiently. Humility and devotion to Christ alone are the true marks of the christian.

Secondly, we must always walk in submission and obedience to Christ. God will only give us the power that we can handle in submission to Him. We seek the Giver not the gifts.

The core issue is this: Can I be trusted with signs and wonders?

Prayer

Lord, please help me to submit myself entirely to you. May the gifts of your Spirit always be signs of your kingdom, pointing others to Christ. Amen.

Scripture

I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

Observation

Paul’s boasting will do no good, but he is compelled to continue. He tells about an experience where he was taken up to heaven, to the very presence of God, and he saw things that were too astounding to put into words.

He could boast about this experience, but he refuses to do so because he wants the truth of the gospel to be heard in his words and seen in his lifestyle.

To stop Paul from becoming proud because of these revelations, the Lord allowed a thorn in the flesh from satan to torment him. He pleaded with the Lord to take it away, but the Lord said to him, “My grace is all you need.” So Paul now takes pleasure in his own weakness because when he is weak then Christ can work through him.

Application

Paul has been trading boasts with the so-called super apostles. Now he mentions an experience of heaven that was so powerful that human words cannot express what he saw. So he does not try to revel in this because he wants people to judge him by the message he teaches and the way he lives.

How different this is to some of the prophetic people in the church. There are some who claim to have been taken up to heaven and they give great details of what they saw. Paul refused to boast about his experience, but this does not deter them.

Visions of heaven, words from the Lord, and extraordinary experiences of the Holy Spirit can be exciting. but we need to make sure that we do not become consumed by the experience at the expense of worshipping the Lord.

I came to Christ as the result of a vision I had of Him when I was 18. It was a powerful experience that literally changed my life. I never claim to be superior to people who grew up in the faith through a Christian family or those who were led into faith through a conversation. It is the Lord who is the centre of our faith, not our experiences of Him.

Prayer

Thank you Lord Jesus for all of the gifts of the Spirit, for visions and dreams. Help me to keep all of these things in perspective so that I seek you and you alone. Amen.

Scripture

If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

Observation

Paul now reluctantly shows that if these other apostles are boasting, he has more to boast about.

Are they Hebrews, Israelites, and servants of Christ? Well,he is too. He has served Christ more intensely than any of them. He has been in prison, flogged, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked. He faced dangers from rivers and dangers from robbers, danger in the city and danger in the desert. He has worked hard and long.

If he must boast, Paul will boast of his weakness.

Application

The world, and many in the church, want us to boast about our strengths, our talents, our abilities. The world wants us to glory in our own abilities. As Christians it is God whom we are to glorify.

For Paul, this meant basting about his weakness. He knew that in his weakness, God is made strong.

Paul could not have achieved all that he did unless God was leading him. It was simply beyond any human ability. But God could take hold of a man who was surrendered to Him and transform the world.

It is still true today. God will use whatever we surrender to Him and make it good. Often it is what we consider our inability that He uses.

Everything we offer to God He can use. It might be a skill or talent that we have. It might just be our availability.

Moses was not a natural leader. He was not a skilful orator. But he did surrender his life to the Lord, and Lord used him to take a nation out of captivity in Egypt and to the Promised Land

Prayer

Lord, I surrender myself to you to be used by you to your glory. Take everything I have and all that I am and make me a vessel of your grace. Amen.

Scripture

These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguised themselves as apostles of Christ. I am not surprised! Even satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Observation

Paul will respond to false claims about his apostleship by doing what he has always done. Those who want to say they are greater than Paul are false apostles. They disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. Even satan disguises himself as an angel of light. It comes as no surprise that satan’s servants do the same thing.

Paul thinks it is foolish for him to boast, but others do but others do this to deceive the people. The Corinthians think they are wise, but they put up with people who enslave them and take everything they have.

Application

The ministry gifts – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers – are vital to the health of the church. Satan is a master of deception, so he enslaves the church by raising up false apostles, false prophets, and so on.

A false minister in this context is not someone who makes mistakes. A true prophet might sometimes make a false prediction, but this does not make them a false prophet. This applies to all the ministry gifts.

A false apostle is someone who proclaims they are an apostle but with no authority from the Lord. They are out to raise a following for themselves, fame in the church, and monetary wealth.

Just as there are false apostles, there are false pastors. In fact the existence of these godly positions means that false ones are guaranteed to occur.

Christians and congregations need to be discerning in their acceptance of various ministers. We must not welcome everyone who claims to be an apostle or prophet or teacher. We should not be deceived by charismatic personalities or silver tongues. The test of any ministry is this: do they point people to Jesus or to themselves??

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please give me discernment about my own heart. Am I truly living to glorify you? Help me also to discern those who promote themselves as leaders and ministers in the church. Amen.

Scripture

You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel then the one you believed.

Observation

Paul is jealous for the Corinthians with the jealousy of God Himself. He promised them as a bride to Christ, but it seems that their pure devotion has become corrupted.

Paul says that they put up with every kind of teaching, even a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and a different gospel.

Paul is not inferior to the so-called super apostles. He always aimed to serve the church at no cost to them.

Application

Paul accuses the church at Corinth of happily receiving any form of teaching that comes their way, even if it amounted to a different Jesus, a different Spirit, or a different gospel.

This is still the case today. People seem to go along with the most outrageous nonsense if it is dressed in the right religious language.

It is as if the church, or at least parts of it, have lost the ability or desire to test what is being taught against Scripture.

The prosperity gospel is one such heresy. It goes way beyond the trust that God supplies what we need, and teaches that God wants us to be rich in earthly goods.

Those who teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased after the first generation of believers are also in error. They say we have the New Testament which has replaced the need for prophecy, healing, and so on. Yet the gifts persist in much of the church, showing that they teach a different spirit than the Holy Spirit.

Those who want to add the Old Testament laws to the message of salvation preach a different Jesus. Salvation for them requires observing Hebrew feasts and customs, even though the death of Christ superseded such things.

There are many tempting counterfeit doctrines out there. We must stay faithful to the teachings of Scripture.

Prayer

Lord, examine my heart and see if there is any falsehood in me. Please help me to stay faithful to you. Amen.

Scripture

When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.

Observation

Paul is not trying to frighten people with the sternness of his letters. He will be just as bold when he comes in person.

Other people boast about how wonderful they are, but Paul does not do that. They only compare themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.

Paul refuses to reach beyond the area of authority that God has given him. When he claims authority over the Corinthians, it is because he was the one who established the church there.

There is no point in Paul commending himself because only the Lord’s commendation matters.

Application

The world tells us that we have to promote ourselves, talk ourselves up, stand out from the crowd.

This has infiltrated the church in many ways. We have so-called “celebrity pastors”, which is crazy when we realise that their job is to point others to Jesus, not to themselves. This phenomenon is like having a road sign so adorned with decorations that you cannot read the sign.

There are countless ministries that advertise and promote themselves. They want you to know how good they are at what they do. Is their goal to have the praise of men or the praise of God?

In the end, the only the only opinion worth anything is that of the Lord. The ultimate judgement is not how famous we are, but how faithful to the Lord.

I have seen many people come and go in ministry. The ones who are the loudest and seek to make an impression are like fireworks in the sky – they seem to have the power and authority, but after a short time they disappear.

Prayer

Lord, may I only seek your commendation. Please help me to shun the accolades of people to be totally dedicated to you. Amen.

Scripture

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts to teach them to obey Christ.

Observation

Paul appeals to the Corinthians with the gentleness and kindness of Christ. Some people think Paul is only bold at a distance, confusing his gentleness with timidity when he is with them.

Our weapons are not the fleshly weapons of the world. We use God’s weapons to demolish strongholds and to bring every rebellious thought under Christ’s reign.

Some people might think Paul boasts too much about his authority, but it is authority that comes from Christ and builds people up.

Application

The weapons of our warfare as Christians are not fleshly weapons, but are spiritual in nature.

Paul mentions here strongholds. These are areas of our life where satan has been so entrenched that we are not even aware there is a problem.

Strongholds might be deeply embedded habits or thought patterns that we think are “normal” but are in fact contrary to the gospel.

Strongholds need to be pulled down by an honest look at ourselves in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The weapons that destroy them are prayer and God’s word, that is the normal Christian disciplines.

As we submit ourselves to God’s word and apply it to every part of our life, we notice over time that we no longer believe the way we once did. Strongholds, attitudes, and behaviours become obliterated by the grace of our Lord.

Prayer

Lord, please show me strongholds that satan has established in my life. give me the grace to pull these things down. Amen.

Scripture

For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Observation

Paul quotes Psalm 112 which says that God’s people share freely and give generously to the poor. God provides seed for the sower and bread to eat. In the same way, He will increase their resources and produce a harvest of generosity in them.

God will enrich the Corinthians in every way. When Paul takes their gift back to Jerusalem, the believers there will praise God for this generosity and they will pray for them with deep affection.

Application

God provides the farmer with the seed to sow as well as bread to eat. The test for sustainable farming in the ancient world was that even in the most severe of famines, some grain had to be saved to sow the following year. To fail to do this would lead to further suffering.

As Christians who are under God’s grace, we need to both sow into God’s kingdom and also retain some money to meet our own needs. There is no glory to God if we give away everything we have and then become dependent on others.

So discernment in the Holy Spirit is needed in knowing how to spend and invest the resources that God has given us.

In any event, if we are faithful to the Lord, we will reap a great harvest of generosity. The harvest God is looking for is not just a harvest of wealth, but a harvest of generosity. H wants our hearts changed to the point where the first question we ask we ask is, “How much how much can I give?”

Prayer

Lord, please develop in me this generous heart that seeks to give rather than get. Amen.