Welcome! We are coming down to the last few weeks of our series on Second Corinthians. As we get into today’s passage, I want you to think about resumes. Maybe you’ve never made a resume, or it’s been a long time since you needed one. Or maybe you’ve needed one quite recently or are sending it out to people now.In America, because we live in a “secular” culture, we usually limit what we put on resumes to things that relate directly to the job we wish to apply for. We are so used to this that we don’t think it at all strange. We even have a “don’t ask, don’t tell policy” when it comes to job interviews. We are not supposed to reveal anything about our personal lives, and we are really not supposed to ask anything, if we are the interviewer. In fact, you can get in a heap of trouble if you do.
With Christian jobs, depending on the job, we might be able to go a little more into the big picture, but even there some things are kind of nebulous. But suppose you were to prepare a resume for such a job, and anything and everything was considered to be fair game. (By the way, one place this comes into play is with politicians running for office. Being a person of faith, or being a family man or woman is certainly something politicians don’t shy away from – unless they have a reason to shy away from it!)
So what would you put? Here are some ideas: your job history, emphasizing particular successes you were responsible for, your education, any awards you have received. Beyond the traditional: your faith, your commitment to a church, your volunteer work, your family life, etc.
Well, in today’s passage, Paul was essentially stuck in the same position. His relationship with the Corinthians, a people he first brought to the Lord, a people he lived with for an extended time, building their faith and establishing a church there in Corinth, these people had become distrustful of Paul. False teachers had come in and, as we have seen throughout this series, attacked Paul’s character, Paul’s teachings, Paul’s motives, and anything else they could think of so as to get the people to no longer listen to Paul, but instead listen to them.
Throughout this letter, Paul was refuting various mistruths and attacks and slanders made by his accusers. But as we will see today, at this point in the letter, Paul finally chose to defend his general qualifications; it is as if he is reapplying for the job as disciple of the Corinthians, and he is being forced to give his resume. Paul really didn’t want to do this, because it is a form of boasting, and he had no desire to boast about himself. Back in Chapter 10, verse 12, he wrote “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.” That word "dare" does not mean that Paul was afraid of a comparison, but that he didn’t want to do this before God. He didn’t want to stoop to this level. But Paul came to the conclusion that he had no choice – he had to do something, or he might lose the Corinthians. The future of the church was at stake, and with it, the future salvations of the multitudes there that might hear the gospel from the Corinthians if they stayed true to the Lord. And beyond this, Paul loved the Corinthians, deeply, and if there was anything he could do that might make them return to Christ, to their first love, he must do it, no matter how much it went against his nature. So Paul decided to give the Corinthians a resume.
What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. – 2 Corinthians 11:21b-23a
Paul has already explained it is foolish to boast, but he is driven to do it, just as his accusers do it. He starts with his qualifications based on heritage. Now this whole idea of qualifications based on heritage may seem strange to us, for two reasons. First, our culture generally (but not always) rejects heritage as a category of qualification. (You can still find some upper class places where what family you are from matters. And I may get in trouble for saying it, but there is the whole issue of “southern” qualifications.) Of course, qualifications based on race are completely illegal in America, and rightly so.
The second reason this seems strange to us is that we are talking about qualifications for ministry, and of course heritage today is irrelevant; people share the gospel, become missionaries, pastors, and do other full-time work of all backgrounds and heritages. Indeed, the more the merrier; if you are the first Swedish unicycle-riding woman to come to Christ, you may be especially qualified to reach out to other Swedish unicycle-riding women. So why does Paul’s background as a Jew matter here?
The reason is that back at this point in the history of the church, Christianity was Judaism. It was the “corrected” or “fixed” Judaism. Many of the leaders in Corinth were probably Jews, as they were at every other early church. And all of the apostles were Jews, were Israelites, were descendants of Abraham (all of which mean about the same thing, but are used here for rhetorical emphasis, a style of writing common in that day). Some preachers and politicians use this kind of rhetorical device, even today. I think Paul was purposefully imitating the style of his accusers. He has already done this, as we have seen in previous messages, many times throughout this letter.
Anyway, Paul’s background was relevant, because it prevented the charge that he was an outsider trying to force a new religion on people. Of course, the “defense” isn’t really a defense, because, after all, Paul’s accusers were Jewish as well, and they really were trying to force a new religion on people. I think this is why Paul says he is out of his mind (that is literally what is in the Greek there) as he does this.
Now, Paul could have gone much further here, in his “resume.” He could have blown the false apostles out of the water! Paul wasn’t just a Jew, but a Pharisee. He had kept the law meticulously. He had been trained by none other than the famous Gamaliel, the rabbi of rabbis. He knew everyone, from the Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and teachers of the law, to the twelve disciples. He was even commissioned, as it were, by the Twelve. Could the false teachers say anything like this? Of course not!
But Paul did not put any of this in his resume. Instead he asks a deeper question – but are they servants of Christ? “I am more,” he says. It is over this issue of servanthood, that Paul throws down the gauntlet. This is as if you have previous CEO experience but instead choose to point out that you have more experience cleaning bathrooms than the other applicants! And wait till you hear what Paul says next!
I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea… – 2 Corinthians 11:23b-25
I love it! Most job applications do have a place where you have to list if you have been in prison. Paul isn’t asked, but volunteers this information gladly. And he goes on to list out, not his accomplishments, such as how many churches he has started, or how many people he has personally led to Christ, or how many leaders he has discipled, no, none of that goes in his resume. Instead, he lists what most would call his failures.
I mean, what really do these “qualifications” show? That he doesn’t get along with others. He really doesn’t get along with others. Five times lashed, three times beaten, once stoned? If it happened once or maybe twice you could blame the other party, but ten times? OK, he doesn’t get along with others, and he also doesn’t know how to sail, or he doesn’t know how to pick someone who knows how to sail. Three shipwrecks? And by the way, Paul wasn’t done yet – there was more bad stuff to come in Acts, later than when this letter was written.
Now I am making light of this, but the reality – I want you to think about the reality. All these things happened to Paul, and as we will read, much more. Where was God? How could God let all this happen? Remember, Jesus confronted Paul (then Saul) on that Damascus road, and commissioned him as an apostle to the Gentiles. Recall:
But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name." – Acts 15:15-16
So it was foretold. Nobody can say that God wasn’t there. He knew; He knew before it even happened. We will touch on the why before we finish today. But note how Paul is “boasting.” The 39 lashes, these left permanent scars. They were meant to shame, to embarrass, the person receiving them for the rest of their life. They might overcome the physical damage (or they might not; they could die, or they might have a permanent limp or hunch), but the shame of the lashings were always there. Yet Paul was boasting in this, because it had come not because of something wrong he had done, but because he had remained true and faithful and bold for Christ.
The rods? One of these was in Acts 16 at the Philippian jail. And the stoning was in Acts 14 in Lystra. They thought he was dead; they left him for dead. The shipwrecks are not spelled out in Acts. Do you realize that Acts is an understatement of Paul’s hardships? It doesn’t tell us everything. And imagine spending a night and a day in the open sea, likely holding on to a piece of driftwood, or wreckage from the ship. A night and a day. Do you think Paul prayed? Again we could ask, where was God? He was there. Paul counted these as his qualifications, and rightly so. He was suffering for Christ’s name. He was obedient. He didn’t quit. He didn’t give up.
I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. – 2 Corinthians 11:26-27
It may sound strange to us to hear rivers mentioned as a danger, but you try crossing a big river without a bridge. Good luck to you. We tend not to think of the physical demands of Paul’s travels, but they were immense, practically unimaginable to us today. The terrain where Paul went was not flatlands either, but all kinds of terrain, including mountains, including winters. That word "country" is better translated wilderness.
Bandits were a constant danger – Jesus uses them as an illustration for His parable about the good Samaritan. To prevent witnesses, bandits, or highwaymen, as they were called, often killed their victims. His own countrymen means the Jews. You can read examples of their plotting, their schemes, and their attempts against Paul in Acts 13, 14, 17, 18, 20, and 21. And let’s be clear, they weren’t just plotting to discredit him; they were plotting to kill him. Gentiles wanted to kill him too; examples include Philippi, Acts 16, and the riot of Ephesus, Acts 19.
False brothers – that would include the very Corinthians he was writing to, but it also included people who caused problems at many other churches. Without sleep – why? Not because he was an insomniac, at least I don’t think so. But he probably sometimes had to work even at night to support himself. In addition to all he did in ministry, he worked as a tentmaker, a full-time job in itself. And he also sometimes taught through the night – remember Eutychus, the guy who fell asleep during Paul’s all-night sermon? He got to sleep, anyway. Of course it killed him! Fortunately Paul, by God’s power, raised him from the dead. And why isn’t this listed among Paul’s qualifications? Why isn’t this on his resume? Sounds pretty impressive to me! How many guys did those false apostles raise from the dead? But no, Paul’s first “bullet item” on his resume is suffering. Suffering for Christ.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? – 2 Corinthians 11:28-29
You could fit this in with suffering; I think this is Paul’s intention. He means to show that not only did he suffer by all the things that happened to him, all the physical attacks and dangers, but also internally, he suffered greatly because those he loved suffer. I don’t want to minimize this – if you have had a very sick child, or a very sick spouse, you know what suffering can be. But, heaven forbid, if you have a wayward child, one who rejects the Lord and goes on to greater and greater rebellion and self-destruction, this is an especially severe kind of pain.
We just don’t get how much Paul loved “the churches,” – that is, the ekklesia, the called-out ones. He loved these people just as much as you and I love our children or our parents. Probably more! When they suffered, he suffered. That is what is meant by the Who is weak and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn passages. By burn, Paul means that he is torn-up inside over it. It doesn’t mean that he burns with passion, or anything like that. It also means that if false teachers are the cause, he is furious, on-fire angry over them. It reminds me of Jesus’ comment in Matthew 18:6, where He says that it would be better if millstones were hung on their necks and they were thrown into the sea than it will be if they lead little ones to sin.
But whether Paul intended it or not, this is a second bullet on his resume – suffering, yes, but also deep agape love for fellow believers, love that is “jealous for,” as we talked about last week. And I can only imagine the contrast between Paul and the false apostles on this point. They were all about getting people to follow them so they could have more power, or more attention, or more praise. Paul was all about seeking what was best for the people, without any regard for the personal cost to him. Can there be any greater contrast? I really like this saying: False apostles hustle themselves; true apostles humble themselves.
By the way, Paul’s including his concern for his churches, in a Greek cultural context, would be seen as a sign of weakness, of foolishness, as a great liability. This would be especially true for those who followed the stoic philosophy, which is sort of Vulcan in nature. (I’m talking about Star Trek Vulcans.) But even among the general Greek and Roman culture, a good leader is one who cares about his people, but also who can be ruthless, who can be cold and calculating, willing to sacrifice thousands to preserve the empire. Paul’s comments in those few verses would have been seen as a total disqualification for any position of leadership.
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands. – 2 Corinthians 11:30-33
Do any of you find this a really odd thing for Paul to put on his resume? It seems so random, so unimportant. But let’s think about it a little more. Remember that Paul had been saved near Damascus (Acts 9, also Gal. 1). This incident is early in Paul’s Christian life. From the details here, it seems that he had angered both the Jews and Gentiles, that they were actually working together to arrest Paul. So what happened? Did Paul strike them all down like Elijah? Did God blast down the wall like Jericho? Something even greater? No, no miracles. Just lowered in a basket like he was cargo or something! It’s frankly kind of embarrassing. But did God provide? Yes. This was at the beginning of his ministry. God got him out of there and helped him to go on to many more years of ministry, many more close calls, many more unglorious exits. Paul was boasting in things that showed his weakness. But they also showed God’s faithfulness.
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. – 2 Corinthians 12:1-4
Now who is this man Paul is talking about? Don’t be confused – it is Paul. And he states this but also states it is useless. It doesn’t help anything. He is saying this for a reason, a reason that comes in the next few verses. He is not stating this to boast about the miraculous vision he has had. I suspect this is the first time he has said this to anyone – maybe just one or two people here and there, but it didn’t appear anywhere else in his letters. Fourteen years he has kept this to himself. This is humility!
Now this may not make any sense to you. Why not share it, Paul? This has to be good. Well, for one thing, he would have troubles expressing it – it was so far beyond his ability to describe. But Paul gives the reason at the outset – there is nothing to be gained. Really? Don’t you think there would be a lot to be gained? Don’t you think it would encourage other believers?
I don’t think so. I really don’t think so. I have some practical reasons for this. One is, it may cause others to puff up Paul or treat him differently, even his fellow co-laborers for the gospel. Heaven forbid some might even start to worship him! Another is that it may cause others to be jealous, or feel resentment, even unconscious resentment towards Paul. Remember, in the Book of Genesis, Joseph and his visions? How did telling those go over? Yes, I know, everyone bowed to him, that didn’t help. But even apart from the content, I think it could have and would have caused resentment. Another reason seems to be that God didn’t really want these things shared – I don’t it would have been inspired the way Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit. If it was just a “human” telling, Paul might have gotten some things wrong, and it could have even caused confusion and done more harm than good. And briefly, let me just say that I know a man in Christ… Paul was right – the details would be of no benefit. There was nothing to be gained.
Briefly, let me add a few words about the meaning of some of the words in this passage. The phrase "third heaven" from what I have read simply refers to God’s house. The first heaven is the air around us; the second heaven is the stars and outer space. The third heaven is, well, heaven, where Christ is seated.
The word "paradise" in Greek comes from an ancient Persian word for walled garden. The Hanging Gardens in Babylon was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. They were built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. He built them for his wife because she missed the trees and plants of her homeland Persia. They were a paradise. A Persian king went to great lengths to build and enhance a personal garden; it had to be the grandest such garden in the kingdom. It was a tremendous honor to be asked by the king to walk with him personally in his walled garden that so few would ever see, his paradise. And so Paul got to walk with God in His paradise. That is the full implication of that word.
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say. – 2 Corinthians 12:5-6
In today’s culture, this kind of, well, I don’t quite know what to call it, this game, seems a little silly and tedious. But I think that says more about our jaded, heard-it-all, seen-it-all culture than it does about Paul. He is using a literary device. Back then it was clever, and I like it. It has a kind of innocence to it, if you view it properly. I view John’s “the disciple whom Jesus loved” in the same category; we actually can make the mistake and view this as a boast, when, by leaving out John’s own name, and by no means implying Jesus loved him more, he meant entirely the opposite. We, as a culture, are so used to boasting that we are irritated when people try to avoid it.
By the way, how does all this vision stuff look on Paul’s resume? To his Greek and Roman contemporaries, it could have led to confusion. The Greeks had a god of this and a god of that, a god for everything, and they were enamored by those who claimed to have experienced mystic transcendental experiences. They even encouraged drug use to try to enhance the effects and frequency. This is not all that different from many people today. So rather than encourage people to trust Christ, admission of this experience may have made them more eager to seek out such experiences themselves. And Scripture warns that we must test the spirits – just because you have an “out-of-body” or “in-the-body” experience does not mean that it must come from God!
To the Jews, the admission of this probably made them just think he was crazy. Hardly a resume builder!
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. – 2 Corinthians 12:7-8
These are very famous verses – you have no doubt heard them many times. But let’s focus on the context of the verses. Note that there is a why here – why did Paul get this thorn in the flesh? What is the reason for it? It is because of his vision! That vision had the potential to make Paul become proud. Do you understand how bad this looks on Paul’s resume? To put it bluntly, the one thing Paul could boast about in his resume was his humility, and now he has blown even that! Even his humility was fragile, Paul says. He needed a thorn in the flesh to stay humble.
And if Paul needed a thorn to stay humble, I have to ask, how about us? Should we be surprised if similar challenges come to us, things that we pray about but are not removed? I would say we should be surprised if we didn’t experience such things!
Now that word thorn just doesn’t really cut it, no pun intended. A better word might be spear, or nail spike or my favorite, stake. Paul is not talking about a finger prick; he’s talking about a stake through a shoulder or leg or even his chest that has pinned him to a wall. Whatever this thing is, it is tormenting Paul.
What is it? You may have heard many theories, as I have, mostly along the lines of various physical infirmities and ailments. I don’t think this is what it is. I think it is what it says, a messenger of Satan. The word messenger is angelos, angel. Recall that demons are fallen angels. I don’t think a messenger of Satan is an idiom for a physical ailment. I think it is what it says it is. Maybe it is a messenger sending a physical ailment, but maybe it is doing what Satan and his servants have always done, whispering falsehoods. He is the father of lies.
If I am right, it still doesn’t tell us much. It doesn’t tell us what it was doing. One possibility is that it was the mastermind behind all these church defections, the spiritual ringleader for all the false apostles. Another is that it was putting thoughts into Paul’s head, not thoughts of pride, although demons can certainly do that, but in this case thoughts of despondency, despair, inadequacy, failure, things like this. If this were the case, it would certainly be effective at breaking Paul’s tendency to become proud.
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
I don’t have time today to go into all that these incredible verses imply. We will pick them up again in two weeks. In particular, we will talk more about what God means when He says, “My grace is sufficient for you.”
But today, in closing, I want to point out that really this passage is fundamentally about two things, grace and power. Let’s lay out the situation. God sends, or allows, things to come into our lives that torment us, spikes in our flesh. When we ask God to take them away, His answer may well be what we see here – in essence, an answer of no, with two promises. First, His grace is sufficient. But second, His power is made perfect in weakness.
The first thing I see from this is that God wants to give us His power. He wants His power to rest on us, as Paul says, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. I want you to really get this – it is so important! God didn’t make you and get you saved just so you can go on living a life for yourself, perhaps providing for or taking care of your loved ones, living otherwise humdrum lives. God wants to give you His power. He wants to make you powerful, powerful with the very power of God.
What does this mean? It means He wants to see you become active in Christ’s work on Earth. He wants you to be involved with the gospel. And He wants to give you His power. He wants people to become saved through you. He wants people to grow in Christ through you. And I can tell you that experiencing Christ’s power comes with experiencing and knowing in your deepest parts His love. The two are inseparable. And they are awesome. Awesome enough for Paul to say, more weaknesses? More insults? More hardships? More persecutions, with all that might entail, even beatings? More difficulties, beyond what I have already experienced? Bring them on! Paul says he delights in them, because they bring Christ’s power, and all that comes with that.
I would challenge you this week to pray BIG prayers. “Here I am, send me” type prayers. Not just today, but all week. I want you to rethink your resumes. How much of the challenges, the bad stuff, can do for you what it has done for Paul? How much are you willing to add bad stuff for the sake of humility, for the sake of Christ’s power and knowing His love? We aren’t supposed to admire Paul from a distance. As he says in I Corinthians 11:1, Follow me as I follow Christ.
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