What Will God Find?

2 Cor. 12:11-13:14Welcome! Today we come to the end of our series on 2 Corinthians. We started way back in March, and I thought it would be good today to split the message into two halves. In the first half, we will simply review some of the themes we have seen in this book. This list is by no means comprehensive, by no means complete. In fact, it is very biased – it is a list of some of the things that have struck me the most as we have progressed through the book. In the second half of the message, we will look at today’s passage and see how Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, wraps up this powerful letter to the Corinthians. And so, here are the twelve things that have most struck me in this letter. I would encourage you to write these down, and to put a star beside any that seem to really speak to you at this point in your life. Our past messages are online, so if you want more details about one of these, or you were out of town for some of them, know that they are available.

1. We have God’s compassion and comfort (1:3). The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles. This is so powerful to me, to know that God has compassion for us, that He cares, that he desires to comfort us, not just to say, “there, there,” but to comfort, cum fort, with strength, and paraklesis, like a legal expert, so not just with compassion, not just with strength, but with skill and expertise – in all these ways God wants to comfort us.

2. We are to love one another deeply, unreservedly, unguarded (2:4). For I wrote you… to let you know the depth of my love for you. Our love, like Christ’s love for us, should not play it safe. We should love deeply enough to be heartbroken, to experience great pain. Why? Because that is how Christ loves us, and it is what we were made for. We were made to love like that.

3. We are to God the aroma of Christ (2:15). The passage calls us part of a triumphal procession, the thriambeuo. This was a very specific type of parade in Rome, the highest honor, with the smoke of incense darkening the parade route combined with the overwhelming smell of thousands of garlands trampled under the marchers. As we struggle to live lives pleasing to God, God is not distant, or judging, or anything like this. We are part of His triumphal procession, led by Christ, empowered through His Spirit, and, as incredible as it sounds, cheered on by God Himself.

4. We are being transformed into God’s likeness with ever-increasing glory (3:17). Remember Moses’ veil that covered his temporary glory? Jesus’ body was also a veil; the disciples saw a hint of His glory at the transfiguration. As we yield to Christ, we will find competence from God; we too will glow, we too will reflect God’s glory, and when God completes His work in us in heaven, our glow will be the very glow of Christ.

5. We have treasure in jars of clay (4:7). Cheap clay pots: that’s us! Wal-Mart bags! That glory we were just talking about isn’t our glory, and we shouldn’t pretend that it is. We are in good company; the disciples were clay pots, nothing special. Paul was a clay pot. Even, in many ways, Jesus was a clay pot. God loves clay pots; He loves to take the basest, humblest pots and put them in places of honor.

6. It is OK to wish to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling (5:4). For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened… This means we shouldn’t be surprised that we get tired of our weak will, our fragile, aging, and broken bodies. They should make us long for heaven, where we cannot imagine what it will be like, except that we know that the battle will be over; we will have rest, and peace, and joy, and eternal intimacy with our Creator. It’s OK to long for heaven!

7. We are to be ministers of reconciliation (5:17).We are truly and literally ambassadors, ambassadors for Christ. Just as ambassadors broker peace, we offer eternal peace to a world at war with its Creator. It is a great responsibility but Christ equips us, and it is an incredible sign of God’s love for us and desire to see us grow and participate in the most important mission an ambassador has ever undertaken.

8. We are not to be yoked with the worldview of unbelievers (6:14). This is the meaning, in context. The world wishes to rebel against God, and if we are careless we can let the world’s thinking totally corrupt our own. There is a yoke we are to have – that of Christ, but it is easy; its burden is light, and it even brings joy, because under this yoke we are doing what we were made to do, being what we were made to be, servants (and yet so much more than servants – sons, beloved, etc.) of Christ.

9. God rejoices in us, and we are to rejoice in one another (7:4). Paul rejoiced in the Corinthians despite their gigantic flaws and problems. We are to do likewise, in one another. Think of Zeph. 3:17 – God dances over us. It’s not that God overlooks our sins, but that they are forgiven by the blood of Christ. We too should forgive and take God’s view as a model for us.

10. Motivated by love, we are to give sacrificially (8:4). Remember the Macedonians, who were dirt poor and really should have been recipients of aid; yet they begged to be allowed to give. This isn’t just about money, but about time, effort, everything. And remember Jesus, who gave everything for us. When we give, we really give to Him.

11. Measure yourself with God’s measuring stick (10:12). Don’t measure as the world does, where everyone is above average. Measure by Scripture. Don’t fall into the trap of self-effort, but don’t fall into the equal trap of settling for mediocrity in your spiritual life. Pray and aspire to have the heart of Paul, the strength of Peter, even to be like Christ Himself. This is God’s measuring stick.

12. God uses thorns that drive us to Christ (12:9). We may not like to hear it, but if God allowed this to happen to Paul, we shouldn’t be surprised if God allows this to happen to us. Remember what Christ told Paul: My grace is sufficient for you. It is sufficient for us.

It’s a powerful list. There are powerful truths, life-changing truths in this list, if you really take these things to heart. But the funny thing to me is that, if I were to explain as a whole what this book is about, the answer to that question doesn’t appear anywhere in that list of twelve. And so as we go through the rest of the book today, we will see more of that overall theme, and I think it makes a nice complement to what we have just talked about. So, starting in chapter 12, verse 11:

I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing. The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance. How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! – 2 Cor. 12:11-13
Recall two weeks ago the message was entitled The Upside-Down Boast. Paul boasted in his weaknesses, in his hardships, even in his embarrassing moments. Why? Because sacrifice and hardship, dying to self and living for the sake of others, living for the sake of spreading the gospel, these things are the marks of a true disciple, a true apostle. The so-called super-apostles had not done anything like this; they had only sown division and discord, lived off the people, and made the Corinthians confused and uncertain about the truth of the gospel. And did they have genuine signs and wonders and miracles? No. Had Paul? Frequently! By the way, notice how Paul humbly words this – he doesn’t say he did these miracles; he uses the passive “they were done” instead. Why? Because it’s really God that does the doing, not men. It’s been some time, but I’ve shared before my one-sentence summary of the book of Acts: it’s a story of humble men called of God who pray and show up. God supplied the miracles; they didn’t!

What is Paul talking about in that next-to-last sentence? Paul chose not to take financial support from the Corinthians. He did, at various times, take support from some of the other churches. Does it make the Corinthians inferior that Paul didn’t take money from them? No, of course not, not directly. But perhaps there was an indirect benefit in supporting someone; giving does deepen your walk with Christ. And it may, perhaps, even deepen your bond with the one you are giving to. That would have helped the Corinthians, perhaps. Although, if Paul had allowed it, those same false teachers would have told them that Paul was just doing everything for the money. You can’t win with false teachers, I guess.

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? – 2 Cor. 12:14-15

Are any of you surprised about the line about parents saving for their children? Make sure you don’t read into it what some in our culture say – it doesn’t mean you need to provide a free ride for college to your children. It doesn’t mean your kids should all receive new sports cars when they graduate high school. That’s not what it is talking about.

What is Paul talking about? Providing food for your children. Providing clothing for your children. Working during the day so your little children don’t have to work, or worse, beg in the streets. Imagine young children begging in the streets because the parents don’t want to work. This is wrong, horribly wrong, we would all agree.

Paul is using this parent-child relationship as an analogy for the relationship he has with the Corinthians. Recall that Paul, led and empowered by the Spirit, created the Corinthian church; he and his companions led the first Corinthians to Christ, had them begin to meet together, and disciple them for well over a year before he had to go. He was very much a parent to them.

And he loves them like a parent. If you are a parent you understand this. If your child was severely injured or had a life-threatening illness, you would do whatever it took to provide medical care. You would “very gladly spend everything” you have. This is the kind of love Paul had for the Corinthians. And this is the kind of love we are to have one for another.

That last question is raw, it is filled with emotion. And it hurts me to read it. It is a tragedy, one filled with pain, when a child chooses to reject their parents and go off and do their own thing, pursuing the vices of this world. Remember the parable of the prodigal son. Paul has been deeply wounded by the Corinthians’ rejection of him.

Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent you? I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not act in the same spirit and follow the same course? – 2 Cor. 12:16-18

Paul is repeating the arguments of his accusers, showing how foolish it is to believe them. Paul has personally received no material benefit from the Corinthians, and neither has Titus. So why would the Corinthians believe that they have entrapped them? For what purpose? To what gain? It makes no sense.

Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening. For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. – 2 Cor. 12:19-20a

What is Paul most concerned about regarding the Corinthians? Is it their economic situation? No, there is something more important to Paul than the balance in their bank account or their income. Is it their physical health? No, there is something more important to Paul than even their physical health. What is it? It is their spiritual maturity, what is happening to their spiritual bank account, what is happening to their spiritual health. And yet, dare I say it, in most of western Christianity, this is the last thing individuals ever talk about. It’s the last thing people ask for prayer about for themselves. Every believer, every single believer, should be in a relationship where these types of things can be and are discussed! It doesn’t have to be with a pastor, although it can be. It can be with peers. But it’s not enough to have the relationship where you can talk about these things; you should be actually doing it.

This is all Paul is ever thinking about! He says, here, everything he does is for their strengthening, meaning their spiritual strengthening. He is worried that they are not going to be in good shape, spiritually speaking, when he comes. And the way this is worded, I think he thinks that they will seem surprised at Paul’s assessment, that they will think they are doing fine. Paul loves them with an agape love, and he is not going to be one of those people that doesn’t talk about how people are doing in the Lord. He’s going to find out how they are really doing, and so will they. And he’s worried that there will be disappointment on both sides.

I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. – 2 Cor. 12:20b-21

Paul mentions one aspect of spiritual growth in these verses. What is it? Repentance. Many kinds of sin are mentioned here, but notice that those in the first sentence are all things that tear at the unity of a church, that destroy the love believers are to have for one another. By the way, some of the Greek words here are quite interesting, in that they are onomatopoeic. The word for slander, open-mouthed criticism, sounds a lot like lalalalala; the word for gossip, hushed, whispered criticism, sounds a lot like pspspspsps. And the word for arrogance, being puffed up, sounds a lot like pffffft. By the way, all the sins mentioned here were simply part of the Corinthian culture. The problem here was that they were living like their culture, rather than following Christ.

Note that the problem wasn’t the fact that they were sinning. It was that they weren’t repenting. Nobody is sinless; that’s not the point. But spiritual growth means looking objectively at your life, identifying areas of sin, even sins that our culture thinks are no big deal, like an anger problem, or ongoing jealousy, or distrust, or gossiping, and seeing them through God’s eyes as sin, confessing them to God and turning from them, asking God to help you to continue to walk in a new direction. Repentance isn’t just saying “sorry”; it’s, quite literally, turning.

This will be my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. – 2 Cor. 13:1-3a
I just wonder what most western Christians would think of Paul visiting their church. You mean he is going to ask lots of personal questions? It’s not his business! You mean he is actually going to follow up on those who were previously caught in fragrant sin and publicly expose those who continue, following the principles of church discipline elsewhere laid out in Scripture?

Now church discipline is not for minor things, and it is not even for major things, when there is repentance. All things are to be done in grace and love. But there is a place for church discipline. So many western Christians think it is perfectly OK if you go to the same church every week for 20 years and, other than some “safe” at-a-distance friendships, the primary purpose is to hear a good message, get the kids into Sunday school, and that’s it. That’s not what church is supposed to be. The very word church, ekklesia, means called-out ones. That is what we are supposed to be. Living in community, with lives that are open books, sharing our struggles together, praying for one another, encouraging one another. In such an environment church discipline should be extremely rare, because it never comes to that. We build each other up. But just as that doesn’t often happen in western Christianity, it also didn’t seem to be happening in Corinth.

He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in Him, yet by God's power we will live with Him to serve you. – 2 Cor. 13:3b-4
The “He” here is Christ. This completes the thought of the previous verses. People were demanding proof that Christ was speaking through Paul. Paul’s response is that as he speaks out against and exposes sin, as he brings in church discipline when necessary, he is acting as Christ’s mouthpiece; Christ is speaking through Him, because unrepentant, flagrant, ongoing sin is not compatible with a holy God.

As for the rest of this part of the passage, I love the phrase, “we are weak in Him.” That’s not something you hear every day. How would you like to be weak in Christ? What does Paul mean? He means, likewise. In other words, if you can call Christ’s obedience to the Father while on the cross weakness, then sure, he’s weak too. But that kind of weakness is strength. Christ’s “weakness” was rewarded with resurrection; ours will also be rewarded.

Weakness is actually a wonderful thing. Do you know what strong leaders produce? They produce stasis, equilibrium, stability. But do you know what weak leaders produce? They produce more leaders. They produce growth. They produce multiplication. It takes some leading to learn how to lead. Weak leaders let others lead, even when it might be better if they did it themselves.

Paul didn’t try to take over the Corinthian church, or the other churches he wrote letters to. He worked with the local bodies, building them up, helping their leaders to lead. Paul was a wonderful weak leader. “When we are weak, then we are strong.”

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. – 2 Cor. 13:5-7

What is Paul talking about here? I believe the answer is found in the context of the previous verses. In verse 3 we see that there were those in the Corinthian church who were demanding some kind of proof that Christ was really speaking through Paul. In verse 5 we get the answer. “You want proof Christ is speaking through me? Well, my proof is you. You’re saved, aren’t you? That happened through what I spoke to you. Christ must be speaking through me, because it got you saved… You are saved, aren’t you? If you are, then you should see that we have passed your test, Christ is speaking through us.” That is the gist of verse 5.

And then Paul again shows his pastor’s heart, his desire is that the people obey God, that they live for him. This is more important to him, he says, than what they end up believing about Paul. “Even if you think I am a fake, that somehow I haven’t given you Christ’s words, or that I have secret motives, or whatever, I don’t care if you follow Christ. I’d rather be thought of as a fool or worse and have you follow Christ than be well thought of and have you not follow Christ.”

This is agape love. Love doesn’t count the cost to oneself. It only desires the best for others. If you are a parent, you have probably at least had moments where you have tasted this. We would do anything, allow anything to be done to us, for the sake of our children. This is the standard for a fellowship of believers. In Christ, by His power, by God’s grace, we can have this kind of love for fellow believers.

For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. – 2 Cor. 13:8-10

Again we see Paul’s heart, a Christ-like heart, here. Paul doesn’t want to do church discipline, any more than a parent enjoys disciplining their children. But just as a good parent loves his children enough to overcome his dislike of administering discipline, because he knows it is what they need, Paul loves the Corinthians so much that he will administer discipline, if that is needed, or will suffer humiliation, if that is what it takes, he will do anything to see that his beloved Corinthians grow and are built up in Christ. Again, that is the standard. This is the kind of love we are to have one for another.

And so, then, Paul closes his letter:

Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints send their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – 2 Cor. 13:11-14

I love Paul’s four final calls to action. First, aim for perfection. How I wish more of my students aimed for perfection! Aiming for passing is quite different than aiming for perfection. But we have a Savior who loves us and desires to equip us for perfection. In heaven we will be perfect! Why not aim now? The Christian walk should be characterized by aiming for perfection. Why? Not so we can boast, but so that we would give our best to Jesus who gave His best to us.
Second, listen to my appeal. I would paraphrase that as listen to the Scriptures. Heed them. Meditate on them. Let them fill your thoughts. Chew on them. Obey them. Let them change you from the inside out. Scripture has that power. The power of Scripture is truly miraculous, if you will let it work in your life.

Third, be of one mind. Unity. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Be of one mind doesn’t mean we like the same sports teams or even that we all like sports. It means that we all love the Lord with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, with all of our strength. It means we love one another and encourage one another and build one another up. It’s not the job of a pastor to do these things. You can look for it in Scripture; you won’t find it. It’s the job of every believer. Every believer should be in a fellowship so that they can do this essential work that Jesus wants them to do.

Fourth, live in peace. God really is a God of love and peace. There really is a peace that transcends understanding that is available in Christ. There is a joy, a wellness, that comes from knowing you are Christ’s and that He will never leave you or forsake you. This wellness, the more it permeates your being, should translate into you being a person of peace in all relationships except for those people who are opposed to anything that has anything to do with living for Christ. Do you remember how Paul started this letter, after he finished the “from” and “to” parts? Grace and peace. They’re both here as well. Peace is here, and grace in the final verse.

Greet one another with a holy handshake. No? Greet one another with a holy hug. No? I honestly don’t know about that holy kiss thing, but many cultures around the world greet with kisses as a natural thing. Maybe it’s us Americans that are weird. And by the way, people sometimes ask why you believe in the Trinity – there are a number of verses that show it indirectly; here is one of them. Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit in a parallel construction in the Greek (so as to imply equality) all in one sentence.

I hope 2 Corinthians has been good to you, as it has been to me. Throughout this series, I have given messages and later that same week, I have seen opportunities to put into practice exactly what I taught. It has been challenging sometimes, often unpredictable, but a joy to know that God’s Word is changing how I think, how I love, and what I do. I pray it will continually do the same for you. What will God find?