2 Corinthians 10

As a church, we have been going through this letter that Paul wrote.

We have gone through two of the three sections in this letter.

The first section was chapters one through seven.

Chapter one through seven, Paul is explaining how the new covenant works and he's narrating for this church in Corinth all about how this interplays, this new covenant dynamic interplays with his relationship with them.

There's this backdrop, there's this kind of looming backdrop that exists with the church where there is a group of people that have come into Corinth while Paul's away.

Paul calls them the superapostles.

They're boasting in who they are.

They're trying to gain loyalty.

They're trying to gain influence.

They're charging for their ministry.

They're trying to build a reputation, and they are just a cancer amongst this church.

And so Paul is teaching through this letter.

He is addressing this group that's there.

And he's saying, listen, you church, you Corinth, you Achai, you need to be on guard, you need to be aware of this bad influence from this group.

And so we're going to get into chapters 10 through 13.

These last four chapters are going to really address, they're going to be addressed to this problem.

Like if we haven't touched it already, we're going to really address it this morning.

So chapter 10, which we're looking at this morning, chapter 10 is going to cover some principles.

And then chapter 11 and 12 is going to apply those principles.

We're going to look at foolish boasting.

We're going to talk about weakness.

We're going to talk about Paul's thorn in the flesh.

And then in chapter 13, Paul is going to say, here's what's going on with my next visit.

He's going to close out the letter by saying, I'm coming to you and I'm going to visit.

So you guys ready to go?

The one thing I want to put in front of you is this statement, just to remind you, as you're sitting here this morning, whether you have and can say with confidence, I have a personal relationship with Jesus, or you're just spiritually searching and you're maybe you've gone to church before and you're not sure where you're at with your relationship with God, the Bible says that this is how you're designed.

You're blessable.

That means you're capable of being blessed by God.

You're a blessable, image-bearing, covenant partner.

That's what you're designed to be.

Genesis chapter 1 and 2 lay this out really clearly that you're a blessable, image-bearing, covenant partner.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

We're going to see that this morning as we're going through the text, we'll highlight those places where this statement intersects with our text this morning.

More specifically, when we get into chapter 10, what I want you to hold into your minds is this idea of comparison.

You know, when you go out into society, you go into the workplace, you're in your neighborhood, you're amongst your peer group, there is this temptation to carry a measuring stick.

And to be kind of measuring yourself, comparing yourself to the people around you.

We can size people up by their presence, or maybe their polish, or maybe the platform that they have developed.

And the Corinthians were doing this thing to Paul.

They were saying, there was this group that was saying, well, his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak.

They were saying, look, look, you know what, he sounds good in his letters, but man, when he shows up, he's this bow-legged, long-nosed, straggly looking figure.

And he's nothing to really take seriously.

He has no real authority because look at him.

Look at who, look at just look at his look at his appearance.

That is how we can engage the people around us.

Especially in the world of social media, there can be just this swirl around the persona, the the um the appearance that you have.

But Paul's gonna explain, look, this is how I engage that that temptation, that world.

The letter is now turning.

After going through chapter 8 and 9, where Paul has explained this collection that he's putting together of money that he wants them to help raise and take to the poor Christians back in Judea.

He's covered the logistics and the reason behind that collection being made.

We covered that in chapter 8 and 9.

And now in chapter 10, Paul is laying out a defense.

He opens up by saying, I, Paul myself.

It's the most personal opening that we see in this letter.

The Bible tells us that there are two stories about making a name for yourself.

Remember, that measuring, that comparing, figuring out, like how do I fit here in the workplace?

You ever gone and gotten a new job?

It's like, how am I going to fit in this new workplace?

How am I going to fit in at this new school?

How am I going to fit into this new program?

How am I going to fit in on this block in this running group at this gym?

Where do I fit in?

The Bible tells us there are two stories about making a name for yourself.

The first story is the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11.

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

It tells us of a people that they were building this tower and they were saying, Let us make a name for ourselves.

Just one chapter later in chapter 12, God tells us of Abraham.

And God says to Abraham, I will make your name great.

Those are the two ways.

You either have, you're either trying to make a name for yourself, or you're going to let God speak over your life and give you an identity.

You're either going to walk in this idea that you're a blessable, image-bearing covenant partner, or you're standing outside of that paradigm trying to bless yourself, have your own image, and disregarding a covenant with God.

Are you going to be like those building the Tower of Babel?

Or are you going to be like Abraham letting God speak over your life and give you a name?

With that, let's open up this scripture.

Let me read to you the first two verses, and then I will pray to that God will just open up our hearts as we go through it.

Let me read this to you.

Verses 1 and 2.

Now I, Paul, myself, am pleading with you by the meekness and the gentleness of Christ, who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold towards you.

But I beg you that when I am present, I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

Lord, as we look at this scripture and the next 16 verses, we pray for a Holy Spirit intersection between our lives and this text.

Lord, we're going to study it together.

But Lord, we want that spiritual moment where you speak into our lives.

Lord, we want to hear your voice this morning.

We're open to the conviction of your spirit, the motivation of your spirit, the teaching of your spirit.

Lord, help us to have ears to hear what you're saying.

Lord, we desperately need a word from you.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So again, Paul is writing this letter.

And notice that he makes this appeal.

He's pleading with you and I by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

In other words, he's saying, I don't want to just talk to you about meekness and gentleness, but I want to take you readers of my letter, and I want you to have in your mind Jesus.

He's the standard by which I want you to compare my writing to.

Remember, here's Paul.

He's not there, and he is being trashed by this other group.

These super apostles, so-called super apostles, false apostles.

They're trashing Paul, and Paul's saying, okay, if I'm going to jump into this arena, I want you to first have in your mind who is Jesus.

And I want you to have in your mind the gentleness and the meekness of Jesus.

And I'm going to plead with you.

I'm going to plead with you by his meekness and his gentleness.

You see, the temptation is to not be meek or gentle, but to be verbose and strong and confident, to exert yourself.

And then Paul wasn't like that with him.

And that was what was the accusation of these super apostles.

Look at Paul.

When he's amongst you, he was weak.

He was quiet.

He was humble.

Surely that can't be an apostle of God.

Surely that can't be somebody that God would use as somebody who would be so so meek and humble amongst you.

And Paul says, no, I'm pleading with you by the meekness and the gentleness of Christ, who in presence am lowly among you.

But being absent towards you and bold, or absent and bold towards you.

His critics read gentleness as weakness.

They were saying, listen, this guy, because he's gentle, he is a weak apostle.

There's no power there.

Because he's weak.

Look at his life.

He went through that shipwreck over there.

He got beat up over there.

He lost those friends over there.

Those friends abandoned him.

John Mark left him even on his first journey.

Yeah, when he was back there in Poseidon Antioch, he got stoned and left for dead.

Like, look at this weak apostle.

Surely that can't be a man of God.

No, follow us.

Follow us.

We're strong.

Paul says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

I was lowly amongst you.

But I'm pleading with you by the meekness and the gentleness of Christ.

When we go back to the Old Testament, we see that it says in Numbers 12, 3 that Moses was very meek, more meek than all the people.

Jesus wasn't the first godly, meek leader in Scripture.

In Zechariah chapter 9-9, the prophecy about Jesus, it says that he is humble and mounted on a donkey.

Zechariah 9 · chapter mention

Who is that?

There's Jesus.

Zechariah 9-9 is this prophetic passage speaking of Jesus' triumphal entry a week before the crucifixion into Jerusalem.

And how does he come into Jerusalem?

Riding on a donkey.

In Scripture, God's strongest leaders are meek.

Meekness is strength placed under God's control.

So gentleness, listen, listen.

Gentleness is not the absence of conviction.

It is conviction carried the way that Jesus carried it.

You can have deep conviction about what is right and wrong, and you can be very gentle.

Do you understand that?

You do not need to overpower people.

Remember, Paul has spent nine chapters explaining to us that we're not doing life according to Moses' law or the covenant of the law any longer.

We're not working with an external list of do's and don'ts.

We're not relying on the temple sacrifice to make us clean.

The new covenant says that Jesus forgave our sins.

He writes the law in our hearts, and then he is the one that is teaching us to know the Lord.

So he is at work inside of us.

And so we have the freedom to be gentle.

We have the freedom to be meek.

God is able to work through us in that setting of great gentleness.

Let's go to verses three through six.

For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.

Since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.

We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

And we are ready to punish any disobedience once your obedience is complete.

So Paul, in this second section, walks us through this different kind of war.

You'll remember, you'll recall that as a church, one of the ways that we frame up the story is the cosmic battle theory.

It would seem as if that God created humans in the context of a cosmic battle, where Satan had rebelled against God and had been cast along with a third of the angels down to earth, where there's chaos over the waters.

And then God creates humans in the midst of that cosmic battle, places them in a garden, and tells them to, hey, if I could have the guys over here, hey Joe and image, Joe and image.

If somebody could help me.

If you guys could just help help them over here.

Thank you.

Because we can, we I know they think that we can't hear them, but but it's just a little bit distracting.

So God created the humans in the midst of the garden, and he said, Listen, you are a blessable, image-bearing covenant partner.

I want you to be that in the midst of this cosmic battle.

I want you to bear my image.

In fact, I want you to be my warrior in the setting.

Now, did humans hold to hold the line, or did they rebel?

They rebelled.

They fell from their position, they fell from their position of image-bearing, and they instead bore the image of Satan and followed in his path, but God didn't give up on humanity.

What did he do?

What did God do?

He sent Jesus to redeem humanity back to that original design.

And so this idea, this image that Paul draws upon of this cosmic battle or that there is a war going on is not foreign to us.

He says we live in the flesh, but we do not wage war according to the flesh.

In other words, we're not using our human strategies, like our best ideas to go to battle in this context.

And what you don't know is that when we get to chapter 12, this group, this group of super apostles that are distracting and pulling on this church, they're going to be compared to Satan in the garden.

Okay?

So Paul's going there.

We haven't gone there yet, but just as a teaser, just so you know, that's where Paul's going, okay?

Paul says, listen, we're not waging war according to the flesh by human strategies.

What we're doing is that we are engaging it by the Spirit of God according to the new covenant.

Since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.

The idea here is that the people that are opposing Paul in Corinth, and throughout Paul, you've got these people that are blocking Paul.

And as Paul is bringing the gospel forward, Paul just looks at the territory where the gospel needs to go, and he sees people that are in the way, that are fighting.

And he's not looking at that saying, like, I need to kill you.

Like he's not saying you need to be destroyed.

This is where the crusades got it wrong in Christian history.

He says, no, what needs to happen is that God needs to fight this battle.

God needs to win this battle.

God's the one that needs to take ground.

And so he says, we are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.

The ideas that people are holding on to are the strongholds.

These are the things that need to be torn down.

He talks about the arguments and the lofty opinions that are raised up against the knowledge of God.

We demolish arguments and every proud thing that's raised against the knowledge of God, we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

You have this.

You've got, we're all in a place where we've got to decide what does the spiritual battle look like for me.

I've got this.

I can think through in my own life.

Here are the spiritual battles right now.

Where there's this stronghold, where there's this opposition, where there's this argument, and I know that I can't fight.

It would not be, it wouldn't push forward God's work to try to fight it in my flesh.

My flesh is not strong enough, my ideas are not good enough.

It's like God has to work in that setting.

And so what Paul is saying is listen, church, what we're doing is we're engaging this in the spirit.

The weapons of our warfare are this divine power to destroy strongholds.

If we look at this throughout Scripture, we see over and over again that the people of God face enemies, and the victory of God is brought about supernaturally.

If we go back to Exodus chapter 15, God is pictured as the divine warrior.

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

The Lord is a man of war.

If you go to Joshua chapter 6 and you have the battle of Jericho, it's God who causes the walls to fall down.

Joshua 6 · chapter mention

If we go to the book of Isaiah, we see that the day when everything that is lofty is brought low, the Lord alone is exalted.

That's Isaiah chapter 2.

Isaiah 2 · chapter mention

If we look at the Tower of Babel, where these people are raising up this tower to make a name for themselves, it is alone God who humbles the proud.

And through the cross, he disarms the powers that Paul speaks of in the book of Colossians.

You see, Paul here is in a pickle.

He's not there.

He's got people that he deeply loves.

He has limited influence.

All he can do at this point is write a letter and send his friends ahead of him.

There's not much that he can do, but there's a group of people that are trying to influence and rip these people off spiritually.

And so Paul is saying, listen, in that setting, we're fighting this battle in a spiritual way, in a new covenant way.

So Christian warfare is shaped like the cross.

How did Jesus win over Satan and our rebellion?

He went to the cross.

The weapons are truth, the gospel, prayer, never contempt, spin, or volume.

Let me say that again.

The weapons of our warfare are truth, the gospel, and prayer.

It's never contempt, spin, or volume.

God is the one who has placed you and I here.

Remember Adam and Eve?

They're placed in the context of a spiritual battle.

Satan shows up in the garden.

He tempts Eve, tries to get her off point.

He's successful.

God has placed you in your garden.

You've got your arena, your sphere of responsibility.

You've got choices.

Are you going to give in to Satan's temptations when he comes to you?

Or are you going to yield to God and his work through your life?

Be fruitful, multiply, subdue, and rule.

It's the same pattern over and over again.

It has the same, it looks the same.

And the victory that we have, hold on just a second, Harrison.

The victory that we have, it is shaped, it is this path that leads to the cross because our victor went to the cross.

Do you understand that?

So when you're looking at the impossibilities in your life, you've got a whole group of people, a whole crowd, a section in the bookstore called self-help about being stronger.

You've got a YouTube channel dedicated to pumping you up, getting you a little bit more motivated.

And you just need to understand that Paul, in this context, he says, I'm appealing to you.

Remember who your king is.

Your king, my king, had victory by going to the cross.

What?

The cross?

The cross.

How could the cross bring about victory?

Jesus said in John chapter 14, if you are like a seed that is planted in the ground, you die like that seed in the ground.

John 14 · chapter mention

The seed doesn't bring forth life until it goes into the ground.

Do you understand the usefulness of your weakness?

And yet you've been told that your weakness is your failure, is the worst part about you.

It's the part you're embarrassed about.

And yet, Paul is going to say in these last four chapters that he's going to boast in his weakness because God's grace is made all that much more powerful through his own weakness.

It's the reason why we fast as humans is to bring ourselves to that weakened state so that the power of God, the grace of God, can be upon us.

Let's keep going to the third section.

Authority that builds.

Authority that builds.

Look at what is obvious, Paul says.

Look at what is obvious.

If any was confident that he belongs to Christ, let him remind himself of this.

Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we.

And then he calls them in verse 8 to look at this idea of authority.

Who gave us this authority?

The Lord gave us this authority, but notice what authority is given to Paul for.

It's not so that he can charge them a fee for his ministry.

He's not in charge so that he can beat them up.

No, a biblical leader does this.

If our boasting, if I boast a little too much about our authority, which the Lord gave, for, why did the Lord give us authority?

It's for building you up, not for tearing you down.

I will not be put to shame.

That is the essence, as God entrusts to you leadership.

Maybe you have a responsibility here at church, maybe you have a responsibility at work, maybe you have a responsibility in your home.

Listen, if you lead, it is so that you can build up.

You're not a terror-downer, you're a builder-upper in cooperation with God's new covenant work in the world around you.

Remember, you're in this garden.

God's put you there to be fruitful, to multiply, subdue and rule.

He's put you there to bear his image.

You're blessable, your image-bearing covenant partner.

You're there to cooperate with him.

And what is he doing?

He's building up people so that they can be fruitful.

This theme that we see in this section, it's all throughout scripture.

Jeremiah, as he explains his calling to pluck down, to break down, he's then told to build and to plant.

Paul's words echo that very call, this building up.

God's purpose always ends in building.

We see the tabernacle being built, the temple being built, the church as God's living temple being built up in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Ephesians chapter 2.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

God is at work building.

We were talking about this in waypoints.

You are picked to be fruitful.

Like God chose you to be fruitful, to be this fruitful tree.

And so the role that we play amongst each other is building each other up, helping each other's fruitfulness.

What we say when we're absent from others, we do when present.

That's verse 11.

Our word indeed should match.

Just want you to see that point really quickly.

Because he's laying down some principles here.

Let such a person consider this.

What we are in letters, when we are absent, we will also be in actions when we're present.

In other words, there's a coherence, there's a symmetry between who we are in our letters and who we will be when we get there.

That is the nature of a new covenant minister, right?

There's a coherence in your life, who you are.

Let's look at this final, or we have two sections.

This is a little bit longer.

The field that God assigns, the field that God assigns.

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves.

Okay?

He's here referencing.

He is referencing this group of false apostles.

We dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves, but they measure themselves by themselves, comparing themselves amongst themselves.

They are not wise.

We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere.

Okay, what I want you to do as you're looking at this is I want you to pay attention to this word right here.

This is going to be the repeated word throughout this section.

He says, we're not going to boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us.

A sphere which especially includes you.

For we are not overextending ourselves as though our authority did not extend to you, but it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ.

Not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men's labors, but having hope that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere.

To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's sphere of accomplishment.

Super important.

Going back to the gardens.

I know you're like, when is Josh going to get out of Genesis 1 and 2?

Remember, God put Adam and Eve in a sphere.

What's the sphere?

What's the area called the Garden of Eden.

He told them, in that garden, I want you to be fruitful.

I want you to multiply.

I want you to subdue and rule.

That's your sphere.

Paul says to this church, listen, we're not going to boast.

We're not going to talk about our authority beyond measure.

But we are going to talk about and we're going to hold the ground of what is our sphere.

And he's contending that you, church, belong in our sphere because we brought the gospel to you.

Now we're not boasting in another man's work.

Somebody else, Apollos or some other apostle, they may go up to England.

They may go to China.

Paul didn't go there.

He's not saying those Christians he has authority over, that he's their spiritual father.

He's not trying to influence that.

He's saying, no, I am claiming that you, Corinth, you are in the sphere that God has given to me.

And so here's the thing.

Again, the principle is here.

The question that you need to be owning in this, the Holy Spirit needs to show you what is your sphere, right?

Because sometimes the temptation is to boast, man, this happens in a vocational setting so much, right?

You know that your ability to claim, take credit for some work that's done will get you a raise, right?

But you need to resist that temptation, right?

With Paul, and you need to say, no, no, no, I have my set of responsibilities, I have my sphere that I work on, and that's what I'm gonna boast in.

That's like that's my area.

I'm gonna own it, I'm gonna work on it, I'm gonna take it seriously, but I'm not gonna boast beyond measure of somebody else's work.

So he says again, we are not overextending ourselves as though our authority did not extend to you.

For it was to you that we came with the gospel.

So when he says, when I claim you as in my sphere, I'm not overextending myself.

I'm saying, no, no, no, it's appropriate for me to say that you are in my sphere of ministry.

I am called to you.

That's God at work.

And here's the question, saints is do you and I have the spiritual eyes to see where God has called me?

To what is my sphere?

Paul has this confidence here, right?

You have to be a pretty confident guy to be being trashed, to being undercut, to be stabbed in the back, to have the church you planted waffling, questioning you, listening to your critics, and yet Paul here is still contending for them.

You've got to have a lot of confidence to write this letter.

The confidence, though, flows from Paul's relationship with God.

And so the question for you and I is what's my sphere?

What's my garden of Eden?

Where God's put me, where I have a responsibility to God to be fruitful, to multiply, to subdue and rule.

Not boasting of things beyond measure.

That is in another man's labors, but having hope that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere.

I was thinking about this as I was driving in.

I'd love to see our church continue to grow.

And Paul says the way that the church will grow is this thing that he has hope in, that their faith is increased.

We will be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere.

You see, he's saying, you're in our sphere.

Your faith is growing.

You're growing.

Your faith is growing, your testimony is growing.

The fruit that's happening in your garden of Eden is that the people around you are coming to know Jesus.

And they're showing up at church and they're enrolling in waypoints, and they're growing, and they're volunteering, and they're getting involved, and there's just this exponential growth that's occurring as you're growing.

That's my prayer.

That's my prayer as we look into this next year, is that we will be that church that continues.

A small field is not a small calling.

Work the field God gave you with the people that God gave you.

It is a matter of stewardship.

You may be like, Man, I don't like my garden of Eden.

I want another, I want that guy's garden.

Why can't I have that sphere over there?

I don't like my sphere.

I think they call that the grass is greener on the other side.

Saints, you've got the place where God has planted you.

That's where you're called to walk with him.

That's where, so when the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out upon you, it's so that you can be an incredible family member in your family.

Not tell somebody else how they should do their family, so that you can do your family life.

The Spirit of God is poured into your life.

The power of God is over you so that you can be incredible in your job.

Not the other job you wish you had.

It's in the sphere where you're at.

The power of God is upon you.

So you're you're loving and you're patient and you're gentle and you're kind on the neighborhood where you're at, not on the neighborhood you wish you were at.

You see, God has a plan for your life, and he's put you there.

And what he is asking of you is would you just stand in your sphere?

Stand there and be the conduit of God's presence.

Let your faith be enlarged there.

And we'll see what happens.

Maybe you're a good steward.

Maybe he enlarges it.

Maybe he causes it to grow.

That's between you and him.

That's that's really his.

Orina, your job is that faithfulness.

Alright.

We gotta wrap up here.

Last two verses.

But he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.

For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

Saints, you remember Abraham?

God came to this guy, Abraham, and said, Abraham, I'm gonna make you a promise.

I'm gonna make a great nation out of you.

And the world is gonna be blessed from your genealogy, from your heritage, is gonna bring this blessing.

And that that ends up being Jesus, right?

It's the Lord that commends.

You and I don't commend ourselves, it's the Lord that speaks over our life.

So, saints, I'm just calling upon you this morning to be content with your sphere.

Don't look at somebody else's body and wish you had their body.

Don't look at somebody else's family or wife or job or kids and wish that was your sphere.

Be content in your sphere.

And let God be the one who commends you, who speaks over your life.

Blessing.

Bear his image in that garden.

Be a covenant partner in that garden.

Not an old covenant partner, a new covenant partner right there.

And let's see what fruit.

Let's see what fruit, what fruit does he have?

John 16, 15 says that God chose you to bear fruit.

Not just fruit, but fruit that would remain.

That's his agenda.

That's his plan.

All it means is will you cooperate?

Will I cooperate this week?

Will I cooperate this week?

Lord, I want to say yes to that question.

I want to cooperate with you this week.

I want to say yes as your spirit is at work.

I want to say yes.

Each time you're guiding me as you're speaking, as we're talking throughout this week, and we're we're talking about the sphere, the garden where he placed us.

I want to just say yes to you.

When it comes to the fruit you want to bear, the correction, the teaching, the wisdom.

God, let this whole church be full of people, just right in the midst of their garden, right in the midst of their sphere, letting you commend them, being the one who is just the power of God is over their life.

Lord, we want to be that kind of church, that kind of people.

We want to say yes to you this week.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.