2021-06-06 – 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 – Paul’s Resume
2021-06-06 – 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 – Paul’s Resume
Good morning everyone. It is so nice to be able to spend some time with you all in fellowship with the Lord. Thank you and God bless you for being with us today.
Everyone knows that old Christmas song by Andy Williams, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”. Well for me, this is the most wonderful time of the year. So much is going on all around us right now. So many different ways to “plug-in” to the community and all the different church activities. We have Bible camp, Vacation Bible School, and a host of other activities going on right now, and all of which seem to have a heightened emphasis because of the “Year of COVID” we all experienced. I don’t know about you, but I am excited to see what the year ahead has to offer. People are coming out of their shells and folks are excited to engage with each other again. This atmosphere reminds me of what happened in the “Roaring 20’s”. Likewise, they were coming out of WW1 and the Spanish flu, which afterwards sent them into a frenzy of activities. I will suggest a word of caution however, right after the “Roaring 20’s” came the stock market crash and the ‘Great Depression’. So, enjoy this time buty stay the course dear Christian. Don’t loose your heads, continue to exercise your Christian values and look for new opportunities to show the love of the Lord to others as you are able.
As we are preaching through our Bible verse by verse, we are continuing in our study of the apostle Paul’s letters that he wrote to the Corinth church around 55 AD. Last week we read the first part of chapter 11 where Paul addressed the issue of staying faithful to the Gospel and Christ. Some false teachers or “Super-Apostles” came into their midst and they were so easily swayed away from the truth of the Bible. Today Paul continues in that plea to stay faithful, but we will see he is compelled to remind the Corinth believers of his credentials.
Please turn now to 2 Corinthians 11:16, page 1029 in your pew Bibles, which we call God’s Inspired, Infallible and Living Word. Prayer..
This message today is entitled “Paul’s Resume”. Question: When was the last time you put together an official resume? I have had the honor and privilege of looking over many resumes over the years, and I have helped many assemble their resumes as they were applying for jobs. It is an interesting balance as to what one might present regarding their experiences, schooling and credentials.
It is important to lay it all out, but you also don’t want to put down too much either where it becomes burdensome to the reader or appears to be boisterous in nature. It is important also that the resume should address the particular job and skills that you are applying for. You have to make it relevant.
Today we are going to see Paul, lay out his specific experiences regarding his missionary work. In this writing though, he isn’t really applying for a job, but he is instead trying to justify why the Corinth believers should trust his judgement and purpose. Paul starts out at verse 16, where he addresses the foolishness of his boasting. He doesn’t want to boast, but they had backed him up in a corner, and he feels he has to be “foolish” in this attempt to gain back their allegiance.
16 I repeat: Let no one consider me a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool so that I can also boast a little. 17 What I am saying in this matter of boasting, I don’t speak as the Lord would, but as it were, foolishly. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will also boast. 19 For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools! [SLIDE]
20 In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone exploits you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone is arrogant toward you, if someone slaps you in the face. 21 I say this to our shame: We have been too weak for that! But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare:
You can see in these first passage today, Paul’s frustration seems to have built up and he is going full sarcasm on them. Apparently, some so called “super apostles” were calling Paul a fool, so Paul embraces that, and mocks the Corinthians for being ‘wise’, declaring himself a fool so the Corinthians should also welcome him. He is going for a lot of irony here. Paul effectively proclaims that he can boast with the best of them. So now we get into Paul’s credentials starting at verse 22:
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.
There are three designations presented here by Paul that we all should become familiar with. First, being a Hebrew was understood as being the national designation of the people of God. It is also the name of the language of the Jewish people. Secondly, being an Israelite was the theocratic designation that comes from the type of religious government they lived under. They lived in Israel and they fell under Israelite rule. And finally, being the “offspring of Abraham” marked them as Abraham’s heirs who would eventually inherit the messianic kingdom. Paul was conveying that besides him being a Roman citizen, he was also very qualified in the arena of his lineage and upbringing. I will add that Paul was amazingly equipped and prepared for the ministry that God had him now undertaking. The apostle Paul also very much reminds me of Moses, as both of them were brought up through the “official channels” of proper education and training. Both were hob-nabbing in the highest of offices before God called them out for the ministries they undertook. I can’t imagine anyone being more qualified for the missions and challenges that they both faced. Amazing men of God to say the least. Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews and well qualified for sure. This next part of Paul’s Resume speaks to his experiences:
24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; [SLIDE]
27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
As we can easily see here, Paul has a significant list of trials and pains and agony that he had received as a result of him spreading the gospel around the world. Even as he is “talking like a madman”, his case for being a greater servant of Christ certainly holds water. Paul was tried, tried, and tried again but yet faithful.
Interesting fact regarding his beatings, if you just do simple math, we can see that five times thirty-nine equates to 195 lashes bore. I can hardly imagine what that was even like. And that doesn’t even include the supposed beatings he received after the writing of this letter before he was killed. I am not going to go into detail, but you should just know that these beatings were painfully severe. These beatings were done by professional persecutors with special whips, that I don’t know if could have handled even one of those lashes, let alone almost two-hundred of them. How would you like to have that on your resume?
We also know, according to Acts 14, that Paul was even stoned to death, he was shipwrecked and even bitten by a venomous snake and yet survived. Talk about a cat having nine lives, I think Paul had more. But God chose Paul and then He sustained Paul, however Paul still had to go through those many trials. How this applies to us all now, I would contend, that God sometimes allows us to go through trials and hardships so that it molds us into the person we need to be. We may not fully understand but through faith we can sometimes get a glimpse how God can use our trials for His glory and purpose. I hope you can see that here, and maybe like Paul, choose to make it part of your own testimony one day, or your resume if you will. Our final verses start at verse 30. Paul wrote:
30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus, a ruler under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. 33 So I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.
In these chapter 11 verses today, the Apostle Paul contrasts himself with that of the self-proclaimed “super Apostles”. Those false teachers may boast in their skills, knowledge, or their acumen. But Paul boasts in his weaknesses, hence his resume is that of a true suffering servant. This shows that Paul not a super man or super hero of any sort, but instead he wrote of the things that make him seem real. Things that display his humanity and his dependence upon our Father God.
In our text here, Paul appeals to God the Father of the Lord Jesus, who knows that he is not lying about his suffering and all that he has done in the effort of spreading the Good News Gospel to the world. Paul is testifying to the truth of what happened to him. Real life experiences. This is truly a sobering read indeed. Like Paul, we all could probably think of our own suffering resume of sorts. We all have our own list of events in our life where we have gone through very difficult circumstances. Some of us may be adding to that list of struggles right now. Physical pain, marriage troubles, worries about our children, anxiety about the future, money problems or issues with our health. Life is tough sometimes amen?
Parts of our lives will be painful and sufferings can come. But even though we may suffer and not know the reason why a lot of the times, God’s love never wavers and He most assuredly identifies with us in our pain.
[SLIDE] In Hebrews 4:14 it says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need”.
God loves you so much. God loves you no matter what you are going through or whatever you will face in this life. Hold on to that Good News Gospel. That gospel that Paul sacrificed to preach and spread to the world still stands today and forever.
Like Paul expresses so well in 2 Timothy 4:6-8, I hope to one day also proclaim.
[SLIDE] he wrote:
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
I pray you learn to understand and accept that although like Paul we may suffer some, but we have heaven which is our hope ahead of us. And in that, like Paul says, “I count it all good”. Again for me, this truly is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, but this only pales in relation to the joy and the opulence and splendor that we will get to experience in Heaven. I hope you believe that.
Would you please stand now and let us close with prayer and prepare for the observance of the Lord’s Supper.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
1 Corinthians 11:23-32 Paul Wrote:
23 The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
God be with you all.