Study in2 Corinthians
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Paul’s FirstDefenceChap 1v12-2v4
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IntroductionWhat do a clay pot, a weather vein and a block of ice have in common? I want to suggest that all three can be used to provide a graphic illustration of Paul's defence of both his apostleship and ministry. They are hooks on which we can hang Paul's arguments and also signposts which help to point to those qualities that God is eager to build into our lives.
Paul’s opponents in Corinth had brought a number of charges against him and now, in our passage, he proceeds to answer them.
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The Charge Of DeceitfulnessPaul found it embarrassing to talk about himself but was obliged to do so in order to defend not just himself but his gospel. In responding he is determined, unlike his opponents, to make only legitimate boasts. cf v12-14.... Paul says he has never used deceit to further my ministry. Paul valued a clear conscience and transparency and sincerity marked his life.
In Paul’s day, when clay pots were fired in a kiln they often cracked. Traders would us wax as a C1st Pollyfilla to fill the cracks before selling the pot as perfect. To distinguish uncracked pots from those disguised as perfect, honest traders put up a Latin sign which read 'sin cere', meaning ‘without wax’ from which the English word ‘sincere’ comes. It is used to describe a person who makes no attempt to hide the truth.
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The Charge Of DeceitfulnessPaul rejected the superficial public image, which is designed to impress and easy to cultivate. Many people tailor their behaviour in order to win public approval. Instead, Paul clothed himself with holiness and sincerity while taking no credit for them. He acknowledges that they were manufactured by God.
Christianity is truly liberating. There is no need to generate a mock humility - 'I must tell you in all humility what a truthful and honest person I am'. Nor does genuine Christianity generate a sanctimonious, self-righteous attitude- ‘I am a far more godly person than many others I could mention’. Why is this? Because the Christian is a product of God’s grace. Paul was happy for people to see him as he really was, a sinner saved by grace, nothing more, nothing less!
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The Charge Of DeceitfulnessBecause of Paul’s transparency there was no need for the Corinthians to look for some hidden meaning in his words cf. 13-14... He did not use ambiguous phrases to conceal his real intentions. When Paul wrote there was no need to read between the lines. There was a transparency in his writing. He said what he meant!
Paul was concerned that the Corinthians would blush with shame on the last day when confronted with the suspicions they had needlessly harboured. For on that day all the masks of deceit, which have hidden the true feelings and ambitions of men will be stripped away.
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The Charge Of DeceitfulnessDo we regularly cloak our real thoughts in polite double talk? If this lack of openness was due solely to a concern not to hurt the feelings of others that would be understandable. However, our concern is often a reluctance to have our own image dented. We fear losing the respect of others and so we don't speak our minds. We practice ‘defensive Christianity’. We play safe. To keep our problems, doubts and feelings to ourselves can border on duplicity! We are reluctant to trust ourselves to others? Can we model ourselves on Paul who says, 'This is my boast, I conduct myself in the world at large but especially within the fellowship of God's people with a holiness and sincerity that comes from God. I keep nothing up my sleeve, my speech mirrors my thought, I say what I mean and mean what I say'?
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The Charge Of FicklenessSecondly, Paul defends himself against the charge of fickleness. He was no weather vein Christian swinging in one direction and then immediately in another.
Some Christians expect God supernaturally to direct every step of their lives. They expect special signs to point them in the right direction. A young girl was looking for this kind of supernatural guidance while wrestling with what career to pursue. Her attention was drawn to advertisement for a brand of whiskey called 'Teacher's'. She believed that God was telling her to follow in her mother's footsteps and enter the teaching profession!
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The Charge Of FicklenessPaul shoots down this super-spiritual attitude towards guidance in v15-22. Of course God will sometimes use special providences to guide us but it is not the norm just as Paul's vision of the man from Macedonia was not the normal method of determining his next port of call.
When Paul mentions his plans, he does not speak of ‘feeling led’. He made plans in the light of the knowledge available to him. Of course he would have committed his plans to God in prayer. Indeed, the expression he uses in 2v1 is literally 'I judged for myself.' Guidance for Paul did not come down a mystical, heavenly drainpipe.
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The Charge Of FicklenessSometimes Paul made plans which he then changed. His planned a trip to Corinth, then changed his mind and now asks his readers, 'Do you think that makes me unspiritual or fickle? Am I like vacillating worldly men who constantly change their mind saying 'yes' one minute and 'no' the next? A charge made against him that Paul thought was groundless.
When some people describe what 'the Lord told them to do' they are sometimes self-deceived. It is very difficult to suggest to them that they are making a mistake! And if things go badly for them they simply blame the Lord or, they rationalise what they think God told them to do!
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The Charge Of FicklenessPaul is under no such pressure. He says, ‘I planned and then I changed my plan’ - he pleads no special guidance! Paul did not see himself as a 'remote control' apostle or a ‘mindless mystic’. He had a God-given ability to make real choices. To accuse Paul of fickleness betrays a perverted view both of genuine spirituality and of humanity. Paul's detractors thought a truly holy man should live his life on a super- spiritual plane and be surrounded by daily mystical experiences. They thought Paul was too ordinary, - a ‘real’ apostle would get his plans parachuted down from heaven. This view of guidance is positively mischievous.
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The Charge Of FicklenessPaul's concern about having his integrity challenged is routed in a particular direction cf v18... To question the integrity of his person would also question the integrity of his message. He couldn't let that go unopposed. cf 19-20...
The Jesus whom Paul preached is not fickle. His arrival in our world far from amounting to a change of God's plan was the culmination and fulfilment of God’s O.T., salvation-promises. In this sense Jesus is the 'Yes' to all of God's promises. As Christians we do not question God's plan but to say 'Amen' to it.
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The Charge Of FicklenessIn the C19th the philosopher Georg Hegel encouraged his generation to view history, and indeed religion, in a very particular way. He pioneered a dialectical approach to reasoning.
Simply put, first a thesis is stated - a provisional idea, this is followed by an opposing idea - the antithesis, and eventually you arrive at a synthesis of these views. To illustrate, if black is the thesis, and white the antithesis, then grey is the synthesis. According to this view our historical development and religious beliefs are the products of contradiction. Marxist philosophy is based on this understanding.
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The Charge Of FicklenessThis approach to history and religion is not new. It existed in the Greek world of Paul's day and he is saying, ‘When I preach I’m not engaging in a dialectic process. I’m not saying, ‘here is one way to look at things’, expecting someone else to say, ‘here is another way to look at them’ and then hoping that truth will emerge out of the contradictions of human debate’. He says, ‘I proclaim Jesus, the Son of God, as the unequivocal solution to man's spiritual need’. He supports his contention with his own testimony in v21-22...
Paul uses three law-court metaphors to drive home the unshakeable nature of his Christian convictions.
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The Charge Of FicklenessFirst, he speaks of ‘standing firm’ in Christ, a word that means ‘to make legally binding,’ and used in the signing of an agreement. The second term 'he has set his seal of ownership upon us', speaks of the means of authenticating a document. Thirdly, he speaks of a 'guarantee', a word used as a deposit on a purchase making the sale certain. This is the indwelling Holy Spirit, 2Cor.5v5.
These metaphors describe how the Spirit made Paul, not only a communicator of gospel promises, but also living proof of their trustworthiness. Therefore, to call Paul or his colleagues unreliable weather-vein Christians, was more than a slur on their Christian character, it discredited the gospel they preached.
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The Charge Of Emotional IndifferenceThe third charge Paul answers is that of emotional indifference. In the eyes of many Paul was viewed as an 'Iceman'. Paul, concerned about the moral integrity of the church members and their witness to the community, had written them a severe letter. They had shown themselves indifferent towards one of their members who was guilty of a serious sexual sin and Paul had insisted that they take the matter of church discipline seriously. His harsh letter and cancelled visit caused some to accuse him of being indifferent towards the church. But it broke Paul's heart to write as he did. It was because he loved them so much that he wrote as strongly as he did. And Paul now makes it clear that ‘Love hurts’.
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The Charge Of Emotional IndifferenceThe reason for his cancelled visit is now spelled out. He couldn't face the emotional trauma of more ugly scenes which he knew would result if the discipline issue had not been dealt with by the time he arrived. He had so many happy memories of his time at Corinth that he did not want marred. Paul didn't want bad feelings to constantly overshadow their relationship, a point he made in his previous letter to them cf v3.It is clear from Chap 4 that Paul had no eagerness of heart to 'use the rod.'
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The Charge Of Emotional IndifferenceWe can learn from Pauls’ reticence. Sadly many derive a carnal satisfaction from taking people to task and pointing out their errors. But we dare not correct others if we are not constrained by Christ's love. Remember Jesus’ warning concerning, ‘the speck in your brothers eye’ Matt7v1-5. How could the Corinthians accuse Paul of indifference. It was because he loved them that he spared them a severe visit. He wanted to minister to God's people in such a way as to set them free to act under the instruction of God. Peter reminds church leaders that they are not to be ‘domineering over those in their charge but examples to the flock’. 1 Pet. 5.3
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The Charge Of Emotional IndifferenceThere are two dangers to be avoided. One is being in bondage to an authoritarian leadership where you're not allowed to buy a daily paper without being given permission! The second danger is to claim to possess you need no human counsel. Paul did not want to be a spiritual autocrat but instead to be their helper cf 1v24.
Some of Paul’s readers refused to be helped. There is often a proud self-will lurking behind our so-called spiritual desire to depend upon God alone. We foolishly ignore those whom God intends to offer us spiritual counsel to our own determent.
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ConclusionPaul in replying to criticism made of him has reminded us of three important qualities which were found in his life. He was transparently sincere, he was truly reliable and he was clearly compassionate. You may rightly ask what is the relevance of this to me? Apart from suggesting characteristics we should be praying to see in those in positions of leadership in our church fellowship we too should seek with God’s help to become a people who are transparently sincere, truly reliable and caringly compassionate.
