Barry Metz 06/05/16

Integrity in Ministry

2 Cor. 1:12-2:4

In our first message in 2 Corinthians two weeks ago, we said that the book of 2 Corinthians is basically an apology of Pauls apostleshipand by the word apology we mean a defense. It turns out that rival apostles had come to Corinth and they attacked Pauls ministry, Pauls character, Pauls integrity, and even Pauls gospel. And so 2 Corinthians then, is Pauls defense of his apostleship. Pauls detractors had several beefs[footnoteRef:1] with Paul. Heres a slide from our first message two weeks ago. [1: Informally a complaint or grievance]

Well its the last one on the listYou dont have integrity! thats the focus of our time today. What is integrity? Integrity is being honest and having moral principles. A person with integrity does what he says hes going to do. A person with integrity follows through on his commitments. Relationships dont go farthey surely cant prosper without integrity.

Well Pauls opponents were evidently saying that he lacked integrity, that he was fickle[footnoteRef:2]. They were saying that he would write one thing, say another, and do a third.[footnoteRef:3] And specifically it seems that Pauls opponents were picking apart his travel plans and how he communicated those plans: Didnt Paul say he was going to visit? Didnt Paul say that he wanted to come and stay for a while? Then he sends a letterwhats going on! Why has Paul never spent the time with us that he promised he would? We cant trust him! Hes not dependable. He doesnt have integrity. [2: Likely to change, especially due to caprice, irresolution or instability] [3: C. K. Barrett]

{While these accusations seem a bit far-fetchedthe Corinthians are miffed about Pauls changing travel plans? really?its actually kind of easy to think how this could happen in a church setting: The pastor said hes going to call a committee, why didnt he do it?... The elders said they were working on building plans, where are the plans? The leaders said they would visit but nobody has! They write one thing, say another, and do a third! }

Consider this quote

Given our goal to develop community, lets reword Mr. Johnsons quote There can be no community without trust and no trust without integrity. We live with integrity when we dont wear a mask. We live with integrity when we dont say one thing and do another. We live with integrity whenwhat you see is what you get.

Well what was really going on between the Corinthians and their apostle Paul? Lets see if we can reconstruct the rift[footnoteRef:4] between Paul and the church he founded. [4: A crack, split, or break in something]

Apparently it all started with some words that Paul penned from the city of Ephesus in the book of I Corinthians in 53 AD.

{Now on your sermon notes youll see the possible chronology that we introduced two weeks ago. As we try to reconstruct what caused the rift between Paul and the Corinthian church it might be helpful to have that in front of you.}

A Possible Chronology

50 AD?[footnoteRef:5] -Paul founded the church and stayed in Corinth 18 months (Acts 18:1-11) [5: Most of these estimated dates come from the Baker Exegetical Commentary]

-Paul wrote a letter (letter 1) to the church (referred to in 1 Cor. 5:9)

53 AD?- Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (which would be letter 2)

54 AD?- Timothy visited Corinthand the church was in disarray.

54 AD?- Paul made a quick visit to Corinth (referred to as the painful visit in 2 Cor. 2:1)

54 AD?- Paul fired off a letter to the church (often referred to as the sorrowful letter, letter 3, as referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4)

55-56 AD?- Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (letter 4) a little over a year after Paul had written 1 Corinthians.[footnoteRef:6] [6: 2 Corinthians 8:10]

As I said, the rift between the apostle Paul and the Corinthian church probably all started with some words that Paul penned in the book of I Corinthians in 53 AD. Lets look at them on the screen.

So again these verses are from the last chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians and Paul lays out some possible travel plans. Notice he planned to visit Corinth after traveling through Macedonia and he said he might even spend the winter with the Corinthians; in other words he seemed to promise them some quality time.look at verse 7 again on the screen. I dont want to see you just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you.

Lets get our bearings with a map.

Paul is writing from Ephesus (on the right of the map) to the people in Corinth (bottom left of the map) and he says he plans to travel through Macedonia (top left of the map) on his way to Corinth. If you traveled by land from Ephesus to Corinth you probably had to go through Macedoniaup and around the Aegean sea.

So on our chronology. I Corinthians has been written. In the meantime Paul sent Timothy to Corinth and Timothy found the church to be in disarray. Now on the possible chronology on your sermon notes you can see that this may have been in the spring of 54AD. Well in light of what Paul heard from Timothy about the church, Paul changed his original plans and made a quick emergency trip to Corinth in the late spring of 54AD[footnoteRef:7]. This has come to be known as the painful or sorrowful visit. Paul made a quick emergency visit to Corinth to address the problems he had hear about. This visit didnt go well. Paul was publically criticized by a member of the church, a minority joined in the criticism, and the majority passively stood by in silence and allowed the accuser to criticize Paul openly. You can see this painful visit note on the chronology. [7: Guthrie, G.H. offers these potential dates]

Perhaps while making this painful visit, Paul told the Corinthians he would return to them in the months to come, travel on to Macedonia, and then come back their way on his way to Judea. This is the plan he mentions in 2 Corinthians 1:15-16.[footnoteRef:8] [8: Guthrie, G.H. ]

Well Paul withdrew to Ephesus and fired off whats known as the painful letter or the sorrowful letter. Its believed that Titus carried this letter to the church.

Probably through this letter, or perhaps by word of the letter carrier Titus, the Corinthians learned that Paul had shifted back to his original travel plans, unwilling to visit the Corinthians until he was sure the problems between him and the congregation had been worked out. He did not want to make another sorrowful visit (Well see him say that in 2 Corinthians 2:1).

According to the new travel itinerary, he would travel through Macedonia before possibly coming to them. Thus the severe letter took the place of the promised trip to see themand he would be visiting them after passing through Macedonia and much later than they had anticipated. This disappointed the Corinthians and was used by some to question Pauls actions and even his integrity.[footnoteRef:9] [9: Guthrie, G. H. (2015). 2 Corinthians. (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.) (p. 102). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.]

Now I can only guess that some of you didnt follow me through that explanation and you fell off the bus. Lets stop the bus, comfort you briefly, put some Bactine on your booboos and see if I can coax you to get on the bus again. Heres a cliff notes version of the explanation I just gave:

1) Paul told the Corinthians he was coming for a visit.

2) He changed his plans; he had his reasons.

3) Some in the Corinthian church said he was fickle, that he lacked integrity, and that he didnt follow through on the plans he communicated-- He writes one thing, says another, and does a third.

4) We now have a relational breakdown between Paul and the church.

Ok, everybody on the bus? Lets look at our passage. Follow with me as I read 1 Corinthians 1, verses 12-14.

12For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand 14just as you did partially understand usthat on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

In these three verses, verses 12-14, Paul defends his integrity.

And were a little surprised at the outset that he uses the word boast[footnoteRef:10] to defend his integrity. The word boast often described his opponents actions. They were always boasting of what they could do. But for Paul boasting had a different meaning altogether. It was glorying in what God had done.[footnoteRef:11] When Paul boasts, he boasts of what God has accomplished in his life. Do we see that in the verse? Yes.look at the little phrase by the grace of God Paul is about to tell the Corinthians what God has done in his life. For our boast is thisthe testimony, the witness of our conscience is that weve lived in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity. [10: Paul takes up the word boast ten times: Rom. 3:27, 15:17; 1 Cor. 15:31; 2 Cor. 1:12, 7:4, 14; 8:24; 11:10, 17; 1 Thess 2:19). Six of these uses are in 2 Corinthians. All but two of the ten uses carry a sense of glorying in what God has done. ] [11: Guthrie, 2 Corinthians]

Weve lived lives of simplicitythe word meant personal integrity in word and action. It suggests sincerity, uprightness, and frankness.[footnoteRef:12] [12: Guthrie, 2 Corinthians Paul