sometimes stupid

Posted on November 22, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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2 Corinthians 11:16-18

2Co 11:16  I am talking again. No one should think I am stupid. But even if you do, accept me as a stupid person, so that I too may brag a little.
2Co 11:17  What I say with this bragging confidence, I am saying not as the Lord would but as a stupid person would.
2Co 11:18  Since many brag according to the flesh, I too will brag.

sometimes stupid

Paul had been accused of working kata sarka (according to the flesh) and put up quite a defense that his actions were kata pneuma (according to the Spirit). Now, he takes a break from that defense and responds as he says a stupid person would: by bragging. He will go on to count down both his pedigree as a missionary, and his sufferings as evidence of his commitment. Sometimes you have to respind like a stupid person to get through to a stupid person.

It is okay to try to convince people of our sincerity like this, but it should not become a habit. Most of the time, simply walking en pnemati (in the Spirit) and speaking the truth in love is enough.

LORD, give us your wisdom when responding to the accusations of our critics.

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false missionaries

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (21)devotional post # 2207

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

2Co 11:13  Because these false missionaries, deceitful workers, are disguising themselves as missionaries from Christ.
2Co 11:14  And that does not surprize me, because even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  So it is no surprise when his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their destiny will match their works.

false missionaries

Paul and his team of true missionaries brought the gospel to Corinth, and some time later some false missionaries showed up. They pretended to be doing the same thing Paul did, but in reality their goal was the opposite. They wanted to undermine the true gospel, and lead people away from Christ. They opposed Paul and his influence. Paul is pointing this out to the Corinthians.

LORD, keep us focused on your gospel, and the works that accompany it. Make us aware when it is being undermined.

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stewardship and strategy

Posted on November 20, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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2 Corinthians 11:7-12

2Co 11:7 Or did I commit a sin in lowering myself so that you might be lifted up, because I preached God’s gospel to you for nothing?
2Co 11:8  I robbed other churches by taking wages from them in order to serve among you.
2Co 11:9  And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, because the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. So I refrained and will refrain from being a burden to you in any way.
2Co 11:10  As the truth of Christ is in me, this bragging of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.
2Co 11:11  And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
2Co 11:12  And I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny the opportunity to those who would like to claim that in the mission they brag about, they work on an equal basis as us.

stewardship and strategy

There is a stewardship principle, taught by Paul himself, and based on the Old Testament, that those who serve God’s people should be supplied by God’s people. The ox should not be muzzled while it is threshing the grain.  It appears that Paul’s Corinthian opponents were using this principle against him, because they criticized his decision to depend on outside support for his ministry to the Corinthians. Paul defended his strategy. He would not allow his critics to change his ministry. He answered to God alone.

Holy Spirit, keep us from changing due to the criticism of others, when you have designed our ministries.

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not an idiot

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (19)devotional post # 2206

2 Corinthians 11:4-6

2Co 11:4  Because if someone comes and announces another Jesus than the one we announced, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it okay.
2Co 11:5  Because I do not think that I come short compared to any of these super-missionaries.
2Co 11:6  Even if I am “unskilled in the word”, I am not so in knowledge of it; in every way we have certainly made this plain to you in all circumstances.

not an idiot

Paul had fallen out of favor with the Corinthians. The super missionaries were now the flavor of the month, and the people thought of Paul and his team as yesterday’s news. Someone had even started saying that Paul was  unskilled (an idiotes) in the word (logos). From our study of the epistles, we know that was not true. But truth rarely matters to those who are only interested in backing their horse. Those who choose a party to back will accept all kinds of garbage (another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel) as long as it comes from their party.

Refusing to back the party when it strays from the truth is a challenge, because you are liable to be branded an idiot, like Paul was.

LORD, give us the courage to stand for truth, and against falsehood, no matter who is speaking it.

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different or dangerous?

Posted on November 18, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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2 Corinthians 11:1-3

2Co 11:1  I wish you would put up with me as I display a little nonsense. Do put up with me!
2Co 11:2  Because I am jealous with God’s jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
2Co 11:3  But I am afraid that just like the serpent deceived Eve by his skill, your thoughts will be corrupted from being simply focused on Christ.

different or dangerous?

Change is always happening in the church, but how do we know if the change is dangerous or just different? In Corinth, a change had taken place which directed the focus of the members off Christ, onto the church leaders. Those leaders criticized Paul because they saw him as a threat to their authority and influence. The gospel was at stake. When church becomes about anything other than the gospel of Christ, it becomes more than different. It becomes dangerous.

LORD, you are jealous when your people are distracted from their focus on Christ. Keep us focused on what really matters.

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intensified influence

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (17)devotional post # 2203

2 Corinthians 10:15-18

2Co 10:15  We do not brag excessively about the hard work of others. But we do expect that as your faith increases, our degree of influence among you may be intensified,
2Co 10:16  so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without bragging of work already done in another’s area of influence.
2Co 10:17  “Let the one who brags, brag about the Lord.”
2Co 10:18  Because it is not the one who promotes himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord promotes.

intensified influence

Paul’s goal was to keep reaching more people — in more places — for Christ. He saw the opposition he was facing by these leaders in Corinth as a threat. The problem was more than personal. It threatened the work of global evangelism. These people who were bad mouthing Paul were hindering world missions. He wanted the Corinthians to respect his team and their work because they had a job to complete. They wanted to preach the gospel in the lands beyond Corinth. That required the support and prayers of the Corinthians. This was not the time to lose their influence, but to intensify it.

LORD, strengthen the ties between our churches and our missionaries, so that we can reach the lands beyond with the gospel.

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first team

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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2 Corinthians 10:12-14

2Co 10:12  Because we do not dare categorize or compare ourselves with some of those who are promoting themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves to one another, they are without understanding.
2Co 10:13  But we will not brag beyond limits, but will brag only with regard to the boundary God assigned to us, to reach even to you.
2Co 10:14  Because we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. Because we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.

first team

Paul defends his team from the accusations of the Corinthian super apostles. He does not choose to lay out all their accomplishments. It is enough to know one thing. Paul’s team was the first to reach the Corinthians with the gospel. God assigned them a task,and a boundary, and they acheived the task.

LORD, give us the wisdom to know that we do not have to do everything, but the courage to do what you have assigned us to do.

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square in the face

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (15)devotional post # 2201

2 Corinthians 10:7-11

2Co 10:7  Look at us square in the face. If anyone is confident that his ministry comes from Christ, let him remind himself that just as he is from Christ, so also are we.
2Co 10:8  Because even if I were to brag a bit more of what we have the right to do, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I would not be ashamed to do so.
2Co 10:9  I do not want you to think that I am just using my letters to frighten you.
2Co 10:10  Because they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his actual presence is weak, and his word is not worth listening to.”
2Co 10:11  Let a person like that understand that what we say by word when absent, we intend to put in practice when present.

square in the face

Ever since Paul and his team left Corinth to plant churches elsewhere, some of the members of the churches have been accusing him of being inauthentic. They want to gain prominence among the others in the group, and seek to do so by criticizing Paul. Their cheif criticism is that Paul is not the person he appears to be in his letters. In this section, Paul is addressing those critics. He tells them to stop the gossip. If they have  a complaint, say it to their face.

LORD, rid us of our baseless criticism.

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the force of truth

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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2 Corinthians 10:4-6

2Co 10:4  Because we do not use material weapons for our combat, but those divinely enabled to destroy strongholds.
2Co 10:5  We demolish worldviews and every highly polished theory raised against the knowledge of God, and take every idea captive to obey Christ,
2Co 10:6  being prepared to appropriately respond to every disobedience, once you have completely obeyed.

the force of truth

Paul had been criticized for not being forceful enough in his ministry. The super-apostles of Corinth had gained prominence there for being dominant over their underlings. Paul had taken a laid back approach. He trusted in the force of truth itself. He knew that the gospel had ways of overwhelming all the objections to it. It was powerful enough to neutralize worldviews, theories, and ideas that might tempt a believer to be disobedient to Christ and his covenant. So, Paul saw no need to dominate. His task was to educate.

LORD, give us the confidence to speak your truth, and let its force be enough.

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milk toast

Posted on November 13, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (13)devotional post # 2199

2 Corinthians 10:1-3

2Co 10:1  I, Paul, myself am encouraging you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ– I who am humble when looking you in the face, but bold toward you when I am away!–
2Co 10:2  When I am present, please do not make me have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.
2Co 10:3  Because although we walk in the flesh, we are not engaging in combat according to the flesh.

milk toast

The critics of Paul in the Cortinthian churches have suggested that he does not really have what it takes to be a good leader. They said that his words sound forceful enough when someone else reads them from his letters, but when he actually visits and you hear him in person, he is milk toast!

These critics misunderstood Paul’s meek and gentle demeaner. They expected him to assert his influence the way other Gentile leaders do. But Paul knows that true spiritual leadership engages in combat kata pneuma, not kata sarka. The true spiritual leader prays, gently speaks God’s words of truth, and lets the Holy Spirit demonstrate God’s power. If need be, Paul is prepared to speak out boldly in rebuke of those critics, but he does not want to have to.

LORD, give us the courage to fight our battles on our knees.

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