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Paul Was Not A Timid Man Who Could Be Ignored; He Was A True Apostle With A Powerful Teaching Ministry; Those Who Opposed Him Needed To Judge Him Correctly And Judge The False Apostles Correctly; He Had Authority Over Them; All Opposition To Him Must End

Paul and his team started Messiah’s Community in Corinth, one of the most prominent centers in Greece. The congregation grew into a significant community of the Lord’s people. After being there for a year and a half, Paul left the city. After he left, the community started to divide. Some of the people were supporting their favored leader and criticizing, opposing and undermining other leaders – even great leaders like Paul. To address this problem, and other problems, Paul and Sosthenes wrote the letter that is known as 1 Corinthians.

After Timothy returned to Corinth, he informed Paul that the divisions in the community had gotten worse. The faction who opposed Paul was growing in influence. This motivated Paul to change his plans and visit them immediately. But this visit was a painful visit in which Paul experienced more attacks from opponents while the rest of the community provided little support.

Paul returned to Ephesus and wrote a severe letter to the Corinthians and sent it to them by Titus. The purpose of this letter was to communicate his love for the Corinthians, urge the people to repent, and demand the punishment of the leader of the opposition who opposed Paul. Most of the people united and confronted the man who had been leading the opposition against Paul. He repented and most of the Corinthians were now favorable toward Paul – most, but not all. Paul then wrote another letter, known as 2 Corinthians. In these last four chapters, Paul again defended himself from those who were still opposing him. And, to make matters worse, some of those who were opposing Paul, who was a true apostle, were following false apostles.

Leaders of the Lord’s people need to be humble and gentle, like Messiah, but also tough when they need to be – like Messiah. By the humility and gentleness of Messiah, I appeal to you. Messiah was humble and gentle and wants us to be humble and gentle; and Paul wanted to be humble and gentle with Messiah’s followers in Corinth, but was prepared to be tough if those who were opposing him didn’t end their opposition.

Sarcasm can be useful. The Rabbi used sarcasm to respond to those who accused him of being tough when away from them by writing bold things in his letters, but being timid when present with them; and that a man like that wasn’t worth following. By the humility and gentleness of Messiah, I appeal to you – I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! The truth was that Paul was not afraid of any of the Corinthians. He could be just as tough when with them as when away from them and writing to them – but he didn’t want to have to be tough when with them. If everyone in the community would respect him the way he should be respected, he could be gentle when with them, which is what he preferred.

I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. Some of those who opposed Paul were opposing Paul by accusing him of living according to the standards of the world – meaning he lacked the supernatural power that characterized a true apostle. Of course, that accusation was false. Paul was a true apostle whom God used in powerful and supernatural ways.

Not only did the Lord use him to do signs, wonders and miracles, the Lord gave him a powerful teaching ministry – perhaps the greatest teaching ministry of anyone who has ever lived – other than the Lord Yeshua Himself. Paul’s teaching ministry, which has been preserved for us through his letters, and comprises 23% of the New Testament, has impacted the church more than the teaching ministry of almost anyone else. The accusation that Paul was an ungifted man who lived according to the standards of the world was false.

We live in world in which darkness covers the Earth and thick darkness is over the peoples. People are confused about many things, including the most important things. The devil and the demons are in part responsible for that confusion. They are able to propagate false teachings, doctrines of demons, which keep people in the darkness; and they are able to influence our thoughts so that we remain in the darkness.

Paul was gifted by God with a powerful teaching ministry and with wisdom that enabled him and his co-workers to win many battles – battles for the thoughts of people. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world – like people who wage war with swords, knives, bows and arrows.

On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Messiah. Paul was gifted by God with the ability to properly understand the Word of God and teach its truths to others. That enabled him to demolish the strongholds of erroneous thinking; to destroy wrong arguments; to tear down false and arrogant opinions; to turn thoughts that were disobedient to Messiah into thoughts that were obedient to Messiah.

Paul understood obedience and he understood disobedience; and if there were some in Messiah’s Community in Corinth who were disobedient because they would not stop thinking wrongly about him and opposing him – when he arrived in Corinth, he and his team would use their authority to punish their disobedience – if the rest of the community were sufficiently obedient and supportive. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. The disobedient opposers had been warned. If they were wise, they would immediately end their opposition to Paul. They would become obedient by acknowledging his God-given authority over them.

Now the Lord’s representative corrected other disobedient thoughts. Some of those who opposed him and supported other leaders were comparing Paul to those other leaders and concluding that Paul was inferior. However, they were wrong. Paul wasn’t inferior. So, how could they arrive at a conclusion that was so wrong? By judging him by appearances, not by reality. You are judging by appearances.

The truth was that Paul was not inferior to any of the other leaders, especially to the false apostles that some were following. Paul belonged to Messiah just as much as any of them. If anyone is confident that they belong to Messiah, they should consider again that we belong to Messiah just as much as they do.

Paul was a true apostle, and as one who represented the Lord, he and his team had authority over them – and he was not ashamed to remind them of that. So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

Paul used the authority the Lord gave him and those who worked with him the way it was intended to be used – to build up Messiah’s Community in Corinth, not tear it down. He had brought the true teaching to them. He had taught them. He had corrected them when they needed to be corrected. He had established them in the faith. There was no reason for any of the Corinthians to oppose their God-ordained leaders who built them up, not tore them down.

The apostle returned to the accusation that he was bold when away from them and writing to them but unimpressive when among them, and therefore not someone worth paying attention to. I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. If those who were opposing the Rabbi didn’t change their attitude toward them, when he arrived in Corinth they would find him just as weighty and forceful with them in person as he was in his writings, and who would want an apostle of the Lord to be weighty and forceful with them?

Those who opposed Paul were judging him by appearances, not by what really was, and that is not the right way to determine if a man is successful or unsuccessful; nor is the right way by comparing him to others; nor is it right for a man to determine if he is successful by measuring himself by himself and concluding he is a success. We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

We can’t determine if a man is a success by comparing him to others. God may give greater gifts and talents to one and fewer gifts and talents to another. God will expect more from the one with the greater gifts and talents and less from the one with fewer. And God may give greater opportunities to one and fewer opportunities to another. God may call someone to a big city and a big congregation while he may call another to a small town and a small congregation. God may expect greater outward success from the one called to the big city and the big congregation than from the one called to the small town and small congregation.

To determine the success of a man and his ministry, it must be determined if he was faithful to the sphere of service the Lord called him to – and only the Lord knows that – not others, and not even us – which is why we can’t measure ourselves by ourselves.

For example, what if God wanted someone to lead a community so that it would have 10,000 people, but the man was not as faithful or dedicated as he should have been, and the community only grew to 5,000? What if God wanted another man to lead a community that would have 500 people, and that man was faithful and dedicated and the community grew to 500? Which man had the more successful ministry? Which one will receive the greater reward?

And, what if the man made some fatal compromises along the way that few knew about? Yielded to the fear of man? Watered down the message so as not to offend? Decided to tickle the ears of people to build a crowd?

Since it is very difficult for us to know if we have been as faithful and dedicated as we should have been, and since it is very difficult for us to know if others have been as faithful and dedicated as they should have been, it is not wise to measure our success by comparing ourselves to ourselves, or measure someone else’s success by comparing him to others.

Other leaders and their supporters were boasting about their authority and their accomplishments in ways that were inappropriate. Paul and his team were very careful not to do that. They were very careful to only boast about their sphere of authority and their own accomplishments. Paul and his team and their sphere of service was very broad, and included Corinth. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. Paul and his team had the right to assert their authority among the Corinthians because God had assigned them Corinth as part of their sphere of authority. Therefore they should be acknowledged as legitimate leaders and not opposed.

In fact, as those who started the community by bringing them the Good News, they deserved special respect. We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Messiah. Paul and his co-workers did the hard work of pioneering evangelism. They were the first ones to bring the Corinthians the message about the Messiah. Just as children are to honor their fathers, Paul and his team deserved special honor due to founding fathers. They should be treated with respect and honored, not opposed by anyone in Corinth.

The Lord had used Paul and his team to do great things, including starting many congregations in the eastern part of the Roman empire, including the one in Corinth. It was appropriate for them to be acknowledged for their work. And it was wrong for others to take credit for their work, which is what the false apostles were doing. Taking credit for someone else’s work is not something Paul and Timothy would ever do. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. In any sphere of activity, it’s wrong to take credit for work done by others. It’s especially wrong for servants of God. It’s dishonest. It’s selfish. It’s arrogant. I’ve known a few men who did that. It left a very bad taste in my mouth, and in the mouths of others.

Paul and Timothy had given a lot to Messiah’s Community in Corinth. They wanted to return to them and help them grow in their faith. They wanted to teach them more. They wanted to proclaim the Good News about Yeshua to others in Corinth and win them to the Lord. They wanted a great relationship with a growing Corinthian community so they would be able to help Paul and his team reach others in new regions beyond Corinth. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.

Again, they were honorable men who wanted to be acknowledged for their own work and not take credit for work done by others. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. And as they did so often, Paul and Timothy reinforced their teaching with a quote from the Word of God, in this case a quote which is based on several quotes about boasting about the Lord. But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” The Word of God makes it clear that our successes come from the Lord. If it weren’t for the Lord, for Him giving us the talents, skills, abilities and opportunities we have, we could accomplish nothing. We boast about what the Lord has done through us, emphasizing that it is the Lord who deserves the praise. If we boast about what the Lord has done through us, and acknowledge that He made our accomplishments possible, we are boasting in the Lord – and that’s OK to do.

But if we take credit for what others have done, we are not boasting in the Lord, and that’s wrong to do. The Corinthians should not be following false apostles who did not boast in the Lord. They should be following men like Paul who did boast in the Lord.

Just as we boast in the Lord, we allow the Lord to commend us. We don’t commend ourselves. It’s easy for a man to call attention to his achievements and claim he’s been a success, but does he know if he has been as faithful and devoted as he should have been? Lived up to his calling by making the most of the talents and skilled and opportunities he has been given? Ultimately it is the Lord who determines who deserves to be commended and who will receive His approval. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. The Corinthian must not be taken in by false apostles who commended themselves but were not commended by the Lord and are not approved by the Lord. They should follow those the Lord has commended and approved of – men like Paul and Timothy.

Let’s pray:

Lord, thank You for Paul and Timothy, these wonderful Messianic Jewish men. Thank You for their great lives and their wonderful teaching ministry that has benefitted billions of people over the centuries, including us.

Lord, leaders of Your people need to be servant leaders, gentle and humble, yet tough when they need to be. Help the leaders here at Shema always find that right balance. May the times when we have to be tough with people be few and far between.

Help us be good leaders, honorable leaders, trustworthy leaders.

Lord, the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world – swords, knives, bows and arrows. We are in a spiritual battle for the thoughts of people. Help us be prepared to fight our battles by really knowing You and by really knowing Your word.

Help us not judge the success of others by outward appearances, or determine our own success by measuring ourselves by ourselves. Help us know that You are the one who really knows and whose commendation is true.

Lord, You have taught us that our successes come from You, from the talents, skills, abilities and opportunities we have been give. Help us boast in You, not ourselves; and may we not take credit for work done by others.

Lord, I pray that Congregation Shema Yisrael would grow in faith, and in obedience, and in unity, and in numbers, so that we would be better able to bring the Good News about Messiah to many, many more people – especially the Jewish people in Detroit.

Behold how good and how pleasant it is when a community is united, following good leaders who are building the people up and not tearing them down. May we be that community.