By Danny Saunders
The rumor goes that when Sally Robins dropped her oars at the women’s Olympic rowing event, another member of the team threatened to throw her out of the boat. The other rowers were fuming but when the rowing authorities stepped in they quickly & publicly indicated their support & care for the failed rower. We will probably never know whether this was simply for the sake of team unity & the integrity of the Australian team; or whether this was motivated by actual love and forgiveness.
But this issue in Australian rowing has many characteristics of a Corinthian Church scandal though in Corinth the offending party is actually thrown out of the boat, told to leave the church. The authorities, represented by the Apostle Paul, have to step in to help resolve the conflict. For the sake of team integrity the offender must be punished, but only for so long as to cause repentance & sorrow – at that time the media conference is called & the church forgives the offender & reaffirms its love for the offender. The Apostle Paul is happy that joy is restored to the church, the church is happy that they are once again in Paul’s favor, the offender is happy because they’re reinstated & get another chance & the media is happy because they have a news story to exploit & everyone lives happily ever after.
Well things weren’t that simple in Corinth & perhaps this is fortunate because it meant Paul had to write his letters & these letters provide us with teaching & guidance about how issues in the church are to be resolved. & in this passage before us today Paul’s purpose is to teach & encourage the Corinthians to maintain integrity, unity & joy in their Christian fellowship.
1. Paul’s boasting – vv.12-14
Paul’s first concern is to make it clear that he is a man of integrity. His character & words have integrity.
In fact he goes so far as to boast because he’s behaved with frankness & godly sincerity. Paul had spent 18 months living among the Corinthians & he’s proud that he’s been honest & sincere in all his dealings with them & he sees this integrity as a reason to boast. But notice that although he boasts, he isn’t boasting in himself & his own strength. He can act according to God’s standards not because of earthly wisdom, but because of God’s grace. Again & again in this letter Paul reminds his readers that he doesn’t rely on himself & his own ability. Even though Paul is capable, he continually makes it clear that to live a righteous life he relies not on his own strength but on the grace of God.
Paul then reassures the Corinthians that his message is also simple & clear. There’s no secret or mysterious part that is meant to be read between the lines. There’s no deeper truth that only a privileged few can understand – what Paul writes can be read & understood. There’s no hidden agenda. His letters aren’t cryptic crosswords. He doesn’t leave clues that require careful & slow deciphering with dictionary in hand.
Paul means what he says & so his hope is that the Corinthians will continue in their understanding & grow in that understanding until the end, until the very return of Christ, called here the day of the Lord. Paul’s hope is that this will be a day of boasting. The Corinthians will boast that they were taught & discipled by the best teacher of all, the Apostle Paul & Paul will boast about their eagerness to learn & grow & so on the last day, when they stand with him in heaven, he’ll boast that the Corinthians fought the good fight, they finished the race & kept the faith.
So already in this passage there’s a lot to challenge us. Are we relying on God’s grace to maintain our integrity & Godly character? If we’re not spending time with God regularly then we’re foolishly relying on our own strength & not God’s. The temptations of our world are too great to think we can cope as Christians & maintain godly character, unless we’re regularly in prayer & reading the Bible, relying on God’s grace & strength.
So don’t let your faith be shipwrecked by losing your focus on God & trusting in yourself. Paul’s holiness & sincerity have their origins in God, not in himself. So don’t be deceived by your own goodness & strength – trust only in God & call on him to help you live a godly life & to grow in your understanding of the Scriptures.
2. Paul’s intention & change of travel plans. Vs.15-22
Paul’s next concern is to defend himself against any allegation that he is flippant, unreliable or insincere. Paul wants to make the point that his actions also have integrity.
Paul’s original plan was stated in 1 Cor 16:5. Paul told the Corinthians that after passing through Macedonia he would visit them & spend some time with them - if the Lord permits. But now in vv.15-16, he explains he changed his plans, he wanted to give them a double blessing by visiting them twice, on his way to Macedonia and then again on his way back from Macedonia.
Isn’t it annoying when someone says they’re going to do something & then they don’t do it. It’s a bit like our politicians at election time. We’re given all these promises only to find out later that they’re not core promises & so these promises can be changed. How can we ever know who can be trusted? It seems that Paul’s opponents were criticizing him in this way, doubting his intentions & questioning whether he was ever going to come at all & so pointing at this change of plans as evidence of Paul’s bad faith & doubtful character.
So in verse 17 Paul wants to make it clear that he can be trusted. He hasn’t acted by human standards. What Paul means is that he doesn’t change his mind on a whim or go back on his commitments or act selfishly with no regard to others.
These accusations against Paul actually had the effect of calling into question the faithfulness of God, because it was God who entrusted the message of the gospel to Paul. [Gal 1:11ff]. The faithfulness of God is something the Corinthians can’t question & so it is with God’s chosen Apostle. In verse 18 Paul is saying that his word to the Corinthians is not a mixture of yes & no at the same time. Just as God is faithful, Paul is also sincere & honest. Paul uses such an extreme example because he knows that if his character & words are doubted then the truth of his gospel message may also be doubted.
A further proof of Paul’s personal integrity is in v.19. Paul’s preaching of the gospel was unequivocal & had proved true & trustworthy. The Corinthians had come to believe in Jesus Christ in whom there was no uncertainty, Jesus could be trusted in both word and character. Paul’s proclamation of this true gospel message was further evidence that Paul could also be trusted.
In Jesus is the absolute assurance that all God’s promises are fulfilled. This is v.20 – in Jesus every one of God’s promises is a "Yes". Not one of the promises made by God will fail to find fulfillment in Jesus. So the incredible weight of this statement is that in Jesus:
1. the promises to Abraham that all the nations will be blessed through him is fulfilled – people of all the nations, Jews & Gentiles can now be saved by believing in Jesus Christ & all God’s people are called descendants of Abraham; [Gen 12, 15, 17; Gal. 3:29]
2. the promises to David that his kingdom will be established forever is fulfilled, Jesus was descended directly from David, Jesus is called the ruler of the kings of the earth & his kingdom has been established forever; [2 Sam. 7; Rev. 1:5]
3. the promises of the Old Testament sacrificial system are fulfilled – Jesus didn’t offer himself again and again, year after year to atone for our sin – Jesus offered himself once to remove sin for all time by the sacrifice of himself; [Lev. 16; Heb 8-10]
4. the promises of the prophets that God will make a new covenant with his people, that God’s law will be written on our hearts, that God’s spirit will be given to us and that God will forgive our sins is fulfilled in Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit to believers & who institutes the new covenant by pouring out his blood on the cross. [Jn. 16; Acts 1:8; Jer 31:33f; Ezek 36:24-28; Mk 14:24]
So in Jesus all the promises of the Old Testament, all the promises of salvation history find their fulfillment. Jesus was never meant to be understood in isolation from the Old Testament & this shows how important & relevant it is for us to read & understand the whole Bible.
Paul & his companions have taught the Corinthians about Jesus & his fulfillment of OT prophecy. The Corinthians have responded to the gospel & can now say "Amen" – that they agree that through Jesus God is trustworthy & faithful. How ridiculous then that they should doubt the Apostle who taught them these things.
– but notice that Paul again immediately gives the credit to God. In verse 21 & 22 it is God who has established his authority with the Corinthians, God gives Paul the ability to stand firm in Christ and it is God who has commissioned him & set him aside for this work by giving him the Holy Spirit. The Spirit being with Paul is a seal & a sign of his authority from God & a first deposit or guarantee of the resurrected body & inheritance that he will have in heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to all Christians when they believe in the gospel and accept the salvation offered in Jesus. [Eph. 1:11-14]
These words in v.22 "first installment" are a commercial term & mean a guarantee or a deposit in the same way we understand these words today. It is the deposit made by the buyer to the seller as a guarantee that the full amount will be paid over at the proper time, the balance will be paid at the final settlement of the transaction. So the Holy Spirit has been given by God to all believers as a guarantee that they will receive the full & complete blessings to be found in heaven. Now we live with God through his Spirit but in our mortal flesh & in a dieing & fallen world. Then God himself will live with us in our perfected bodies where there is no more pain, crying or death. Our guarantee of this, our security for this transaction is the Holy Spirit living with us now, the 1st installment of these good things to come.
Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he is a man of integrity, but his integrity & his relationship with the Corinthians is from God & is based on their union together with Christ & empowered by the Holy Spirit. And this is also the basis of our integrity as the people of God. We don’t trust in our own strength & abilities. We trust solely in God’s grace & forgiveness found in Christ & in the power of the Holy Spirit that we receive through believing in Jesus. [pause]
So Paul’s ministry & the truth of the gospel rest upon nothing less than the work of God. Paul may have changed his travel plans but this shouldn’t be used to call into question either Paul’s character or the gospel message that he’s proclaimed.
3. Why Paul changed his plans – vs. 1:23-2:4
So Paul’s next concern is that his readers know the truth about why he changed his plans. His motives were pure & in their best interests - he wanted to spare them another painful visit because of his love for them.
The Corinthians were spared some kind of disciplinary action. Paul doesn’t want to be seen as a spiritual tyrant, his role as an Apostle was as a servant to the church – in v.24 Paul says he regards them as fellow workers in the gospel who also stand firm in the faith. Paul doesn’t want to cause pain by another visit, rather his motivation is to work with them & to return the Corinthians to the joy of their Christian fellowship.
In Paul’s first visit he needed to deal with a number of problems, but because this visit turned out to be so painful he aborted his second visit & wrote to them instead. He says that he wrote harsh things only because of his abundant love for them, to set them right, so that they could again rejoice in their fellowship together.
The saying goes that you have to be cruel to be kind - & I guess any parent who’s disciplined a child knows that love at times requires discipline that can be painful. It seems that this is the dilemma faced by Paul – he loves the Corinthians but knows that the discipline he must insist on will cause pain both to the offender & to the whole church, but Paul knows that it’s only by going through this process that the church can be returned to joy.
4. Discipline leading to repentance, forgiveness & re-instatement - vv.5-11
It’s most likely that the background to this matter can be found in 1 Corinthians 5 where Paul says he’s heard reports of sexual immorality & lists the discipline that’s required. Paul indicates that those inside the church, those calling themselves Christians but acting wickedly, can & should be disciplined by the church.
Paul gives the situation of a church member living in an incestuous relationship. Paul says the other church members should have nothing to do with this man & he should be driven out of the church. Paul also adds the sexually immoral or greedy, idolaters, revilers, drunkards, or robbers. Paul is basically saying that any person calling themselves a Christian but actively & publicly living in sin should be disciplined by their church community.
The church is a body of believers & so the actions of these individuals are like a cancer in the church. They don’t just cause pain for Paul, as the leader of the church. These actions cause pain for everyone in the church. The sinful action of one individual affects the whole congregation; the whole body is hurt when one of its members sins openly & publicly.
Paul says in verse 6 that such a person has been punished & it seems likely that this meant the offender was excluded from the fellowship of the church, but now this person has repented & wants to come back into the church.
So Paul now shifts his emphasis from punishment & discipline of the offender to forgiveness & re-instatement. Church discipline is meant to have a remedial purpose. So notice in verse 7 & 8 that forgiveness & reinstatement is conditional on the repentance of the offender. Paul says the person should be forgiven & consoled, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. This of course implies that the person is sorry for what they’ve done.
Forgiveness is a necessary part of our healing process. Forgiveness is our shield against bitterness & anger. The devil wants to use our destructive emotions to cause further conflict, to cause more pain & suffering & as Paul says in v.11, we’re not ignorant of Satan’s evil schemes. Also, in the church there must always be room for forgiveness, final judgment rests only with God, so any discipline in the church should aim at restoration of the offender.
However, any attempt at reconciliation or reinstatement must rightly be subject to repentance and sorrow on behalf of the offender. We should be obedient to God’s word & have nothing to do with Christians whose lives just don’t match up to the Christian integrity expected of followers of Christ. So Paul wrote that the Corinthians were to expel wickedness from their church community and in verse 9 he says this was a test, to see whether they would be obedient. What Paul expected was not obedience to him personally, but obedience to the gospel & its ethical & moral implications.
Paul makes it clear that obedience to God may involve conflict with people calling themselves Christian but not living up to the moral demands of the gospel. & at the moment we see issues of sexual immorality threatening to split the Anglican Church. So this teaching on discipline must be taken seriously even where conflict & division is difficult & painful. What’s at stake is the integrity of the gospel, the integrity of God’s Word & the integrity of God’s people.
But the balance to discipline is here in 2 Cor. – a Christian who sins must be disciplined, but where there is real repentance & sorrow, that person should be forgiven & consoled, reaffirmed in love & reinstated into the church.
So Paul maintains a balance between judgment and mercy. A Christian who sins openly & publicly cannot be condemned for all time, God alone has this role of final judgment. But where an offender shows repentance & sorrow the church must show forgiveness & love. Paul himself shows the way in verse 10, he indicates that he has forgiven the offender so that the Corinthians would feel free to also forgive. Paul’s forgiveness is for their sake because as their leader & as the Apostle of Christ, his forgiveness opens the way for their reconciliation.
So as hard as this teaching may sound when we are the ones who are hurt & wronged, this is the way of Christian integrity. We deal with our hurt by forgiveness. We forgive just as our Father in heaven has forgiven us. & we do this so that Satan has no foothold into our fellowship. The devil would love us to maintain our bitterness, to maintain our anger, to hate & despise & to use these emotions for further conflict & division. But we’re called upon to love & forgive so that all parties can be healed & so Satan doesn’t get an advantage. [pause]
So we’ve seen this morning that Paul’s purpose is to teach & encourage the Corinthians to maintain integrity, unity & joy in their Christian fellowship.
Paul wants to establish that in both his words & actions he’s a man of integrity – his actions reflect God’s character & are based on God’s grace & not on his own strength. Paul knows that if he’s doubted then people may doubt his gospel message, so for Paul the very integrity of the gospel is at stake.
The challenge for us is to have this same reliance on God to maintain our integrity. God has established us in Christ with forgiveness of sins & the Holy Spirit living within us & this should motivate us & encourage us to lead lives that are pleasing to God & reflect his character.
Paul loves the Corinthians. He doesn’t want any further division or conflict & he calls on them to resolve their issues & forgive & love their repentant brother.
This is a further challenge for us. Discipline & punishment are important to maintain the health, unity & joy of our fellowship; but we must balance discipline with mercy; punishment must be balanced with forgiveness - & this is to stop any further erosion or advantage to Satan that may be caused by our conflict.
So this passage has challenged us in areas of both our personal & corporate integrity. Like Paul we should be seeking to show in our lives the grace & sincerity of God, but we do this not trusting in our own strength, but trusting solely in God’s grace & forgiveness. We find these things in the gospel; in the message of reconciliation through Jesus Christ. It is only by trusting in Jesus that any individual Christian or any church can be established to the end - to fight the good fight, to finish the race & to keep the faith.
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Questions for Discussion - 2 Cor 1:11-2:12
What are the complaints that some of the Corinthians have about Paul
How does Paul respond?
How does Paul explain his change of plans?
How does Paul’s change of mind contrast with God’s consistency
Is Paul right in claiming that all God’s promises have their ’Yes’ in Christ? Give some examples.
How does Paul’s instructions about discipline of the offending believer both here and in 1 Cor 5 reflect the gospel? Note what Paul says are the standards for his own behaviour in 1:12.
How can Satan use our disagreements if we let him.
