{"id":6648,"date":"2020-07-21T04:32:17","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T09:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/wp\/?p=6648"},"modified":"2020-07-17T10:32:57","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T15:32:57","slug":"2-corinthians-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/?p=6648","title":{"rendered":"2 Corinthians 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

11\u00a0<\/strong>I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!\u00a02\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since\u00a0I betrothed you to one husband,\u00a0to present you\u00a0as a pure virgin to Christ.\u00a03\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But I am afraid that\u00a0as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts\u00a0will be led astray from a\u00a0sincere and\u00a0pure devotion to Christ.\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For if someone comes and\u00a0proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept\u00a0a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.<\/p>\n

Exodus20:5 The Lord your God am a Jealous God. We are constantly seeking another Gospel to benefit us when there is only one source of salvation. <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Indeed, I consider that\u00a0I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.\u00a06\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Even if I am unskilled in speaking,\u00a0I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way\u00a0we have made this plain to you in all things.<\/p>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Or\u00a0did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because\u00a0I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge?\u00a08\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.\u00a09\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And when I was with you and was\u00a0in need,\u00a0I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia\u00a0supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain\u00a0from burdening you in any way.<\/p>\n

\u201cA story is told about a dinner party where the guests were expected to stand after the meal and recite something for the group. A famous actor was present, and he recited the twenty-third Psalm with great dramatic flair and emotion, and sat down to great applause. Then a very simple man got up and began to recite the same Psalm. He wasn\u2019t very eloquent, so at first people thought it was a little funny. But his presentation was straight from his heart, so when he finished the group sat in respectful silence. It was obvious that the simple man\u2019s presentation was more powerful than the actor\u2019s, and afterwards the actor told him: \u201cI know the Psalm, but you know the Shepherd.\u201d\u00a0 UNKNOWN <\/strong><\/p>\n

That was the difference between the preaching of Paul and the preaching of\u00a0the most eminent apostles. Paul didn\u2019t have all the polish and panache of a great speaker, but he knew God, and thus preached the gospel with power.<\/p>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine\u00a0will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And why?\u00a0Because I do not love you?\u00a0God knows I do!<\/p>\n

12\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And what I am doing I will continue to do,\u00a0in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For such men are\u00a0false apostles,\u00a0deceitful workmen,\u00a0disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as\u00a0an angel of light.\u00a015\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as\u00a0servants of righteousness.\u00a0Their end will correspond to their deeds.<\/p>\n

Paul loved the Lord so much he can\u2019t not stop talking about and telling people it cannot be stopped. This should be an encouragement and challenge to look and see have we ever stopped Boasting about Jesus?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle<\/strong><\/p>\n

16\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>I repeat,\u00a0let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>What I am saying\u00a0with this boastful confidence,\u00a0I say not as the Lord would[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0but as a fool.\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Since\u00a0many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For you gladly bear with fools,\u00a0being wise yourselves!\u00a020\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For you bear it if someone\u00a0makes slaves of you, or\u00a0devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or\u00a0strikes you in the face.\u00a021\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>To my shame, I must say,\u00a0we were too weak for that!<\/p>\n

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of\u2014I am speaking as a fool\u2014I also dare to boast of that.<\/p>\n

It is easy to sense both Paul\u2019s sarcasm and his hesitancy to promote himself. He would rather talk about Jesus, but that message is hindered by the Corinthians\u2019 disregard to if Paul is really who he says he is. Have we ever been challenged, when we talk about Jesus? <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

22\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Are they Hebrews?\u00a0So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Are they\u00a0servants of Christ?\u00a0I am a better one\u2014I am talking like a madman\u2014with far greater labors,\u00a0far more imprisonments,\u00a0with countless beatings, and\u00a0often near death.\u00a024\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the\u00a0forty lashes less one.\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Three times I was\u00a0beaten with rods.\u00a0Once I was stoned. Three times I\u00a0was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;\u00a026\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers,\u00a0danger from my own people,\u00a0danger from Gentiles,\u00a0danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night,\u00a0in hunger and thirst, often without food,[b<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0in cold and exposure.\u00a028\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for\u00a0all the churches.\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

30\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.\u00a031\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>The God and Father of the Lord Jesus,\u00a0he who is blessed forever,\u00a0knows that I am not lying.\u00a032\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas\u00a0was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,\u00a033\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.<\/p>\n

How could the man who lived this life possibly be\u00a0happy<\/em>? Because he had died to himself! Because Paul could say,\u00a0I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus needs to pour out of, be proud of how Jesus is working through you. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":1168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","filesize_raw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-reading"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6649,"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6648\/revisions\/6649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mbcnewhaven.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}