2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 13. We'll just have a read of that.
2 Corinthians 11 13. Just those first few words. For such are false apostles.
The title of the sermon this morning is false apostles. Okay, false apostles.
Now, if you remember chapter 10, Paul was kind of defending himself against some of
his critics within the church. Okay, now chapter 10, you could look at that and
yes, you could say some of those critics were false brethren, false apostles
within the church. I'm sure some of them were. But I feel like in chapter 11
there's a change. In chapter 10 he's probably just dealing with believers,
true brethren, true believers that are critical, that are a bit in the flesh,
that are being deceived by these false apostles. But when we get to chapter 11
now he's definitely dealing with false apostles, dealing with false brethren.
So while this church in Corinth had improved so much, they still had a major
problem, right? And one of those major problems where they were listening to
false apostles within the church. Okay, they were being influenced by false
brethren. And I believe this is where the criticism of Paul was coming from, was
from these false apostles criticizing Paul, influencing the church, and now
Paul deals with them directly. So let's look at verse number one. And again, keep
in mind, verse number one makes sense after we've understood chapter 10,
because chapter 10 he's spending his time defending himself. Okay, so when we
get to verse number one in chapter 11, he says,
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with
me. Now, what does the word folly mean? It's not like Tim folly, alright, folly
is like foolishness, okay, foolishness. So he's saying to the church, hey, bear with
me a little bit in my foolishness, okay, and indeed bear with me. So I was going
to call this title, bear with me, or bear with him, because look at verse
number four, just the end, the last three words of verse number four, it says bear
with him. So he's talking about bear with me as you kind of bear with him, okay. So
he's talking about comparing himself with others within the church, those
being the false apostles that we deal with in a minute, okay. But he's saying,
look, if you look at, again, the reason why he says this is folly or
foolishness is because it's kind of the idea, I've already defended myself, I've
already done this, I already spoke about this, bear with me a little bit
more as I continue to defend myself in the face of these false apostles within
the church, okay. So it's kind of like, it's sort of like he's foolish for
defending himself. I don't need to be doing this, but bear with me a little bit
more, bear with me as I defend myself a little bit more, okay. Verse number two,
for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, okay. So the first
thing I want you to understand, and I'm gonna preach one day a whole sermon on
jealousy, okay, but there's nothing wrong with being jealous, okay. In this world
today we have a negative perception of what jealousy is, okay. Now in the Bible
jealousy is actually a good attribute to have, and that probably sounds weird.
It's just because we understand jealousy as something totally different today, okay.
In the Bible there's two different words. There's jealousy and there's
envy, okay, and today the things that we call being jealous, like a negative term,
is actually envy, okay. Biblical envy is a negative thing, being envious is a sin,
but being jealous is a godly attribute, okay. I mean the name of God is jealous,
if you guys remember that in the Exodus, okay. There's nothing wrong with being
jealous, and just to just quickly help you understand the difference between
jealousy and envy, is if something belongs to you, if you have the authority
to protect something, then you ought to be jealous about that, okay. And it says
to the Corinthian church that I am jealous over you with godly jealousy,
because the Apostle Paul has authority in this church. He's led many of these
people to the Lord, and he feels responsible, and he is responsible,
because God has given him the authority as an apostle to look after this church.
It's just because you're belonging to me, because I have the authority over you,
I'm jealous of you. I want to protect you, okay. But envy is different. Envy is when
something doesn't belong to you. Let's say one of you guys drove in with your
nice sports car, and I look at that and I go, man, I wish I had that. Obviously
that's not mine. I'm being envious. Some people say, well, you're jealous. No, I'm
actually being envious that you have that, and I don't have that. So that's the
difference between jealousy and envy. Jealousy is something that belongs to
you, you have authority over, and envy is when it doesn't belong to you,
like your neighbor's wife, or something like that, okay. That's being envious. Now
it says, for I am jealous of you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you
to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. So he uses
the analogy of a marriage, of a chaste virgin, undefiled, being presented to a
husband. And that's what he wants for this church. He wants this church to come
before the Lord undefiled, okay. Without being deceived with false doctrine,
without the false apostles influencing this church, that's how he wants to
present this church to the Lord, okay. But you can only take this analogy so
far, because you guys already know this church had major problems. I mean, a
chaste virgin is someone that has never defiled themselves, right. Well this
church spiritually had defiled themselves numerous times, okay. They had
major problems, as you know, okay. But they had gone about fixing those things. And
so Paul wanted to make sure, you know, we fix these things, we deal with the things
that are remaining, because that's how I want to present you. A perfect church not
having to be ashamed when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, okay. And that's why he's
jealous over at the church. He wants to protect it from negative influences.
Verse number three, but I fear lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ. So what does it mean to beguile? The serpent, Satan, beguiled Eve,
it means to deceive, okay. It's tricked, deceived, it's fooled Eve, and he's afraid
that this chaste virgin that he's trying to present to the Lord would be
beguiled by Satan, would be deceived by Satan, okay. It says through his
subtlety, okay. So, you know, being subtle is being very acute, being very sly, okay.
Now we had a good sermon on Friday about Pentecostals, about the
charismatic movement. Now if you're a mature believer, okay, a true believer in
the Lord, and you're mature in the Lord, that's not going to deceive you, okay,
because it's not subtle. Like, it's very different to the Scriptures. The way they
go about, you know, preaching, doing their business, falling on the floor, slaying
people in the Spirit, speaking in unknown tongues, what they call unknown tongues,
speaking gibberish, that's not going to fool a mature believer. Who is it going
to fool? It's going to foolish the carnal Christian, the babing Christ, or the
unbeliever, okay. It's there as a distraction. It is of the devil, but it's a
distraction for really the unbelieving world, okay, to think they can get into
these churches, and now I'm a Christian, now I'm right with God, okay. But what you
need to understand what we're dealing with this passage aren't the unsaved, you
know, you know, churches, and all that goes on in those churches, but those that
come into a church using subtlety, okay. They trick even the mature believers,
okay. I mean, it's just like Judas Iscariot. He was in the presence with all the
disciples of Jesus Christ those three years of his ministry. I mean, obviously
Jesus knew who would betray him, okay, but you know when he was out and out the
apostles were like, the disciples were like, what him? They were more thinking it
might be me. It might be me that betrayed Jesus, right, because I'm sure they had
foolish thoughts. I'm sure they said foolish things, and now they're thinking,
oh, has that come back to bite me? Am I the betrayer, right, and so we need to be
careful of people that will come into our church using subtlety. I'm not so
concerned about the one that comes in and is like an outright
heretic because no one's going to be tricked by that, okay, but it's the one
that comes very sly, very, you know, and trying to deceive just like the way
Satan deceived Eve to partake of that fruit, okay, and so I like how it says,
so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. You
know biblical Christianity? I mean, let's start with the gospel. The gospel we know
is very simple. We use this verse a lot to talk about the simplicity of the
gospel, the simplicity of salvation. Jesus Christ did all the hard work, you know,
it's just believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved, right.
Simple, but you know this is more than just salvation. This is just biblical
Christianity is simple. It's not like, you know, even when you read the Bible, you
know, the major core doctrines, they're not like overly complicated, okay. They
stand out in the Bible, okay. That's why even false churches, even the cults know
a lot of truth because these things aren't really complicated. Yes, there are
deep things, there are deep doctrines that require study, but when it comes to
just living a day-to-day Christian life, knowing the major doctrines and standing
on those truths, it's not complicated, okay. Christianity really is not a
complicated thing and some people just make it over complicated, right. They
navel-gaze, they focus on a few words and try to create doctrines out of
things that aren't really in the scriptures, you know. So anyway, this is
how these false apostles come in, guys. Very subtle. You're going to think of
them as apostles, as leaders, as brethren. Let's go to verse number four.
For he, and this is what they come doing, for he that cometh preacheth another Jesus.
There are other Jesuses that are being preached, okay, whom we have not preached.
And this is why I take strongly, and I'm not going to re-preach the sermon, Jesus
is the Son of God, but I take a firm stance that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God. That's who he is. He's the Son of God the Father, okay. He's not God the Father.
He's not the first person of the Trinity. He's not the third person of the Trinity,
the Holy Spirit, but he's God the Son. He's Jesus Christ, the second person in
the Trinity, and so, you know, we need to be careful of people that come preaching
another Jesus, okay. And it's not just in that sense, obviously, that's the topic
we're dealing with, oneness and modalism and things like that, but obviously those
that just flat-out deny the deity of Christ, okay. I mean, I figure if someone's
flat-out denying the deity of Christ, again, we're not going to really be deceived by
that. It's like, but those that come preach another Jesus that sounds like
our Jesus, yeah, it's easy to be deceived by that, okay. And then it says, or if you
receive another spirit which you have not received, and again, I think the
sermon you preached, brother, on Friday matches really well this. People come in
with another spirit. You know, how can we make sure that we're walking in the
spirit in our lives, right? How can we make sure of that, that we can always be
in the spirit. People come with another spirit. Now, is this talking about sort
of being influenced and sent by Satan as another spirit? Yes. When you look at the
context of this chapter, yes it is. But it's those obviously that were not born
of the spirit. They don't have the new man in them. They're unsaved, but they
come preaching this other way, okay. And again, if you want, throw
the Pentecostal churches in you. A lot of, I mean, all of them, I would say, are
preaching another spirit, are coming with another spirit. This gold das, what was the
palm thing they were telling me about? Oil on the palms? Was that, is that
representing like the crucifixion? Okay, well anyway, I thought they would be
smart enough to at least say that. Not even that. Alright, I mean, they come with
totally another spirit, right? Searching some other spirit that is not
the Holy Spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel which ye have
not accepted, ye might well bear with him. So this is what is warning the
church. This is what is fearful about. That they would bear, or put up with,
people coming in beguiling them in subtlety, teaching them, another Jesus,
another gospel, another spirit, okay. Now we need to make sure as a church we
stand firm on these doctrines, because I don't want to put up with, I don't
want to bear well with people coming in and doing this, okay. Now, am I saying that
just the average person that walks in, you know, maybe a new believer, or maybe
just totally unsaved, is confused on these things and we need to kick them
out? No. Pay attention to the words it says there. It says, if he cometh, preacheth
another Jesus. So someone's trying to come in, it's not that they're just confused and need a
bit of help, and we can guide them, but they're trying to teach the church.
They're trying to convince the church of another Jesus, okay. These are, you know,
so-called leaders, okay, trying to come and teach us, rather than being taught of
us, okay. It says, or if you receive another spirit, or receive another gospel,
meaning they're coming, because if you're going to receive something, it means
they're offering something, right. They're coming, they're trying to influence the
church. So we need to be careful, just because someone walks in here and has
another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel, that we don't just run them out,
okay, because they need guidance. Hopefully they're coming in
to learn from us, to grow, right. But again, we've got to separate them from
those that are trying to come in and influence our church, okay. Be mindful
about those two things. Don't treat those that are a little bit misled as the
same people as this, okay. Don't be that way. Otherwise, you know, it's kind of
like, we're going to get to a point where the only people we allow in this church
are those that are lined up a hundred percent with the pastor, or something like
that, right. And that's just, that's not right, okay. We need to give a bit of
wiggle room for people to learn and grow, okay. We need to be careful about that. So
let's look at verse number five. For I suppose I was not a wits behind the
chiefest apostles. And by the way, this is, this chapter Paul gets back to his
sarcastic ways. It makes me feel a bit better, like about my sarcasm. He gets back
to his sarcastic ways. So that word wit, w-h-i-t, means a small portion, okay. So it
goes, for I suppose I was kind of like, I suppose that I'm not inferior to the
other apostles, is what he's saying, okay. Like, you know, I'm, he's not proudly
boasting of himself, of himself, but he's saying, hey, I'm like these other
apostles. I'm like the chief apostles, the chiefest apostles, without boasting about
it, right. And it reminds me a little bit, I'll just read it to you very quickly,
1 Corinthians 15 9, where he says, for I am the least of the apostles, okay. Paul
doesn't want to boast of himself. He says, I'm the least of the apostles that am not
meant to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. So this
whole thing, and this is why he says, please bear with me, bear with my folly
a little bit, because he's got to, he's got to speak well of himself without
trying to boast of himself. If you remember the previous chapter, he says, if
you're going to glory, then glory of the Lord, right. So that's the difference with
Paul and these false apostles. They boast, they glory of themselves, but him not,
right. But he's trying to be careful, that's why he's saying, hey, put up with my folly
a little bit, put up with my foolishness a little bit, okay. And let's look at
verse number six, for though I be rude in speech. Now let me just stop there,
because a lot of people are going to read this and think, ah, so Paul is rude in
speech, meaning that he tries to offend people, because that's how we think of
being rude, right. Someone that's, if you say, oh, you're very rude, you're saying,
hey, you're very offensive with your words, okay. But the word rude actually
means rough or raw, okay. Now if you remember, I'll just quickly read to you
1 Corinthians 2.1, Paul says to the Corinthian church, and I, brethren, when I
came to you, came not with excellency of speech, okay. So when Paul preaches and
speaks to him, he's not trying to dazzle, you know, the church by his high
education and his big words and trying to make things, you know, overly
complicated, right. He comes speaking plainly, words easy to understand, and
that's what he means by being rude, okay. He's not, you know, a fancy talker, and
again, remember, he's comparing himself to these false apostles, which I would
assume are the fancy talkers, are using the big words, are trying to mesmerise
the church by their high education and Bible college degrees or whatever, right.
And so he says, look, yeah, I might be a little bit raw in the way I talk, you
know, but he goes, yet not in knowledge. So he goes, look, I'm not a, I'm not a
stupid man, okay. The Lord Jesus Christ has taught me these things. I come to
you in authority, in knowledge, in power, and then he says this, but we have been
freely made manifest among you in all things. So he goes, look, I've been made
manifest to you. You've seen my works. You've seen how I help the church. A
number of you've been saved because of my preaching. I've started this church.
All the works that I have done and those that have been with me have made us
manifest to you. You know that I'm genuine, right. You know I'm a genuine
apostle of Christ. And again, it's this whole having to defend himself even
though he has proven himself to the church already, okay. And verse number
seven, and by the way, any church leader, any pastor needs to be made manifest.
They need to be proven. You need to be able to see their track record, whether
in the church or in other places. Again, if people are hiding those things, you
don't know where they come from, you know that, or they've got a bad track record,
then you shouldn't be listening to them. You shouldn't be putting up with them in
the church, okay. Verse number seven, have I committed an offense in obeying myself
that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely.
So he's basically saying in verse seven that he hasn't sinned. He hasn't
caused an offense. He hasn't sinned by serving them freely, but he did it to
exalt to the brethren, all right. He was not being paid, and we go back to this
topic of money, right, but he was not being paid by the church, okay. And he's saying,
have I sinned by doing that? Like, are you looking down on me because I'm doing
this for free? Because what we'll see later is these false apostles in the
church were asking to be paid, were asking for money, and he's again
comparing himself to these false apostles, okay. But what we gather here is
that he has served this church freely. He has never been paid by the Corinthian
church for any of the service he has done, okay. And then look at verse number
eight. This goes well with verse number seven. I robbed other churches, taking wages of
them to do you service, okay. So the reason I can serve you, the reason I can
help you, the reason I can come out here is because other churches have paved my
way here. Other churches are making sure my needs are being met, and he says this
to embarrass the Corinthian church, okay. And we'll see his sarcasm
come out. Now, has he actually robbed other churches? Like, did he go to the
Macedonian church and open up their, you know, their treasury and take money for
himself and rob them? No, he didn't do that, okay. Because what he means by
robbing other churches is that the Corinthian church should have been
paying him. They should have offered him, hey, Paul, thanks for serving us. We've
taken up a love offering so you can continue serving us, or you can go out
and serve other churches, okay. But because you've not done that, in a sense
you have caused me to kind of rob other churches and take of them,
though those churches did give it to him freely so he can be serving the
Corinthian church. You see here that he's really trying to embarrass the church
using sarcasm, okay. Verse number nine, and when I was present with you and wanted,
so when he needed things in their presence, I was chargeable to no man. He
didn't go around asking, hey, I need you to pay my electricity bill. Can you pay
where I need to stay? I need to stay here tonight. Are you able to
pay for that? No, he didn't charge any man. For that which was lacking
to me, the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied. So when I needed
finances to serve you, the brethren from Macedonia supplied. Now if you remember
chapter 8, when Paul is talking about taking up a donation, an
offering for the needy believers in Jerusalem, remember that? He's saying, hey,
you need to finish this giving, which kind of shows you the heart of
the Corinthian church. They were pretty tight with money, okay. They didn't
manage their funds very well, okay. They weren't providing for Paul and they
hadn't yet finished that collection to the Judean believers. But he says, and if
you remember that chapter, he talked about the Macedonians being in poverty
and he talks about the Corinthians having abundance. So if anyone was going
to supply his needs, it should have been the Corinthian church. And yet it was a
Macedonian church, those that were lacking, those that were in poverty, that
are helping him serve the Corinthian church. So you can see how he's kind of
embarrassing the Corinthian church here. Hey, it's the poorer church that
has provided all my needs to serve you, okay. And then he keeps going, and in all
things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep
myself. So he's saying, look, I'm not going to take any money from you. I'm not going
to be paid for you. It's fine. My needs are being supplied.
First of all, he was a tent maker. He was working for himself, but he was also
being supplied by these other churches. He had the finances to be able to serve
them, okay. And he says, and so will I keep myself. So even if you came now and
offered me money, no, I'm keeping myself unchargeable to you. I don't want to be a
burden to you. But was he really being a burden to them? No, okay. This is where,
again, his sarcasm comes out, okay. But it just brings to light that this
church just was really struggling with the giving aspects, the financial
giving, okay. Verse number 10, as the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me
in this boasting in the regions of Achaia. So if you haven't figured this out
already, I don't know if I mentioned this, but the city of Corinth is in the
area of Achaia. I don't know if it's a territory or what, or it's like a state
or something like that, but he says, look, no one's going to stop me boasting that
I do this for free in Achaia, okay. And of course, we know that he doesn't boast of
himself, but that he glories in the Lord, okay. So the fact that he's able to go
out and serve freely without charge, you know, he's boasting in the Lord that the
Lord has provided his every need. That the churches, the brethren from around
the areas have provided his needs, and he boasts of that. He's not boasting of
himself. He boasts that his needs are covered because the Lord is providing
for him, okay. Again, just remember, previous chapter, verse 17, chapter 10,
verse 17, he says, but hear that gloryeth, let him glory in the Lord. We know Paul's
heart, right. When he talks about boasting and glorying, it's always in the Lord,
okay. Verse 11, wherefore, so why will I continue serving you freely? Why will I
not ask anything from you financially? Wherefore, because I love you not? God
knoweth. So he says, look, the reason he's willing to continue to serve
this church without charge is because he loves them. That's why.
And he says, the Lord knows this. Do you think I don't love you? The fact that I'm
doing this for free, I'm serving you, trying to help you, proves my love toward
you, okay. I love you very much. I'm your apostle. I'm here to serve you
and to love you, and that's why I'm going to refrain from asking for money.
And you say, well why is that? Why can't I? Because you see, it's the false
apostles that were asking for money, and he's trying to differentiate himself
from them, okay. And so if he loves them because he's serving them freely, then
what is he saying about the false apostles? They're asking for money. Why?
Because they don't love you. They're not going to serve you for free, okay.
And verse 12. But what I do, that I will do. That I may cut off occasion from them,
so there it is that those false apostles, that I might cut off occasion from them,
which desire occasion, that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
Okay. So he kind of puts a challenge to these false apostles. I'd rather stay the
way I am, not being paid, not being charged, not charging you for my service,
and then look at those last words, that they may be found even as we. Hey, the
challenge is, how about they serve you freely? Okay. So what we gather here, the
reason they were poor, you know, they weren't managing their money very well,
because first they weren't giving to the needy believers. They weren't giving to,
you know, Paul, but they were paying the false apostles. That's how badly they had
been deceived, right. They had the guest missionary come in. They had the guest
pastor come in. They weren't checking if this guy's a real believer or not. They
were preaching that they were influencing the church, and the church
was like, wow, look at his great speech. Look at him. Look at his flesh.
Look at his outward appearance. You know, we better take up a collection and pay
them. And he puts the challenge, hey, how about they be like me? How
about they be like us and not be paid? Let's see if
they serve you now, right. And that's what they want. They want the finances.
They want to take advantage of a church, okay. They want to take advantage of you,
which is why we need to be careful of these false apostles. And, you know, I'm
thankful, and, you know, honestly, I'm really thankful that I've not taken a
paycheck from the church. I really am, because a lot of you really don't know
me until, I mean, we're 10 months in now, you know me, but you didn't know me
when we first started this church. You didn't know what I was like. You know, I
hadn't really spent personal time with you in any sort of, you know, length of
time, and I'm really thankful when I read this chapter that I've not, that I have
served freely, if you want, if you will, right. Why? Because what we saw there is
that the reason it doesn't, it's because you love the brethren, you know, and I'm
hoping that you can see that in me as your pastor, that I love the brethren,
that I love you in the Lord, you know. You know, it's not easy to take a large
family, you know, leave, you know, the work and the people you have to come up here,
you know, in faith, really. You know, I wasn't sure how this was all gonna work
out. It's worked out better than I imagined, right. But I hope that shows you
that I love you, right. I mean, if I was coming here trying to say, hey, we need to
put more money in the offering, I need to get paid, I can understand, man, I don't
even know this guy. He hasn't even proven himself, you know. He's, we haven't,
he hasn't even manifested his works. We don't know anything about him and he's
asking us to pay him, but that was the error of the Corinthian church. They were
painting people they didn't even know because they were, they were amazed, they
were beguiled, okay, by these false apostles. Verse 13, for such are false
apostles, right, that's what they're like. Deceitful workers transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ, okay. So the church thought they were
apostles of Christ, they thought they were true believers, but they were
actually false apostles, okay. They're not even saved, okay. You'll see later on
talks about false brethren, they're not even saved. And it says, verse 14, and no
marvel. Don't be surprised, don't be amazed, for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light, okay. And I think about the false religions of Islam and
the false religion of Mormonism. The founders of this church were approached
by an angel of light, preaching another gospel, another spirit, another Jesus,
okay. They had been deceived and these are major religions in the world. Islam's, I
don't know how many millions of people believe in Islam, and Mormonism has a
stronghold in the United States and even in some of our Pacific Islands, okay. It's
because they've been deceived by the angel of light, they've been deceived by
Satan himself. But it says, and no marvel, don't be surprised. And yet it does
surprise many, right. Because it is subtle, because you are deceived, just like
Judas. You think they weren't surprised? Of course they were, okay. They spent
three years with Jesus Christ himself. You think these would be the most
knowledgeable and most aware of all the things Jesus has been teaching? I mean if
we had Jesus preaching for us for three years, wouldn't we think, man, we're
gonna grow so much, we're gonna be more like Christ, gonna have so much more
knowledge, and yet even them could allow Judas to be amongst their midst and
not even know about it, right. Even they were surprised. It's a very hard thing,
right. But he's saying, look, don't be shocked. Don't be shocked when it happens.
If there's a Judas right now, just leave please. I don't want to be shocked
later on, okay. If you're a Judas, then just leave. Verse 15. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers, whose ministers? Satan's ministers.
Sorry guys. Satan's ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. Sorry guys, just
one minute. Just want to make sure the broadcast hasn't cut out.
Seems to be going, alright. So yeah, don't think a great thing that his
ministers. Look, these false apostles that come in, it's not just like this
misguided people. The Bible says they're ministers of Satan. Satan himself has
come in and sent these people. They know they represent Lucifer. They know they
represent Satan. They know they come in and they're there to try and take
advantage of you. It's not like, oh he's a nice guy, he's just trying his best but
he's messed up. No, they're ministers of Satan, okay. That's why they need to be
cast out. They need to be called out and they need to be preached against, okay.
And you go, oh man, but he's a nice guy. He's a minister of Satan. He's serving
Satan, okay. He's a child of the devil. A reprobate most likely. I would say he's a
reprobate, okay. I'm not talking about the average person that walks in, unsure,
confused. I'm talking about those that are trying to destroy a church. Those
that come in the name of Satan. You don't know that, okay. Because they come as that
angel of light. They come as ministers of Christ. They come looking like us.
They come looking more like us, okay. Wolves in sheep's clothing. They look
like sheep. But every now and again their ears are gonna point out. You're gonna
notice that nose. That looks like a wolf, okay. And when they're
called out, it'll be like, wow, I'm surprised. I'm shocked. I can't believe it.
Hey, no marvel. Don't be surprised by this, okay. Verse 16. I say again, let no man
think me a fool, if otherwise yet as a fool receive me that I may boast myself
a little, okay. So it says, look, since the false prophets boast of themselves, then
let me do it a little as well, as a fool, okay. So let me boast a little bit about
myself. We'll see how he boasts about himself, but he says, look, it's foolish
to do that, okay. But let me do it a little. Since you allow these false apostles to
boast of themselves, then just give me a, let me do it a little bit, okay. Let me
do it a little bit. That's what he's saying in verse 16. Though in reality,
obviously, he isn't foolish, okay. We know the Apostle Paul wasn't foolish. Verse 17.
That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly in
this confidence of boasting. So it says, look, what it's about to say may sound
foolish, so as it were foolishly. It's not foolish, but as it were, okay. And he says,
I speak not after the Lord. So if you take it as foolishness, you know, it's not the
Lord that's foolish. Take it as me being foolish, okay. It's not a reflection of
the Lord. Verse 18. Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. So
because these false apostles glory about themselves, they glory in their flesh,
then I'll do it a little bit as well, okay. Verse 19. Sorry, yeah. For ye suffer
fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. Now that's the sarcasm of Paul. He
says, look, suffer means allow, right. He says, for you allow foolish people gladly.
Hey, you're glad to receive these false apostles. You're glad to do that, seeing
yourselves as wise, because you think you're wise. He's putting them down for
their foolishness, right. For allowing, for gladly allowing these false
apostles to influence the church, right. Then obviously they're not wise for
doing that, but again, the sarcasm of Paul, right. The sarcasm of Paul. Remember that.
Verse 20. For ye suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if
a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.
Hey, you just allow yourself to be taken under bondage. You're allowing these
false apostles come in and add extra biblical requirements upon you, okay.
You're being taken in bondage. You're being restricted by these false apostles.
Reminds me of the Pharisees when Jesus Christ had to deal with them. He says, if
a man devour you, they're taking advantage of you. They're taking your
resources. They're taking your finances, okay. They're taking advantage of you. If
a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, they're bolsters. They're prideful. They
exalt themselves. If a man smite you on the face, these people come in and
smacking them on the face, and they're like, oh, they're doing it, yeah, this is an
apostle of Christ, you know. Man, again, sorry, I know this isn't like, okay, but
I'm just thinking about the Pentecostals, the Charismatics, right, the
Pentecostals. I mean, I've seen them smite people on the face, right. I've seen them push people down.
There's a story of some guy who says, I just walked up to some kid and just
punched him in the stomach. It's like, that's what the Lord wanted, right. I can't remember.
You know, this is a message from the Lord. Bang! That's post-apostles, right.
But, do you see how foolish they were? They allowed these people to come into
the church and influence them, right. Verse 21. I speak as concerning reproach,
as though we had been weak. Howbeit, whereinsoever any is bold, I speak
foolishly, I am bold also. So I think what he's saying there is that he would be
equally bold to these false apostles, though they thought him as weak. Remember
that they criticized him about his weakness, you know, he's not a great
speaker, you know. In fact, he may have been sickly as well, Paul, right. He says,
look, I will be bold toward them as well, okay. He's gonna call them out. And here
comes the foolish boasting of himself that he's about to talk
about. That's why he says, I speak foolishly. Verse 22. Are they Hebrews? So am I.
So who were these people that were coming into this Gentile church, if you
want, because it was in Greece. It was the Jews, right. They came in, are
they Hebrews? He goes, so am I. Are they boasting the fact that they're a
physical descendant of Abraham? Are they boasting about being an
Israelite? Well, so am I. What's so good about that? You know, that's what he's
saying. So are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.
Guys, what did the Pharisees boast about when they approached Christ? Hey, we're
children of God. We're children of Israel. We're children of Abraham. It surprises
me, just believers, independent fundamental Baptist churches, or other
churches, that look at a Jew, that look at someone that will say they're
Jewish, you know, a descendant of Abraham, and exalt them. Guys, aren't we gonna learn
from the Scriptures? It doesn't matter, right. It's not important, but that's what
they boast about. You know, I remember, I talked to people, you know, friends, and
I want, you know, don't want to embarrass my friends, but sometimes I'm talking to
them, and they're like, I'm like, oh, where'd you hear that? Where'd you hear
that teaching, or that idea? Oh, I read a book from a Jewish Christian. Why do you
have to say a Jewish Christian? I mean, I don't say to you, I'm an Australian
Christian, right? You know, oh, you know, my friend Kevin started a church on the
Sunshine Coast. Oh, you know, what kind of Christian is he? Oh, he's an Australian
Christian. But you know why they say Jewish Christian? Because they're boasting
of their heritage. They're boasting of their descendants. Though it means nothing, okay.
It means nothing. Galatians 3, 28, for there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither born nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus. That's what matters. That's what's important, that you're in Jesus
Christ. The fact that you're male or female or Jew or Greek or bondage or a
servant or a mouse, doesn't matter, okay. Don't boast about those things. If you're
in the Lord Jesus, boast of Him, okay. But that's what they're boasting of, these
false apostles. I'm Jewish. I'm Hebrew. I'm special, okay. Verse 23, are they ministers
of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more. Hey, I'm more of a minister of Christ, but
they're not really ministers of Christ. We found out they're ministers of Satan.
That's why he says, I speak as a fool, okay. But that's what they say about
themselves. But I've done more than, I minister to you more than they have. In
labour's more abundance. I've laboured harder. I've worked harder than they. And
this is the boasting that he does himself, right. In stripes above measure.
In prisons more frequent. In deaths oft. So he's had, he's died or close to death.
He's been persecuted. He's been hated by the world. He's worked harder than all
these false apostles, alright. I mean if they're going to boast of themselves, let
me boast a little bit, okay. Let me do, that's the foolishness that he's
talking about, right. He's comparing himself to these false apostles. Of the
Jews, verse 24, of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Now
forty stripes, forty whippings was the maximum in the Old Testament law, that if
someone was to be punished by being whipped, that forty stripes would be the
maximum. That's the hardest penalty you could give someone with that payment,
okay. So he's suffered that. Forty lashes save one, so it's thirty-nine
lashes, five times of the Jews. The Jews, so I just worked that out quickly, five
times, wait, who knows mathematics? What's five times thirty-nine? Who can work that
out? Come on homeschoolers. Huh? Are you homeschooled? Good work. It is 195 times,
okay. He's been whipped 195 times. These false apostles probably haven't been
whipped once, alright. Verse 25, thrice three times was I beaten with rods. Once
I was stoned. Was I stoned? Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I
have been in the deep. Now some of you guys might know the story in Acts 27 and
28, where you get the story of Paul being shipwrecked, okay. I don't know if you remember that.
That hadn't yet happened when he wrote this epistle, okay. So he's already gone
for a shipwreck three times and then a fourth time later, maybe more, okay. Some
of these things we don't know about. A lot of it is documented in the
in the book of Acts, but a lot of this is not documented in the book of Acts, alright.
He has suffered more than what we read about in the Bible. Verse 26, in journey
So making long travels. In perils of water, dangers of water.
In perils of robbers. In perils of mine own countrymen. In perils by the heathen.
In perils in the city. In perils in the wilderness. In perils in the sea. In
perils among false brethren. Everywhere he's gone, land, sea, brethren, heathen,
people that don't know him. He's been persecuted. He's been in danger of all
these things. Verse 27, in weariness and painfulness, okay. He's suffered pain.
In watchings often. He hasn't been able to sleep well at night. He hasn't had a place
to rest his head. That's why in watchings often. In hunger and thirst is God
without food and water. In fastings often. Not because he's fasting for the Lord,
but fastings he didn't have anything to eat. That's what he's suffering. In cold
and nakedness. Not enough clothing to keep him warm during the cold weather.
Keep in mind why he's talking about all these things, okay. Not really to boast
of himself. Though if that's the perception, then say that that's me
being foolish. He's comparing himself to the false apostles. They haven't gone
through this. They live in luxury. They live in comforts. They take advantage of
the brethren. They seek the brethren. They seek believers to take advantage of
them. That's how wicked they are, okay. Instead of taking advantage of wicked
people, they're so wicked that they take advantage of God's people. Because I've
not done that. I'm willing to suffer for the name of Christ, okay. They aren't.
Verse 28. Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily,
the care of all the churches. So it says not just those things that are without,
so outside the physical sufferings of his body. It's not just that that he's
had to bear with, but also the care of all the churches. So spiritually and
mentally burdened he was, right. He's got the care. He's got the love for other
churches. He hears about their problems and he worries about that. It's a burden
on him. He goes and prays about it, right. It's a spiritual and mental burden on
him, not just the physical sufferings. Verse 29. Who is weak? Am I not weak?
It's like saying if those church people in those churches are weak, he says I'm
weak also, right. Who is offended? If someone's offended in the churches, am I?
And I burn not? Hey, he bears the burdens of others. He prays for these
people that are offended or that are weak. These are things that weigh him
down in his mind and that's good. That's the right thing to do, but
he's expressing. It's not just the physical. There's a lot going on as well
inside of me that you don't know about. All the cares that I have all
these churches. Obviously the care that he had for the Corinth Church as well.
Verse 30. If I must needs glory. So if I'm going to glory about anything, if I have
to glory, if I needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine
infirmities. So it wasn't his purpose to boast the glory of these things, okay.
But he needed to do this to put the false apostles to shame. Hey, they're
boasting of themselves so much, I boasted myself a little bit and they don't even
match up. They don't even come close to what I have had suffered. So yeah, in
contrast he's comparing himself to these false apostles, demonstrating that these
false apostles, because he's saying this is foolish of me, right. He's saying it's
kind of foolish talking. He's trying to show them how much more foolish these
false apostles are. Boasting on themselves. They haven't even done half of what the
Apostle Paul has done, okay. Foolish false apostles. Verse 31. He starts to wrap it
up now. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed forever.
You see he glories of God, right. He blesses the Lord. He blesses the Lord God.
Knoweth that I lie not. These things that I spoke about, all these troubles, I'm not
lying about it. The Lord knows this is all true, okay. This is all true. Every
word he said about his sufferings are true. And then he gives one last story
here in verse 32 and verse 33. He says, in Damascus the governor under
Aretas, the king, kept the city of the the mass scenes with a garrison, desirous to
apprehend me. So this governor in Damascus wanted to take hold of Paul,
wanted to arrest Paul, and he put the whole city in lockdown to find him. Verse
33. And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall and escaped his
hands. So the way I escaped this governor was literally out the window down this
huge wall in a basket, right. This is the kind of adventures that Paul had had to
go through from the persecution that he found himself in. That story, if you want
to read about it, is in Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. We won't go through that
now. But I think the lesson that we can get out of this chapter is that, you know,
that we shouldn't boast of ourselves. Of the small inconveniences that come our
way. I mean, someone swears at you at the door.
Someone mocks your Christianity. Someone laughs at the Bible. How can you
believe that book? And we're like all offended, right. Look, you've not gone
through what Paul has gone through, okay. I've not gone through what Paul has gone
through, right. So let's not be foolish like these false apostles boasting of
ourselves. That's what they do. Boast of themselves of a little bit of affliction
that they went through, you know. And can we, we can't honestly say that
we're being persecuted, right. I mean, just because you're in Facebook jail
doesn't mean you're being persecuted, right. I'm not on my knees praying
for you if you find yourself in Facebook jail. You know, you've said something
offensive and Facebook has closed down your account. I'm not praying for you. I'm
sorry. I'm not praying, Dear Lord, please deliver them from Facebook jail and
give them back their profile. No, it's not happening, right. You know, let's be
mindful about, you know, what real persecution is, okay. And again, we talk
about the persecution that seems to be coming. How things are coming into
place to restrict our freedom of speech, to restrict the Bible. Yeah, yeah.
We can talk about all those things, but right now we have freedom. We don't know,
we're not being persecuted, guys. You know, are we going to take advantage of the
position we're in in Australia, you know, or are we afraid of being
persecuted at the door because someone slams the door in our face. I mean, I can
probably count on one hand how many times a door has been slammed in my face.
Most people are kind of polite and just close it nicely, right.
I've been persecuted. No, hey, look, this should challenge us. This challenges me
when I went through it that I need to be doing more for the Lord, okay. I need to
take advantage of the freedoms I have because I've not suffered anywhere near
what Paul had suffered. I mean, maybe if I go from my first shipwreck, maybe I can
start going, oh, maybe I'm being persecuted or something, right. But until
that happens, I've got nothing to glory in. I have nothing to boast about except
the Lord Jesus Christ and we need to make sure we take advantage of this
freedom we have in this nation. Alright, let's pray.