Donate

A Fool for God’s Glory

October 31, 2024/
Hope for Today (English)
Hope for Today (English)
A Fool for God’s Glory
Loading
/

II Cor. 11:16-33

It is good to be with you as we study God’s Word together. The Bible is a book, but it isn’t just a book, it is different, it is living, and it is for our good that we spend time in its pages. Today’s title is “A Fool for God’s Glory,” the verses are from II Corinthians 11.  

Most of the time, we are concerned with how others view us. However, sometimes it doesn’t seem we care a bit about what others think. For example, when I was teaching school, the students and I would discuss how they cheered for their friends at a game. When their friend played a sport, most students didn’t care what others thought about them as they cheered on their team. If everyone else thought they looked foolish, who cares? They would do it anyway.   

Paul had a similar mindset, but it was about something more important than cheering at a sports game. His guiding principle was doing everything for God’s glory. In this lesson, he does not care that others may think he is a fool. He is focused on God’s glory. What others think or how they look at him will not distract him from this goal.  

What matters more than your reputation? What are you willing to do in this life, no matter what others think? Are you willing to be a fool for God’s glory? How can we do this? Let’s go with J Mark to the last half of II Corinthians 11 and learn from this passage.  

No one wants to be labeled a fool! We all aspire to be perceived as intelligent, understanding, and wise. However, if we choose to follow Christ, those who do not share our faith may consider us fools.  

Our study in Second Corinthians is from the closing verses of chapter eleven. Here, Paul refutes the accusations of the false teachers in Corinth. We see his profound discomfort as he feels compelled to defend his calling and ministry. He uses the terms’ fool’ and ‘foolishly’ several times in this text, sometimes applying them to himself and sometimes to his critics. Yet, his ultimate stance is that he is willing to be ‘A Fool for God’s Glory.’ This is the theme of our study today from Second Corinthians 11:16 to 33.  

16 I say again, let no one think me a fool. If otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, that I also may boast a little.  

17 What I say, I say not according to the Lord, but as it were, foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.  

18 Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast.  

19 For you put up with fools gladly since you yourselves are wise!  

20 For you put up with it if one brings you into bondage, if one devours you if one takes from you, if one exalts himself if one strikes you in the face.  

21 To our shame, I say that we were too weak for that! But in whatever anyone is bold—I speak foolishly—I am bold also. 

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.  

23 Are they ministers of Christ? —I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.  

24 From the Jews, five times I received forty stripes minus one.  

25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;  

26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  

27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness—  

28 Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily is my deep concern for all the churches.  

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 

30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.  

31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.  

32 In Damascus, the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me,  

33 But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands. 

In Paul’s words to the Corinthians, we observe the several STAGES that describe being a fool for God’s glory. These stages are applicable in our lives, too.  

The First STAGE (of being a fool for God’s glory) is, 

Speaking as a Fool 

Paul acknowledges that boasting isn’t from the Lord. But because of the situation in Corinth, he feels compelled to “boast” of what he’s done in God’s service. He said, “Since the false teachers are boasting according to the flesh, I will do the same.” He wanted them to know that he was not inferior in any way to these false apostles.  

In verse 19, Paul writes sarcastically, “Since you are so wise, you gladly entertain fools. You tolerate tyranny, extortion, craftiness, arrogance, violence, and insult.” In verse 20, he mentions them allowing the false teachers to “strike them in the face.” In that culture, being struck in the face was a grievous insult.  

Paul was horrified that they allowed their leaders to abuse them. He had never done that. While he had been firm in dealing with their sins, he had been gentle and meek among them. His whole ministry was about building people up, not tearing them down.  

In verse 22, he lays out the proofs of his devout Jewishness. Hebrew represents nationality. Paul was an ethnic Jew. Israelites represent the covenant people of God. The seed of Abraham represents the messianic privilege. Paul initially rejected this privilege, but he now wholeheartedly embraced it.  

Today, false teachers exercise power without accountability. They abuse their authority by threatening those who disagree. Some deal deceitfully with people and issues in the church, while others use their position as a club to enforce submission.  

Like Paul, we must warn those who have fallen under the influence of false teachers. We show our care for them by building them up rather than destroying them. Like Christ, we must be willing to suffer abuse for our gentleness.  

Paul possessed every qualification claimed by the false teachers, but he is ashamed of his boasting about those qualifications. Let’s have that same hesitancy in our self-defense.  

The Next STAGE (of being a fool for God’s glory) is, 

Suffering as a Fool 

In this section, Paul moves from asserting his equality with false teachers to asserting his superiority! He says, “Are they servants of Christ? I speak as a crazy person; I am more!” To prove his claim, he gives a long list of things he suffered for the cause of Christ.  

  How could one man endure so much suffering? His constant companions were back-breaking labor, trouble, and toil. He was severely beaten five times with 39 lashes with a leather whip, and three times he was beaten with a rod. A beating by either of those could be fatal!   

He was frequently in danger of physical death. He was stoned and left for dead at Lystra. He was shipwrecked three times and was adrift on the water far from land for 24 hours. We know nothing of these because they are all before his shipwreck in Acts 27, which occurred much later.  

He also faced dangers from raging rivers and tribal bandits in Asia Minor. He faced danger from his countrymen, fellow Jews who bitterly resented his embrace of Jesus as Messiah, from Gentiles, like the mob in Ephesus that rioted in support of the silversmiths. He faced danger in the wilderness, in the sea, and among those who pretended to be his brothers in the faith. 

He experienced much weariness of the flesh and spirit, much physical pain, and many sleepless nights. Hunger and thirst were constant companions. He often lacked adequate clothing. All of this suffering must have taken its toll on his physical and mental health. But there was something even more concerning to him.  

He tells us in verse 28. “…besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” His deep concern for the church was like a mob of hostile rioters rushing upon him. He knew what that was like, the sense of helplessness and suffocating fear.  

Paul keenly felt the struggles of those he had led to Christ, and he suffered with them. With the weak, he became as weak. When a brother or sister was made to stumble, Paul was overcome with grief. He cared deeply for those under his spiritual care. And he was willing to endure all of this suffering to see Christ form in them and become spiritually mature.  

Are you willing to suffer as a fool for Christ? Are you willing to endure the smallest part of Paul’s suffering?  

How deep is our love for those God has placed under our spiritual care? Do their successes bring us joy? Do their failures bring grief? Are we willing to stand in the gap to protect our people from false teachers? Do we uphold the weak and support those who are stumbling?  

To the world looking on, it seems pointless to live this way. But as Christ’s followers, we must be willing to suffer as fools for His glory. 

The Final STAGE (of being a fool for God’s glory) is, 

Boasting as a Fool 

  When you and I boast, we magnify our strengths. But Paul says, “If I must boast, then I will boast about the things that display my weakness.” Who wants to do that? It’s ridiculous.  

The things Paul suffered seem so outlandish that he takes a solemn oath that it is entirely accurate. The proof of Paul’s apostleship was in the power of Christ, who sustained him through an incredible litany of trials. His strength or greatness didn’t make his ministry successful.  

In the final verses of our text, Paul mentions his humiliating experience in Damascus. Acts chapter 9 records what happened. The one who envisioned entering the city in triumph with letters from the high priest fled the town several weeks later at night, being let down by the wall in a basket. This experience moved Paul from the ranks of the persecutors to the ranks of the persecuted. It indicated the sufferings coming to him in his service to Christ. And it is in those sufferings that Paul determined he would boast.  

Like the apostle Paul, are you willing to be a fool for God’s glory? We all want people to like us, think well of us, hold us in high regard, and think we’re wise. However, the teachings of Jesus and the apostles make it clear that if we follow their example, we’ll most likely be considered foolish.  

The only way we can truly live as a fool for God’s glory is if we, like Paul, believe the Gospel and act upon the eternal rewards promised. If we choose the acclaim and approval of the world, we will suffer eternal loss. But if we embrace the foolishness of the cross, we will experience eternal bliss in the presence of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you choose to be a fool for God’s glory?  

Thanks, J Mark, for sharing these points about how we can also be fools for God’s glory. Most of us haven’t experienced all that Paul went through, yet we can embrace the cross, believe the Gospel, and live it out where we are.  

Thanks so much for joining us for this teaching. Please let us know if you have any questions about the teaching or want to hear it again. The best way to contact us is by email, and our email is [email protected]. You can also connect with us on our website, heraldsofhope.org. We would love to hear from you no matter how you choose to contact us.  

  As I was thinking about being a fool for God’s glory, I was reminded of the popular quote from Jim Elliot, and I give you this to think about as you go: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”  

*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.

Bible Distribution

Heralds of Hope partners with in-culture believers to distribute Bibles. By collaborating closely with these partners around the world, we empower them to share God’s Word with their own communities.

Audio Content

Heralds of Hope offers two distinctive teaching programs: The Voice of Hope and Hope for Today, each centered on expository Bible teaching. The Voice of Hope is a weekly, thirty-minute program in English, while Hope for Today is a fifteen-minute international program offered in 26 languages. Both are available through radio and social media platforms.

Receive Weekly Encouragement

Sign-up to get a sermon straight to your inbox on a weekly basis!