It is so good to be with you today. Thanks for joining us for this teaching from God’s Word. We love this book, but more than that we love and worship the author. He is our Lord and Savior. He is the one we exalt. We are blessed to have the Bible and thankful that we can study it together.
Today our study takes us to II Corinthians 11 where Paul is defending himself before the Corinthians. Here Paul stands up to those who are criticizing him. This takes lots of humility and wisdom. Our title is “A Leaders Godly Jealousy” and J Mark will share three responses of a Godly leader’s jealousy, lets listen and learn together.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 27:4, “Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” Anger and fury are violent emotions, but Solomon says jealousy is worse.
Often, we use jealousy as a synonym for envy. But jealousy has more to do with us trying to protect what is ours. Cain was jealous of Abel because God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s. Leah and Rachel were jealous of each other and of Jacob’s affection and attention. The religious leaders were jealous of the crowds that thronged around Jesus. In each case, the jealous ones saw their opponents as trying to take from them what was rightfully theirs.
When we hear the word jealousy, we immediately have an adverse reaction—and rightly so. But the Bible offers a unique perspective, using this word in a positive sense, which may surprise you.
In various Old Testament Scriptures, we see God’s jealousy for His people’s hearts. In Deuteronomy 5:9, God states why He prohibited the children of Israel from making any image to worship. He said, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me…?
The central meaning of the Hebrew word relates to jealousy in the context of marriage. Because marriage causes two people to become one flesh, adultery is a severing of the body – a form of murder. That’s why, in the Old Testament, the penalty for adultery was death.
God depicts Himself as Israel’s husband, so idolatry is spiritual adultery. God was jealous of His love for His people and judged them harshly when they left him for other lovers. And yet, through all their unfaithfulness, He still loved them. This is amply illustrated in Hosea’s book.
God loved the children of Israel perfectly and desired their love in return. His love wasn’t based on their goodness but on His goodness and the promises He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God wanted them to be uniquely His, just as a husband or wife wants their spouse to be theirs. It is a special relationship to be shared with no others.
We will see the positive usage of this word in Second Corinthians 11:1 to 6 and then discuss it under the title “A Leader’s Godly Jealousy.”
1 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me.
2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
5 For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.
6 Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.
This text shows us the necessary RESPONSES of a godly leader when his people are being lured into unfaithfulness.
The First RESPONSE (of a leader’s godly jealousy) is,
He Defends the Purity of His Motives
In chapter ten, Paul resumes the defense of his apostolic ministry. It’s not something he’s comfortable with, but he feels forced into it by his critics. We must read between the lines to discover precisely what his detractors accused him of. We understand that Paul isn’t defending himself for his own sake but for the sake of the pure Gospel of Christ.
Paul opens the chapter by begging his readers to indulge him a little in his folly. The “folly” is his word for boasting, a recitation of the facts, to vindicate his apostolic authority.
The primary motivation for Paul’s ministry in Corinth wasn’t for the praise of men or earthly fame. His motivating desire was to present the Corinthian church to Christ as a chaste virgin. So, he says, “I am jealous for you with a jealousy God inspires [in me].” It includes the idea of being zealous and having a warmth of feeling toward someone. Paul had a profound and genuine love for Christ and the church at Corinth.
He uses imagery familiar in the Jewish practice of that time, of the bridegroom’s friend. He shares the bridegroom’s jealousy for the purity of the bride. Paul was taking that role. Unlike his accusers, he wasn’t in Corinth to steal the bride but to protect her and to help her remain pure and faithful to her bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Further, Paul says, “I have betrothed, or promised you to one husband.” In a sense, Paul was the matchmaker who had brought the Corinthians and Christ together. The word espoused or promised is harmodzo, a fitting together. It is used in Greek classic literature of a carpenter’s work. It is also used for arranging music, tuning an instrument, or fitting clothing or armor. It describes something well-planned and well-fitted.
Later, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” That was Paul’s motivation for his godly jealousy over the church at Corinth, a pure and radiant bride for Christ!
This is an essential point for all who are in spiritual leadership today. Our primary motive for ministry must NOT be to protect our position, reputation, or anything else. Instead, it must be to present the church as a holy and blameless bride to the Lord Jesus! That is what we will give an account for.
That will only be successful if we carefully consider the following response.
The Next RESPONSE (of a leader’s godly jealousy) is,
He Defends the Purity of His Message
Paul was deeply concerned about this rival teacher in Corinth preaching another Jesus. He was promoting another spirit other than the Holy Spirit of God. He was proclaiming a different gospel than the one Paul embraced.
When Paul spoke of another Jesus, it wasn’t necessarily a different kind of Jesus; it was just another one, an addition. However, any claim of another denies the uniqueness of Jesus’ identity. There can only be ONE true Jesus.
Then, Paul mentions another Spirit and another gospel. Here, the word is heteros. This word is different from allos in that it signifies something of a different kind. Heteros denies the similarity of the nature of the Spirit and the similarity of the nature of the Gospel.
This prominent teacher in Corinth taught about a Spirit and a gospel different from the Spirit and Gospel Paul preached. In Acts 4:12, in Peter’s address to the Sanhedrin, he proclaims Jesus as the chief cornerstone. He says, “Nor is there salvation in any other [allos], for there is no other [heteros] (kind of) name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
In verse 3, Paul expresses his fear that the Corinthians will be completely deceived, just as the serpent’s craftiness had deceived Eve. This deception will be introduced through their thought processes, which will be impacted by the false teaching that is being promoted. Paul is concerned that their spiritual perception will become clouded, and they will be led astray from the simplicity they have in Christ.
Remember, there were two primary sources of false teaching in Corinth. The Judaizers were the most well-known. They embraced Christ but also demanded adherence to parts of the Mosaic Law. The other group was the Docetists. They denied Jesus’ humanity and bodily resurrection. Both groups rejected the simplicity of the Gospel.
Deception and false teaching are rampant in our world today. Godly leaders must jealously guard those under their spiritual care by defending the purity of their message. It is Christ, and Christ alone, who saves and keeps us. Be careful; check things out!
The Final RESPONSE (of a leader’s godly jealousy) is,
He Defends the Purity of His Ministry
In the opening verse of this text, Paul asked the Believers in Corinth to tolerate his foolish boasting about his ministry. In verse 5, he sarcastically reminds them that he is not inferior to the “greatest apostles.” He isn’t referring to the genuine apostles but to the false apostles with so much influence in Corinth.
Paul is indignant that those whom he had brought to Christ would compare him with other supposed super-apostles. I don’t see any self-assertion or self-promotion in Paul’s words, just grief at the evil consequences of his detractors. With utter distaste, Paul is forced to speak the simple truth. No one else had been as zealous or energetic in the proclamation of the Gospel. He was appointed directly by God and Jesus to be the apostle to the Gentiles.
Paul admits that he doesn’t have the rhetorical skills of a man like Apollos. But whatever speaking ability Paul supposedly lacked, he more than made up for with conviction and emotion. These resulted from his intimate acquaintance with Christ Himself. Paul knew the things of Christ and willingly and selflessly made those things plain to whoever would listen. He had freely and fully opened his heart and his life to the church in Corinth. He hid nothing and held nothing back.
If you’re a leader, you know what it’s like to be attacked by others. It goes with the territory. You may also know what it’s like to be disrespected and compared unfavorably with some well-known teacher or media personality. In those cases, your calling from the Lord and your record of integrity and faithfulness should be the basis for your defense.
If you’re a leader, I urge you to follow these responses. Don’t hesitate to defend the purity of your motives, your message, and your ministry. But do it with humility and modesty. Make sure your people know you have their best interests in mind.
If you’re not a leader, try to imagine what it’s like to fill that role. Think about how you talk about your leaders to others. Remember the weight of responsibility they carry, remembering the words of Hebrews 13:17. “Obey those who [lead] you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”
May God grant you and me the grace to exercise godly jealousy these last days!
Thanks J Mark for sharing these points about how Paul defended himself to those who were attacking him. It is so true this must be done with humility and modesty. This doesn’t come naturally when you are being attacked, but let’s take the challenge and respond like Paul has.
Thanks for being with us for this teaching, if you have any questions about the teaching, please let us know. The best way to contact us is email. Our email is hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or you can connect with us on our website which is heraldsofhope.org, Or you can write to us. Our address is Hope for Today, Box 3 Breezewood, PA 15533. We would love to hear from you!
Lord willing, we will be with you again next time as we continue learning through II Corinthians. As you go think about this thought on leadership from the greatest leader ever. Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great one’s exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.
