It is good to be with you this week. Today before our teaching from II Corinthians I’d like to share a testimony from a listener in Nigeria. Notice how he was affected by reading the Bible. “I send my gratitude to you all over there, I am inspired, l took time to read it carefully from the first day, what I have learned and read has molded my life in Christ and my Church. I appreciate your Bible. The Lord bless you.”
Our goal is to use media to make disciples. We hope this lesson from II Corinthians will do exactly that, help you become like Jesus. Here is J Mark to share today’s lesson from II Corinthians.
We cannot fully imagine what it meant for Jesus to humble Himself and take on human form. He exchanged His heavenly perfection for the form of a human being and took on the characteristics of an obedient servant. He did it willingly, motivated by His love for you and me. According to Philippians 2:5, we are to adopt this mindset in our relationships with each other.
We are all infected with the sin of pride. God hates it, resists it, and will judge it because pride is an attempt to place ourselves on the throne instead of God.
Pride often leads to boasting. Boasting is “expressing excessive pride in ourselves, praising ourselves extravagantly in speech.” James cautions us not to boast because our human existence is so short-lived that it’s compared to water vapor! So, is all boasting wrong?
Stay with me because we will answer that question from Second Corinthians 10:7 to 18.
7 Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so, we are Christ’s.
8 For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed—
9 lest I seem to terrify you by letters.
10 “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.”
11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.
12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you.
14 For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ;
15 not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere,
16 to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.
17 But “he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
Paul was a godly man with a humble spirit. But in our text, he uses the word boast 13 times. He felt compelled to defend his apostolic authority to his critics. He does so with the greatest reluctance.
We look at three STANDARDS of judging to answer the question, “What do you boast in?”.
The First STANDARD of Judging is,
By Appearance
Most of us have judged a person or situation solely on appearances. To my shame, I’ve done it too often. The opening phrase of verse seven can be taken two ways; “are you looking only at appearances?” Or “you are looking only at appearances.” The unstated implication is that they should look deeper beneath the surface.
Paul didn’t say, “If you were genuine followers of Christ, you wouldn’t be speaking this way about me.” Remember, in verse one, Paul implores his readers with the meekness and gentleness of Christ. His response is an example for us when dealing with difficult situations.
The Judaizers at Corinth had persuaded themselves that they belonged to Christ by their appearance. If they had paid closer attention to their Hebrew Scriptures, they would’ve recalled First Samuel 16:7, where God told Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Their criticism of Paul was that his physical appearance was weak, and his rhetoric amounted to nothing. He had already admitted this when he wrote in his first letter. This criticism must have stung. No one likes to have their physical appearance or intellect denigrated publicly.
Paul didn’t use his apostolic authority as a club to beat people into submission. Look at verse 8. “Even if I should boast about belonging to Christ and the authority He has given me, I will do it for your edification, not your destruction. I will never be ashamed of my boast in Christ.” Paul reassures his critics that his acts were precisely the same as the recommendations and commands in his letters when he was with them.
When someone judges by appearances, the result is often character assassination. Paul wasn’t going there. But he also wants to avoid the trap set for him. Look at verse 12. There is both wordplay and sarcasm in this verse. First, Paul says, “We dare not classify ourselves…” The idea here is “to judge among, to judge one as worthy to be numbered among [the group]. He continues, “We dare not compare ourselves with those who commend themselves…” This second phrase means to combine or decide or to “pair and compare.”
Paul sarcastically implies that the Judaizers set themselves up as the standard of orthodoxy and then boasted of the same. They measured themselves by themselves. People who function this way are oblivious to the picture their lives present to those watching.
You and I have the same tendency. We think our beliefs and practices are the standard by which all should be measured. But is that the case? As Paul writes, if we refuse to look outside of our “group” and learn from other genuine Believers, we too will be without understanding.
If you want to boast about something, don’t boast about appearances. God has a higher standard of judgment than that.
The Next STANDARD of Judging is,
By Achievement
Most of us have used this standard. We hesitate to boast, but we ensure people notice our accomplishments. In business, sports, academia, and ministry, achievements often become the basis for boasting. Many entities have associations prioritizing achievements and excellence; public recognition and acclaim are part of the reward.
I’m not opposed to excellence and achievement in our service to the Lord. But I do oppose using pride as motivation. We are very susceptible to pride, and if we indulge in it, it will destroy us. As Believers, we are called to excel and achieve because we serve Christ.
Paul says, “We will not boast about the things we have no experience in. We will confine ourselves to the sphere of influence God has apportioned to us, which reaches even to you.”
The same can’t be said for the Judaizers. They had invaded Paul’s sphere of service. They attempted to successfully occupy the territory he had won for the Lord and the church. They tried to undermine what he had done.
In these verses, Paul speaks of territory as marked with a “measuring rod.” The imagery is surveying a district and assigning different parcels of ground. God had “allotted” a specific region to him, and he was content to function there. Paul wanted to see the Gospel go everywhere but understood the importance of God’s boundaries.
There’s one achievement that Paul greatly longed to see become a reality in this text. He wanted the Corinthian Believers to reach a level of maturity in Christ that would demand less of his time and attention. He wanted them to grow spiritually to the point where they could address and solve their internal issues with the power of the Holy Spirit. That would give him greater freedom to preach in areas where the Gospel hadn’t yet gone. They would have been able, legitimately, to boast about what the Lord was doing among them. As a minister of the Gospel, that’s an achievement I long to see as well.
The Final STANDARD of Judging is,
By Assignment
Paul wanted to preach the Gospel in regions beyond Corinth but wouldn’t intrude into someone else’s ministry. “…another man’s line of things” is the same as the word previously translated as rule. He would “stay in his lane.” Paul wouldn’t boast about the work already done on another person’s territory.
And then, in verse 17, Paul escapes the oppressive, negative subject of the earlier verses and moves into the freeing, positive subject of standing, ultimately, in God’s presence. He quotes Jeremiah chapter nine; “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me…”
Why is this so important? Well, look at the final verse. “For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.” Self-promotion and self-approval are meaningless in the long run. Faithful servants of God present the facts as they are and then allow God to sort out the details and the rewards.
If you are a Christ-follower, you have an assignment from the Lord. While we proclaim the same message, your assignment isn’t the same as mine, nor is mine the same as yours. But both of them are equally important. I don’t want to waste my time trying to take your assignment because I’m probably not qualified for it.
When you and I stand before our King, whether tall or short, handsome, homely, slim, or stout, outward appearances like that won’t mean a thing. No matter how we try to put ourselves in a good light and cultivate a culturally acceptable appearance, it won’t matter. He knows who we are because He knows what’s in our hearts.
The same is true for our fleshly achievements. We can have trophies, accolades, honors from our peers, and praise from men, but those things will all pass away. What I want, and I trust you do, too, is the approval and commendation of my King. His approval is worth more than anything the world can offer you and me now.
Finally, like Paul, I want to understand my assignment and do it in the power of the Holy Spirit to the best of my ability.
So, I end with the same question I asked at the beginning, “What do you boast about?”
Thanks J Mark for sharing this teaching with us from II Corinthians 10. If you have any questions about today’s teaching or if you would like to hear it again. Please feel free to contact us. The best way is email, our email is hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or you can contact us on our website, our website is heraldsofhope.org. We would love to hear from you, so please contact us however it is easiest for you.
It was good to be with you today, thank you for being there. We hope you can join us again next time. We leave you with this great verse from Jeremiah where God says, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me” This, my friend, is the best answer to the question from today’s lesson.
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.
