Religion & Spirituality
Summary | A POINTED CONCLUSION | 2 Corinthians 12:11-13In this passage the Corinthians had been fooled by false apostles into thinking that Paul was using his position to mislead and abuse the church.We live in a day when nearly everyone has a problem with authority. The situation is not much different in the church.Paul dealt with this tendency in the Corinthian church by reminding them of the many sacrifices he had made on their behalf. This portion of Paul’s epistle encourages us to look again at how trustworthy he and the other authors are. They sacrificed their lives for the sake of the gospel. Most of them met with cruel deaths because they were faithful to Christ and his church. As we wrestle with our attitudes toward their difficult teachings, we should always remember their sacrifices. Without the word of Paul and the other apostles, we would not know how to follow our Savior. They are the foundation of the church (Eph 2:20) upon which we are to build our lives. They deserve our submission because Christ has ordained them and because they were faithful to their ordination up to and including death:Paul admitted that he had MADE A FOOL of himself by taking on the strategy of his opponents in boasting as he had. Yet, he insisted that the Corinthians had driven him to it. How was this so? He OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN COMMENDED by the congregation. They already knew him and his ministry. He was not IN THE LEAST INFERIOR TO THE SUPER APOSTLES and they knew this. Of course, Paul was aware that he was NOTHING in himself, apart from the grace of God. Yet, the Corinthians should have remembered his SIGNS and WONDERS AND MIRACLES that MARK AN APOSTLE. Paul had performed miracles in many places as he had proclaimed the gospel of Christ, but in Corinth he had done these things WITH GREAT PERSEVERANCE. Time and again, he had demonstrated the divine authorization of his ministry before the Corinthians. The apostles were authoritative leaders and teachers whose teaching is still binding on the church. There are always teachers in the church who assert false doctrines. We must obey the teachings of the apostles. We must guard the NT authority in the church. We must be watchful for false teaching, holding everything to the standard of the NT.