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Post by Admin on Feb 12, 2018 5:40:13 GMT -6
Study Begins: February 11, 2018
Discussion Begins: February 18, 2018
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English Standard Version
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JB
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Dedicated TruthSeeker
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Post by JB on Feb 17, 2018 21:31:50 GMT -6
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the LORD would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
Paul just got done boasting of what God did in him, and describing the foolishness of self-centered boasting. He clearly says this is wrong – not what the Lord would want Christians to do.
Q: What would be his motive for resorting to boasting about himself here?
19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.
Especially in the 1990s, there was a very powerful movement of abusive churches – so much so that many books were written about it by Christians and it was all over the media. One book I remember was called Toxic Faith and another was called Recovering From Churches That Abuse.
This was happening across a large number of denominations and locales.
In the fringes of the churches of Christ and Christian churches (which is the fellowship I'm part of), we had the "Discipling Movement" (also called the Crossroads movement) which originated from the Boston Church of Christ but spread nationally and internationally. A Christian disciple would be assigned to a “Discipler” who was supposed to help him or her grow spiritually.
On the surface that sounds good, and on the surface it is good.
But those Disciplers controlled individuals' lives in ways I can barely grasp. For example, disciples reported to their Disciplers how often they had sex with their spouses (to make sure they weren't neglecting them), gave full accounts of their days (to make sure they didn't have idle time), and gave the Disciplers their budgets and expense reports as well as power of attorney over their checking accounts (to be sure they weren't misspending their money on worldly things). Disciplers were sometimes even known to write their disciples' tithing checks (to make sure they weren't robbing the Lord). If a disciple didn’t perform well, he or she was kicked out of fellowship.
Similarly, the worldly “wisdom” of these Corinthian Christians allowed them to become spiritually enslaved, exploited, controlled, and mistreated by a domineering, disruptive team om ministers who moved in while Paul was out.
Q: Why would teachings using worldly wisdom lead to a desire or willingness by these Corinthians to be dominated by these Palestinian leaders?
21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! What anyone else dares to boast about--I am speaking as a fool--I also dare to boast about.
To his shame? Is this sarcasm? Weakness was the very quality he boasted about earlier. He was weak enough to allow God to control him. If I ever boast, I hope that is what I boast of.
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.
We know now that these were Jewish teachers, and in the next verse that they professed Christ. They were Messianic Jews, as was Paul.
Q: In the next verses, Paul is about to give his testimony and it is rather dramatic. I have a somewhat dramatic testimony, which I openly share. My observation has been that Christians who have been faithful believers throughout their lives have a tendency to not feel they have much to share, so they don’t share it. Why is this? And what is your testimony?
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
In v.24 the "40 lashes" was a Jewish punishment. If a man died from the lashes, the man who administered them was held blameless for his death, which shows how severe they were.
“Minus one” became a standard practice because the law also prescribed that if a man gave 40 lashes he would also have to endure 40 lashes, so they gave 39.
Paul had endured this 5 different times!
In v.25, beating with rods was a purely Roman form of punishment, but Roman citizens weren’t allowed to be beat with rods. Yet Paul was a Roman citizen and he received this punishment anyway.
These experiences were proof that Paul was truly Christ’s servant. Who else would endure such torture for the sake of the gospel and continue preaching it anyway?
What could the Palestinian teachers who had infiltrated and begun to abuse this church at Corinth offer as proof of their service in comparison to these boasts of Paul?
28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
Paul had an unnatural (really, a supernatural) amount of empathy and concern for the people to whom he ministered.
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the LORD Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.
Paul still couldn’t bring himself to boast of his best human qualities, which is what he had set out to do.
He didn’t talk about how he endured, he talked about how he suffered.
He didn’t talk about his empathy, he talked about the pain and weakness he experienced.
So in this section Paul is boasting for effect. His desire isn't to build himself up, but it is to deflate the claims of these abusive teachers who had led this beloved church in Corinth astray and turned many of its members against him.
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Post by Jean Maurice M. Prosper on Feb 25, 2018 23:59:07 GMT -6
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the LORD would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
Paul is being "taken as a fool" , so he speaks as a fool would , I tend to understand that in doing so, he makes reference to the other false teacher who are really fools. So in 'reacting' like a fool, these people full of boasting, he can also boast, but even his boasting, shows that he is indeed a true servant of Christ, he indeed has ground to boast. it as if he says "let me talk your own language". The whole plan of Paul here is still to touch the hearts and minds of these people , so they can understand.
19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.
Thank you JB for what you shared, I heard about this but never took a closer look. What is shocking, is that there are still such churches, IN Mauritius, there are still some churches with similar behaviour, I have met people suffering from this type of 'close control'. The Corinthians seem to be intellectually enslaved into a the worldly wisdom, to seems that they were putting their faith in these men (for whatever they were promising and teaching).
for instance, poor (not necessarily limited to financial poverty) people, tend to think highly of "wise" people and with their inferiority feelings, give into everything these "wise" men say. We have these issues here in Mauritius. their eloquent words, and bright talks convince the lesser apt people to submit in a way to them. I do have some questions though, How come these people do not discern ? how come after being exposed to the teachings of Paul and the Holy Spirit, still they fall into these traps ?
Sometimes people look for credentials, qualifications etc as a proof that you are someone ! or that you have some kind of authority to do what you are doing. And this is still playing a lot in Churches today. If you don't have the Papers proving your a learned man, you can't be a pastor or you can't really be a man of God. I'm not saying we must not study the word, but the main credentials is the presence of God in your life, and the fruit that is being produced. today, in many cases, you must have attended seminary and other recognised institution before you can even be considered. I know this by experience, you cannot "sit" with the "heads" as you are "nothing".
Maybe, that is exactly what Paul was experiencing, He was no longer a Pharisee, had lost all his "credentials" (he lost it joyfully and was proud to have lost it, he himself considered it a gain by losing them).
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