Read
2 Corinthians 10
We are not going too far in our boasting, as
would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with
the gospel of Christ. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work
done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere
of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in
the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in
someone else’s territory. But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Some of Paul’s
battles are fought because of jealousy and contempt. Others don’t like what he
has accomplished. He was not one of the disciples who followed Jesus for three
years. He was the oddball. He couldn’t be as good as the regular apostles, who
might be dubbed super apostles.
That was
part of the challenge before Paul. Division was a real thing in Corinth, and it
does its best to invade every church body it finds. It’s as if Paul gets to the point where he
says, “Enough!”
This is not
a competition.
We are not
enemies with you or the other apostles who are legitimately doing the work of
the Lord.
We are
coworkers in Christ. Yes, I am different from the dozen who followed Jesus in
the flesh. Here’s the kicker: You will be, too!
This is not
an election. There is no campaign. We are not comparing
resumes. There will not be a series of three debates.
The goal
here in what we are doing in your area is to make you a light
unto the world. We want you to be the salt
of the earth. We want you to be known as followers of Jesus by
your love.
And…
Here’s the
kicker: We want you to clone what we have done and become missionaries to this
lost world.
You are not
going out to make followers of Peter, Paul, Apollos, or any other servant of
the Lord. Your objective is to take the good news that we have in the Lord, not
in any other human.
Your goal is
to do what we did with you and do it with others. Go into the world with good
news. Unless God tells you to go to Spain or Egypt, then go across the street
or to the next village over and share the good news of life in Jesus Christ.
You will be
sharing with some who may know your pagan ways. You will have to explain the old
self and new
self to them, using the term "new
creation" or "new creature."
You need to
be learning,
studying, and praying because you will soon be the vessels that carry the good
news to your neighbors and future generations.
You are not
just working on yourselves—and we all need a lot of work—we are reaching out with
this gospel of salvation and peace. You must become teachers and evangelists.
The Spirit
that lives within you must be—to use Paul’s words to Timothy—fanned
into the flames of action.
It’s the
same as it was with Abram. You are blessed to be a blessing. The blessing that
you are to carry to others is the gospel of truth.
You are to
take the truth to the world, at least those within your purview.
By the way,
this applies to us in this place and this age as well. It’s grist
for the mill business once again. Everything we go through, every sermon you
hear, every scripture you read, is grist for the mill as we fulfill our
commissions.
Yes, we want
to grow in God’s grace and become better people. That’s a noble goal, but as we
advance towards that goal, we are gathering others to go with us.
We seek
others to replace us, for this gospel must continue to be shared with all
generations.
Paul will discuss
metacognition, and we will discuss that in the next service. In the chapter
ahead, he will warn us about others distorting the gospel.
For now,
know that we are being prepared to be evangelists, among other things. We must
not only receive God’s grace but also share it.
Amen.
