Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: 2 Corinthians 11 and Psalm 129

The intensity of Paul’s writing in 2 Corinthians 11 was born of a deep love for the Corinthians (v.11) and a clear sense of his responsibility to disciple them in such a way as to prepare them to meet Christ (v.2). The presence of false ‘apostles’ in Corinth threatened their spiritual wellbeing and so, because he loved them and because he loved Jesus, Paul was intent on warning them of the danger and of convincing them to trust him and his teaching of the Truth.

The false teachers had somehow presented a “different Jesus”. Their message about how to respond to this Jesus was different to the true gospel, and their “ministry” cultivated a very different spirit among the Corinthians. This community was being badly led astray by the charm and eloquence of false teachers, and Paul was desperate to win them back to the Truth.

With desperate times calling for desperate measures, Paul resorted to imploring them to trust the integrity of his Gospel-ministry on the basis of his trustworthy “credentials”. He wanted them to see how closely his own life had been aligned with the Gospel he preached to them. Paul had preached the truth about Christ as the Servant who suffered and died for their salvation. Now he reminded them that he himself believed in this Christ so completely that he had aligned his own life with his Lord’s path of self-sacrificial service. He did not have the supposed “credentials” of the “super apostles” whom they had received so gladly. Rather his “credentials” were earned in the fire of the afflictions he had suffered for their sake, and for the sake of presenting the true Gospel to them. He may be many things, but he was definitely not a hypocrite or a liar. His life proved that much. His life preached his Gospel!

Although he knew it was completely foolish to talk about himself and to “boast” of credentials, he wrote: “³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” Why? Because these are the very things that actually show how closely his life was aligned with the Christ he preached. So, in v.23-29, he wrote a litany of what he had suffered for the sake of preaching the Gospel. It makes for very humbling reading! It makes for a set of exceptionally good reasons to trust the integrity and truth of Paul’s ministry. It sets before us the challenge of examining our own lives honestly, for the sake of discovering whether our lives align with the Jesus in Whom we believe and trust.

Life Application: Make time for self-examination today. Think of the Jesus in Whom you believe and trust. Where does your life not currently align with Him? Where does your life currently preach a different message to the true Gospel? Commit yourself to any necessary “course corrections”.