2 Corinthians, 11:28-33
Hal Molloy · Jun 26, 2005
2 Corinthians (2004-05), No. 51
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/48262328346767

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Okay, we're in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and we're in verse 28 and we're going to finish the chapter this morning verses 28 through 33. Chapter 11 verses 28 to 33. Okay, I'll read it. And I'm reading from the King James, and Paul says, Beside these things that are without, that which comes upon me daily, the care of all the churches, who is weak?

And I am not weak? Who is offended? And I am not indignant? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern my infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for evermore, knows that I lie not. In Damascus, the governor under Aretas, the king, kept the city of Damascus with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me, and through a window in a basket was I led down by the wall and escaped his hands. Starting off with verse 28, Paul asks some questions there. And here's the question.

Well, first of all, he says, and besides those things that are without. And so the question is, when he says, you know, verse 28, and beside those things which are without, the question is, what's he talking about? What are the things that are without? So, when I went through this, then my question was, is there something within? If he's talking about beside those things, apart from those things that are without, it would imply that there's something that's within, wouldn't you say? And so the question is, if that's true, what is the thing that's within?

What's its frequency? What's its impact? So Paul transitions. In this verse, as Bob went through, up through 27 last week, and he said 28 is a transition verse. And it is a transition verse, it transitions from the external to the internal. So, from the top of your hat here, what does it look like the external is and what does it look like the internal is? Anything come to mind? The external, would that be the thing you just mentioned? These outward things, the perils and the robbers?

Okay. Okay, good. And it would make sense that if you take things right in the immediate context, that those are the things that are without. How about the things that are within? I think the answer is right in this verse here, right? In terms of his care of all the churches internally. He's got this care. Sure. Okay. So let's let's let's look at it in a little bit more detail.

And as as Jean said, that the things that are without are probably just the things that are just mentioned. And I just summarized them into three categories because he talked about persecution, his stripes, his beatings, his stonings. He talked about. the trials that he went through, the imprisonments and the shipwrecks, and then he talked about the suffering that he went through, in terms of worriness and hunger and thirst, and I think he even mentions nakedness in the text. So those are the things that are without. Question. Question. Were all of these things for Christ's sake? Were all of these things for the sake of Christ that Paul went through? Paul went through all of them. Was it for the sake of Christ? Yeah, I think it was. And so the question is how? I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 5 and verse 11.

And here's the point that I want to make, and that is this, that a true minister of Christ is going to suffer. If you're not a true minister of Christ, you're not going to suffer. I mean, as you go through the New Testament, you'll find that these false apostles, false teachers, they don't suffer. The question is why?

Look at Galatians chapter 5 verse 11. Paul says this, And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross ceased. Now, what Paul is saying is this, that here come these Judaizers along And what are they preaching?

Circumcision. He says, if I preach, if I'm preaching circumcision, but I'm not, but if I am, but if I am preaching circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Right? If he was preaching circumcision, he wouldn't suffer. These guys coming along, these false teachers, are not suffering. He says, well, why do I suffer? Well, I must not be preaching circumcision. I must not be preaching a law system.

I am coming at you with God's grace and not the law. And so when I come at you with God's grace and I come at you with the Lord Jesus Christ, and who he is and his work, then I suffer persecution. Now, so anyhow, the other point is this, with respect to suffering for Christ's sake, that the trials demonstrate our weakness or powerlessness, but his strength, So that through all of this, all of the persecution and trials and the suffering that Paul is going through, has gone through, is going through, will go through, they demonstrate our weakness but his strength. Did Paul acknowledge his weakness in trials and persecutions? We're going to look at that in a little bit more detail, but just to see that And we're going to be looking at 2nd Corinthians 12 10 a lot today, so Go over turn over there for a minute 2nd Corinthians 12 10 And You know the background here the the background is that Paul has this thorn in the side and And he goes to the Lord, and he requests three times that the Lord remove it. And the Lord said, No, Paul. No, Paul. No, Paul. And the Lord says to Paul, Paul, my grace is sufficient for you.

And Paul's response then in verse 9 is, Most gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions." So Paul is saying, I take pleasure in all of these persecutions, these trials, in these sufferings. I take pleasure in them.

Is he some kind of a nut? I mean, why would anybody say that? And then he goes on to say, because they're for Christ's sake. They're for the sake of Christ. For, and he ends verse 10, he says, for when I am weak, when I am powerless, when I am without strength, then what? Then I'm strong. So here's the question.

How do we, how do you and how do I get strength in our trials, in our sufferings? Our trials, our sufferings are not the same as Paul's. But we had different trials and different sufferings in our life. How do we get strength in those trials and those sufferings? It's the same way Paul did. How did he get strength in his trials?

I think the first question you have to ask is this. Think about a trial in your life or a trial maybe that was past, a past trial in your life or suffering that you may be going through right now. And the question is, what's your reaction? What's your reaction when a trial comes to you? When some kind of suffering comes to you, what's your immediate reaction?

Please not me. Okay. Take it away. All right. Depends on if I'm walking in flesh or spirit. If I'm walking in flesh, I'm really frustrated. If I'm walking in spirit, then I'm able to be restful. Okay. Depends upon where you're walking. But think about this. What's the reaction of the old man? Because it's there. I don't care. The reaction of the old man, the response of the old man is there. So what's the reaction, immediate reaction of the old man? Why me? Why me? Why me? Okay. He wanted to try to stand on his own power. Okay. To work it out in his own power. Okay. What else? Frustration. Frustration. Anger. Anger.

Okay, and all of that is sin, there's no question, but there's resentment, there's worry, there's fear, right? There's all of that, that's immediate. Okay, so now, but you know your old man. And you know how easy it is to go and just gravitate to that old man, right? And really rest there, and rest in the anger, and the fear, and the worry, and the anxiety, and the why me, and poor me, right? It is so easy to do that. Okay, obviously Paul is not doing that.

The question is why. So what is our response to the reaction of the old man so that we have strength in the suffering, in the trial that comes upon us? What is our reaction to all of that, to the anger, the fear, anxiety, worry? What's our reaction to that?

OK. Beholding the Lord. OK. All right. So this faith in the facts. And the thing is, what facts? OK. That He is our only resource. And admitting that we have no strength within us. I'm looking for something more specific. Oh, say that again? Don't let it react.

Okay, so here we have all of this response of the old man, right? And the thing is, how does the Lord view the old man? He put him on the cross, right? He crucified your old man with the Lord Jesus Christ. And he sees it inoperative, if you will. And so, what are we to do? And as Jim said, faith in the facts. To rest in that very fact, right? That our old man is dead. We don't need to be a slave to fear, anxiety, worry. We've been crucified. The old man has been crucified. And we're alive? How? Unto God in Christ. Just turn back to chapter 4 in 2 Corinthians.

And here's what Paul says, and we've gone through this back in 1492, it seems like a while since we've been back in chapter 4, but he says this, for we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. Question, what death is he talking about? Is is is Paul talking about the the the persecutions of stripes, the beatings, the stoning that could lead to death, physical death? Or is he talking about the trials, the shipwrecks that could have led to physical death?

OK. Okay, let's read again. Okay, good Vicki, alright. For we are always, notice the always. It's like moment by moment, we're always delivered unto death. The very death I think that Gene talked about, the fact that we've been crucified with Christ, we're always delivered over to that death. And what's the result? And when we, as James says, put our faith in that, that we are dead, that we're always delivered unto that death, that we are dead, we are separated from that old man.

What happens in verse 12, or excuse me, in verse 11, for we who live, and the ones who are living, it's talking about believers, always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, purpose that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So, Lord, thank you. There's the fear and anxiety and worry about this trial, about this suffering that's come upon me. But Lord, thank you. I'm dead. I'm dead to that. And I don't need to be a slave to worry. Have you ever been a slave to worry? I've been a slave to worry for many, many, many, many years. And depression, and it's hell. It's a literal hell.

We've been cut loose, we've been separated from that, and we're alive unto Christ. And we can say, thank you for it. So Paul says, death in us, and what? And life in us. in you, and he's talking to these believers, death in us, as we reckon ourselves dead unto that same nature, it's life unto everybody else. They see the very life of the Lord Jesus Christ living through us, because we're dead, we've been cut loose, we are walking in the fact that by faith that we are dead to that sin nature, been cut loose, separated, and the only thing left is the life, the very life of the Lord Jesus Christ that is manifest to us. So what Paul is saying through all this is that every time there has been whatever kind of persecution, trial, suffering that he's gone through, there's always been the death in me and the life in you."

And so he could say, you know, when I'm weak, when I, in the old man, am weak and powerless, then I'm what? Strong. And it's the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ, because it's the very life of the Lord Jesus Christ that's being lived through him. Okay. Important concept to see in terms of what Paul is saying through all of this. Alright.

So, he goes on to say, beside those things that are without, there is the pressure to me, day by day, the care of the churches. As you look at this word pressure, literally it means a gathering together against. So if you could think of, it's almost like a mob coming at you. It's a gathering together against someone. That's what it means literally. So more figuratively, that which presses upon someone. So what Paul is saying, that which presses upon me, the crowd of cares. There's this crowd of cares, of concern. And so he's referring to, I think, all of the opposition that he had to encounter. And it was unrelenting. And he says, it's day by day. It's unrelenting. It just keeps coming at him.

And the ministry of these false teachers and the impact that they had on these believers in Corinth, not only in Corinth, but in all the churches, right? Because no matter where Paul went, you had these false teachers and Judaizers following Paul. And so he had this unrelenting pressure.

So here's my question. How was the opposition or the false apostles causing the pressure on Paul? What were they doing? But in other passages, Paul says that he's in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in the believers. And so, when he sees some of the current believers being led astray, I'm thinking of his heart and the pain that it could cause him. see some of them being led astray. I think that could be a tremendous pressure upon them, a concern to see those folks being led astray. Great answer, Jim.

The way I summarized it was this, that here are these believers in Corinth, here are these here are these saints, that here come these false teachers, and they readily follow these false teachers without a heartbeat. I mean, bang, they're following these false teachers. And so here's the result. The followers tolerated being in bondage. Now, they were free in Christ, and they go back under bondage, under a lost system. to the weak, as I indicated here, to the weak and barely elements of a law system, as you see in Galatians chapter 4. But they followed extortion, this word being devoured, and I'm sure that Jim or Bob, I'm not sure who taught this, talked about being devoured or they were being extorted.

They tolerated the craftiness of these false teachers. They tolerated their arrogance. They were so arrogant, these false teachers. And they tolerated insults. Whatever insult these false teachers would come up with, they were slapping them in the face. And they tolerated that. Would Paul? have a concern, would that cause pressure on Paul? Oh wow, if he has care, if he loves these believers and he cares for them, that is a concern, that is a pressure that...

I forgot what was brought up, the barring, in what way were they extorting? I don't like charging for a ministry, Right. They were charging for ministry. They were essentially taking their money. Charging for their ministry, in other words. We have a lot of that today. It was turned to TBN. And it's a very subtle thing. You want to be blessed? Just put your check in the mail tomorrow. And by the way, in your mailbox within the next week, you will find a blessing in your mailbox. You will find how God blesses you when you give.

I mean, that's an extortion. That's a devouring. There's no excuse today for charging for ministry, is there? None whatsoever. Now, I should put that in context. There's no charging in the ministry. But yet we find in scripture that elders are to be remunerated, right? And so there is no charge, but we're There's no twice. There's no sort of a synonym.

Exactly. A double portion. In verse 28, he goes on to say, and beside all these things, there's the pressure day to day. He talks about the care of all the churches. Okay. Very interesting in terms of the word care. The word care, where the word pressure was just things coming at you, the word care here is kind of being drawn in different directions. Here's a problem here. You're drawn in that direction. Here's a problem here. You're drawn in that direction. for care is that you have a concern in all these different directions. So we had our four grandchildren this entire week.

And there was anxiety. And now the question is, here's the question. Is anxiety good or bad? Is care good or bad? I mean, Paul says that he's got this pressure on him, the care, the anxious care of all the churches. You could translate this word, anxiety. So, is anxiety bad? What's interesting is this.

Every term that you find in scripture you'll find it in a good sense, and you'll find it in a bad sense. Right? Yeah, I mean, just like love, and we always think of agape love always in a good sense, but in scripture it's used also in a bad sense. Right? Righteousness. Would you ever think of righteousness in a bad sense? But it's used in a bad sense when it's talking about self-righteousness. So the same thing is true with this word care or anxiety. It can be used in a bad sense and it's used in Matthew 13.

We won't turn there. but it's the sower sowing the seed, and the seed falls amongst the thorns, right? And the seed sprouts up, but then it gets crowded out by the thorns, right? And it talks about, it gets crowded out by the cares of this world, right? About the cares of this world. So it's used there in a bad sense. In a good sense, it's used here, I think, for Paul's godly jealousy, and Jim went through that in verse 2, where he's seeking the welfare of the saints.

His love for believers is, as it is expressed in verse 11, And as Jim just quoted from Galatians 4, his travail, he's going through travail like a woman goes through travail and she has birth pangs. And he has birth pangs until Christ be formed in them. And he's so concerned about them growing in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, that Christ be formed in them.

He's anxious about that, and it's a good anxiety, it's a good care. He has a deep concern for the flock and their feeding. We won't turn to Acts 20, but when he was in Ephesus and he's departing Ephesus, he calls all of the elders together and he expresses his concern and his care for the churches and for the saints. And he gives exhortation to these elders for the care and feeding of the flock.

So, well, let me ask the question. What do we do with anxiety? So we have care, we have anxiety, and let's say it's in the good sense. What do we do with that care and anxiety? Do we try to work out all of the solutions to the concerns? Do we try to work at each and every concern? You try, but it just gets worse the more you try. Okay. You just need to turn it over to the Lord. Okay, so there's a point where you find out that you tried to solve it, it ain't going to happen. So, 1 Peter chapter 5 Verse 7 says, casting what?

All your care upon Him. All your anxiety upon Him. Why? Because He cares for you. So that's where it's at. I think in summary, in terms of verse 28, you can summarize it this way. that Paul could bear the external things, but the impact of the false teachers laid heavy on his shepherd's heart. He had a shepherd's heart. And boy, you can see that in the Acts 20 passage. In verse 29. We're getting there. In verse 29. Here's what he says.

Who is weak? I've gone to the interlinear and this represents more what the interlinear says. Who is weak? Am I not weak? Who is being caused to stumble? Am I not being caused to burn? So what's so? So the first question is, who's Paul talking about? And he says, who is weak?

First of first of all, let's let's just hold your answer for a minute. Let's just take a look. The word week, the word week as then is the the or the A. is a negative, it negates it. Stenos is strength. And so it just simply means, literally, without strength, feeling powerless.

And it's also translated in scripture, depending upon where you are, as sick or to be infirmed, weak, feeble. So for example, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, at the misuse of the Lord's table, Paul says, for some of you are sick. He uses this word, estenos, and they are physically sick. But here, in the context, Paul is not talking about physical sickness.

He's talking about a feeling of being without strength, powerless. Here's the circumstances of life coming at you, and you feel like you're powerless. There's no way that you're going to survive this. mentally. So, who is he talking about? He says, who is weak?

I think he is addressing those believers in Corinth who would feel that they would be without strength or powerless in their trials and suffering for Christ. And we talked about the false teachers, right? They did not suffer any persecution. And we talked about Paul, who preached the Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered persecution. I mean, I think it was pretty obvious to these weak believers, well, this false teacher is not going through any persecution or suffering, and here's Paul preaching Christ, and he's going through all this suffering.

I think I'll take the easy way out. I mean, the old man says, hey, I don't want to rock the boat. It's much cozier over here. So I think he's talking to those believers following false teachers. By the way, he says, you are weak, you are powerless, you are.

And why? Well, I think probably, and we won't turn there, over in 1 Corinthians chapter 8, they were just immature in the faith. Their immaturity. And they didn't know that they were appointed in the Christian life to trials and to sufferings and to persecution. That God has appointed us to those very things.

And it's interesting when you talk to a young believer, because a person who does not know Christ, when he hears the gospel, what does he kind of hear these days? You've got problems, they'll be solved if you put your trust and faith in Christ, right? You've got financial problems, you've got health problems, you've got these problems, put your trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and they'll be solved. Isn't that kind of the message today of the gospel? And is that true? And when you tell, I'm working with this man, let me tell you something, if you put your trust and faith in Christ, your problems are just going to start. Every believer is appointed to trials and suffering.

And it's a wonderful thing. It is really a wonderful thing. And it's wonderful because your response The response from the old man is that of negativity, right? In terms of fear and worry, anxiety and all the rest. But when you know that you're dead to all that and alive unto Christ, and that the life of Christ is manifest through you, others see that life. That's how they see the life when we're going through the difficulties. Because they know how they would react in a situation which is very difficult. And they see your reaction and it's so much different as you're resting in heaven.

And my son called up just before we started and said, Katie is sick and Lindy is taking her down to the hospital in Colorado Springs and she's got pains in her chest and her side or whatever. And I figured, well, pains in her chest, I've gone through that.

Yeah, I'm thinking stints, and I'm thinking all the rest. And I'm saying, well, Lord, you know, and I'm thinking also, she works out every day. So, but then again, I think I was in pretty good shape at the same time. So anyway, my thoughts, that's what my thoughts were last Sunday, but it turned out to be a system of ovaries. It was very, very painful. So so at least she knows what it is. OK. Question.

So why does Paul say, am I not weak? And the reason why he says that, am I not weak? Because he is weak. He is powerless. He is without strength in trials and persecutions. And he knows that the only strength that there is, is the Lord's. Because he says, when I'm weak, when I am weak, then I am strong. So the old man comes at me in terms of weakness, powerlessness, but it's the Lord's strength that takes him through it.

I'm debating here what to do because I'm on verse 29 and I've got to go through verse 33. There's the anxiety. So, let's see. What do I do here? Yeah, we can do that. But I want you to, I just want you to turn then, we'll take the time, to 1 Corinthians chapter 9.

And the thing is, why is Paul saying Am I weak? And he's saying it for a purpose. And I think one of the reasons why he's saying it, is he's saying it to these believers in the tour, and he's saying that I can identify with your problem. It's like we had a former president who said, I feel your concern, or I feel your pain, or whatever, and I won't name his name. In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 22, he says, to the weak I became weak, became I as weak. that I might gain the week, I have made all things to all men, that I by all means save some."

What does the word save mean? Is it talking about, when it's talking about saving, it's talking about salvation in terms of being saved from the penalty of sin? Or is it talking about salvation in terms of being saved from the power of sin? What do you think in the context?

It says, to the weak, to those who are powerless, to those without strength, became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I made all things to all men. that I might by all means save some, or you could translate deliver some, deliver some. And it's the deliverance, I think, at least it can be translated deliverance from being under the, I don't want to use the word control, energizing of the old man. To deliver them.

And I think that's what he's saying here. OK. Well, we'll end here. Questions. Comments. You're saying that all add to nature. It's a good, good question. And certainly as you go through these verses, Wayne, doesn't it definitely show you that Paul had two natures? And he knew it. Yeah, very good point.

Our Father, again, we are thankful for this time together. And Lord, we just thank you for Paul. We thank you for his example to us. And as we've been looking through 2 Corinthians, Father, it's talking about the very life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see Paul living that life and being utilized in the Lord's ministry. And Father, our desire, our prayer is that that would be for us too, that the life of the Lord Jesus Christ would be manifest through us so that you can accomplish your ministry, your good works through us and get the praise and the honor and the glory. And we ask in Christ's name, Amen.