ARTICLE – 18 December 2016
The 2nd Corinthians Epistle from Apostle Paul is mostly autobiographical. He was the Corinthian Church’s founder and shared of his personal life and his ministry for God and His people. He was rather forthright in expressing his innermost thoughts. He spoke fearlessly of his physical deprivations and the inner strength God gave him. On the emotional front he was disappointed that the leaders in the Corinthian Church did not stand up with and for him. He was distressed that despite being upright and honorable in his ministry for God’s glory he had to defend his conduct and his Apostleship.
On his personal life, he recounted the numerous troubles, hardships, imprisonments, how he labored and toiled without sleep, faced with hunger and thirst. He was flogged and lashed, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, floated in the open sea all night and day. The physical dangers and privations were of such great magnitude and unimaginable. He even had a bodily impediment, which he called a thorn in his flesh that God would not remove from him. It was to keep him from being conceited. He saw a purpose in everything that happened in his life and it was always for good, either to others or to himself. And that was sufficient to keep him going on steadily in his ministry. Even in such adversities, he always praised God. All these he bore with much patience and understanding, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love, in truthful speech and in the power of God.
On his ministry he had been criticized for his stature and his oratorical abilities. In some way he felt the Corinthians had lost their affections for him when they compared him to the “super” Apostles who were moving around the nascent Gentile Churches. He was disparaged for writing boldly but in person, he was mild-mannered and seemingly without authority. But Paul pointed to meekness and gentleness of Jesus as proper qualities of godly spiritual authority. He planned to use this authority for edification of the Christians and not for their destruction. Paul strongly denounced the attitudes and character of the numerous false teachers moving in their midst. The Corinthian christians faced the real dangers of being corrupted as they were impressed by outward show of authority and competence.
Paul’s relations with the Corinthians is “in holiness and sincerity” and not according to worldly wisdom but by God’s grace, anointing and seal of ownership. For Christians in service we must not waver and be easily discouraged by criticism and false accusations. Are you weak and inadequate in some areas of ministry? Apostle Paul tells you to boast in your weakness so that people can see that strength and ability truly come from the grace of God. “Let us fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
