Series: 2 Corinthians
Title: Glory in the Lord, Seek His
Commendation
Text: 2 Corinthians 10: 7-18
Date: December 10, 2017
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
There
were believers at Corinth that Paul was convinced were true believers. But they
were being deceived by false preachers. It appears they had been turned away
from Paul to follow these false preachers.
In verses 1-2, Paul these believers why he
beseeched them by the meekness and gentleness of Christ in his letters,
speaking more boldly at times. It was so that he might not have to be bold
toward them when he was present.
In verses
3-5, Paul told these believers the reason he preached the gospel and did not
use fleshly means (as he was accused of doing) was because he did not war after
the flesh. He says our spiritual weapons are mighty through God’s power to pull
down all the sinners defenses.
In verse
6, Paul said told these believers that he was ready to use his apostolic
authority against the false preachers. But he knew Christ’s “fan is in his
hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his
garner.” So Paul would not even use the authority Christ gave him until Christ
worked obedience in them—And having in a
readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
So in our text today, it is to these same
believers that Paul asks this question.
2 Corinthians 10: 7: Do ye look on things after the
outward appearance?
The false preachers were glorying in
appearance, not in heart. They were comparing themselves to Paul and commending
themselves. The erring believers had
begun to listen and look on the outward appearance. So Paul meets these erring
believers on that ground. Do you look on
the outward appearance?
2 Corinthians 10: 7: If any man trust to himself that he
is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is
Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.
If any
one of you believers, trust to himself, that this false preacher and his fellow
ministers bear the marks of Christ’s minister, let him of himself, that is without the influence of these false
preachers, honestly consider again, that, the same marks that convince you the
false preacher is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s because we bear the same
marks. Paul does not accuse the false preachers of being false, as they did him. He simply says, the same marks that convince
you believers that he is a minister of Christ, I and my fellow apostles possess
also.
2 Corinthians 10: 8: For though I should
boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for
edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
Paul says I bear the same marks as them, but though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, I would be telling the
truth because Christ gave us apostles more authority. Paul is saying, I could
boast more of authority which we have given us by Christ that these false
preachers do not have.
Brethren,
Paul and the rest of the apostles had authority and power that Christ gave them
that Christ did not give to other preachers.
In Acts, the Apostle Peter rebuked Ananias for lying to God and Ananias
fell dead. Then he rebuked Saphira and said, “behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door,
and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and
yielded up the ghost:” (Acts 5: 9-10) As an apostle, Christ gave Paul the
same authority—he said, 1 Timothy 1:20: [concerning]
Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn
not to blaspheme.
So Paul
says, if we are looking on the outward appearance, if I was trying to convince
you based on outward appearances, I could boast much more of our gifts and it
would be true, I would not be ashamed—Christ
gave me this authority. But Paul says, I do not boast of that gift when I write
to you,
2 Corinthians 10: 9: That I may not seem
as if I would terrify you by letters.
Most
commentaries agree words are missing from the authorized version of the bible which
we use. John Gill and others use an ancient translation which gives the sense
of this verse in context with the whole passage. Paul is saying, “In my letters, I could boast of my apostolic
authority which Christ gave me to exact justice on the disobedient but I do not
do so that I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.” He says that Christ
gave that gift for edification, not destruction. And it would not be edifying
to persuade God’s people by terrifying them. Then their faith would be standing
in the wisdom of men rather than in the power of God. Paul says, “I do not do
anything in my letters that would give my accusers ammunition against me
because as is, when I use meekness and gentleness mixed with boldness in my
letters, without me even boasting of my apostolic authority, my accusers
already say this,”
2 Corinthians 10: 10: For his letters,
say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is
weak, and his speech contemptible. 11: Let such an one think this, that, such as
we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in
deed when we are present.
Why did Paul not appeal to believers by
glorying in himself, by commending himself, by comparing himself with these
false preachers and boasting of his gifts from Christ?
2 Corinthians 10: 12: For we dare not make ourselves of
the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they
measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves,
are not wise.
We dare
not make ourselves of that number. And we
dare not compare ourselves with those that commend themselves. It is because they
measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves,
are not wise. The margin says it reveals they do not understand; it reveals
they have no spiritual understanding; it reveals they look on the outward
appearance rather than using spiritual discernment.
2 Corinthians 10: 13: But we will not boast of things without our measure,
but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure
to reach even unto you. 14 For we
stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we
reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the
gospel of Christ:15: Not
boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours;
but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you
according to our rule abundantly, 16:
To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast
in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand.
Paul says
nor will we boast without measure. The
false preachers were boasting of all the places they preached, of all the
converts they made, and of all the churches they planted just like false
preachers do today. Paul declares that they boasted and took credit for other
true preachers labors. But Paul says we
will not do that. We preach where Christ
has sent us and no further. We give God
the credit for working through the gospel we preach to convert his elect.
Here is
the point of the whole passage. This is why we do not glory in ourselves,
compare ourselves with others and commend ourselves.
2 Corinthians 10: 17: But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 18: For not he that commendeth himself
is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
Subject: Glory in
the Lord and Seek his Commendation
Proposition: Believers
should glory in the Lord, seeking no other commendation but that of God our
Father in Christ Jesus!
OUTWARD APPEARANCE
2 Corinthians 10: 7: Do you look on the outward
appearance?
Never look on the outward appearance to judge
of things. Instead, use spiritual discernment.
Religious
folks, who have not been born of the Spirit, are fleshly men. They have no
spiritual discernment. So they only look on things after the outward appearance.
When a person
looks on things after the outward appearance, he glories in appearance and commends
himself and seeks commendation from others. Paul spoke of these false preachers
earlier in the epistle as those who do just that.
2
Corinthians 5:12: For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you
occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer
them which glory in appearance, and not in heart
Christ said of such carnal religionists,
Luke 16:
15: Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your
hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight
of God.
God does not look on the outward appearance
but on the heart, the motive, the spirit.
1 Samuel 16: 7: But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not
on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused
him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
Brethren, true religion is spiritual. Christ told the woman at the well,
John 4: 23:
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24: God is a Spirit: and they
that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
If we
would worship God in spirit it is only by being born of God the Holy Spirit. We
must be born again and given spiritual discernment by God or we cannot
understand spiritual things. (John 3: 1-8; 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16) So Christ
told his people to discern using spiritual discernment,
John 7:24:
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
WE DARE NOT
2 Corinthians 7: 12: For we dare not make
ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
We dare
not make ourselves like those who commend themselves. And we dare not compare ourselves with them
that commend themselves. Paul refused make himself like those in false religion
and he refused to compare himself with them. It is because they are not wise.
Self-made
men are pleased with themselves. By
comparing themselves with themselves they are self-rigtheousness and they
despise others. Our Lord spake a parable about men who did just that,
Luke 18:
9: And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they
were righteous, and despised others:
God hates such men,
Isaiah
65: 5: Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than
thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Paul had gifts far superior to men who he
knew were false preachers. Yet he would not compare himself to them or boast of
himself as being better than them. He could have spoken of his gifts and it
would have been true. The Lord did give him those gifts. But he would not. Why?
He said “The Lord gave it to me!” That means Christ
is the Head of the church. Christ is the Authority with power to work in the
midst of his church giving gifts to whom he will. So Paul waited on Christ to
give to those who were his. The believer
who has received everything from Christ, by Christ’s power, knows to wait on
the Lord Jesus because they have experienced Christ’s power. They know Christ can move irresistibly upon
whom he will. So we do not have to boast and persuade men by outward
appearance. We dare not! We wait on the
Lord to work in spirit in the hearts of men by his power.
Paul
would not even use his Christ-given authority before Christ had made it obvious
who were his and who were not, separating the wheat from the tares. Paul knew
Christ is truly working in the midst of his church. Paul knew Christ’s fan is in his hand and he
will purge his floor. So Paul would rather not use and abuse his authority but
wait on the Lord. Christ’s preachers today have authority given us by Christ to
rebuke and even to remove those who are disobedient, distracting men from the
gospel and leading believers from Christ.
But it is a last resort to use such authority. We wait on the Lord to
work in his people through the preaching of the gospel.
Paul
said, Christ gave this authority “for
edification, not for destruction.” To
use any gift God gives us for self-promotion, to turn men in the flesh, to
persuade sinners to make a profession of faith and join the church would not be
for the edification of his church but for its destruction.
Besides this, how can we boast when every
grace, gift and ability we have is given to us by God?
1 Corinthians
4: 7: For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou
that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou
glory, as if thou hadst not received it?
ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE GOD GIVES
2 Corinthians 10: 13: But we will not boast of things
without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God
hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. 14: For we stretch not ourselves
beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come
as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: 15: Not boasting of things without our
measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your
faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule
abundantly, 16: To preach the
gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s
line of things made ready to our hand.
When men
boast and compare themselves to others they exaggerate and lie. They do so
without measure. Paul said, “But we will
not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the
rule which God hath distributed to us.”
God sets
the bounds of his preachers. He places his preacher where he would have his
preacher to preach the gospel and to whom.
This is so with all believers. God gives us a place to serve him in his
kingdom and sets the bounds of our service.
Therefore,
Paul says we do not go beyond our God-given sphere of service—“For we stretch not ourselves beyond our
measure.” Nor do we intrude into
other men’s sphere of labor which God has given them, taking credit for what
God had produced through other men—“Not boasting of things without our measure,
that is, of other men’s labours;..not to boast in another man’s line of things
made ready to our hand.”
False
preachers and so-called churches today are constantly boasting of their missionary
works, of their converts, of the churches they have planted. Most of it is boasting of things God has not
even wrought or of things God has wrought through his true preachers which vain
preachers take credit for. Paul says, “We dare not do so!”
Brethren, Christ fits each child in his body where
he would have us to be. Christ gives us each a service to perform. Christ gifts
each child with the gifts needed for the work.
And Christ makes the work fruitful. This is why Paul said he would not
boast of his labors as if he was the one who accomplished the work but he would
glory in Christ. Notice the highlighted words below. As Paul gloried in the
places he preached and the converts that were made, he gives God our Father and
his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God all the glory:
Romans
15: 15: Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you
in some sort, as putting you in mind, because
of the grace that is given to me of God, 16: That I should be the
minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the
offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 17: I have therefore
whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ
in those things which pertain to God. 18: For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath
not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19:
Through mighty signs and wonders, by the
power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto
Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20: Yea, so have
I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build
upon another man’s foundation: 21: But as it is written, To whom he was
not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
So believer learn where it is God has placed
you, what work Christ has given you in his kingdom and do it with all your
heart giving him all the glory. Do not envy another area of service that God
has given to other brethren. Learn to be content to serve God where he placed
you and is pleased to use you being thankful that God would use you at all. Remember,
just because you do not serve in some other area of service it does not mean
you are not of the body. Each member of the body has his place and is needful
for the good of the whole body, no matter what that area of service may
be. Above all, give God all the glory!
1 Corinthians 12: 12:
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13: For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be
bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14: For the body is not one member,
but many. 15: If the foot shall
say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of
the body? 16: And if the ear
shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not
of the body? 17: If the whole
body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were
hearing, where were the smelling? 18: But now hath God set the members every one of them in the
body, as it hath pleased him.
For these
reasons, any sinner who measures himself by another sinner or compares himself
to another sinner trying to commend himself, proves his own ignorance—“they measuring themselves by themselves,
and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” Worms measuring themselves by worms is
not wise.
Maggots comparing ourselves to maggots is utter foolishness!
GLORY IN THE LORD REJOICING IN HIS
COMMENDATION
2 Corinthians 10: 17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord. 18 For not he that commendeth himself is
approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
“To glory in the Lord” is to regard God
as our only confidence. It is to give God the glory as the source of all our
salvation and all good things we have. It is to ascribe everything we have,
are, and all our hope to God and his grace.
Romans
11: 36: For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom
be glory for ever. Amen.
God our
Father chose his people in Christ from eternity by his free and sovereign
grace. We did not choose him, he chose us. He blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ in
eternity before as yet we were even born. He predestinated us to the adoption
of children and to an eternal inheritance in Christ.
It is by
Christ laying down his life that we have redemption from our sins through his
precious blood. We are justified by his blood so that no charge can be laid
against us. We are complete in Christ by Christ’s finished work, not by
anything we do.
It is of
God—being born again of the Holy Spirit—that we are in Christ and know Christ.
1 Corinthians 1: 30: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption: 31: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord.
Furthermore,
concerning anything we do in his kingdom, it is his gift to the praise of his
glory. Just take the first eleven verses of 2 Corinthians chapter 10 to see
this. Concerning the power of the gospel we preach to make sinners believe on
Christ, Paul said in verse 4, it is not our might but “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but might through God to
the pulling down of strong holds.” Concerning the authority of Christ’s
preachers and all gifts that his people possess, verse 8 reminds us, “the Lord hath given us.” We serve and do all things, verse 13, “according to the measure of the rule which
God hath distributed to us.” The
gospel we preach is not the gospel of man but, verse 14, “the gospel of Christ.” So
brethren, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God.”
However, in the context of this passage in
verses 7-11,the meaning of “glorying in the Lord” is concerning God’s approval
of us. We are talking about not self-commending, not glorying in self. Paul is
exhorting us to seek God’s approval, not mans. So the lesson of the text is “He that glories should glory in the approbation
of God, (not in his own good opinion of himself, nor in the praises of others,)
for not he who commendeth himself is approved and worthy of approbation, but he
whom the Lord commendeth.” Paul did not commend himself; neither did he
rely on the commendation of others, his eye was fixed on God. If he had God’s
commendation, God’s favor, it was a small thing to him to be judged by man’s judgment.
“It is not him that commendeth himself that
is approved but whom the Lord commendeth.” Remember our Lord’s parable of
the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee commended himself. The publican
sought God’s approval asking mercy from God. And which one did God commend?
Luke 18: 10:
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a
publican. 11: The Pharisee stood
and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12: I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that I possess. 13: And
the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14: I tell you, this man went
down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that
exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted.
Brethren, instead of commending ourselves, instead
of glorying in our own high estimate of ourselves and our attainments, instead
of allowing ourselves to be puffed up by the applause of men, our greatest joy
and satisfaction should be that in Christ we have the approval of God our
Father!
Until
that day that God calls all his elect home and Christ presents us perfect robed
in Christ’s righteousness so that by Christ God commends us with divine
approval saying “Well done my good and faithful servant”, my prayer for you and
our prayer for one another should be, that “the
God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great
shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you
perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is
wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.” (Heb 13: 20)
Amen!