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“Boast in the Lord"

2 Corinthians 10.7-18

Introduction

Let me begin by asking a question to all our teachers: What do

you do when your authority is challenged? How do you make your
students listen or obey you? What do you do to establish your
authority? It can be frustrating, can’t it? Immaturity can make it
very difficult to lead a class.

There are several ways that we are tempted to respond. Some

teachers try to appear as tough and scary as possible. Like a
dictator, they want to have an iron grip on their class. Others want
to be the “cool teacher”. They want to win the popularity contest
when their students compare them to other other teachers. And
sometimes, in some bad situations, teachers even are in
competition with parents, who obviously have the first claim on
their children.

The 16th century political philosopher, Machiavelli, answered a

similar question in his work, The Prince:

Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved

than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that
one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite
them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than
loved.

Machiavelli taught that a leader should use cruelty to cause his

subjects to fear and obey him. But as Christians, we have an
example of the perfect King, the Lord Jesus Christ, who does not
lead through cruelty, human power, and scare tactics. And as a
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representative of this King Jesus, the Apostle Paul likewise gives

us an example of how Christian leadership should be.

In today’s text, we see that Paul is accused of Machiavellian

leadership. Some in the Corinthian church thought that he was
making a power play, and trying to appear as scary as possible in
his letters, in order to gain their fear and obedience. On the other
hand, we see that the false teachers, the so-called “super-
apostles”, were trying to win a popularity contest in Corinth. They
were commending themselves to the church based upon a worldly
comparison to others. Also, they accused Paul of overreaching
his bounds to lead a people that he had left; but the reality was
that these false teachers were the ones claiming authority that
was not rightfully their’s.

Main idea: Authority is not to be established by human power

plays of: (1) FRIGHTENING DESTRUCTION, (2) SELF-
COMMENDATION, or (3) OVEREXTENSION.

I. First, Christlike authority is not to be established by

FRIGHTENING DESTRUCTION:

7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is

Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also
are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which
the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will
not be ashamed.

A. Rather than trying to frighten the church, the Apostle

reminds them that, as both he and the church are owned by
Christ, so his authority is given by God not to destroy the
body of Christ, but instead to build it up.

1. To “build up” in the NT means to edify the church in

holiness and peace by use of the means of grace,
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and especially through sharing the Word of God with

others; and in the church, we are constructing a building
piece by piece that is more beautiful than any ancient
cathedral in Europe (Trondheim Cathedral or Sagrada
Familia).

2. The Apostle’s understanding of gospel ministry is

parallel with what Jesus taught about his own mission
in John 3:17: For God did not send his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him.

3. In contrast to this, one of the marks of ungodly

authority is the improper use of one’s power to condemn
and destroy one’s personal enemies, rather than building
up the body; this is what the so-called “super-apostles”
were doing to Paul, and it is also a phenomenon that is
found among abusive leaders in the church.

B. Further, the Apostle wanted them to understand that his

warnings were not just empty threats meant to scare them,
but rather, in order to build up the church in holiness,
corrective action would be taken when he was bodily
present:

9I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my

letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong,
but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no
account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say
by letter when absent, we do when present.

1. The Apostle gave strong warnings to the church in

his letters about action that must be taken to avoid the
judgment of God.

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2. For example, Paul instructs the church in 1

Corinthians 5 that they must discipline the unrepentant
sinner among them: 3 For though absent in body, I am
present in spirit; and as if present, I have already
pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.
4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus
and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord
Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be
saved in the day of the Lord.

3. The Apostle wants them to understand that when he

wrote the church, he was not using scare tactics to gain
power over them, but he warned them because it is true
and for the purpose of their salvation, not their
destruction: And so, like the Apostle, it is important for
those in authority not to speak empty threats to scare,
but instead take real disciplinary action when it is
necessary.

II. Secondly, authority is not to be established by SELF-

COMMENDATION:

12 Notthat we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of

those who are commending themselves. But when they measure
themselves by one another and compare themselves with one
another, they are without understanding.

A. The Apostle, somewhat sarcastically says that he wouldn’t

dare to put himself in the same category as these “super-
apostles” who engage in self-commendation.

1. There is a fine, but important distinction that can be

made here between self-defense and self-
commendation: After all, the whole letter of 2
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Corinthians is, in one sense, a self-defense of the

Apostle.

2. And like Paul, there are times when we may need to

engage in self-defense against our accusers, but we
should never engage in self-commendation in the sense
that we point to our own natural strengths as making
us deserving of a position of authority amongst the
people of God: (Rather Paul said,)

1 Timothy 115 Christ Jesus came into the world to save

sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

3. In contrast with the Apostle’s humility, how much

different is the ubiquitous self-commendation found in
modern society, and especially, in modern politics:
Recent American presidents from both parties have
represented the spirit of self-commendation so prevalent
among us modern people, as they have been known to
spend a large part of their time in public speeches
congratulating themselves.

B. In particular, the Apostle warns against commending

oneself by comparison with others.

1. To measure and compare oneself with other sinners is

not a reliable guide, because it is a subjective standard
rather than objective standard.

2. Apparently, this self-promoted “super-apostles”

compared their visions, racial and cultural pedigrees,
training in rhetoric, ability to charge money and lead
people; all things which are of relatively little importance
in God’s eyes.

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3. When the Apostle does compare himself to others, it is

not positive: 1 Corinthians 15:9 For I am the least of the
apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God.

III. Third, authority is not to be established by

OVEREXTENSION:

13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with
regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to
you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did
not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with
the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors
of others.

A. The Apostle did not overextend authority as the church was

founded on his preaching.

1. We see here that who founds a church is not a matter

of chance, but rather this “area of influence” is
“assigned” by God to particular ministers.

2. Notice that even the Apostle Paul, though his letters

have universal teaching authority over the church, not
even he claimed to have ministerial authority over
every church in the world, as the office of the Pope, the
bishop of Rome, claims to have.

3. Rather, only Jesus Christ can claim that full authority

over the whole church, as he is the one who founded it
and continues to rule over it:

Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the

church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.

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B. Rather than overextending his authority, the Apostle hoped

that as faith increases in the church, the gospel may be
preached in lands beyond:

But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of

influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we
may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without
boasting of work already done in another's area of influence.

1. The Apostle’s hope is that, as the church in that city
increased in faith, his apostolic influence would be
greatly enlarged to that Paul and his fellow ministers
would be able to move on to other lands beyond them to
preach the gospel there.

2. In this way, he faults these so-called “super-apostles”

for boasting of work that was done that had already
been done by those who had been assigned and given
this “area of influence” rather than them.

3. Rather than claiming the work of others for their own

boasting, instead he reminds them that we should boast
only in the Lord, and rather than coming one’s self, we
should seek to be commended by God instead:

17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For

it is not the one who commends himself who is
approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Conclusion

Church, as we have seen, authority is not to be claimed through

power plays of frightening destruction, commending ourselves
as being superior to others, or overextending one’s reach where
God has not assigned it to be.

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So I ask you again, what do you do when your authority is

challenged? We are prone to the same sins as the so-called
“super-apostles”. In particular, let us examine our roles as
teachers, parents, and church officers. Do you ever tried to
frighten others to gain their obedience? Do you seek to gain
authority over others by commending yourself as being superior
to others? And have you tried to overextend your authority where
it has not been established?

If so, repent and turn to the true King, Jesus Christ, who though he
was truly worthy of all authority, humbled himself to save proud,
unworthy usurpers like us. In closing, here the words of
Philippians 2:

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in

humility count others more significant than yourselves.
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to
the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in
the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of
a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being
found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on
him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let us pray.