Indisputable Integrity
1 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

Introduction

Let me begin with a question. Don’t call out … just think about it in your mind. And the question is; what is my CORE job as your minister? If we were to drill right down to the very core of my job as your minister … what would that core be? Now what do I mean by core? Well IF we were to say my CORE job as a minister is to bring glory to God … that would be wrong. THAT … is my overarching job as a CHRISTIAN … as it is yours. My CORE job as a church minister comes UNDER that umbrella.

Well … ‘what about running this church Brendan? Is THAT your CORE job?’. Well that’s CERTAINLY what I’m paid to do. But my CORE job lies beneath running this church.

Ahhh. ‘It’s to shepherd the flock’. The WAY you run the church is to care for God’s people … shepherd God’s people. Again … definitely part of my job description. But not the core.

‘Hmmm … is it to preach God’s word?’ Like the main way ministers shepherd God’s PEOPLE is by bringing God’s WORD to bear on their lives. Again … all true. But again … we haven’t drilled deep enough. What lies at the very CORE of what I’m supposed to be doing here at Earlwood Anglican?

Well that’s the topic of our passage today. In this passage … the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians WHAT his main goal is in ministering to the Corinthains. And PAUL’S main goal … is MY main goal. Just as Paul was a shepherd to the Corinthian Christians … so I’m YOUR shepherd. So whatever it was Paul did to shepherd the Corinthians … that’s what I’M supposed to be doing to shepherd you.

But EVEN better … is that the core of MY job as the pastor of Earlwood Anglican is ALSO the core of YOUR job as a member of Earlwood Anglican. In v. 24 Paul says ‘we work with YOU …’. So WHILE this is arguably the most personal passage in the Pauline corpus … he talks a lot about himself … it ALSO talks about the Corinthians … and what THEIR core job description IS as a Christian.

Now the REASON Paul talks about himself in this passage is because the Corinthians have called his integrity into question. Like I mentioned last week … the occasion for this letter is that certain false teachers … who Paul refers to sarcastically as ‘super-apostles’ later in the letter … these ‘super-apostles’ had infiltrated the church in Corinth. They’d come with letters of recommendation … supposedly from the Jerusalem Apostles. But we know those letters of recommendation were fake … because the Jerusalem Apostles were in FELLOWSHIP with Paul. These ‘super-apostles’ had instead been bad-mouthing Paul.

And LAST week we saw that they badmouthed Paul due to the intense affliction he had suffered. They said ‘IF Paul really WERE God’s chosen tool … he wouldn’t be suffering this much’. But Paul FLIPPED that argument on it’s head and said ‘affliction is NECESSARY for authentic ministry’ (repeat). In TODAY’S passage … Paul flips their SECOND charge on it’s head.

And I’ve got 3 points to help us unpack this second charge today. We’re going to begin by looking at (i) WHAT Paul was being charged with … which in a nutshell was making plans in a fickle way. That’s their second charge. Making plans in a fickle way. We’ll then look at (ii) WHY it is that Paul changed his travel plans … point 2. And that will lead us into the heart of this passage … which is (iii) HOW Paul actually does his ministry. What is the core of Paul’s ministry … and therefore OURS? Is it Is it to make disciples? Is it to call people to the obedience of faith? Is it to help people grow in Christian maturity? Is it to love one another? Well let’s dive in and find out?

What Paul was being charged with (v. 12)

And our passage begins in quite a shocking way:

2 Corinthians 1:12 (NIV) Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity.

Why is this shocking? Because Paul is boasting. He’s showing off. Even at the BEST of times … showing off is an ugly trait … is it not? Just this week Trump said ‘I’m the BEST President for black Americans since Abraham Lincoln’. Now EVEN if that were true … leave it for someone else to say.

Proverbs 27:2 (NIV) Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

So what is Paul doing here? Why is he boasting? Well it has to do with WHAT Paul has been charged with. And what he’s been charged with is duplicity. These super-apostles have claimed that WHEN Paul says ‘yes’ to something … v. 17 … he secretly means ‘no’. It’s like when you bump into an old acquaintance in the street … and they say ‘we should TOTALLY catch up for a coffee sometime’. And you say ‘sure … how about next week’. And they say ‘oh … next week’s full sorry’. So you say ‘Oh … how about the week after’. And they say ‘ahhhh … how about I text you’ … as they make a quick exit. That’s what they’re charging Paul with. Saying ONE thing … while secretly meaning another.

But that STILL doesn’t explain why Paul is boasting. Like in 1 Corinthians 4 … Paul famously said TO these same Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NIV) I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 […]. It is the Lord who judges me.

So if Paul doesn’t CARE about what the Corinthians think about him … what is he doing boasting about his integrity? The reason is … the gospel is at stake here. You see Paul had preached the gospel message to the Corinthians. And if they begin to question Paul’s integrity … that will inevitably lead them to question Paul’s gospel message. Look at v. 18:

2 Corinthians 1:18-19 (NIV) But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas j and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”

You see if the Corinthians think Paul was being duplicitous about his travel plans … ‘he said “yes” to coming to visit … when SECRETLY he was thinking “no” … how can they trust that Paul wasn’t being duplicitous when preaching the gospel? What is of utmost importance to Paul … is that people say ‘Amen’ … ‘yes, that is true’ … to the gospel. Look at:

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Every prophesy or promise God made about the coming Messiah was fulfilled … was answered ‘yes’ in Christ. And what Paul wants … is that the Corinthians believe this gospel … say ‘Amen’ … which literally means ‘I agree’ … or ‘YES, that’s true’ … to the gospel. And that’s why Paul boasts about his integrity here. He’s been backed into a corner. If he lets this charge of duplicity just go unaddressed … it calls into question the Corinthians’ very salvation … their saying ‘Amen’ to the gospel.

And brothers and sisters … is there a more important reason to make sure WE conduct ourselves with absolute integrity. Like WORLDLY wisdom will tell us ‘don’t lie and cheat … or you’ll get a reputation as a liar and a cheat’. But what if lying or cheating will actually ENHANCE my reputation. What if lying and cheating will help me get that promotion? Worldly wisdom will then tell us TO lie and cheat? That’s why Paul says DON’T rely on worldly wisdom … v. 12. Instead … remember the gospel. Our ability to call people to flee the coming wrath … our ability to convince people that they NEED Jesus’s forgiveness … is directly tied to our integrity. The greatest damage done to the Christian gospel today … is not by Satan … or atheists … or persecution. It’s by Christians who lack integrity. So may WE conduct ourselves in the world with absolute integrity and godly sincerity. What does this mean?

It means don’t lie … ever. Even the little white lies damage the gospel.
Don’t cheat … ever. Even cheating on your tax return a little … dishonours the gospel.
Don’t listen to pirated music … or watch pirated movies. It opens the door for others to question our integrity.

May WE … as Christians of integrity … ensure that our ‘yes’ means ‘yes’ … always.

Why Paul changed his plans (v. 23)

So … IF Paul was acting with integrity and godly sincerity when he changed his travel plans … WHY did he change his plans? Well the PROBLEM with this second question is it requires us to read between the lines a bit. You see Paul doesn’t spell out all the details. Why? Because the Corinthians already knew them. In the movie Austin Powers … there’s a character literally called ‘Exposition’. An his job is to explain to the audience … in a not-so-subtle way … the plot of the movie. Unlike Hollywood … Paul doesn’t go in for this not-so-subtle exposition. So we need to piece it together from what Paul DOES give us. And what he DOES give us begins in v. 16:

2 Corinthians 1:16 (NIV) I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.

So his initial travel plans were for a double visit … or as the Greek literally says in v. 15 … a ‘second grace’. But during his FIRST grace … his FIRST visit … something happened. Now we’re not given the details … but as the NIV heading at chapter 2 v. 5 suggests … someone did something wrong. Our BEST guess … is someone at the church said something offensive about PAUL … and the rest of the church just sat there. We believe no one came to Paul’s defence. And that’s not OK. The NT says if you bring a charge against a minister publicly … it better be a serious charge … and you better have serious evidence. Hebrews 13 commands that Christians SUBMIT to their leaders. Bringing frivolous charges against a minister … does NOTHING but make their job a burden. And if a minister is burdened by frivolous or baseless charges … he WON’T be focussing on his CORE job.

And the Corinthians seem to have made Paul’s job a burden in some way. And he felt duty bound to address that. NOW … how do you confront a whole church about something they’ve done wrong? Like … it’s not like we can get our best friend to go and break-up with them FOR us … at recess? What do you do? Well Paul COULD have addressed them personally on his return visit. He’s already organised a ‘second grace’ on his way back from Macedonia. But a public dressing down would have resulted in grief … rather than grace … 2:2.

And so what Paul did … was he wrote them a letter. Now this letter has since been lost. It’s not in the Bible. Truth be told … we believe Paul wrote a total of FOUR letters to the Corinthians. So technically … 2 Corinthians should be called 4 Corinthians … because it’s Paul’s FOURTH letter to them. But given we have 1 & 2 Corinthians … let’s call this lost letter 1.5 Corinthains. And 1.5 Corinthians was a letter of rebuke … over what the Corinthians did to Paul during his first visit. And Paul WROTE 1.5 Corinthians because Paul felt it would be easier on the Corinthians. Given his FIRST visit turned out to be painful … 2:1 … he decided to spare them a SECOND painful visit. What Paul wanted … was for this now lost letter to do its job in calling the Corinthians to repentance … so that when Paul DID finally visit them … it would be a joyous visit:

2 Corinthians 2:3 (NIV) I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.

So this passage has a SECOND important application for us today. The FIRST is to conduct ourselves with utmost integrity … so that others will LISTEN to our gospel message. The second … is WHEN we have to confront someone about their sin … do it in a way that will be of greatest benefit to THEM. OK … WHEN someone hurts us … there’s a temptation to want to hurt them back. We can even baptise this temptation … make it SOUND like we’re doing the Christian thing … by confronting them … in a harsh way. But that’s not what Paul did. Paul chose the path that would push THROUGH the grief … confronting someone WILL include grief. But Paul wanted to push THROUGH that grief … and back to joy.

2 Corinthians 2:3 (NIV) … I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.

So our SECOND piece of application for today is then. WHEN we have to confront someone over their sin … do it from a place of wanting mutual joy … rather than mutual grief. And that will mean getting ourselves in the right head space before we even open our mouth. We must rid ourselves of all pride, judgment and self-righteousness. Looking DOWN on them won’t result in mutual joy. And THEN … we chose the words and the tone … that will best lead THROUGH grief … THROUGH repentance … back to mutual joy.

How Paul does ministry (v. 24)

And herein lies the CORE of Paul’s ministry. If we were to drill right down to the very core of Paul’s job description … HOW Paul does his ministry … what do we find?

2 Corinthians 1:24 (NIV) Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy

Paul’s CORE job as a shepherd … was to work WITH the Corinthians … for their JOY. And that’s MY core job as YOUR minister. To work with you for your JOY. Do you understand that’s our Vision Statement at Earlwood Anglican. Does everyone KNOW our Vision Statemen? Do you know WHY you come here each Sunday? Do you know what your CORE job is … as a member of this church? If you drill right down to the bottom of your existence as a Christian … what do you find? What is your CORE job? What is the meaning of life? Because if you don’t know the meaning of life … then you are almost certainly doing life WRONG.

Our Vision Statement is on the screen EVERY week when you come into church. So every Sunday when you come in and sit down … you can look up at the screen and remind yourself of WHY you’re here. Not just why you’re here at church … but why you’re here on this PLANET. OK … our Vision Statement is:

We exist to bring glory to God by calling all to delight in Him as their ultimate treasure.

And how do we KNOW that’s the meaning of life? Here it is in 2 Corinthians 1:24. Paul’s CORE job as a shepherd … my core job as your shepherd … is to:

2 Corinthians 1:24 (NIV) … work with you for your joy

That means YOUR core job as a member of this church is to work with ME … and work with each other for your JOY. That’s why I labour for you:

It’s why I stay up late writing a sermon each week
It’s why I work hard to make our services flow
It’s why I run Alpha
Or write Bible studies
Or meet up with people during the week

It’s how I love you. Look at the last verse:

2 Corinthians 2:4 (NIV) For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Paul LOVED the Corinthians. And the WAY he loved them was to work with them for their joy. But please understand … it’s NOT joy in God’s STUFF. Now that doesn’t mean we’re not ALLOWED to enjoy:

Food and fashion
Music and movies
Sport and shows
We’re SUPPOSED to enjoy the beach and the mountains
Rest and recreation
Lazing by the pool or sky diving

But they’re not our ultimate treasure. And if we MAKE them our ultimate treasure … then we’re doing life wrong. What I want MOST for you … what I talk about till I’m a broken record with you … is that we’re delighting in GOD as your ultimate treasure. Because in the end … that’s what Jesus wants for you as well. Did you know that when Jesus walked this earth … he prayed a prayer for YOU.

John 17:20 (NIV) “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

And what was Jesus’ prayer for YOU?

John 17:24 (NIV) “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory,

What Jesus wants for you … is to see … experience and enjoy His glory. And do you know what is MOST glorious about Jesus? His scars. Have you ever wondered WHY Jesus kept his scars after his resurrection? Remember he TOLD his disciples to feel his hands and his feet … from where the nails went in. Why is it that Jesus’ resurrection body … his perfect body … fit for eternity … has SCARS? Why is it when John sees Jesus in heaven … in Revelation 5 … he says he saw a lamb that looked like it had been slain? Why does Jesus keep his scars?

It's so every time we look at Jesus … for ALL eternity … we’re reminded of what it cost him to LET us enjoy his glory. Jesus’ death is what LET’S us into heaven. So Jesus’ scars make him even MORE beautiful … even MORE glorious.

Conclusion

And so our final piece of application for today … is to work with me … work with each other … for our mutual JOY. In v. 2 Paul says he wants the Corinthians to make HIM glad … and in v. 3 he says he wants the Corinthians to share HIS joy. That’s how love works. We are to work together for our mutual joy.

And that joy comes from enjoying Jesus’ glory … seen most clearly in his scars. This is why I preach the gospel EVERY WEEK. To show us Jesus’ scars. So:

When we’re reading the Bible at home … meditate on how that passage reminds us of Jesus’ scars
When we listen to Christian music … praise Jesus for his scars
When we go to Bible study … remind each other of Jesus’ scars.
When we pray … thank God for Jesus’ scars
And when come to church … celebrate Jesus’ scars with your church family.

Until we SEE Jesus’ glory by SIGHT in heaven … we have to see his glory through the means in which he’s given us. And AS we do that … AS we meditate on the lengths Jesus went to … the depths of despair he was willing to endure … so that we could enjoy his glory … well that IS the joy we’re to pursue. So … what is our CORE job as Christians? What is the meaning of life?