Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20010923.htm

2 CORINTHIANS: OVERCOMING WHEN GOD'S SERVANT FACES RESISTANCE
Part XVI: Insight When The Ministry Credibility Of God's Servant Is Questioned
(2 Corinthians 10:1-18)
  1. Introduction
    1. When a believer has been led by God to minister in a certain capacity, either he or others may come to question the credibility of his ministry or of even God's assigning him to that particular work.
    2. In such a case, not only those to whom he ministers may vote him out his job or he himself might resign from the position in the belief he misunderstood God's initial leading regarding the assignment.
    3. The Apostle Paul faced such a crisis, and his insight from God is invaluable for similar challenges today:
  2. Insight When The Ministry Credibility Of God's Servant Is Questioned, 2 Corinthians 10:1-18.
    1. Paul faced a challenge in the opinion of fellow believers arising from false apostle competitors, 10:1-2:
      1. Paul was countered by false apostles who influenced the Corinthian believers to disrespect him for not having the same humanly awesome bearing as they did, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10 (Bib. Kno. Com., N.T., p. 576)
      2. His critics saw Paul errantly by viewing him only in earthly terms -- they dismissed his message because of what human frailty they saw in his bearing in worship meetings, 2 Corinthians 10:2, 10.
    2. Paul had God's insight on this issue so he could keep ministering in God's will (as follows), 10:3-18:
      1. Paul settled in his own mind his proper role and calling in the face of the criticism spread about the Corinthian Church by false apostle competitors by viewing himself from God's perspective, 10:3-6:
        1. Paul did not deny his natural, human frailty, but freely admitted it existed, 10:3a (Gal. 5:16-23).
        2. He also refused to defend these human liabilities, but focused only on the use of his spiritual gifts as the meaningful, substantive part of his ministry, 2 Corinthians 10:3b.
        3. In dependence upon the Holy Spirit, Paul conquered wrong false apostolic reasoning (imaginations), resisting the will and efforts of his opponents in captivating his listeners' thinking to Christ's truths. He thus saw God judge his opponents for countering his ministry, 10:5-6; 2 Chr. 36:15-16.
      2. Having thus used God's view, Paul addressed his critics' errant viewpoint as follows, 2 Cor. 10:7-18:
        1. [Paul had effectively reminded his false apostle critics and sympathizers that his delivery carried the humility and gentleness of Christ's ministry style! Hence, to criticize Paul's delivery was also to criticize the Lord's earthly ministry style as well, a very godless thing to do, 2 Cor. 10:1a.]
        2. Paul thus charged his opponents with carnal and hence invalid methods of evaluating him, 10:7a.
        3. Before his critics, Paul declared his ministry was of God, 2 Corinthians 10:7b, 8-11.
        4. He then faulted the evaluation by which his false apostle critics and their sympathizers had critiqued him: (a) Paul noted his critics weighed his human abilities against their own in gauging his success, 2 Cor. 10:10, 12. Paul conversely used no human criteria. (b) Though his false apostle opponents had grossly overstepped God's leading in geographical bounds to compete against him, Paul served only in the ministry God had given him within his geographical assignment, 10:13-14, Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 577-578. (c) Paul did not boast in other men's labors as had the false apostles in trying to make Paul's Corinthian converts their own followers; Paul focused on reaching the unreached instead, 2 Cor. 10:15-16. (d) Paul boasted only in what God had achieved in his ministry unlike his false apostle opponents who boasted in themselves, 2 Cor. 10:17-18 with 10:12.
Lesson: (1) When the question arises as to whether a worker has been led of God into a certain ministry, or is DOING God's will in it, ALL of those involved are (1) NOT to (a) use a HUMAN value system to evaluate him (b) lest he REACT to perform a carnal work or (c) think himself a failure for not measuring up to the FALSE HUMAN standard and errantly resign from the assignment! (2) Rather, ALL involved should (a) adopt God's SPIRITUAL view (b) to focus on the party's SPIRITUAL gift and (c) GOD'S leading re: his assignment, (d) looking to GOD to make him succeed in the process! (3) Also, be sure that those who PROMOTE the false view will be disciplined by God, 2 Chr. 36:15-16!

Application: (1) There is an EARTHLY value system of ministry to SHUN and a GODLY one to USE, and WHICH one we use in evaluating ours or another's ministry affects IF we gain God's BLESSING! (2) Let us then be careful to use the RIGHT one as we will give an account to God for this CHOICE!