West Willow Community Church

Portrait Of The Godly from Don Tines on Vimeo.

Portrait Of The Godly

TEXT: II Corinthians 1:15-2:4

THESIS: Seven attitudes that are the benchmark of spiritual character.

INTRODUCTION: Our society often judges people by what they do, not by their character. For sports heroes, movie stars, businessmen, or politicians, it is performance, not principle, that counts. Sadly, that pragmatic outlook has even infiltrated the church. Pastors, for example, are evaluated by the outward trappings of success—the size of their congregations, their success as fund-raisers, the extent of their radio or TV ministries, how well their books sell, or their influence in the public arena. But such external criteria (by which many false teachers and cult leaders could be judged successful) do not impress God. Unlike “man [who] looks at the outward appearance, . . . the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). It is not what a man does that makes him a noble and useful pastor, but what he is.
The apostle Paul had all the external marks of success. He was the greatest missionary the world has ever known, used by God to initially spread the gospel and plant churches throughout the Roman world. God also inspired him to write thirteen New Testament books, nine of them to those churches. The many congregations he founded held him in the highest regard as their spiritual father and teacher. He lived a life that was observably above reproach, as his conscience testified. Yet he knew that the true measure of a man of God is not his external success or reputation but God’s evaluation of his heart.
Second Corinthians is Paul’s defense of his genuineness and spiritual integrity. In 1:12-14 he gave a general defense of his personal righteousness. Paul’s conscience exonerated him of all the false charges leveled against him. His personal life, relationships with others, and ministry were all above reproach.
In this passage Paul answers the specific charge that he was not trustworthy. The false apostles claimed that Paul did not always speak the truth, but was unfaithful, fickle, and vacillating. They trumped-up a charge with the flimsiest, most trivial evidence: a change in Paul’s travel plans.
Instead of merely explaining why he made that change in plans, Paul dealt with the deeper issue of his integrity and truthfulness. By so doing, he provided a priceless portrait of a Godly Man or Woman. Here is revealed for us seven attitudes that are the benchmarks of spiritual character.

SCRIPTURE READING: PRAYER:

I. The First Quality of A Spiritual Man or Woman is Loyalty. Vs. 15-16
15 Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. 16 I planned 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. (1:15-16)

A. The only reason Paul planned to visit the Corinthians in the first place was his loyalty to them.

1. Despite the rebellion against him in the Corinthian congregation, Paul believed the majority was still loyal to him.
2. In 1 Cor. 16:5-6, Paul wrote that he intended to leave Ephesus, minister in Macedonia, then come to spend the winter with the believers in Corinth.
3. After writing 1 Corinthians, Paul decided to change his plan stopping at Corinth before going to Macedonia so that they might have the blessing of fellowship with him before and after his Macedonian trip.
a. According to this revised travel plan, Paul would pass through Corinth on his way into Macedonia, and again on his way back from Macedonia.
b. The Corinthians would then help him on his journey to Judea.
c. This second visit to Corinth was further evidence of Paul’s love and loyalty to the believers there.

B. Paul had to cancel the first visit and revert to his original plan of visiting Corinth only after ministering in Macedonia.

1. Paul’s enemies pounced on this minor change in travel plans and accused him of being untrustworthy and fickled.
2. These false teachers argued that if Paul’s statements about his travel plans were untrustworthy, why should the Corinthians believe his theological statements?
3. Paul was not fickle. His circumstances changed but not his heart attitude.
4. Here Paul affirms that he is loyal to his flock.
5. He would always do whatever he could for their spiritual benefit, as the Corinthians had ample evidence to prove.

II. The Second Quality Of A Spiritual Man Or Woman is Honesty Vs. 17-18
17 When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, “Yes, yes” and “No, no”? 18 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” (1:17-18)
A. Loyalty without honesty makes you an co-conspirator and an accomplice, the get-away driver.

1. Paul’s accusers also questioned his honesty.
a. Paul was likely quoting one of their accusations when he denied that he was guilty of vacillating in what he had said he intended to do.
b. The apostle found it incredible that anyone would construe a change in travel plans as evidence of a dishonest character.
c. Certainly the Corinthians were not slighted by Paul’s change in plans; the two visits became instead one long visit.
2. Paul said in effect, “Was I vacillating when I intended to do this? No way!”
a. He was no shifty opportunist; no shallow, fickle, frivolous liar.
b. Paul did not make plans in purely human fashion.
c. He did not seek to please himself, to make decisions to suit his own selfish interests.
d. He did not talk out of both sides of his mouth; his words were not yes, yes and no, no at the same time.
e. After closely observing Paul’s life during his more than eighteen months in their city, the Corinthians had plenty of reason to affirm that he was an honest man.

B. To support his claim to honesty, Paul emphatically declared, God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.

1. He may have been taking an oath, boldly calling God as faithful witness to his truthfulness.
2. Jesus did not forbid all taking of oaths in Matt 5:33-37, only deceptive ones meant to misrepresent true intention for the sake of some personal gain.
3. During His trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus even allowed Himself to be placed under oath by the high priest (Matt 26:63-64).
4. Paul’s point is that God is truthful, and he, as God’s representative, is also truthful. No matter how his plans changed, Paul remained both loyal and honest.

III. The Third Quality Of A Spiritual Man Or Woman is Reliability Vs. 19-20
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 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. (1:19-20)

A. Throughout the history of the church heretics have assaulted the nature of Christ and the false teachers at Corinth were no exception.

1. Having accused Paul of being untrustworthy because of his change in travel plans, they also alleged that his teaching on the Lord Jesus was untrustworthy.
2. Responding to their attack on his Lord, Paul emphasized Christ’s nature as the God-man by using the full, rich title the Son of God, Christ Jesus.

B. Paul was not the only one who preached the truths of the Son of God to the Corinthians; Silvanus and Timothy had preached the message to them.

1. Silas was a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church.
a. The Jerusalem Council entrusted him to carry its decision to the church at Antioch (Acts 15:22).
b. He later became Paul’s companion on the apostle’s second missionary journey, replacing Barnabas (Acts 15:39-40).
2. Timothy was Paul’s beloved son in the faith.
a. As the son of a Jewish Christian mother and a pagan Gentile father (Acts 16:1), he was uniquely qualified to minister alongside the apostle.
b. Both Silvanus and Timothy had ministered with Paul at Corinth (Acts 18:5).
c. Their preaching was not untrustworthy, it was not yes and no, but was a firm, unwavering, resounding yes to God’s truth in Jesus Christ.

C. Paul sums up the glory of Christ by reminding the Corinthians that as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes.

1. All of God’s salvation promises—of blessing, peace, joy, goodness, fellowship, forgiveness, strength, and hope of eternal life—are yes, meaning they all come true, in Christ.
2. They are all made possible by His person and work.
3. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples, “All things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).
4. In 1 Cor 1:30 Paul declared that “Christ Jesus . . . became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”

D. Then Paul drove home the point of his argument by reminding the Corinthians, Therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

1. Amen is a solemn affirmation of the truthfulness of a statement.
2. When Paul, Silas, and Timothy preached the gospel, it was all about Christ, who by His glorious work brings to pass all salvation realities.
3. The Corinthians probably even had joined in saying Amen to the glory of God.
4. The congregation had affirmed that the preachers reliably spoke God’s truth about Christ when they believed the gospel message Paul and his companions preached, and it transformed their lives.
5. How utterly absurd, Paul argued, to accept and experience the gospel message as reliable, but consider those who preached it unreliable.
6. How ridiculous to trust Paul’s word about eternal things, but not about mundane things like travel plans.

IV. The Fourth Quality Of A Spiritual Man Or Woman is Authenticity Vs. 21-22
21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (1:21-22)

A. Paul’s ultimate claim to integrity and authenticity as God’s messenger and Christ’s apostle was not his loyalty, honesty, reliability, or any other personal feature; it was what God had done in his life.

B. Paul described four works God had done in the life of every believer.

1. First, God establishes believers in Christ at salvation.
a. This is the work of saving grace that puts believers into union with Him and with each other.
b. Paul’s authenticity was linked with that of the Corinthians, and to deny it was to deny the reality of their own spiritual life.
c. Because they were fellow members of the body of Christ, by attacking Paul’s authenticity, the Corinthians ripped the fabric of the church’s spiritual unity.
d. Since Paul was their spiritual father, to deny his authenticity was, figuratively, to saw off the branch on which they were sitting.
2. Second, God anointed believers.
a. To anoint someone is to commission them for service
b. The verb “anointed” appears four other times in the New Testament, each time in a passage referring to Christ.
c. The related noun ‎‎describes the anointing all believers have when they receive from Christ the Holy Spirit, who guides, empowers, and teaches them.
3. Third, God sealed believers.
a. “sealed” refers to stamping an identifying mark on something
b. Here, as in Eph 1:13; 4:30, and 2 Tim 2:19, it refers to believers’, stamped as God’s, receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9), whose presence identifies them as God’s true and eternal possession, whom He will protect and keep.
4. Fourth, God gave His Spirit as a pledge.
a. The indwelling Holy Spirit is not only the anointing and seal but also the down payment or guarantee of believers’ eternal inheritance (cf. 1 Peter 1:4), the first installment of future glory.
b. Later in this epistle Paul wrote, “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose [believers’ eternal existence in heaven; is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge” (2 Cor 5:5).
c. To the Ephesians he wrote, “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:13-14).

C. God sets believers on unshakable and eternal ground when it comes to salvation.

1. God has guaranteed that promise of eternal inheritance through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
2. How foolish it was, in light of Paul’s preaching those glorious, eternal divine realities, to question his legitimacy as an apostle because of a minor change in his travel plans!

V. The Fifth Quality Of A Spiritual Man Or Woman is Sensitivity Vs. 1:23 – 2:1
23 I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. 1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. (1:23-2:1)

A. Only after defending his integrity by affirming his loyalty, honesty, reliability, and authenticity did Paul finally explain why he changed his travel plans.

1. He prefaced his explanation with the solemn oath I call God as witness to my soul.
a. The apostle appealed to God to verify the truth of what he was about to write and to judge him if he were lying.
b. It was to spare the Corinthians the rod of discipline that Paul came no more to Corinth.
2. He mercifully wanted to give them time to correct the problems he wrote of in 1 Corinthians.
a. Also, some at Corinth were guilty of being led into mutiny (the mutiny that prompted Paul to write the “severe letter” referred to in 2 Cor 2:4) against him by the false teachers who had come to the church, and he wanted to give them time to repent.
b. The apostle was also hoping for a good report from Titus about the Corinthians’ repenting and rejecting the false apostles in favor of him before visiting them.
c. That report, a positive one as Paul hoped, is described in 7:6ff.
d. The apostle displayed great patience and sensitivity toward the Corinthians.

B. Sensitive to avoid unnecessary conflict, Paul quickly added the very positive disclaimer, “Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy.”

1. Paul never abused his apostolic authority to gain prestige or power, or to further his own selfish aims.
2. His goal, even in disciplining the unruly Corinthians, was the joy that holiness would bring them.
3. Paul was confident that in their faith (their salvation) the Corinthians were standing firm (cf. Rom 5:2; 1 Cor 15:1; Gal 5:1; Phil 1:27).
4. He claimed no authority over their faith, which was a private matter between them and God.
5. Saving faith is a personal matter between the believer and the Lord.
a. No one but the Lord has authority over that relationship.
b. Salvation is an individual matter and does not come through a hierarchical ecclesiastical organization.

C. Paul was determined not come to the Corinthians in sorrow.

1. The apostle was referring to a painful visit he had earlier made to Corinth.
2. Learning of the false prophets’ arrival, Paul left Ephesus and hurried to Corinth to deal with the situation.
3. The visit was not a success; in fact, someone (possibly one of the false apostles) openly insulted Paul and the Corinthians did not defend him.
4. It was that painful visit that had prompted Paul to write the “severe letter” he referred to in 2:4.
5. By giving the Corinthians time to repent, Paul hoped to avoid another painful encounter with them.
6. Thus, his change in travel plans was not motivated by fickleness and unreliability, as the false teachers claimed, but by Paul’s sensitivity toward his beloved church.

VI. The Sixth Quality Of A Spiritual Man Or Woman is Purity Vs. 2-3
2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3 I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. (2:2-3)

A. Paul’s sensitivity and patience with the Corinthians did not mean that he was unwilling to discipline them if they did not repent.

1. His zeal for the purity of the church made him willing to cause them sorrow if necessary.
2. If he did, the only thing that would make him glad would be the repentance of those whom he made sorrowful.
3. It was his concern for purity in the Corinthian church that prompted the letters he wrote them (cf. 2:9; 7:8).
4. Paul, of course, hoped they would repent, so that when he came to Corinth he would not have sorrow from those who ought to make him rejoice.
5. But, unlike many in the evangelical church today, Paul did not place church unity above truth and holiness.
6. He was willing to confront unrepentant sin, even at the cost of his own joy.

B. Paul hoped the sinful issues he confronted in his letters would be settled before he again visited Corinth, and he had confidence that they would be.

1. If They repented his joy would be the joy of them all; they could not have mutual joy as long as the Corinthians continued in sin.
2. Paul’s expression of confidence in the Corinthians was also meant to encourage the majority of the congregation, who looked to him as their revered spiritual leader.
3. That his confidence was not misplaced became evident when Titus returned from Corinth with news that the majority had repented (7:6-16.).

C. Sensitivity and the desire to avoid unnecessary confrontation must always be balanced with a commitment to the purity of the church.

1. We’re going to deal with church disciple later in this letter.
2. For now it is safe to say that avoiding confrontation doesn’t maintain purity it only allows sin to fester and grow.

VII. The Seventh Quality Of A Spiritual Man Or Woman is Love Vs. 4
4 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. (2:4)

A. It took real love, not sentimentalism, for Paul to confront sin.

1. Writing 1 Corinthians and especially the “severe letter” caused him much affliction and anguish of heart and many tears.
2. Nothing is more painful for a pastor than confronting sin in his beloved congregation.
3. Paul’s goal in writing was not so that they would be made sorrowful, but that the Corinthians might know the love which he had especially for them.
4. He took no pleasure in their sorrow but desired that it would bring them to repentance (cf. 7:10) and joy.
5. The apostle exemplified the truth of Prov 27:6: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”

B. The lying teachers were dead wrong about Paul. He was not an untrustworthy deceiver, and to take a trivial issue and attempt to use it to discredit his ministry was reprehensible.

1. As he examined his heart honestly before God, Paul found loyalty, honesty, reliability, authenticity, sensitivity, purity, and love—the traits that mark all godly pastors.
2. These are not only marks of a godly pastor they are to be characteristics in every faithful follower of Jesus Christ.