The Sermon Notes of Harold Buls
On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia
Text from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Trinity VII
1. From the context in this epistle we learn that the Corinthian Christians
had compared Paul with the false teachers who had come to them. In
comparison to them, they said, Paul was inferior. As in the case with the
Galatian Christians (see Galatians 1-2) Paul defended his apostleship. He
insists that with reference to his apostleship he is _not_ inferior. In fact,
says he, he is superior to the itinerant preachers who came to Corinth.
2. In verses 2-5 Paul distinguished "two persons" within himself. In verses
2-4 he speaks of that person who had received revelations directly from God.
Fourteen years before he wrote this epistle he was snatched up to the third
heaven, which he calls "paradise" in verse 4, the very word Jesus used of
heaven at Luke 23:43. It was so wonderful, he says, that he did not know
whether he was or wasn't in his body. There he heard utterances which no
man is allowed to speak, he says. Then in verse 5 Paul distinguishes the two
persons in himself. The person who was caught up to paradise will boast. But,
Paul, apart from these visions can boast only in his weaknesses. This is a
great comfort to us. We are not apostles. We have not received special
visions. Therefore we have nothing of which to boast. But we are sinners like
Paul. In that sense we cannot boast except in our weaknesses, a great
paradox.
3. The precise translation of verse 6 is as follows: "Even if I _should_
choose to boast, I _would_ not be a fool, because I _would_ be speaking the
truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by
what I do or say." Paul could say more about his being carried up to paradise,
the third heaven, but he chooses not to. He wants to be judged by his actions
and words. One Lutheran commentator says here: "He wants the facts of his
laborious and painful life in the service of the Gospel to speak for
themselves. . .a true servant of Christ does not seek honor for himself, does
not want to base the reputation he enjoys upon his own statements, but upon
that which every right-minded person sees in him and hears of him. His one
effort is always, in word and deed, to prove himself a faithful servant of
Christ." The Lord wanted Paul to remain utterly humble and wanted no one to
think more highly of Paul than what he saw of Paul in actual contact with
Paul.
4. Because of the abundance of these revelations and especially the time he
was caught up to paradise, lest Paul would exalt himself, God gave him a
thorn in the flesh. What this was we do not know but it was a constant
irritation which buffeted him like a boxer. After a vision of paradise now God
sends him a messenger of Satan as He sent to Job, chapter 2. Sinful human
beings love to glory in spiritual experiences and brag about them. That is
dangerous for us and others.
5. Satan was in the thorn. Three times Paul begged God to have Satan let Paul
alone. We are reminded of Jesus in Gethsemane, Matthew 26:44; Hebrews 5:7-
8. Jesus learned obedience. Both Jesus and Paul learned to say: "Thy will, not
mine, be done."
6. In verse 9 Paul preserves the very words of God's answer: "My grace is all
you need. For strength is brought to its goal in weakness." Paul answers by
saying either that he would rather boast about his weaknesses than complain
about them or that he would rather boast about his weaknesses than about
his visions.
7. What is Paul saying in verse 9? Paul is simply talking about confessing
his sins and confessing his Savior. To be effective, pastors need to be
humble. And this means to be contrite about sins and confident about what
Christ did. This is true of all Christians. It is attractive.
8. If you refuse to admit and confess your utter weakness you will never
know what it means to be strong in the Lord. Satan and godless men bring
insults, persecution and calamities into my life. But, whenever I am weak,
then am I strong. Human weakness provides the opportunity for divine power.
Read Hebrews 12:4-11.
The Sermon Outline of Harold Buls
On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia
Text from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Trinity VII
THEME: The Kind of Boasting Which the Lord Desires
INTRODUCTION
At 1 Corinthians 1:31 Paul says: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord" and
at 3:21 he says "Let no one boast in people." That summarizes it. When sinful
people boast of themselves and their experiences they hurt themselves and
others. But when they boast only in the Lord and what He has done for man
they walk the way to everlasting life and are beneficial to others. Our text is
a good example of this.
I. HE DOES NOT WANT US TO BOAST OF OUR EXPERIENCES
A. even though the experiences are from God. God gave Paul special
visions and revelations so that he could do his work. God revealed the
truths which are found in Paul's Epistles. He says that he was caught up
to the third heaven, the highest heaven. He says that he was caught up
to Paradise, the very presence of God. The experiences were more than
human words can describe. God wanted Paul to use these experiences
humbly in his work for other people.
B. It is dangerous to boast about them. Paul gives two reasons:
1. Twice in verse 7 he mentions that there was danger that he would
become puffed up with pride. The visions were God-given gifts. But to
boast about them would have filled Paul with pride. He would have
lost his faith and soul. We see that happening today too. God gives
an individual a special gift which is to be used in the Lord's
service. But the individual boasts rather than use the gift humbly
and with all glory to God. That is very, very dangerous.
2. Paul did not want anyone to form an estimate of him which went
beyond the evidence of his own eyes and ears, verse 6. People
observed Paul by what he did and said. That is always the way people
observe each other. In word and deed a Christian must always prove
himself a faithful servant of the Lord. Anything that goes beyond
that creates suspicion and uneasiness. And that is why Paul refrained
from talking about his visions and revelations. He wrote down what
God wanted him to write and said no more. In all other respects he
confessed himself an unworthy forgiven sinner.
II. HE WANTS US TO BOAST ONLY IN THE LORD
A. because of what He has done _for_ us. This is stated in the words:
"My grace is sufficient for you." The word "grace" here is used the
sense of saving grace as at Ephesians 2:10 "By grace you are saved
through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast." It is the forgiveness of sins, the
gift of Jesus Christ. Nothing can separate us from this love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We can live forever without our
experiences but we cannot be saved without the saving grace of God in
Christ.
B. because of what He has done _in_ us. There are times when we do not
understand the ways of the Lord with us. The Lord sent Paul a thorn in
the flesh to keep him humble. Paul begged the Lord three times to remove
this thorn in the flesh. But the Lord said: "No, it is for your good. In
this way My strength is brought to its goal in your weaknesses." The
thorn made Paul very conscious of his weaknesses. It made him lean
heavily on the grace of God. It gave him no time to think about his
wonderful spiritual experiences. Finally Paul began to see that the
thorn was for his good, not for his evil. The Lord Jesus had a similar
experience. When He was in the Garden of Gethsemane He begged the Lord
to take the cup of suffering from Him. But the Lord refused. The cup of
suffering saved the whole world.
C. because it prepares us to deal with other people properly. Paul says
in verse 6 that he refrained from boasting about his visions lest he
would make himself uninviting to others. And then he speaks about the
thorn in the flesh. Likewise we should thank the Lord for making us
inviting to others, people who confess their sins and unworthiness
before men and God, humble people who attract others to Christ.
CONCLUSION
Learn from Christ and Paul that humility is the way of the Christian and that
it attracts others to Christ and us.
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This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg
by Marilyn F. Gardner and is in the public domain by permission
of Dr. Buls. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text.
Please direct any comments or suggestions to:
Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
Concordia Theological Seminary
E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu
Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA
Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126
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