Contending for the Faith

THE DANGER OF SELF ACCLAIM: LESSONS FROM THE STUDY OF 2 COR. 11:22-23.

By Ezekiel Kimosop

2 Corinthians 11:22-23 says “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.  23 Are they ministers of Christ? -- I speak as a fool -- I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.”

In my last article titled “The Peril of another Gospel” which I posted on this forum on 11th October 2019, we examined the danger of false apostles and their false gospel. I picked out the key text from 2 Corinthians 11:3-4. Paul was deeply concerned that the false teachers may corrupt the minds of the Corinthians and draw them away from the way of Christ.

In our study today, we continue to follow the trail of arguments that Paul captured in fending off the attacks of the false apostles who questioned his apostolic stature among the Gentile churches.

Where were these false apostles coming from? The Bible does not reveal their origin but we can pick out some of their characteristics from the passage.

Three key issues stand out in the above passage.

First, the identity of the false apostles is revealed. They are identified as Hebrew and Israelites. The reference to Hebrew here is significant. It demonstrates their faithfulness to the Jewish religious heritage. They were possibly Jewish religious scholars of repute in the same manner that Paul was. If this was the case then they were haughty and “bookish”. The reference to Israelites and seed of Abraham speaks of the covenant relationship for which Jews were often proud. It is not immediately clear why they sought to pick on this identity because Paul was a Jew from Tarsus and from the tribe of Benjamin.

This boasting was therefore a bluff. It may however have been intended to target the Gentile believers who had little knowledge of Paul’s background and who may have been aware that he once persecuted the church.

Secondly, Paul reveals that he had suffered more for the gospel than these teachers.
This possibly suggests that the false apostle were not involved in Christian missionary work which was more fraught with dangers of various descriptions. They were probably theological scholars from either Jerusalem or Alexandria, the two cradles of Jewish religious scholarship. Apollos who was described as “mighty in the Scriptures” was an Alexandrian Jew (Acts 18:24).

Thirdly, these ministers were proud and arrogant, claiming superiority over Paul yet none of them was called by Christ into the Gentile ministry. They were self appointed imposters who sought to discredit Paul’s ministry for their selfish ends.

There are many such imposters today.

Paul’s works stood out for all to see. He reached out to a far greater territory in Macedonia and Asia Minor under his missionary service among the Gentiles and finally paid the ultimate price for his faith (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

None of the other ministers including the Jerusalem apostles could compare with Paul in terms of ministry stature. Paul suffered much greater affliction for the gospel than any other apostle and was confined more times and for much longer than those in Jerusalem.

Paul wrote 13 Letters which today we find in the New Testament body of Scriptures. He is followed from a distance by John, one of the Jerusalem Apostles, who wrote four books of the Bible. Peter wrote only two Letters.

What is the moral of this passage?

Our service to the Lord is for His glory alone. We should not flaunt it before men in order to receive their praise.

Secondly, we cannot take on any ministry assignment that the Lord has not reserved for us. It is better to seek the face of the Lord for His leading than to assert oneself in another’s field.

Thirdly, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

In today’s world, we learn that behind any power wrangles in church ministry is the spirit of greed and self acclaim by those who seek greater space than God has ordained for them.

Jesus warns us in Matthew 23:5-8, saying “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.  6 "They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,  7 "greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  8 "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.”

It is our duty as children of God to be content with what God has assigned for us and to fulfill God’s purpose in our generation.

God does not demand more of us... and neither should we.


Shalom




© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019



For more articles by this writer please visit ezekielkimosop.blogspot.com