Defending the Ministry

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray came back from a two-week trip to Nepal with a lot to say, and it shaped the entire message. He walked through 2 Corinthians 10 and 11, where Paul defends his ministry against false teachers in Corinth, and then he laid his Nepal experience alongside it to show that the same kind of distortion Paul was fighting is still happening today. Paul opens chapters 10 and 11 with a sharp change...

Read together

1. 2 Corinthians 10:1 Paul entreats by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, saying he is humble face to face but bold when away
2. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 weapons of warfare not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds and take every thought captive to obey Christ
3. 2 Corinthians 10:7 if anyone is confident he is Christ's, let him remind himself that so also are we
4. 2 Corinthians 10:8 Paul's authority given for building up, not destroying
5. 2 Corinthians 10:10 opponents say his letters are weighty and strong but his bodily presence is weak and his speech of no account
6. 2 Corinthians 10:11 what we say by letter when absent, we do when present
7. 2 Corinthians 10:12 those who measure and compare themselves with one another are without understanding
8. 2 Corinthians 11:1-2 Paul feels divine jealousy having betrothed the Corinthians as a pure virgin to Christ
9. 2 Corinthians 11:3 afraid their thoughts will be led astray from sincere devotion to Christ as the serpent deceived Eve
10. 2 Corinthians 11:4 warning against someone proclaiming another Jesus, a different spirit, or a different gospel
11. 2 Corinthians 11:5 Paul considers himself not inferior to the super apostles
12. 2 Corinthians 11:6 even if unskilled in speaking, Paul is not so in knowledge
13. 2 Corinthians 11:7 Paul asks if he sinned by preaching the gospel free of charge to humble himself so they might be exalted
14. 2 Corinthians 11:8-9 Paul robbed other churches accepting support from them, brothers from Macedonia supplied his need
15. 2 Corinthians 11:16 Paul asks them to bear with him in a little foolishness
16. 2 Corinthians 11:20 they bear it if someone makes a slave of them, devours them, takes advantage, puts on airs, or strikes them
17. 2 Corinthians 11:21-23 Paul boasts he is a Hebrew, Israelite, offspring of Abraham, and a better servant of Christ
18. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 Paul lists his sufferings: imprisonments, beatings, stoning, shipwreck, dangers, hunger, cold
19. 2 Corinthians 11:28 beyond physical sufferings, his daily anxiety for all the churches
20. Galatians 1:8-9 if anyone preaches a gospel contrary to what was received, let him be accursed
21. Matthew 28:19-20 the Great Commission to make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded
22. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 read at the Advent candle lighting: may the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way
23. Romans 11:33,36 closing benediction: oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, from him and through him and to him are all things
24. Romans 15:13 closing benediction: may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing

Talk about it

1. Paul says he is 'humble when face to face' but 'bold when away' in his letters. When have you found it easier to speak hard truths from a distance than in person, and what does that tell you about how we handle conflict in the church?
2. Paul lists 38 commands of Christ and says the Great Commission is about 'teaching them to obey,' not just teaching them what to believe. Looking at your own life, which of the commands of Christ do you find hardest to actually live out, and why?
3. Paul calls out the 'super apostles' for comparing their ministry numbers with one another, saying 'they are completely without understanding.' What does it look like in practice to measure the health of a church or a ministry without falling into that trap?
4. Pastor Ray described what he saw in Nepal as a 'dead form of the gospel' that could inoculate people against the real thing. What do you think is the difference between a sincere call on the name of Jesus and the kind of coerced response he witnessed, and why does that difference matter?
5. Both Rachel in Kathmandu and Melissa in Durban were held up as examples of 'consistent application of the gospel over time' by living among people as Christians. What would that kind of long-term, presence-based faithfulness look like in your own neighborhood or workplace?