In My Defense

In this second letter to the Corinthians, the first part is about Christian living, the second part is about Christian giving. Now we dive into the third part on Christian guarding—protecting what is precious to the Lord. This new section addresses a smaller audience, those who want to discredit Paul’s role in their lives.

As Paul defends his apostleship, he opens up his missionary heart. He came to Corinth in the meekness and gentleness of Christ—as a tentmaker, an ordinary man. Some looked down on him because he worked with his hands and was not especially easy on the eyes, but Paul had the authority of an apostle and was on a divine mission. He knew he had God’s power for a purpose, but he didn’t want the Corinthians to force him to exercise that authority. Let me prove it by my life and how I preach the Word of God.

We walk in the flesh (in our weakness), Paul said. He didn’t try to impress the Corinthians with polished speeches and the latest philosophy but deliberately kept it plain and simple. He preached Jesus Christ first, who He is. Then he preached what Jesus did—He was crucified, dead, buried, and rose again. Paul had a grand perspective of an entire battlefield. There was a heaven to gain, and there was a hell to shun. He was engaged in warfare that was spiritual. We have a spiritual enemy, requiring spiritual weapons which give us a mighty and effective defense.

Our first weapon is the Word of God. Paul came to Corinth, that citadel of philosophy and religion, wielding the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (see Ephesians 6:17). Our confidence needs to be in the Word of God, too. From beginning to end, it’s what God said.

Our other weapons are the presence of the Holy Spirit and prayer. We need to submit to the Spirit in every thought.

Paul then lets down his guard and expresses deep concern for them. He wants them to have a deeply personal relationship with Jesus, but their spiritual enemy, in his subtilty, is corrupting their minds from simply trusting Christ (11:3). He is afraid they will be beguiled by Satan just as Eve was.

Of course, this is Satan working all this. When our enemy, the devil, saw that persecution would not stop the church, he changed his strategy. He joined the church. He found it more effective to hurt the church from the inside. He still does that today. He attacks the validity of the Word of God and tries to discredit the gospel. If that doesn't work, he tries to discredit the man who preaches the gospel. So he tried to discredit Paul. But not once did he ever ask the Corinthians for a dime, unlike other false teachers who posed as God’s servants but were just masquerading as light. Wake up, Paul pleaded.

Paul then got personal. Let me tell you about my life as a minister of the gospel … and it was bloody. There was no question about Paul’s high breeding and his religious heritage, but as soon as Paul surrendered himself to Christ Jesus, his life became a target of suffering.

Paul said he worked much harder than other teachers, he’s been jailed more, beaten up more, even to the point of death. How many of us today could say we’ve been through anything like this? We know practically nothing of hardship for the sake of Jesus Christ. Read over Paul’s list (11:25-33) and bow your head in humility and say, “Oh, Lord Jesus, help me to be true to You. Help me to be faithful to You.”

Next: Where do we get the strength we need to live the Christian life?