All For Your Upbuilding

I. Introduction
A. Paul is winding down his letter & preparing them for his next visit. Today he finishes his boasting.
1. Next week we finish chapter 12. And then there’s only one more chapter.
B. To help us understand today’s passage, here are three snippets from prior episodes:
1. Even though he had lived among them for a year and a half, by listening to the slander of the false apostles the Corinthians put Paul in the awkward position of having to defend himself and commend himself to them as if he was a stranger.
2. Paul had sent his friend and associate Titus to Corinth as his representative while he was in Ephesus during his third missionary journey.
a. Also, he was the one who delivered Paul’s letters to Corinth, and went with Paul to visit them.
b. Paul knew that the Corinthians thought highly of Titus and the others, who had been with them in Corinth, serving them lovingly and sacrificially.
c. This is clear from the places in this letter where Paul refers to Titus (2Cor.7:6-7, 13-15; 8:16-23).
d. The Corinthians knew the character of Titus firsthand. Their godly repentance and warm reception of Titus on his last visit show us that they were not suspicions of his integrity.
3. Paul was collecting an offering from all the Gentile churches for the poor in the church at Jerusalem. And he sent Titus, along with some other brothers, to gather their contribution. Read about this in 2Cor.8:6, 17-21.
C. 2Corinthians 12:15b–19 If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.
II. Explanation of 2Cor.12:15b-19
A. 15b If I love you more, am I to be loved less?
1. The more he loves the Corinthians & sacrifices for them, the less they seem to love him in return.
2. For instance, out of love for them, and so as not to burden them, he told them he was going to provide for his own needs while in Corinth instead of accepting their money. Thus, in addition to his work of ministry, he made tents, mostly during the night. (2Cor.11:27)
a. And while he was there, they apparently didn’t have any problem with this.
b. But then, after Paul left, the false apostles came and began to tell people in the congregation that Paul’s refusal to accept their money, while accepting money from other churches, was a sure sign that he didn’t love them as much as he loved the other congregations.
3. And there’s a second example. When Paul traveled all over the Roman empire to collect an offering for the poor Christians in the Jerusalem church, and then appealed to the Corinthians to participate as well (2Cor.8-9), the false apostles apparently convinced many in the church at Corinth that he was craftily doing this to line his own pockets.
4. We’ve seen this throughout this letter. Whatever he did, no matter how loving and self-sacrificing it was, his adversaries would find a way to spin it to the Corinthians to make it look self-serving...
B. 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit.
1. Even though I have willingly spent my money and my life for you, even though I deserve all your love in response to the love I have shown, even though I worked hard to not be a burden to you at all, yet you believe a conspiracy theory that I am such a crafty fellow as to have hatched some dark, deceitful plan to cheat you out of your money.
2. His detractors apparently claimed that the collection for Jerusalem was all a scam. Really Paul was using his associates to gather money from which he would skim off a portion, they said.
C. 17-18 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?
1. Paul’s best defense is to point to the upright character of others involved in the collection project.
2. Do you really think that Titus and the others – upstanding men with unblemished reputations – are part of a scheme to defraud you?
3. Don’t you see that they are on my team and that we all operate by the same code of conduct?
4. And why, after preaching the gospel to you for free and refusing to become a burden to you, would I now try to take advantage of you in some underhanded way?
D. 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.
1. Here Paul wraps up his boasting and self-defense. But before moving on from it, he wants to make sure the Corinthians haven’t gotten the wrong impression. He is not like a suspect being interrogated for a crime. He has done nothing wrong and doesn’t have to prove himself.
2. Not only that, but God is his judge, not them (1Cor.4:2-4; 2Cor.5:10). He is speaking before God, not them. The only reason he’s been willing to submit himself to this humiliating ordeal is because of his love for them and his desire – for their sake – to win back their trust and love.
3. You see, mounting a defense appears to be self-interested. But ultimately Paul is concerned to save their faith, not his own reputation.
III. The Bible is so relevant to our lives, isn’t it? And 2Corinthians has so much to say to us.
A. False accusations, misunderstood motives
1. I know I’ve pointed this out several times already in this letter. But this is the last time we see it in the letter. It’s important that we understand this so that we are not shocked when we are misunderstood or when our words or actions are misconstrued.
2. False accusations are not an excuse for hardening our hearts toward another person.
3. The Christian church is supposed to be a place of love. Unfortunately, it’s not always the case.
a. Your words will be taken wrong. Your motives will be misinterpreted. Your facial expressions will be misunderstood.
b. At some point, you are going to get falsely accused. Expect it – it’s a normal part of life.
c. Do your best to avoid it, of course. Be careful with what you say and how you act.
d. But if it’s possible to misinterpret Paul’s motives, it is possible to misinterpret your good motives.
4. So, what shall we do about false accusations?
a. First, we should be very careful to avoid falsely accusing others. Give others the benefit of the doubt and the judgment of charity, in order to protect against this.
b. Don’t get upset. It happens. It happens to everyone. Be careful not to overreact. Many times our reaction is worse than the false accusation itself.
c. Then, when others accuse us, we should humbly consider what they’re saying/thinking about us.
(1) There may be some truth to it.
(2) For so long, I dismissed much of my wife’s input because I saw clear errors in it.
(3) Then one day, the Lord showed me that I can’t expect my wife to be a prosecuting attorney. I realized that I needed to become my own prosecuting attorney. If she sensed something was wrong, instead of asking her to prove me guilty, I needed to take it upon myself to conduct an investigation, with the presumption that she is onto something, that, if she smells something, there’s probably something there, and it’s my job to find it.
B. Sometimes it’s even worse than this. Sometimes people falsely accuse you BECAUSE you are doing the right/loving thing. Sometimes loving people more actually makes them love you less.
1. If people want to criticize, they will find something to criticize. Even the apostle Paul got criticized. And if people want to think ill of you, they will find a way to think ill of you.
2. Jesus was the one person no one ever had a good reason to criticize. But He was criticized so much that they eventually hung Him on a cross. And He said, “If it happens to me, it will happen to you too.” (John 15:18-20)
3. Anyone with a sizable career as a parent can identity with Paul’s words in v.15, “If I love you more, am I to be loved less?”
4. It’s very hard. But almost all of us have been guilty of this ourselves with our parents – or someone else. Keep the long-term in mind.
5. What can you do about it when people act hateful toward you because of the way you’ve loved them?
a. First, be humble. Keep spending and being spent for the sake of the other (2Cor.12:15). Don’t be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good. (Rom.12:21)
b. Secondly, rejoice as in Matt.5:11-12 “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
C. And this leads to the next point, about conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories are nothing new.
1. In fact, conspiracy theories go all the way back to the garden of Eden, don’t they?
2. It’s a form of deception, a twisting of the truth. And human nature is very susceptible to it.
3. People will tell you things. And if you are too ready to believe something, you’ll swallow it like a worm on a fishhook.
a. Just like Adam and Eve, we are most vulnerable to deceptive conspiracy theories when we have some kind of a vested interest, when we want to believe them, when they appeal to our vulnerabilities.
b. And “in the world today truth isn’t something you discover, it’s something you construct.” (Gene Edward Veith)
4. As God’s people, we need to be careful. We need discernment.
a. And I don’t mean some supernatural ability to tell who’s right and who’s wrong. And I don’t mean a baptized form of intuition.
b. Discernment comes from wisdom based on experience, and from knowledge of history, knowledge of the world, and especially knowledge of God’s word.
c. Ultimately, we need to prefer believing what is true over having our opinions or prejudices confirmed. And we all have opinions and prejudices.
d. The world needs Christians to think clearly and speak the truth clearly and not swallow notions just because it’s convenient to believe them.
5. From our vantage point, there are clear good guys and clear bad guys in this story. We can easily tell who’s spreading the deception. But it wasn’t so clear to the Corinthians.
a. They needed to do a lot of careful thinking. They needed to think very clearly and humbly.
D. And there’s another thing here about being a good witness.
1. In order to expose the irrationality of the accusation of fraud regarding the collection, Paul appeals to the godly character of his fellow workers in v.17-18.
2. Sadly, too often this is all but impossible in the Christian church today. There are so many scandals, so much hypocrisy, so many obnoxious things coming out of the mouth of believers. And it’s such a bad witness. Tragically, in many contexts we have lost the advantage of being able to point to the example of Christians to confirm our claims about Christ.
3. I know that it will never be perfect. But here’s the saddest thing: Even among ordinary Christians, so few seem to have a discernible zeal to reflect well on the name of Christ.
a. We just don’t think enough or talk enough about our witness before the world today.
b. It doesn’t disturb us enough to do damage to the name of Christ in the eyes of the watching world. It isn’t important enough to us to reflect the love and grace of Christ faithfully to non-believers.
c. Honestly, sometimes Christians act like they don’t even care what non-believers think.
4. But this wasn’t the way it was with Paul. Paul does not have to apologize for his colaborers.
a. They have acted in the same way as Paul.
b. They have acted like Christ, because, like Paul, they were filled with Christ.
5. What an enormous value there is to be able to point to the other Christians a person knows as good examples of Christ-likeness!
6. And what a tremendous disadvantage we have when the person is familiar with all kinds of supposed Christians who do not walk in the manner of Christ at all.
7. And how much more deeply tragic it is when we are bad examples ourselves.
a. How can we expect to influence people toward Christ when our lives contradict our message?
8. Have you ever been frustrated with or embarrassed by the leaders of your church, or by the behavior of Christians in your circle? It damages the whole ministry of the church, doesn’t it?
a. Pray for them. Love them winsomely in the right direction.
b. And pray for God to raise up godly laborers to serve in His vineyard.
IV. Conclusion
A. Again we have seen what a great example of “speaking in Christ” Paul is in the midst of all this.
1. And by his example he says to us: Don’t panic. Don’t get offended.
2. Trust the Lord and keep loving. Rest in the Lord and keep speaking for Him and serving Him.
3. Don’t give up. Don’t freak out. Don’t let your impulses rule you.
4. God is on His throne. God is in control.
5. We’ve talked about how Paul can act like this. But we haven’t really talked about why.
a. Even though Paul didn’t know where things were going with the Corinthians, Paul lives in the confidence that Christ is building His church, that He is Christ’s servant, that ultimately, it’s all in God’s hands.
b. Christ was always the biggest One in the room for Paul. And it enabled Him to keep loving even in the face of rejection and mistreatment, because he knew that the cross of Jesus led to the greatest victory of all, that patiently suffering the disdain of others was the secret of glory.
B. And there’s more wonderful news for believers here.
1. God wants us to do everything with the goal of building up others in love.
a. That’s what He commands us in Eph.4:29: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
2. God so loved these folks in Corinth, in spite of how ornery they were, that He sent His apostle Paul to them to tell them about Jesus.
3. And even though as believers they continually grieved their apostle, God did not write them off, but kept filling Paul’s heart with the love of Jesus for them, so that He kept coming back, and kept reaching out, and kept opening his heart to them, and kept helping them see the truth of Christ.
4. Fittingly, Paul’s last words in this passage are “all for your upbuilding, beloved.” And Christ is speaking this through Paul.
5. One thing a Christian can know for sure, one thing a Christian can absolutely bank on is this: God does everything for the upbuilding of His beloved ones. Everything God allows to come into our lives is for our good. Every pain is good. Every frustration is just what we need.
a. When He makes us wait, it’s for our good.
b. When we lose something or someone dear to us, it’s for our good.
6. Whenever God allows us to be mistreated, it’s for our edification.
a. After his brothers sold him into slavery, and Joseph was put through many hardships, but eventually he rose to the second most prominent place in Egypt, he said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” Gen.50:20
7. God’s rebukes are for our good. When He doesn’t answer our prayers, it’s for our good.
a. Whenever God allows us to get insulted, it is for our edification and because He loves us.
(1) 2Samuel 16:5–11 tells us a story about when Absalom temporarily overthrew his father David, and David had to flee. And as he was fleeing,
(2) there came out a man whose name was Shimei, and as he came he cursed continually, and threw stones at David. And he said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man!” Then Abishai said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” But the king said, “If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.”
8. So, what shall we say to these things?
a. 1Peter 4:12–14 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
b. James 1:2–4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
c. Romans 8:28 We know that – for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose – all things work together for good.
9. I know it doesn’t feel good. I know it doesn’t look good. I know it doesn’t sound good.
a. But it IS good. We have to remember how much God loves us. And how He’s proven it in Christ.
b. And we need to remember what God is after. He’s not after our earthly success. He’s not after our earthly comfort. He’s not after our convenience or our the fulfillment of our dreams.
c. He’s after our eternal welfare. He’s after our humility. He’s after the growth of our faith. Ultimately, He’s after our hearts.