Wednesday 31st May
Read 2 Corinthians 11:5-6
“I do not think I am in the least inferior to those ‘super-apostles’. 6 I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.” (NIVUK)
The third reason the church should put up with Paul’s boasts is the simple truth that he is not inferior in any way. A strange claim to lay the groundwork for the ‘boasts’ that will follow as, on the surface, it looks like the boasting has already begun.
But notice what Paul has done. He seeks to get the Corinthians to re-evaluate him, and in the process re-evaluate these interlopers, the ‘super-apostles’ (v5). The specific area Paul draws their attention to is the claim that Paul doesn’t have the training to be an eloquent and effective preacher – he can’t move the crowd the way skilled orators could. Somewhat surprisingly then, Paul concedes the point! Surely that proves that he is inferior (despite only just claiming that he is not inferior in the least)?
Immediately after apparently conceding the argument though he subverts the entire accusation. Paul was never concerned with the quality of the speaking, the bells-and-whistles of preaching. In fact he has already told them that he deliberately avoided using them! “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) (NIVUK). Paul has made that perfectly clear to them in every way (v6)!
Paul is shifting the goalposts entirely. The criteria they should be judging on is not fancy preaching but truth. Being emotionally moved by a well-crafted, expertly delivered message is completely irrelevant if the way it is delivered is more important than the content, the knowledge it contains. The third reason then that they should put up with his foolishness is because they need to get the criteria right. As we move through this most personal and vulnerable of missives we will see over and over again that Paul will change the grounds of the debate, subtly moving the goalposts to the truth of the gospel and the life of Jesus.
The challenge for us is to follow Paul in this matter. So often we give an audience to people who speak well and speak passionately and too easily accept that what they are saying must be true because it was said so persuasively and delivered with such panache (and wonderful music). We are seduced by the delivery. Let us listen more closely to the message and not be deceived.
