A. As we begin the new year, we are beginning a new sermon series on the book of 2 Corinthians.
1. I’m calling the series “Learning to Lean on God.”
2. In my 22 years here at Wetzel Road, we have never preached through this letter, so I’m looking forward to it!
3. During 2008, we preached through 1 Corinthians, but I wanted to give us a little break before we came back for 2 Corinthians.
B. How many of you have heard of the Appalachian Trail?
1. Have any of you ever hiked the trail?
2. The Appalachian Trail is the longest continuous walking trail in the world. How about that?
3. It stretches over 2,170 miles and passes through 14 states, beginning in Georgia and ending in Maine before it enters Canada and literally ends at the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Each year about 2000 wide-eyed, enthusiastic hikers set out to walk the entire trail.
5. Very few make it to the end. Half of the walkers don’t even make it one third of the way.
6. One in ten of them drop out within the first week.
7. There have been cases of people who have travelled half way around the world and spent a small fortune on travel, equipment and supplies only to pull out of the hike within 3 days.
8. They come expecting a nice stroll through the woods with the sun shinning, and birds singing.
9. But what they get are rocks, steep mountain climbs, rain, ticks, bears and snakes.
C. It all goes to prove that the saying it true: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
1. It’s when things get difficult, when things aren’t as easy as you thought they might be, that you see people’s real character.
2. That’s when you see what people are made of; their true colors.
D. Life as a Christian can be tough going.
1. There are usually many good and easy times, but there are also plenty of difficult times.
2. And the Christian trail is a life long one. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
3. When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, the going was tough for him, and therefore, we get a glimpse into what Paul was made of, and how strong was his faith and character and commitment.
5. Let’s spend a few minutes talking about the city of Corinth and Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians.
I. The City of Corinth
A. Corinth was located on a narrow strip of land connecting Northern Greece with the Peloponnesus.
1. Corinth was a thriving center for travel and trade in the first-century world.
2. It controlled north-south commerce by virtue of its strategic location.
3. And because sailing was difficult around the Peloponnesus, Corinth also had command over east-west traffic between Rome and the Near East.
4. It was safer to transport cargo overland at Corinth between its port cities of Cenchrea on the east and Lechaeum on the west than to run the risk of navigating harsh seas.
5. The Corinthians came up with an ingenious system that used rollers and slave labor to drag cargo and even small ships overland for the four miles from one port to the other.
B. The city of Corinth was enormously wealthy and had both the assets and liabilities that accompany prosperity.
1. Over the years, a pleasure-mad and immoral atmosphere had been cultivated in Corinth.
2. Corinth came to be what one historian described as “the cesspool of the ancient world.”
3. Drunkenness, prostitution, brawling, murder, and assorted other sinful things took place there.
4. Sounds like one of our major cities, right?
C. Corinth was the capital city of the province of Achaia when Paul wrote his letters.
1. Its population was something near a half-million souls.
D. What religion there was at Corinth centered around the polytheistic gods of Greco-Roman mythology.
1. In particular, the worship of Aphrodite – the Greek “goddess of love” – had a large following.
2. The acropolis of Corinth shown in this picture, is known as Acrocorinth, and it rises about 1800 feet above the surrounding plain. At the highest summit was the Temple of Aphrodite.
3. This cult certainly contributed to the immorality of the city since the priestesses of the cult were “sacred prostitutes,” and the worship center was nothing more than a brothel.
4. Corinth housed other religious shrines too, most notably a temple to Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, as well as sites for worshiping Isis, the Egyptian goddess of seafarers, and her Greek male counterpart Poseidon.
5. Also, there was a synagogue in Corinth for the Jewish community to worship in.
II. The Beginning of the Church in Corinth
A. Perhaps few elderships or missions committees would have selected the city of Corinth as a promising site for a church planting.
1. But Corinth is precisely where the Holy Spirit led Paul on his second missionary journey.
2. Paul arrived in Corinth from Athens in early A.D. 50 (Acts 18:1).
3. There in Corinth, he ran into Aquila and Priscilla, two Jewish believers who had recently arrived from Rome.
4. Paul lived with them and joined them in working at their common trade as tentmakers so as to support himself.
B. Paul began preaching the gospel to any and all who would listen.
1. Every Sabbath in the synagogue, he reasoned and persuaded Jews and Greeks that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:4).
2. Paul was joined later by Silas and Timothy, who likely brought him financial support, because after their arrival, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching.
3. His ministry was so successful that the Jewish leaders opposed him and became abusive (Acts 18:5-6).
4. Paul left the synagogue and moved his evangelistic work right next door, to the house of Titius Justus a worshiper of God who had been learning under Paul.
5. Even Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue and his family, were convinced by Paul’s preaching, and so they left the synagogue and were baptized into Christ.
6. So, as we see, Paul preached the gospel and people became Christians there at Corinth.
7. Deep friendships were made and the bonds of Christian love were formed.
C. Paul stayed in Corinth for a total of 18 months, but in late A.D. 51 or early 52, Paul decided to move on to Ephesus, and there he stayed for 3 years.
1. During his extended ministry at Ephesus, Paul naturally was concerned to know the situation of the young church in Corinth.
2. When word came to him of immorality in the church, it appears he wrote them a letter and gave them counsel about dealing with the problem.
3. Many believe that Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 5:9, “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people...” is an illusion to that letter that no longer exists.
4. Therefore, the letter we call 1 Corinthians is actually Paul’s second written communication with the saints at Corinth.
5. The third letter is the tearful, sever letter referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:3-4.
6. So that would make 2 Corinthians the 4th letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians.
D. At the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, Paul intended to return to Corinth after his stay in Ephesus and after passing through Macedonia, to proceed from Corinth to Jerusalem with the collection (1 Cor. 16:5-9).
1. In the meantime, he sent Timothy to visit the Corinthians on his behalf (1 Cor. 16:10-11; Acts 19:22).
2. Upon his arrival, Timothy found that the problems in Corinth had escalated, most probably a result of the recent appearance of Paul’s opponents from outside the city.
3. When Paul had moved on from Corinth, his opponents moved in.
4. They infiltrated the church and started to drive a wedge between the church and Paul.
5. The opponents criticized both Paul and his message.
E. Slowly but surely the Corinthian church was swayed against Paul.
1. They started to believe what the opponents were saying about Paul - that he was worldly and insincere - that he was a coward, was weak and a theological deviant who preached a deficient gospel.
2. They began to think of Paul as an impostor, a false apostle, someone who was in the religion business to exploit people.
F. Now, how do you think Paul would have felt about all this?
1. This was coming from a church that Paul had poured his life and soul into.
2. All this criticism was coming from people Paul knew and loved, people he had nurtured in the faith. It must have broken his heart.
G. In response, Paul decided to visit Corinth immediately himself in order to shore up the church, after which he would go on to Macedonia and then return for a second visit en route to Jerusalem (the double “benefit” that he talks about in 2 Cor. 1:15-16).
1. At this point, Paul assumed that once he arrived in Corinth, he would easily silence his critics and win the congregation back under his leadership (2 Cor. 1:15a). Nothing could have been further from the truth.
2. When he arrived for what soon became a very “painful visit” (2 Cor. 2:1), the church called into question Paul’s authority and gospel.
3. So faced with this confrontation to his ministry, Paul left Corinth and returned to Ephesus in the midst of a large scale rebellion against his apostolic authority, and he determined not to make another painful visit.
H. Once in Ephesus, and still distraught over the plight of his spiritual children in Corinth, Paul sent Titus back to Corinth with a tearful and severe letter in which he warned the Corinthians of God’s judgment and called them to repent.
1. After Titus left for Corinth, Paul himself went on to Troas to continue his own ministry and to wait for Titus to return with news about the church at Corinth.
2. But when Titus was delayed in returning, Paul feared both for Titus’ safety and for the condition of the Corinthians.
3. Filled with anxiety, Paul left the open door he had in Troas and went on to Macedonia to find Titus (2 Cor. 2:12-13).
4. There he met Titus and received the joyful news that God had used his letter written “with many tears” (2:4) to bring about the repentance of the majority of the church (2 Cor. 7:5-16).
5. Unfortunately, Paul also heard that, under the continuing influence of his opponents, there was still a rebellious minority who continued to reject Paul’s authority.
6. In response, Paul wrote what we know as 2 Corinthians from Macedonia and began to make final plans to return to Corinth for his “third visit” (2 Cor. 12:14; 13:1).
III. The Purpose of 2 Corinthians
A. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to try to rectify the remaining problems, and to rebuild the bond between himself and the Corinthian congregation.
1. For the most part the letter of 2 Corinthians concerns specific issues over which Paul has been criticized – including his failure to visit, his practice of not taking money, his weak and unimpressive manner.
2. Paul works through all these issues with transparent love for the church and for Christ.
3. As we study this letter we will see that three key themes reappear time and time again.
4. These themes are so important for our Christian maturity and ministry.
B. The first theme we will be noticing is: that when the going gets tough, God gets tough.
1. God’s strength is shown all the more profoundly when we are at our weakest.
2. God’s power is not most clearly seen in the performance of miracles, the receiving of visions, eloquent speeches or powerful personalities.
3. Rather, when we are tired and sick and distressed, when we don’t know how we’re going to keep going, but yet we do somehow hang on – that’s when God’s power is seen.
4. Paul wrote, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” (2 Cor. 1:8b-9)
5. Paul wrote, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor. 4:7)
6. Whether we are crossing “red seas,” facing the “walls of Jericho,” or facing well-equipped enemies, we must learn to lean on God’s power.
7. When the going gets tough, God gets tough.
C. A second theme we will be noticing is: that when the going gets tough, love gets tough.
1. Genuine love for people shows itself in risk taking, sacrifice and a willingness to say the hard things.
2. Even though Paul was deeply hurt, he still loved the Corinthians, and he loved them enough to fight for them and to confront them.
3. Paul wrote, “Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.” (2 Cor. 7:2-3)
4. Paul wrote, “So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?” (2 Cor. 12:15)
5. It is the love of Christ that compels us to serve God and to love each other, even when it is hard to do so.
6. When the going gets tough, love gets tough.
D. A third theme we will be noticing is: that when the going gets tough, faith gets tough.
1. Strong faith is necessary for the tough times and is grown even stronger through tough times.
2. Faith is worth protecting.
3. Nothing should be allowed to destroy our faith, or cause us to give up our faith.
4. Paul wrote, “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With this same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.” (2 Cor. 4:13-14)
5. Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-17)
6. Paul had a strong faith that kept him going. He knew it would all be worth it someday – and it will be worth it.
7. When the going gets tough, faith must get tough.
E. Join with me in this amazing journey through 2 Corinthians as we, like the apostle Paul, “Learn to Lean on God.”
1. I pray that this study will be of great encouragement to all of us.
2. Our God can handle all the leaning we put upon Him.
3. Let’s learn how to stop relying on ourselves and to start relying completely on God and God’s people.
Resources:
Paul for Everyone, 2 Corinthians, Tom Wright, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003
2 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary, Scott J. Hafemann, Zondervan, 2000
“When the going Gets Tough,” Article by Bryson Smith
