Pastor Vic Pentz tells the following story…
About a year and a half ago, I bought a new navy blazer at Nordstrom. It was one of those cases you may have gone through where you buy an item of clothing and the more you wear it, the more you realize you don’t like it. My blazer wasn’t the right color, and to make matters worse, it attracted lint like it was going out of style. After wearing it pretty regularly for six months or so, I stuck it in my closet and didn’t wear it for a long time.
Tucked away in the back of my mind all the while was that famous Nordstrom unconditional-return policy. I thought, I’ve had this thing for a year and a half. I’ve worn it lots of times, and there’s just no way they’re going to take it back. About two weeks ago I decided I had nothing to lose. I pulled the blazer out, threw a lot of lint on it to make it look bad, and took it down to Nordstrom’s men’s department. I walked in, and immediately I felt nervous. I felt like I was about to pull a scam of some sort, but I played it straight. I walked right up to the first salesman I saw and gave this little prepared speech. I said, “I am about to put your famous unconditional-return policy to its ultimate test. I have here a blazer. I’ve worn it lots. I’ve had it for a year and a half. I don’t like it. It’s the wrong color, and it attracts lint like it’s going out of style. But I want to return this blazer for another blazer that I like.” Then I stood there.
I couldn’t believe it. This guy with a big handlebar mustache just looked at me and shook his head. He said, “For heaven’s sake, what took you so long? Let’s go find you a blazer.” Ten minutes later I walked out with another blazer that was marked seventy-five dollars more than I paid for the one that I brought in. It was perfect for me. Didn’t cost me a penny. God is like Nordstrom.
God makes all sorts of outlandish promises that we cannot bring ourselves to believe. Can we? When we get up enough courage or we’re desperate enough, we finally take him at his word. He looks at us and he shakes his head. “For heaven’s sake,” he says, “what took you so long?”
Today we are going to look at what Paul says about God’s promises in 2 Corinthians 1 beginning with verse 12. Listen for God’s word to you…
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? I wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
Paul’s Boast
As I said, we are going to talk about God’s promises, but first we examine how Paul leads into his statement about the promises of God. The first thing we see in this passage is Paul’s Boast.
To properly understand Paul’s correspondence with the Corinthians, one must imagine the other side of the conversation. To do this work of imagination, one must make some informed guesses. We have already seen, in our study of 1 Corinthians, that there were several problems in this young church. One of their problems was the way they related or failed to relate to authority. Specifically, it seems that the Corinthian Christians had a hard time accepting Paul’s authority, even though he was their spiritual father, even though he founded the church in Corinth. Therefore, we can guess that some in Corinth were saying the exact opposite of what Paul boasts in the opening verses of this section.
Let me say a word about boasting. Paul uses the Greek word for “boast” 29 times in 2 Corinthians. Some may find this surprising, thinking that boasting, like pride, is a bad thing. But it all depends on the focus of one’s boast. From a Christian perspective, boasting in self is not a good thing. Boasting in the Lord is good.
What is it that leads to Paul’s boast? A clear conscience. Paul has a clean conscience because he has conducted himself, in relation to the Corinthians, with integrity and godly sincerity. He has relied not on worldly wisdom, but on God’s grace—that is key. Furthermore, Paul has written to the Corinthians in a transparent manner. All of this being true, Paul wants the Corinthians to be able to boast about him and he wants to be able to boast about them, but only in the Lord.
I wonder: what do you boast about? What do I boast about? I can tell you that pastors tend to boast about three things whenever they get together with other pastors. We boast about buildings, bucks, and bodies.
But you know what? None of these things are going to matter in the end. There may be only one thing that will matter at the end of time. Is someone in heaven by the grace of God and our witness?
Paul says, “We will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Paul has his eyes set firmly on the finish line. He knows that all that will really matter is whether men and women, boys and girls, have come into relationship with Jesus Christ because of him. Paul didn’t build church buildings. He planted churches—groups of people. Paul didn’t raise bucks. He raised up people. Paul didn’t count bodies. He counted relationships as the most important thing—relationships with Christ and relationships in the body of Christ.
Paul’s Plan
The second thing we see in this passage is Paul’s Plan.
Once again, we must read between the lines to understand why Paul says what he does in verses 15 through 17. We must imagine the other end of this “telephone conversation”, so to speak.
Have you ever done that? Have you ever listened to one end of someone’s telephone conversation and wondered: “What the heck is the person on the other end saying? What are they talking about?”
Well, we can imagine what the Corinthians were saying. They were saying something like, “Paul speaketh with forked tongue! He’s talking out of two sides of his mouth. Out of one side he says he is going to come and see us. But then out of the other side of his mouth Paul makes a commitment to do something else. See, you can’t trust him!”
In response to this complaint, Paul defends his honor. He says, “Yes, I planned to visit you twice in Corinth, once on my way to Macedonia (northern Greece) and once on my way back to Ephesus.” At the same time, Paul admits that he did not do what he originally said he was going to do. Was Paul being fickle? In a moment he will tell us why he wasn’t being fickle and why his plans changed.
But before we get to that, I think there are a few things we can learn from this situation. First, Paul was honest. He had a change of plans, and he was honest about it; he admitted it. I think honesty is something that God values very highly. But sometimes we have a hard time being honest frankly because we are afraid of what other people will think of us or say about us.
A second thing we can learn from this situation is that human plans do change. The German cleric, Thomas a Kempis, wrote a book in the 15th century that became a bestseller. The title was The Imitation of Christ. In book I, chapter 19, a Kempis made this famous statement: “Homo proponit, sed Deus disponit”. In English that has been rendered as: “Man proposes but God disposes.”
More recently, Woody Allen stated that same truth this way, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.”
That’s why, over all our plans, we need to write two other Latin words: “Deo volente.” God willing.
The good news is that though our plans often change, God’s overarching plan never does. And that leads to the third point we see in this passage.
God’s Yes!
The third thing we see in this passage is God’s Yes!
The Corinthians thought Paul was saying “Yes” out of one side of his mouth and “No” out of the other.
Paul takes this misunderstanding as an opportunity to make a much more important point. More important than what the Corinthians think of Paul, more important than what Paul is saying, is what God is saying. So, Paul takes this opportunity to remind the Corinthians that God is faithful. God doesn’t say “Yes” out of one side of his mouth and “No” out of the other side. Paul insists that Jesus, who is “the Word”, is not “Yes” and “No” but rather Jesus has always been God’s big “Yes!”
Paul tells us about three great “Yeses” in this passage. First, there is the Yes to all the promises God has made in the Bible. Paul says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” All the promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is God’s great “Yes” to humanity. In Jesus God says to us: “Yes, I love you! Yes, I will be with you! Yes, I will save you! Yes, I will never forsake you!”
Next, Paul tells us about a second important “Yes” in this passage. There is the Yes that Jesus’ followers say when they pray. Paul says, “And so through him [that is through Christ Jesus] the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” “Amen” is another word for “Yes”. Literally “Amen” means “so be it”. “Amen” is not simply a fancy, religious way of ending a prayer, sort of like saying “Over and out!” No, when we say “Amen” we are responding with our “Yes” to God’s “Yes”.
Have you done that? God has said “Yes” to you in Jesus Christ. But have you said “Yes” to him? Have you accepted Jesus’ forgiveness and love?
Dag Hammarskjold, in his book, Markings, has these beautiful lines…
“—Night is drawing nigh—”
For all that has been—Thanks!
To all that shall be—Yes!
That is a great place to get to in life… where you can say thanks to God for all that has been, good and bad, that God is using for your good and his glory. And to get to the place where you can say “Yes!” to all God has in store for you… that is a wonderful place to be in life.
Paul also hints at a third “Yes” in this passage. It is the Yes that reaches out from God to us today. Paul says, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Isn’t that beautiful? The Holy Spirit is God’s great “Yes” reaching out to us today. God puts the Holy Spirit in our hearts now, and his Holy Spirit comes to us as a deposit, a sort of down payment, guaranteeing all of God’s future blessings—including eternal life.
Have you received the down payment? Has the Holy Spirit come into your life?
In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
If you want to have God’s great “Yes” in your life, all you need do is ask. And God will not say “No!”
Paul’s Reasoning
The final thing we see in this passage is Paul’s Reasoning.
The last thing Paul does in this passage is he explains why he did not come to visit the Corinthians. He says that he made this change in his plans to spare them. He says he did not want to make another painful visit.
Apparently, after his first visit to Corinth, when he planted the church there, Paul went back to Corinth. But that second visit was painful because he had to correct some things that had already gone wrong in the church.
So, Paul did not want to make another painful visit. He wrote a painful letter instead. That letter may have been lost, or it may have been incorporated into what is now 2 Corinthians 10-13. We do not know for certain.
What we do know is that Paul loved the Corinthians deeply. And because of that love, he agonized over them. Paul was just like a parent. If you are a parent and you don’t care about your children, then you don’t cry over them. You don’t worry about where they are at midnight. But if you are a parent who cares about his or her children, then you do agonize, you do cry, you do worry, you do grieve when your children take a negative detour in life.
Paul was like such a caring parent. And Paul’s care models or imitates God’s care for us. God is not like some distant landlord who does not care about us. God didn’t just create the world, set it spinning, and then walk away. No. God cares so much about us that he became one of us in Jesus of Nazareth. God agonizes over us when we take a negative detour in life. He longs for us to respond with an overwhelming “Yes” to his “Yes” in Jesus Christ. But the one thing God will not do is force us. He will not force you to say “Yes” to him.
Free will is essential because it is the only thing that makes real love possible. And that is what God wants for us—real love.
God is like the good parent who will let his toddler fall because he knows that is the only way that his toddler will learn how to walk. It is agonizing as a parent to watch your children fall repeatedly. But we must let them fall, otherwise they will not learn how to get up on their own and walk again. That is what God wants for us. And so, God gives us his great “Yes” in Jesus Christ, but he will not force us to say “Yes” to him in return. The choice is up to us. The ball is in our court. How will we respond to God’s great “Yes"?
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