Betrothed to Christ

Sermon transcript

2 Corinthians 10, beginning with verse 17. But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends. And continuing into chapter 11. I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me.

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I betrothed you to one husband so that to Christ I may present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge.

In fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you. And when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone.

For when the brethren came from Macedonia, they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you and will continue to do so. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you. God knows I do.

But what I am doing, I will continue to do so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. Again, I say, let no one think me foolish, but if you do receive me even as foolish so that I may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but in as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Thus far, the reading of God’s word.

Let’s pray together, shall we? We ask, Lord, that you would grant us the spirit of grace, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding that we might rightly be illumined in the right interpretation and understanding of this particular portion of the inspired word of God.

We’re thankful for the Apostle Paul. We’re thankful for his ministry and service as it stands in history, in the church, in the scriptures. And we pray that we would receive it even tonight through the word we have read. May you bless the one who preaches and those who hear and receive the preaching.

Now, God, to your glory, build us up in faith that we would be reminded of our true identity as members of Christ, as member of Christ Church. Here are prayers of supplication. May you go before us tonight. Make yourself known in power, in the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

At the end of second Corinthians chapter 10, the apostle Paul has pointed us to the prophet Jeremiah chapter nine and verse 24 from the prophet to make the case that those among the Christian church who boast should boast only in the Lord. After all, as Paul would say elsewhere, I’m thinking particularly of Romans chapter three, verses 10 through 18, both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. Quoting from the text in Romans three, as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one.

There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside together. They have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave with their tongues. They keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Again, that’s a quote from Romans 3, verses 10 through 18. Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.

Salvation then is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, not by works, lest any man should boast. The sons of Old Testament Israel were reminded by the prophet Jeremiah to boast only in Yahweh, their Lord, not in themselves. And then like manner, the Christians of the New Testament era are instructed here by the apostle not to boast. Where then is boasting, Paul would ask in Romans 3, 27, and he answers his own question there, In 327 of Romans, he says, boasting is excluded. And here in second Corinthians 10, he says, for it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

Verse 18 of chapter 10, we’ve read tonight. I would draw your attention to a comment made by Matthew Henry and his commentary, which a very incisive comment here in reference to the matter at hand. He says, quote, as much against the grain as it is with the proud man to acknowledge his infirmities. So much is it against the grain with a humble man to speak in his own praise. End of quote. So we might ask then, given that being the case, how then is it that the apostle Paul is about to launch into his own boasting Paul calls it calls himself and calls what he is about to do foolishness. After all, Paul is very conscious that it is no business of an apostle, or indeed of any Christian, to praise himself.

Yet here is the Apostle Paul as he opens chapter 11, expressing his wish. I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, he says. Or perhaps we might read that as a prayer, as we find that text, 2 Corinthians 11, 1, in the King James Version, which begins with the word, would to God you could bear with me in a little in my folly. As he prepares to offer his defense of his ministry and of his relationship with the Corinthian church, we must remember the context into which Paul writes this epistle. After all, false apostles had intruded themselves into the church there, recommending themselves and undermining Paul’s own ministry and apostolic authority among the Corinthians.

Therefore, Paul feels constrained to respond as he does here, being moved by what he calls a godly jealousy, his folly or foolishness, as he speaks of it, is prompted by the kind of jealousy, jealousy, which a lover feels for his beloved. We shall see that the passage before us today stands actually as an extended prologue to the foolish boasting proper that will begin with chapter 11, verse 21B, which we’ll take up next time in our next sermon. Such jealousy that moves Paul to this so-called foolishness he describes as godly, because it is the kind of jealousy expressed by God himself towards his covenant people. Particularly when his people, so often described in the Old Testament as standing towards him in a relationship of that of a wife to her husband, God becomes jealous when she gives her allegiance to other gods, that is, to lovers other than Yahweh. The Apostle Paul now feels this jealousy himself for the Corinthians, because it was through his ministry that they ceased to be the heathen idolaters that they had been, and became instead the people of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul had not brought them into such a relationship with himself that they could say that they belonged to Paul. Everything that he had done had been with the sole object of enabling them to say that they belong to Jesus Christ. Paul’s godly jealousy, then, we might say, gives verbal, visible expression to Christ’s own divine jealousy for his church. After all, the Corinthian Christians were Paul’s work, quote, in the Lord, unquote. See 1 Corinthians 9.

His aim was to bring them securely to Jesus Christ. So far from glorifying in himself, Paul had found in Christ Jesus, as he says in Romans 15, 17 to 19, he found his reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. There, in Romans 15, Paul says, I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit. Romans 15, verses 17 to 19. The Corinthians were Paul’s spiritual children.

But just as a father is not only responsible for having brought his daughter into the world, but also in due time as her father, he, quote, gives her away to her husband. So Paul sees himself in his ministry as having betrothed the Corinthians, as he says, to one husband so that to Christ I might present you, he says, as a pure virgin. By adding that singular word, one, one husband, Paul stresses the truth that just as the marriage relationship is exclusive, so believers in Christ owe an exclusive loyalty to Jesus Christ alone. Here then lay the danger of the false apostles. Paul says to the Corinthians, I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Verse three of our text. Paul made it his ultimate aim in ministry, in conformity with the ultimate purposes of God in Christ Jesus, to present his converts, the church of God at Corinth among those converts, as a pure virgin, as it were, to Christ, the heavenly bridegroom.

This mystery of the church as bride and Christ as the bridegroom, Paul would say, refers to Christ and his church. He takes up that imagery, of course, in the book of Ephesians, particularly in Ephesians 1, 22, and 23. where the church is defined as Christ’s body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. And again, in Ephesians chapter 5, where Christ is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body. Indeed, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present to himself the church in all her glory. having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. This New Testament imagery of Christ as bridegroom and the church’s bride is not confined to the Apostle Paul, indeed, by no means.

In Revelation 21, verse 2, John the Apostle saw the vision of the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride, adorned for her husband. Truly history awaits and the church longs for the wedding feast of the lamb. Revelation 19, 7 and 8 says, let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Truly blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And then scripture ends in Revelation 22 with the Holy Spirit and the bride saying to the eschatological bridegroom, Come. And the Lord Jesus replying to the spirit and the bride saying, Yes, I am coming quickly. To which we say, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

A final word then this evening, particularly to the husbands among us, where Paul writes in Ephesians 5, husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. Ephesians 5, 25 and 26. And I’ll combine that with this word also from first Peter chapter three and verse seven. You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman, and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

As Paul longed for the sanctification of the church in preparation for the coming of Christ, that he might present the church to Christ as a pure virgin without spot or blemish, So, too, let husbands, husbands among us today, those preparing to be husbands among us, let husbands long and pray for the sanctification of their wives until together we are joined in eternity with our heavenly bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, and with his church in glory. Amen. Let us pray together.

Our Father, we thank you for the ministry of the Apostle Paul. We thank you for the ministry of Christ. which is the example of Paul, Christ giving himself up for his church, that she would be sanctified and made holy and ready for glory. So to the apostle expended himself in ministry for the sake of that church, that she might be brought safely to Jesus, made ready for that one who is coming at the end of the age to receive his church unto himself in glory. Our father, may we as pastors, may we as Husbands, long for the sanctification of those in our charge, that we would be found faithful ourselves, and that we would indeed be willing to be spent on behalf of those whom Christ has loved and for whom he gave and shed his blood.

Hear our prayers of thanksgiving. Bless us as we contemplate these things together tonight. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. I invite you to join with me in singing hymn number 125 as we respond to the Word of God here tonight. Hymn number 125. Let’s stand together as we sing, please.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.