AP

2 Corinthians 12:20-21 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be.  I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.  I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. 

The Corinthian church really honed Paul’s pastoral skills.  In the providence of God we can be thankful for this because he addresses many situations we face today in our life together as the community of God’s redeemed people.  This, of course, is not surprising when we realise that, in every age, the problems we face in our interaction together all come from our shared fallen nature as descendants of Adam!

Paul’s deep love and concern for the Church in Corinth is evident throughout the two letters we have, and we especially note his willingness to forgive and to make allowances for strugglers.  His attitude to them is a good practical example of what he urged the Philippians to do in 4:5 – “Let your gentleness/forbearance/moderation/magnanimity be evident to all. The Lord is near.”  Paul had even humbled himself in their eyes, overlooking their implied claims to having more ‘runs on the spiritual scoreboard’ than he did – a higher rating on the ‘glorimeter’, and he resisted the temptation to use his ‘divinely-appointed’ apostleship to lord it over them or make demands on them.  Even when he had to say harsh things to them it was with true humility and out of genuine love.  Because of all this, his planned visit to them had the potential to cause major tension.  Face-to-face, the ‘tough love’ side of his personality would be more evident, and the attitudes underlying their lack of spiritual maturity (despite their claims to the contrary) would be exposed.

The eight traits he listed – quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder – all stem from a self-centred, self-absorbed approach to their fellowship.  What they really needed to display instead was a heart that focussed first on Christ, then on the needs of others, and a heart that was, at the same time, willing to put up with a bit of opposition and criticism without complainingor taking offence.

He had previously outlined for them a fairly full description of what Christ-like love looked like in practice (1 Corinthians 13) but it seems this message wasn’t penetrating their ‘ego’.  

What would Paul find if he visited our circles of Christian fellowship today?  As we acknowledge God’s providence in including the Corinthian correspondence in his inspired Word for us today, and as we are reminded by Timothy Dudley-Smith that “In Adam’s fall falls every man, with every gift the Father gave; the Crown of all Creation’s Plan becomes a rebel and a slave.  Herein all woes are brought to birth, all aching hearts and sunless skies; brightness is gone from all the earth, the innocence of nature dies.” it is good for us often to take advantage of Paul’s pastoral skills and assess just how we are travelling in our spiritual pilgrimage!

Are we contributing to problems when they arise?  Are we easily hurt/offended?  Do we have difficulty with our tongue in terms of anger or gossip?  Are we able to give genuine praise when our ‘competitors’ are honoured/blessed more than we are?  Do we insist on getting our own way?  Are we emotionally generous in seeking a solution to problems when they arise?  In short, are we part of the problem or part of the solution?

– Bruce Christian