Slices
Prepare
Who are you impressed by, and why? Journal or talk with God about your reflections.
Bible passage
Paul boasts about his sufferings
16 I repeat: let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!
Whatever anyone else dares to boast about – I am speaking as a fool – I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised for ever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.
Explore
It is hard for us, living in such a different cultural context, to appreciate how subversive Paul’s strategy is in this passage. Choosing to write in a way he doesn’t want to, he departs from his normal style of speaking ‘as the Lord would’ (v 17) to play the Corinthians at their own game. His opponents seem to have been boasting of their Jewish identity, but also of achievements impressive to those living in a Roman colony – flashy rhetoric, celebrity leadership, esteemed social status. The Corinthian church was so sure of its wisdom, yet subconsciously swayed by its world and succumbed to the false apostles’ teaching. The church today is not immune from false teaching. Has this ever impacted you?
Paul’s response? If Paul’s opponents epitomise strength, he will gladly accept their accusations of weakness. Are you prepared to be looked down on for the sake of your faith, and even that of others? Hoping to drag his beloved church back from the dangerous edge of a different gospel by authenticating his own apostleship, he celebrates what Roman culture would have despised (vs 23–28). The culmination of this comes in verses 32 and 33, where Paul takes the crowning achievement of any Roman soldier – being first over the wall into a city when making an attack – and gives his own upside-down parody. ‘Foolish’ or not, this boasting radiates the beautiful way of Jesus: the ‘weak’ way of the cross.
Respond
‘Lord, let me delight in walking the way of Jesus, however unimpressive that may look to the world around me.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Proverbs 29,30; 2 Thessalonians 1
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for the final events of the summer season. Escape in log cabins in Somerset starts today; running next week are Mallards and Mallards 2.0 sailing on the Norfolk Broads, and our new events Bridgwater and Bridgwater 2 teaching young people about creative ministry and worship. Pray that Jesus would be revealed in all they do.
Because a strong start begins with smart preparation
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