B, Post Pentecost 7 Proper 9 - 2 Corinthinans 12:2-10 "Super-Self"

2 Corinthians 12:2–10 (ESV)  I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.  And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—  and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.  On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—  though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he (Jesus) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul addresses those at Corinth to hang onto the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and avoid Satan who acts as an “angel of light”.  He confronts these people who teach contrary to his teaching and tempt others away from trusting God’s word.  Those who do this,  Paul calls super-apostles.  These are folk who work superiority over others, forcing folk to follow their ways, contrary to the ways of God.  These people are super-selves and encourage others to super-size their egos too!!

In our age of individualism and self-glorification of the individual, super-apostleship is arguably just as prevalent, if not more so, than when Paul addressed the Corinthians. 

How can you and I safeguard ourselves from super-apostles?  But more importantly, how does a person protect themselves from inadvertently becoming a super-apostle, or a super-self?

This is the issue Paul needed to pursue at Corinth.  He has come under attack by these super-selves, so he defends the apostleship to which he is called by God.  But he has to do it without falling into the same trap as those who have become super-apostles, false-apostles, false-teachers of God’s word.  Paul’s aim is to create true disciples, true believers, or Christians who stand under God’s word, under Jesus Christ, rather than under him.  Sub-selves of Jesus, or disciples, rather than super-selves!

This is why Paul speaks to the Corinthians in what might seem peculiar to our ears.  He refers to himself as a fool.  As one who has no mind, out of his mind, or has no understanding.  This is a very strange way to defend the faith, you might think!

He speaks of a man caught up to the third heaven or paradise of whom he will not boast.  Paul speaks here of himself, apart from himself, not to boast of the things God has done with him to prepare him for his apostleship under the cross.  But Paul boasts in his foolishness, nothingness, weakness, and the harassment of Satan in his thorn in his flesh, to stop him boasting and becoming conceited in the flesh of himself. 

To stop him from becoming a super-apostle within himself, Paul appeals to this suffering selflessness.  Rather than be a super-self, Paul proclaims his suffering-self!

But Paul even goes further by saying, “Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.  Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.”  (2 Corinthians 11:5–6 ESV)

Paul calls himself “unskilled in speaking”, this is literally an “idiot in speaking”, and ignoramus!  He goes on to question and say of the weakness and foolishness of his flesh, “To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!  But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.  Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.  Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.”  (2 Corinthians 11:21b–23 ESV)

What Paul is comparing himself to is the “idiotes” (id-ee-o-tace)or nothingness of Christ.  Not that Christ was nothing, but that Jesus Christ selflessly put his divinity aside and became “absolutely nothing” to save you, me, Paul, and the Corinthians.

This flies in the face of any super-apostle.  The super-self within all of us, seeks to be outstanding in position and perception, rather than understanding or being submissive and subordinate, under the knowledge of Christ.  The knowledge of a super-self will come from a glorified hyper-sense of self.   One’s knowledge is not of Jesus Christ but of what one thinks is good or evil.  Rather than submit to a fool like Saint Paul or any other “idiot” to whom Paul submits, they position themselves, second to no one, serving only if it is to benefit of the super-self.

The desire of super-apostles will always be to tempt others away from humility and faithful submission to God, to a faithfulness in other things or persons.  They use scandalous scams that lure the vainglory of the old sinful super-self, within each of us, to covet pleasure, popularity, and prosperity of various kinds.  This is emotionalism!  The super-apostle wants the person they tempt, to think like them, to be emotional, so they can control them with their "superior ways and beliefs".

With the growing rejection of Christ-centred faith in the world today, individualism and the super-self, sees the cross of Jesus Christ as a scandal.  This should not be a surprise to us, as the people of Nazareth, Jesus own kin, saw him as a scandal.  But it’s this very scandal that Paul and all Christ-centred people continue, suffer, and persevere in patience, waiting for the hope of eternal glory.

So, to protect ourselves from super-apostles, as well as becoming super-selves, we need to invoke a test, first on ourselves and then on those who come to us seeking to teach us something!  The test is simple: Test by asking, “Where is the glory going!”  “Is it going to God alone or to somewhere or someone else?”  It’s as simple as that!  

However, we need to do this, because we still need to be taught.  We are still learners, disciples! The other danger that we face in this age of individualism is to further promote the old Adam, the super-self, and cut ourselves off from true sources of teaching, that God puts in place.

Rather than be misinformed by a super-apostle, we can also cut ourselves off from God the Holy Spirit’s work, by being uninformed without the word of God, and continuing in this uninformed state, we quickly revert back to having the malformed mind of a super-self, separated from God and his word.

You and I need to be daily carried from the individualism of the super-self, back into the word of God, by the Holy Spirit.

As there were in Paul’s day, there are many today who, use the word of God in a way contrary to the way the prophets, Paul and the apostles, as well as many mum, dad, and children disciples, who have sought and continue to seek being faithful servants of God.

Rather than support you in repentance, confession of sin, and belief in Christ’s forgiveness of sin, super-selves and super-apostles who masquerade as “angels of light” under Satan, will give the sense that Christians shouldn’t struggle and suffer with sin.  They will seek subtle ways of putting themselves between God and his word.  Probably by using God and his word, just as the devil sought to do against Jesus, and countless others since.

As your pastor, I know that you all have been caught up into the third heaven, to paradise, when God baptised you into the holy priesthood of all believers.  I also know as your pastor; you have been given thorns in the flesh.  That, super-apostles and your super-self, harass you, torment and seek to tempt you, within the church, to be without the Holy Spirit and the word of God.  Or, to add laws to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But as Jesus says to Paul, he says to us all, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a ESV)

This is what God the Son promises you in his Holy Baptism.  His cross is sufficient for you.  The Holy Spirit was Jesus’ perfect power, to, and through, the scandal of the cross.  This same Holy Spirited power is sufficient for you for your forgiveness of sin, life and salvation.

Therefore, in your weaknesses let the power of Christ rest upon you, as you reject the super-apostle and daily drown the super-self within.  Amen.

A, Lent 1- Romans 5:19 "Hypo-Hearing"

Romans 5: 19 (ESV) For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

The foundational disobedience event for humanity is the Old Testament reading for today. 

In Genesis two and three, humanity lost its innocence when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command.  One negative command in the Garden of Eden.  One “no” in a pleasant place of seemingly infinite “yeses”.  Eden literally means “soft, delight, or pleasure.  It was God’s Garden of Pleasure for Adam and Eve!

Living this side of the fall, our eyes are immediately opened, hearing of Eden being a garden of delight and pleasure.  We live with increasing hardship in these days, we seek to recreate, but fail in finding the pleasure to which humanity lost access when they chose to break the one prohibition in creation of innocence and blessing.

In Romans five Saint Paul reflects, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”  (Romans 5: 19 ESV)

We stand at the start of Lent reflecting on this event today.  And as we do there is temptation to think, “if only Adam and Eve didn’t make that one simple mistake”. But although we have no way of knowing how history would have unfolded if they didn’t, after the fall they, and we, continue to fall and add to the first act of disobedience at the start of time.

Adam and Eve did not make one mistake and then lived without any more sin.  Immediately after the fall and being thrown out of the garden, Adam and Eve continue in their disobedience.

But before we hear about this, we need to understand what this disobedience is, so we can understand ourselves, and the obedience of Jesus which saves us and makes us holy.  Then the Holy Spirit can continue bringing us to, and infilling us with, the holiness of God.

Because we live this side of the fall, our natural tendency is to think obedience is about “doing” the right thing.  Although this is somewhat true, it is only partially true.  Because we are turned in on ourselves, we think, “if I do the right thing, then I am a righteous person”.  But the problem with our doing is in the “I think – I do” logic.

If obedience is about, “ I think, I do”, then most of humanity is obedient.  But what happens when what I think and do is different to what you think and do?  One’s thinking and doing will end up harming someone else’s thinking and doing.

Any parent that’s frustrated with their children, practises obedience teaching every time they lose it with their children. 

If and when one raises their voice at our children we do not usually say, “you are not being obedient, or stop being disobedient”.  Nor does one usually say, “stop doing what you’re doing”. 

No!  One who is frustrated with their children will raise their voice and say, “stop, you’re not listening.  Listen to me!”

Obedience is primarily about listening, and once hearing is heard, then the secondary act of doing can occur! 

This is because obedience occurs in community.  The parent is frustrated with their child or children in the nucleus of a family.  This is God’s original community.  In fact, all community is an extension of the household community of parents and children.  All authority flows from God to humanity through the family unit.  But since the fall, disobedience and loss of innocence also comes to us, not from God, but from Adam and Eve!

Notice it’s Adam who is named as being the one through whom sin came into the world.  Eve took the fruit, but it’s Adam who bore the responsibility for the sin.  Adam did not listen to God and broke the authority invested in him by God.  And in not listening he turned his back on God towards Eve and the serpent, to listen to their distortion of God’s Word, then participated in the act of eating themselves into death.  Community broke down between Adam and God when he listened and acted with Eve.  As a result, his relationship with Eve was also corrupted.

At this point I delight in telling you one of my favourite quotes from Luther’s Table Talk.  Martin Luther, being a very earthy Middle Ages man, said, “Almost every night when I wake up the devil is there and wants to dispute with me… I instantly chase him away with a fart.” (Luther’s Works 54:78)

Crass, yes!  But it is excellent classic practical theology!  For when you’re breaking wind in the devil’s face one is reversing the authority order of the fall at Eden.  If only Eve had turned her back on the devil, it would have been the holiest and most blessed and pleasant fart known to humanity. 

To turn in the devil’s hearing and blow flatulence in his face would have been a turning to her husband, and he with her, a return to the Lord.  They would have remained in the authority of God’s command, not eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Instead, they could have partaken in the many delights of the garden, including the tree of life, and pleased God in doing so.

But they didn’t and as the cliché goes, “the rest is history”, until at the right time in history, God sent Jesus to do what Adam could not do.

Here too the doing is not the primary action but rather it is the listening.  “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”  (Romans 5: 19 ESV)

Disobedience and obedience are not just about hearing or listening, then doing.  Rather Saint Paul and the other Epistle writers speak of literally “hypo-hearing” or “under-hearing” when listening to God.  This is listening in submission to God’s Word, and for us it is the listening of the body, or the church, to the head of the church, which is Jesus Christ.

Disobedience here in Paul’s Epistles is “para-hearing”, “contrary-hearing”, or “proximity-hearing”.  One might not listen properly, only hearing in part, or mishearing.  Or a person might read into what they hear, and act on that, like a Chinese whisper gone wrong.

This is what happened at Eden when God told Adam not to eat of the tree.  Somehow, Eve tells the devil a slightly different command from what God had said to Adam.

Adam was commanded, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16–17 ESV)

To this Eve added, when quizzed by the devil, “but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3:3 ESV)

When touching it, they did not die.  So, they ate, they knew death, and knew they were disobedient.  Instead of “under-hearing” they “contrary-listened” and became “hyper-hearers” they stood over God’s word, placing the authority of God’s Word below their understanding, their touching, and their tasting.

And what followed was the eternal “oops” once the sweet fruit of knowledge soured in the reality of whom it was that they had not listened.

But they continued in this “oops” by believing their immediate offspring would be the one to crush the serpent underfoot, promoting Cain as a champion man.  Wrongly they believed, and therefore named their second born, Abel, which means “second-rate, vain, or unsatisfactory”. 

We know Cain’s sacrifice to God was second rate, where Abel’s offering received God’s favour, leading to Cain murdering Abel, and being cursed by God.  This occurred as a result of Adam and Eve’s expectation and hyper-hearing of God’s promise.  Seth, however, is the one named as son, from which Jesus Christ is later born.  Incidentally, Abel was the first fallen human to enter the Kingdom of God, and second only to Jesus Christ!

Into our fallen world Jesus was born.  He is the true “Hypo-Hearer” of God.  He does not listen contrary to the Word of God, nor does he place himself over God’s Word, even though he is “the Word made Flesh”.

Jesus Christ was sent from the perfect community of the three-person common-unity, “threefold community or Trinity”, of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

At the start of his ministry, Jesus was baptised, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him.  Have you ever wondered, “why”?  Why does God the Son need God the Holy Spirit to come down on him in his earthly ministry?

There are two primary reasons.  First, God is a community of life and love, God works in community, everything he created is for community. 

Second, for Jesus to be the perfect servant, the true “hypo-hearer”, “under-hearer”, or “Obedient One”, he had to become as we are, as Adam and Eve were.  With the same nature as us.  But one hundred percent without sin. 

Jesus had to come in complete submission, not resting on a hyper-hearing or para-hearing, but weak, and led by the Holy Spirit, showing himself to be like you and me in every way, sin excepted.

Because of the Holy Spirit’s work of leading him to the cross, and his atonement for us on the cross, we now walk in the holy priesthood of all believers, baptised into Jesus’ “hypo-hearing”, or submission. 

And in receiving Jesus and his Word, we also receive the Holy Spirit, to will us, to inspire us, and lead us from the temptation of disobedience to the holiness, righteousness, and pleasures of God our Father in Jesus Christ.  Amen.