The Ministry of Consistent Living
Book of 2 Corinthians Chapter 10
As a proper foundation keeps a building standing, so does the Word of God declared by the Apostles and the Prophets.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself must remain the Chief Cornerstone of the Church, or it is not part of the true Church!
The Apostles were chosen by Jesus Christ as foundational gifts to the Church. There can be no true Apostles today.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Today the Apostles are gone, and just as well as much of the church of today has strayed from the doctrine of the Apostles, the Prophets and the Lord Jesus Himself.
We still see here that there is an expectation that every Christian will one day come in unity of the faith.
I believe that most true Christians do believe the same Gospel, but even some of these add words to the Gospel that God did not intend.
How did one become an Apostle?
An Apostle was much more than just some messenger.
An Apostle was a delegate bearing a commission from the Messiah and wielding his commission's authority.
The Lord Jesus Christ chose twelve men to become His Apostles.
They were to:
1) The job of these Apostles was to carry the teachings of Jesus Christ out into the world after His departure to Heaven.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Joh 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
2) These men were all selected by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Peter(Simon), Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon called Zelotes, Judas the brother of James.
As for Paul, his Apostolic title was bitterly contested; and he triumphantly defended it on the double ground that, though he had not companied with Jesus in the days of His flesh, he had seen Him after His glorification on the road to Damascus.
I know this is true because I believe the Word of God!
1Co 9:1 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
Though Paul was not one of the original Apostles, his Apostleship had the Lord’s own sanction.
1Co 9:2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.
2Co 12:12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
There is to be only One Church: Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
This does not mean the Catholic Church because it has strayed so far from the Gospel that it is almost a cult.
What was and is the Apostles' statement of faith?
"I believe in God the Father Almighty and in the Lord Jesus Christ His Only Son our Lord, who was born of the Holy Ghost and Virgin Mary; crucified under Pontius Pilate and buried; the third day He arose from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Church; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; the life everlasting".
What is the Apostles's Creed? The form that has been accepted and "received" that has accepted by the Church reads:
"I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of Heaven and Earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into Hell; the third day He arose from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: the holy catholic Church; the communion of the saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and life everlasting; Amen"
That word "catholic" in this creed means only that the church that is built by the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Church, the One Faith, not the many denominations who disagree with certain portions of the Word of God, and it does not mean the Roman Catholic church, which adopted it in their title but is just another denomination.
Paul's enemies were not the church. Paul's enemies were a bunch of unbelieving Jews who would have rather seen Paul murdered, and they tried many times to do so.
They lied about Paul, causing him to be arrested and locked up many times, and did their best to stir up the churches against the Apostle Paul.
They did their best to destroy the Church, calling the Gospel blasphemy.
They did their very best to introduce a false gospel.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
2Co 11:5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
2Co 11:6 But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
2Co 11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
*****2Co 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
2Co 10:2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
We should know that it is probable that most of the problems in this Church at Corinth came about by one Jewish teacher from Jerusalem.
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
He even accused Paul of being bold from a distance but weak in his presence.
2Co 11:6 But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
2Co 11:7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
We can see that this man said Paul was not sound in his intellect.
The land we live in thinks the same way today about all Christians.
We can also see that this false teacher had a fee he expected when he preached or taught in the Christian churches.
Many a so-called man of God will not preach in any church without a set fee for their services.
What did Paul say to these church members? 2Co 11:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
There are many fools in the pulpits of many places of worship today!
The Apostle Paul was no coward; Paul was confident in his knowledge of the Scriptures!
The Apostle Paul did not walk in the flesh as far as sin because we all walk in the flesh, but even Paul was not perfect, even though he may have been the greatest Christian to have ever lived.
Our greatest fight is not with our own self, even though we have problems dominating our flesh, but our greatest fight is with spiritual powers from on high.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
*****2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
If we think we can battle with spiritual powers from on high in our flesh, we will be just another of God's children that fell by the wayside.
We must use spiritual weapons to defeat spiritual powers.
Our Pastor must use spiritual weapons to defeat spiritual powers.
We must help him with our prayers.
It is these spiritual powers that are behind all sin and evil.
It is these same powers behind corruption and deterioration.
It is these same powers that are behind death and Hell.
No matter how strong, how educated, how scientific we become, we are no match to the wiles of the Devil.
Only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can we reach Heaven with our prayers because our faith lies in the Lord Jesus Christ can we be protected from on High.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
We read these things, and we know these things, but we sometimes do not use the powers God has given to us.
These weapons of warfare God has given to us are the things that allow us to pull down strongholds.
Our enemy, the devil and his followers, do not have a fortress strong enough to withstand the power of God!
We cannot be so self-righteous that we think we can win any battle with Satan.
We cannot be so full of pride that the Lord is not first in our lives.
We cannot conform to this world we live in and be a child of God.
We must have the Holy Spirit in our conscience, the Lord Jesus in our heart, and a personal relationship with God.
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
We must hate sin but not the sinner!
*****2Co 10:6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
We can see that the Apostle Paul was ready to punish all disobedience.
Disobedience is the basic sin in our lives that in no way should be tolerated.
Disobedience is the sin of Adam that brought sin into the world to begin with.
It seems that we all had a secret sin that we would do our best to hold onto.
Every "babe in Christ" will be on a learning curve by the Holy Spirit till they can figure this out.
They must be given a chance to be obedient before they are punished for disobedience.
Everyone must be given a chance to be obedient to the Word of God.
Everyone must be allowed to repent, which is being obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
It takes a while for any church to see who stands for the truth and who stands against the truth, but these things will show up.
You cannot be a child of the devil without sin in your life!
You cannot be a child of God with sin in your life!
The thing that Paul realized was that there must not be any mistakes in discipline in the church.
Mat 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
*****2Co 10:7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.
If a so-called man of God comes into your church to preach, you will never know what to say to him until you have heard his sermon.
Paul said, "If you just looked at me, I would appear to be nothing and nobody"
Paul adds, "Are you so superficial in your grounds of judgment and only go by outward appearance"?
We may not agree with Paul, but we all certainly fall into this same trap to look at what is before our eyes or to observe things as they are outwardly and judge before we have evidence of truth.
If we interview most anyone in the South, they will all make the claim that they are saved.
A claim is just a claim, and it is meaningless without proof!
The proof is in the life of that person!
Personal conviction is a factor in all these ministries we have been studying!
The person who says they have been called to preach needs to be heard at least one time.
We must not allow the way they dress, or a smooth tongue, to impress us more than the truth of God which should come from their lips.
The Apostle Paul did not have an impressive appearance, but he knew the Word of God!
The job of that preacher is to edify the church.
To edify is to instruct and improve the mind of the listener in moral knowledge, in faith and holiness.
*****2Co 10:8 For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
Every true Pastor is called by the Lord to build up the Church.
No man of God should have the purpose to destroy the Church for any reason.
Every message coming from a pulpit should be to the edification of the Church.
Every Pastor's message must be approved by the Holy Spirit, or it is meaningless.
What did the Lord Jesus preach?
Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat_16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The true Church is built upon the fact that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah and the "Gospel" is the truth of the Messiah!
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
This is the message that must come from every pulpit, or that place of gathering is not part of the true Church.
It is this same Messiah who chose the twelve Apostles, and it was and is this same Messiah who gave them the message for all of us who are sinners because we needed a Savior.
We live in a world that says it does not need a Savior, and that world will perish.
These things should be emphasized when approved by the Holy Spirit because we are certainly in those last days.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is still the most important message that still needs to be preached today!
1Co_9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
This is the same command given to every man of God and also to every Christian.
We should notice in any study of the Lord Jesus Christ that He never used His Godly Authority to defend Himself.
The Lord Jesus always used His Godly authority to stand up for His Father, who is the same One we are to pray to in the name of Jesus.
The same letters Paul will refer to are the same letters that are in our Bible today, so we can see what these Corinthians had.
The only things that these letters from Paul destroyed were the things and the thoughts that did not agree with the thoughts of God the Father, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This world is so messed up that the truth of anything scares them to death.
This world would rather live in a corrupt world that is full of lies because they understand that world!
This world has always accepted the lies of this world as the truth and the works of this world because they are evil and still do today.
*****2Co 10:9 That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.
2Co 10:10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
Threatening is far different than a warning.
In fact, God has never threatened anyone!
God has from day one only warned us of things to come!
God warns us of the hazards of this life, and to His glory, He will help us to get through them.
Knowing that this is true should make us want to appreciate it and be grateful for it.
Here in America, the white Christian male is the most hated person that exists because we will not yield to the lies of the world.
That Christian Pastor of any color is to be the same and unyielding to anything that goes against the Word of God.
The Lord Jesus said:
Jhn_7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Jhn_15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Those who think the world we live in is not evil are either blind or fools!
Praise the Lord for the Apostle Paul who stuck to the truth no matter what was going on in his life.
Anyone less would have thrown in the towel and given up on trying to bring the Church to the truth.
The Lord Jesus Christ never gave up on any of us, and He refuses to give up on us today!
Paul, like us, could not do much about his looks and it was God who called him to preach, and it was God who gave him the words he used.
Paul was who he was, but Paul became a great man of God and maybe the greatest Christian who has ever lived and was obedient to his calling by the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must never tear down the man of God who preaches the truth of God, but in fact encourage them in the Lord.
We have already discussed that there is a time for authority and discipline in the Church, and even that must be according to the Word of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for every living, breathing soul!
Jesus did not leave anyone out; we do that by ourselves when we reject Him!
*****2Co 10:11 Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.
2Co 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
Paul is saying what every true man of God should say! We must measure ourselves by the Lord Jesus Christ!
We are to be no different inside the Church than we are outside the Church. We are to speak only the truth of God!
We are not judges, nor is it our intention to condemn anyone.
All those who praise themselves are far bolder than the true saints of God.
We can brag on God, and we should, but we should never say, "Look what I did!"
2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
If we have given ourselves to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we can be used of God in some ministry of the true Church, but our confidence must always remain with the Lord; we are only fellow workers in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Amen
