![]() ![]() At the same time, Paul also battled a big, fat ego. 2 Corinthians 12:11ĭo you think just maybe he protests too much? In all probability, he fought the awful feeling that he wasn’t as good as the others who hadn’t done nearly so much wrong. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the ‘super-apostles,’ even though I am nothing. I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. If you’re not convinced, take a look at what blurted from his pen only a chapter later: I do not think I am in the least inferior to those ‘super apostles.’ I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge.’ 2 Corinthians 11:5-6 Take, for instance, the way he felt the need to affirm his credentials to the people he served in Corinth by using this little twist: Don’t think for a moment he didn’t fight his own flesh just like the rest of us. He was enormously used of God in spite of himself. In fact, her argument depends on an unpopular understanding of 2 Corinthians.īeth writes that Paul is one of her “favorite people in the entire stretch of Scripture” because While clearly the writers of Scripture were human with the same propensity for sin and suffering, it is difficult to agree with Beth’s rationale for her claim to Pauline insecurity. Not only does Beth suggest that insecurity is one of women’s greatest problems, she also argues that insecurity is where she finds camaraderie with the apostle Paul. Keep in mind what she is ultimately saying about the insertion of sinful attitudes as part of the biblical writers’ instructional material. Well, when my article is published, I will provide a link to the full text, in the meantime, take a look at how Beth handles Paul. There is much to be said about Beth’s influence in the Church that I believe male and female leaders need to take a second look at. The fine writers at CT were working on a similar project which became a recent cover story and companion article. By the power of the same Holy Spirit who took the gospel to Europe by way of Philippi, discover what Paul magnificently called The Surpassing Value of Knowing Christ.A few months ago, I began writing a piece on the teachings of Beth Moore. Come along with Beth and Melissa in this four-week, five-session study of Philippians. ![]() The book of Philippians is exhortation driven by unabashed affection, inviting the reader to join in imitating his joyful, single-minded pursuit of Jesus. What kind of mindset makes a person like Paul-unstoppable in love, faith, and good works even in a steady flow of frustration, conflict, and opposition? What keeps a person from becoming cynical when people are notoriously exploiting the gospel and preaching Christ out of selfish ambition? Paul's brief letter to the saints in Philippi may well capture the mindset that set him apart like no other piece of correspondence from his pen. The power of the Holy Spirit that first came gently to Europe in a riverside prayer-gathering soon burgeoned into an earthquake beneath a jailhouse, loosing the chains of every prisoner and dousing a jailer and his household in the waters of baptism. No beating with rods could silence the melody of his midnight song. ![]() No slander nor accusation could sideline him. Paul's fervor could not be starved, smothered, nor drowned. From the moment he was introduced to Jesus by name in a blinding flash of light to his final days chained like an animal in a Roman dungeon, he relentlessly pursued Christ and preached the gospel entrusted to him. A Living Proof Ministries Title The apostle Paul was an extraordinary individual by any measure. ![]()
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