Trusting Paul
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2
I. You can trust Paul because he is an apostle sent by God.
- Paul begins his letter to a church that wonders if they can trust him by reminding them that he was sent as an apostle to them by God. In Acts 1:21-22 we read that by definition an apostle had to be an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry as well as Jesus’ death and resurrection. But Paul was not an eyewitness of Jesus. How then could Paul be an apostle? We discover how in Paul’s testimony in Acts 26:16-18.
- Was Paul an eyewitness to Jesus? Yes. He saw the resurrected Jesus ruling from heaven. Seeing was believing for Paul. He knew that Jesus was the king he had been waiting for. So, he obeyed Jesus his king. He would be sent from Jesus as His apostle to the Gentiles to bring them the Good News. The true Christians in Corinth trusted Paul because he was Christ’s apostle by the will of God. And we Christians today trust Paul and his words for the same reason.
II. You can trust Paul because you are the church of God.
- In verse 1 Paul addresses his letter “to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia.” The word church means an assembly of people who gathered together to hear God’s Word and live it out. Since the Corinthians were part of the church, they were saints. A saint is someone chosen by God to live a holy life, set apart for God from the world. Every Christian is a saint.
- This is the church of God. God owns it. And God brought you into the church when you believed the apostles’ message that Jesus died for your sins and rose again. How did the Jesus that we follow lead? He led not by climbing the world’s glory ladder. Jesus went down in this world, not up. Jesus gave us the pattern for leadership and life. God’s strength through our weakness. Paul lived in the same humble way so we can trust him and others like him.
III. You can trust Paul because his message brings grace and peace from God.
- Paul blesses the Corinthians: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God gives grace to Christians who have done nothing to merit God’s favor. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” And God blesses us with peace with God. Ephesians 2:13-14: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace.”
Application:
Be a Christian leader that others can trust. Be like Paul.
Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by Trent Casto, Gary Millar, Colin Kruse, and David Garland.
Sermon Outline Questions
1) Why can we trust the teaching of the apostles in the Bible? Who are the leaders in the church sent by?
2) What does it mean to be the church? If the church was formed by believing the message that the apostles preached about Jesus, how trustworthy are those apostles?
3) What are some of the blessings that the Gospel has brought into our lives? Have we done anything to merit the grace of God in our lives? Who and what do we have peace with because we have believed the Gospel?