コリントの信徒への手紙二13:1-4

なぜなら、あなたがたはキリストがわたしによって語っておられる証拠を求めているからです。キリストはあなたがたに対しては弱い方でなく、あなたがたの間で強い方です。

（二コリント13:3）

この手紙の10章10節を読むと、コリント教会の中にはパウロのことを「手紙は重々しく力強いが、実際に会ってみると弱々しい人で、話もつまらない」と低く評価する信徒たちがいたことがわかります。おそらくその印象は、パウロがみだらな行いをする信徒を悔い改めさせるために訪問したけれども指導が受け入れられなかった、あの第二回目の訪問で植え付けられたものだったのでしょう。そのような印象を植え付けられたコリント教会の信徒たちは、キリストがパウロによって語っておられるという証拠を求めていました。「もし本当にキリストがパウロによって語っておられるとすれば、パウロはもっと力強いはずではないか。その証拠を見せてほしい」ということです。

そのような要求に対して、パウロは「キリストはあなたがたに対しては弱い方でなく、あなたがたの間で強い方です」と答えます。キリストはコリント教会の信徒たちの間で力強く働いてくださる、ということをパウロも認めているのです。しかし、キリストが力強く働いてくださるのは、強く見える人たちを通してではなく、弱く見えるパウロを通してである、とパウロは主張します。なぜなら、キリストご自身が十字架につくことによって弱い人になられ、その後で力強く復活されたからです。パウロが4節の後半で「わたしたちもキリストに結ばれた者として弱い者ですが、しかし、あなたがたに対しては、神の力によってキリストと共に生きています」と記しているのは、パウロもまた十字架について死んでその後で復活したキリストと結ばれているので、弱い者であるけれどもあなた方に対しては力強い者でもあるのだ、ということです。この手紙の12章9節には、キリストがパウロに「わたしの恵みはあなたに十分である。力は弱さの中でこそ十分に発揮されるのだ」と語られたことが記されています。そのことを、パウロはコリント教会の信徒たちに対する訓練においても主張しているのです。　　　（1月22日の説教より）

Adults’ Sermon (January 22, 2023)

2 Corinthians 13:1-4, “Training by Christ” by Rev. MIYOSHI Akira

In a teacher-disciple relationship, it is natural for the teacher to train the disciple. And when you read the Gospels, you encounter scenes where Jesus Christ trains his disciples. For example, the scene where he crosses the lake of Galilee in a small boat. Let me read you chapter 8, verses 22-25 of the Gospel according to Luke, which describes that scene.

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

What is interesting about this scene is that Christ was asleep when a gust of wind caused the lake to turn into a great storm and put the boat in danger. It was only when he was awakened by his disciples asking for help that he performed the miracle of calming the wind and the raging waves. Christ did not prevent the wind and the raging waves beforehand, nor did He wake up and perform the miracle as soon as windstorm came. He did not do anything until the disciples said, ” Master, Master, we are perishing!” and asked for help. He dared to put them through a difficult experience. Then, after performing the miracle of calming the wind and the raging waves, He pointed out their unbelief by sternly asking them, “Where is your faith?” In other words, Christ made the disciples aware that they still lacked real faith and trained them to have real faith in Christ in the midst of difficulties.

We can undergo the same kind of training that these first disciples experienced. In other words, we think that this is what faith is, but Christ tells us that it is not real faith, and we are trained in what real faith is through difficult experiences. In English, training a disciple is called “discipline.” In the Christian church, the word “discipline” means disciplining of believers as disciples of Christ.

In the church of Corinth of the New Testament times, once this “discipline” was done. The Corinthian church had serious problems with believers who were doing sexual immorality and worshipping idols. Paul stayed in Ephesus which is now in western Turkey and evangelised the people of Ephesus, while also going to Corinth in Greece to visit and write to the congregation of the Corinthian church. As I have told you before, there was a visit called “Visits of Sorrow” where he visited but Paul’s instruction was not accepted, and there was also a severe letter called “Letter of Tears” where he wrote to the congregation asking for their repentance. By the time Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, God’s guidance had led the immoral believer to repent and the problem was on its way to being resolved. In chapter 2, verses 5-8 of this letter, we find the following words of Paul.

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

“He who has caused pain” was the immoral believer that overtly rebelled against Paul when he visited and instructed the Corinthian church. By rebelling against Paul, he created a group of believers in the Corinthian church who sympathised with him and did not follow Paul, sowing the seeds of further strife in the Corinthian church. However, Paul’s “Letter of Tears” caused many believers to repent. The “Letter of Tears” must have been read at a meeting of the Corinthian church. Many of the believers who heard the reading repented under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They changed their attitude of sympathy towards the immoral believer and punished him. This is indicated by the words “this punishment by the majority is enough.” What kind of punishment was “this punishment”? Probably it was the suspension of the holy communion, which stopped the person from participating in the holy communion. And “this punishment by the majority is enough” probably means that the punished believer has repented.

Reading the passage above, it might seem that the problems of the Corinthian church were almost solved. In reality, however, the solution had only begun to emerge. The roots of the problems of the Corinthian church were very deep. This can be seen by reading chapter 12, verses 20 and 21, which immediately precede today’s passage.

For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

The bad behaviour that is still worryingly present in the Corinthian church could be divided into two main categories. The first is mentioned in verse 20: “quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.” Originally, the Corinthian church was a church with internal partisan strife. In 1 Corinthians 1:12, the partisan strife is described as: “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”. In addition to this, one can imagine that after the writing of 1 Corinthians, the situation was further complicated by the arrival in the Corinthian church of counterfeit evangelists with letters of recommendation from other churches, who watered down the Word of God in order to make money.

Another bad behaviour is mentioned in verse 21: “the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality.” There was a believer in the Corinthian church who is sleeping with his father’s wife (I Corinthians 5:1) and those who went to prostitutes even after they had been baptised (I Corinthians 6:15-16). As I mentioned earlier, the majority of the congregation punished the immoral believers, and it seems that he also repented. That is why Paul wrote in chapter 2:7 of this letter, ” You should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ” Nevertheless, why is it that Paul is concerned here that “I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced”?

This is probably because human nature is fundamentally opposed to God’s teachings. This means that even if we say we have repented, that repentance may only be temporary. The human heart, even if it repents, still has a strong self-centredness at its root that opposes God. And if they do not continually repent, they will do the same bad deeds as before. Therefore, the character building of Christians requires a strictness that demands constant repentance.

Therefore, in verses 1 and 2 of today’s Bible passage, Paul speaks sternly to the congregation of the Corinthian church, again calling for repentance.

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—

Paul’s first visit to Corinth was to evangelise and start a church. The second visit was a visit to bring the immoral believers to repentance. This visit was the “Visit of Sorrow” for Paul, who gave instruction but it was not accepted. And now, in this third visit, he wants to take decisive action against the sins that still remain in the Corinthian church. “Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” are the words of the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 19:15, which set out the procedure for the trial. It states that the conviction of a person for a crime must be established not only by the testimony of one witness, but also by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Paul, following the Old Testament law, warns in advance that he intends to punish “those who sinned before and all the others without sparing them if their sins are once again proven. “Those who sinned before” include probably the person who had rebelled against Paul because of his immoral behaviour. This person was reported to Paul through Titus as having repented, but if his repentance is not continued until the next time Paul goes, Paul is probably going to punish him again. And “all the others” could be all the believers in the Corinthian church, and in particular all those who did not agree with him when he punished the immoral believer. It seems that not all the congregations were in favour of the punishment of the man, since in 2:6 of this letter it says: “This punishment by the majority is enough.” Paul is probably asking again whether there is repentance among those who were not in favour of punishment for the immoral believer.

Furthermore, in the following verses 3 and 4 of today’s passage, Paul writes:

since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

A reading of chapter 10:10 of this letter reveals that some members of the Corinthian church had a low opinion of Paul, saying that “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” Perhaps that impression was planted during that second visit, when Paul visited the immoral believer to bring him to repentance, but his instruction was not accepted. With such an impression planted in their minds, the Corinthian congregation wanted proof that Christ was speaking through Paul. They said: “If Christ is really speaking through Paul, shouldn’t Paul be more powerful? Show us the proof of this.”

To such a request, Paul replies, “Christ is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you.” Paul also acknowledges that Christ works mightily among the believers of the Corinthian church. However, Paul insists that Christ works mightily, not through those who appear strong, but through Paul, who appears weak. This is because Christ Himself became weak by His crucifixion and then rose again in power. When Paul writes in the second half of verse 4, “We also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God,” he is saying that although he is weak because he is united to Christ, who died on the cross, and he is also strong in relation to you because he is united to Christ, who died on the cross and then resurrected. In chapter 12 verse 9 of this letter, Christ says to Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” This is also asserted by Paul in his training for the congregation of the Corinthian church.

Paul’s humility and weakness in offering himself to serve the Corinthian church, and being told by the arrogant congregation, “Show us the proof of Christ speaking in you”, is the image of a servant who shares Christ’s afflictions. Christ was trying to train the congregation of the Corinthian church by means of such a man, Paul. The faith of the Corinthian congregation was immature and had not yet fully accepted the cross of Christ. In order to make them realise the immaturity of their faith and to help them grow into a mature faith that has fully accepted the cross of Christ, Christ was training them through Paul. If the brothers and sisters of the Shiki-Kita Presbyterian Church were to say to me, “Show us the proof of Christ speaking through you,” I would reply in the same way as Paul. “I also are weak in him, but in dealing with you I will live with him by the power of God.”