Scripture
5Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you.; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. 6As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority. 2 Corinthians 13:5-6
Observation
The Apostle Paul had planted the church in Corinth. They knew Jesus and saw many signs and wonders because of Paul’s ministry. Yet, after Paul left for Macedonia some faux spiritual leaders came in and began to supplant his position of authority by breeding doubt and deception about the validity of Paul’s ministry. After many chapters of defending himself against these accusations from the false apostles, he challenged them to interrogate their own reality. Paul knew all about this religious pride because that used to be him before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus all those years ago. At that time he had thought he was fighting for God when really he was fighting against Him. This is why he tells his accusers and the Christians in Corinth to examine themselves, to test their own faith to see if Jesus is with them. He expected that many would gaslight him, but to gaslight the gospel was unacceptable. Paul would not stand for this. The Greek word for “test” is the process used of seeing if a metal is genuine or not. In the markets of Paul’s day, everything was weighed and measured in the purchase process. Local authorities would “test” coins to make sure they weren’t counterfeit. They were testing the money with the expectation that it would pass the test. They aimed to detect any counterfeits to give customers confidence in the coinage they were using. If word got around that counterfeit coins were being used people would stop buying and selling. If these lies were repeated often enough the market would shut down. Thus, the authorities had to be present every day to stop the gaslighting and keep confidence in the currency. The church in Corinth had lost confidence in Paul’s ministry because of the suspicion raised by these leaders who repeatedly claimed Paul was a counterfeit. This was no longer just about Paul but about his message and their faith in Jesus. Thus, Paul wrote the following about his coming visit, “7We pray to God that you will not do what is wrong by refusing our correction. I hope we won’t need to demonstrate our authority when we arrive. Do the right thing before we come—even if that makes it look like we have failed to demonstrate our authority. 8For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth. 9We are glad to seem weak if it helps show that you are actually strong. We pray that you will become mature.” (2 Cor. 13:7-8) The best way to reveal the counterfeit is to hold it up to the genuine. The best way to reveal the lie is to uphold the truth. It was time for them to stop manipulating others. It was time to put the gaslight out and come back to the true light of God’s Word.
Application
There’s been a lot of gaslighting going around. Ross Rosenberg defines gaslighting “to implant false and/or distorted narratives that are specially designed or formulated to manipulate a person into a destructive web of deception, loss of control, and the surrender of personal freedom and beliefs of self-worth, self-value, self-esteem, and productivity.” How in the world could people who were saved under Paul’s ministry now turn on him so quickly? How could they now doubt the very Gospel of Christ? These false apostles wanted to control and therefore had to get the church in Corinth to doubt the Savior they had surrendered their lives to. They repeated these lies so many times they actually started to believe they were true. This is why Paul brings it back to Jesus. Cut out the rhetoric. Turn off the noise. Get out of the echo chamber and come back to Christ. The fruit of following Jesus is peace over paranoia, humility over hubris, and a desire to build others up rather than tear them down. Anyone who is trying to get you to put your confidence in them over Christ must be confronted. On our 16 year anniversary at The Father's House this past Sunday I shared our vision for the church moving forward. There was a true excitement about where God was calling us to go. Then, I said, “Please don’t put your confidence in me. I can’t save, heal, or deliver anyone. Only Jesus can do that. With our simple mission of “Jesus Every Day” if I’m doing anything other than pointing you towards Christ I’m failing you as a pastor. I will let you down, but our Savior never will.” Instead of gaslighting, trying to manipulate people to put their trust in me during uncertain times, I’m just trying to point to The Light that will never fade and the only One who can lead us through the darkness. There’s so much untruth, mistruth, and half-truths being perpetuated and repeated in a world that doesn’t even believe in abject truth. How Paul’s words ring like a clarion call to those who follow The Truth- “For we cannot oppose the truth, but must always stand for the truth.” It’s hard to stand when your equilibrium is thrown off because what you’ve been leaning on has given out from under you. As the gaslight is slowly being lowered people are realizing they’ve been putting their trust in shadows and specters, in platforms and personalities all of which have let them down. I am not here to defend myself but I am here to defend the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you meet me and forget me you’ve lost nothing. If you meet Christ and forget Him you’ve lost everything.
Prayer
In a world of lies, exaggeration, false hope, escalation, domination, manipulation, and control how we simply need You, Jesus. In a world of gaslighting to gain control, You are the only One actually in control! Let me be a light in the night pointing to the genuine article. Let my heart not be swayed by the repetitive words swirling around me, but remain grounded in Your unchanging words written for me.
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