Paul here is defending himself from attacks around his change of travel plans to Corinth. The real story, though, is that his teaching is being undermined and criticised by Judaizers who want to require gentile Christians to follow the ceremonial law, become circumcised and so forth.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul notes that he plans to visit Corinth around his visit to Macedonia. In the end, though, that did not come together for reasons outside his control. Paul’s enemies in the church used this as leverage to attack not just Paul, but his teachings in general.
Paul, in turn, uses the story of his human inability to accomplish what he had planned to illustrate God’s supernatural ability and faithfulness to fulfill all his promises. In fact, it is often through the disruption of our plans that God accomplishes his.
There are many things in life that we do not have control over. This can be difficult to accept, especially living in a wealthy society where we are free from many of the things that have historically upset people’s plans (war, plague, etc.). But even today, our control of our lives is much more limited than we often realize.
However, if we recognize that much of this lack of control is actually the hand of Providence, that can change our perspective. Many of us can point to things in our own lives where we have seen Providence work in the past. But we may also be able to point to situations where Providence did not work in a way that we might have hoped.
How do you respond when things spin out of your control? Job losses, disease, injury and much more can upend our plans and send us into a spiral of worry and anxiety. It takes our joy and peace, and sends us away from seeking and serving God as we are called to.
In those seasons, the challenge is to let go of the things of the world, let go of our control, and instead cling to the promises of God. We are, at Paul writes, sealed as God’s, with the Holy Spirit as a deposit of even greater things to come.
– Sermon Notes, Dave Lester, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, January 21, 2017
2 Corinthians 1:12-24
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