Paul never wrote a “how to” book on becoming successful because not one of those things he mentions is what the world tells you to do. If you want the world to pay attention to you, you have got to come across as someone who is the opposite of how Paul was seen. You need to be someone who connects well with others, you need to be famous and influential, you need to be someone who receives adulation from others, you need to be wealthy, prosperous, and confident even sometimes to the point of arrogance and pride. Those are the people who are considered to be gaining the world, those who are the winners in life.
People thought that way in Paul’s day, too. And when they saw Paul they saw someone who was exactly the opposite. To them he appeared to be an absolute nobody. He does not know anything of value, he does not possess anything of great worth, and he is completely unknown by the social elites, the movers and shakers of the culture who are said to matter the most. It is as if they put Paul on a scale and found him weightless.
In a certain sense Paul says, “Yes, that is true of me. That is the way I came to you. I didn’t come with letters of recommendation. I didn’t come with the external polish. I certainly did not come with wealth.” But he says, “If you look beneath the surface, to the things that are unseen, you will find that in every one of those categories the opposite was really the truth.”
Undoubtedly his critics there in Corinth accused Paul of being an imposter because he was not acting like they thought a true apostle should act. Nevertheless, Paul knew perfectly well that God saw him as genuine because the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus and called him to this mission. People also said that Paul was unknown. Paul would answer, “Yes, that’s true. In the world’s eyes, I certainly am unknown. But I’m known to God because I am one of His children.”
Was Paul dying and beaten? Yes, because his life was in danger seemingly wherever he went. And as he says elsewhere, “for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). But the Lord delivered him again and again. Was he sorrowful? Yes, he sorrowed over sin and his difficult work among the churches, but he was constantly rejoicing because of the grace of God lavished upon him. Finally, was Paul poor and in need of basic necessities? Yes, he was that, too. But at the same time he was rich in spiritual things, not only in his own life but also as he worked so tirelessly to impart those blessings to others. Because Paul was in Christ, he possessed the only thing that really mattered.
I wonder if that is true of us, or if it is not rather the case that we have sold out for the world’s way of doing things. We covet the things it values—its good reputation, its knowledge, and all the other things that come at the expense of what is spiritually worthwhile.
Paul gets to the end of this list and he speaks of commending himself to the Corinthians. It is a commendation to believers, but it is also a commendation to unbelievers, too. By how Paul lives he is declaring to everyone that this world is not all there is. If you are an unsaved person, you look at this world and conclude that you have got to get everything you can out of it because that is what matters the most. Paul is saying to you through this passage that this way of thinking is not at all true. What really matters are the things that are eternal. Paul is a living testimony to that fact, and as he serves as a living testimony to this he is a testimony to the Gospel. He wants to show that it is possible for a man to lose everything in order that he might have Jesus Christ, and because he has Jesus Christ, he has everything. That is the way you commend the Gospel to the world. That is why the Church has prospered in times of suffering and why it has so often failed to prosper in times of material prosperity. May God give us grace to live like Paul in these areas, and may many people find Christ through our testimony.
