Through his exposition of 2 Corinthians, Pastor David Jang warns the modern church—surrounded by material abundance yet suffering spiritual poverty—by conveying the burning tears of the Apostle Paul and the true authority of an apostle. Discover what genuine richness and mature love really are through Pastor David Jang’s profound theological insight.
The
night in Corinth, a dazzling harbor city, was always radiant with lights. Gold
coins and exotic spices arrived on the trade winds in overflowing abundance.
Yet paradoxically, the Corinthian church—standing at the very center of that
prosperity—was suffering the deepest spiritual thirst. Outwardly, they appeared
to lack nothing, but inwardly division, jealousy, and worldly desire were
growing like poisonous mushrooms. Through the words of 2 Corinthians chapters
12 and 13, Pastor David Jang (Olivet University) vividly brings before us today
the heart of the Apostle Paul, who wept as he clung to this glittering shell.
This was not merely a pastor’s rebuke. It was the desperate love of a
father—raising the rod with a bleeding heart as he watches his child stray onto
a disastrous path.
Gilded
Poverty, a Lonely Landscape
Rembrandt’s
masterpiece The Return of the Prodigal Son comes to mind. In
the painting, the father silently embraces his son—filthy and dressed in
tattered clothes. The father’s hands wrap around the son’s bruised shoulders,
restoring the dignity the son had lost. But the situation in Corinth was the complete
opposite. They wore fine garments and gold rings, yet spiritually they were
clothed in rags worse than the prodigal’s. They boasted of their wealth, but
were stingy when it came to helping the poor brothers in Jerusalem, and they
even hesitated to provide material support to the Apostle Paul—the very one who
had given them spiritual birth.
Pastor
David Jang draws attention to Paul’s cry: “What I seek is not your possessions,
but you.” This sentence is a chilling alarm to the modern church, which has
fallen into materialism and lost the essence of faith. The Macedonian
believers, though in extreme poverty, broke themselves to serve the brothers
and the apostle; the Corinthians, though overflowing with resources, locked the
bolts of their hearts. Pastor Jang sees this as “the tragedy in which material
abundance became a shackle that restricted spiritual devotion.” Paul’s
willingness to sacrifice himself—saying it is right for parents to store up for
their children—proclaims a spiritual value that cannot be measured in money.
This forces a painful examination: can the outward growth we boast of today
truly be recognized as real richness before God?
God’s
Strength Contained in the Vessel of Weakness
The
world worships power and success. The Corinthians did as well. Seeing Paul
refuse payment and support himself while ministering, they even questioned his
apostolic authority. It was worldly logic: “If he were a true apostle,
shouldn’t he be honored and properly supported?” In the face of such insulting
misunderstanding, Paul begins a defense that could seem petty. Scripture calls
it “foolish,” yet Paul willingly chooses to become that fool—because what he
had to protect was not his pride, but the truth of the gospel on which the
believers were meant to stand.
Here
Pastor David Jang’s theological insight shines. Through Paul’s confession—“When
I am weak, then I am strong”—he presents a true model of humility. Paul did not
boast in his impressive learning or background. Instead, he boasted in his
illness, persecution, and poverty, because through those cracks the power of
Christ could flow most fully. Pastor Jang emphasizes that this is the dignity
of a genuine spiritual leader. True authority is not the kind that dominates
like the rulers of this world, but sacrificial authority—willing even to expose
one’s own shame and weakness in order to save one’s children. Paul’s defense
was not excuse-making; it was the desperate defensive battle of a shepherd
guarding a flock that had lost its way.
The
Order of Love and the Eternal Embrace of the Trinity
Love
is not unconditional permissiveness. Just as new flesh cannot grow without
cutting away what is rotten, Paul warns of firm discipline for the sake of the
church’s holiness. Compromising with sin is not love; it is enabling. Pastor
David Jang argues that Paul’s severe warning is not meant to destroy the
church, but rather reflects “the will of a builder”—to restore collapsed order
and make believers whole. One reason the church today has become an object of
ridicule may be that, under the name of love, it has tolerated sin and lost
holy order. True love hates evil and rejoices with the truth.
After
all his passionate exhortation and rebuke, Paul closes 2 Corinthians 13 with
the famous benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” This is not merely
a period at the end of a worship service. It is a powerful theological
declaration that binds together a church stained by conflict and
misunderstanding, the temptations of wealth, and spiritual complacency. Pastor
David Jang stresses that this Trinitarian blessing is the church’s only
solution for overcoming the harsh world. When our sins are cleansed by the
grace of Jesus, when we embrace one another through the love of God, and when
we become one in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the church is reborn as a
holy community that the world cannot withstand.
Today, we must ask ourselves: Is our faith chasing Corinth’s glittering appearance, or clinging to the weakness of the cross that Paul embodied? The message Pastor David Jang delivers through Paul is clear: return not to a faith that fills the wallet, but to a faith that fills the soul. For that path alone is the only way the church can burn as a true lamp of hope in a shaking age.
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