Gripped by the Gospel

v.11 In verse ten Paul revealed the sobering truth that we will all give an account to Christ some day. It was this reality that caused Paul to fear God. The “fear of the Lord” “related both to Paul and those he preached to. It related to him in that he would give account for his ministry. It related to the lost in that Paul desired them to be saved from the wrath of God. Paul was completely convinced of a judgment day for believers and unbelievers.

Paul persuaded men in two areas.

*First, he wanted to convince them of the truth of the gospel. His ultimate desire was that everyone would commit to the truth of the gospel.

* Second, he wanted to convince the Corinthians that he was a trustworthy minister. Paul’s enemies sought to cast him in a bad light. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know he was sincere (1:12). If the Corinthians did not trust Paul, they would not trust his ministry.

Ultimately Paul knew that God knew his heart. Paul said “What we are is known to God” God knew that Paul was a man of integrity. Paul’s hope was the Corinthians would be convinced of this as well. Paul lived a life of godliness and humility before the Corinthians. In their consciences they could not say he was an ungodly man. They had witnessed his passion and integrity since the inception of the Corinthian church.

v.12 Paul had already proven to the Corinthians that he was a man of God. It was not his intention to go through that process again. He would not use his time listing his accomplishments and references. He would not give the false teachers of the Corinthians the satisfaction of engaging them in debate. They were not convincible because they were blind to the truth of the gospel.

Paul would let the Corinthian believer’s boast on his behalf. The false teachers boasted in their outward appearance. They appeared righteous but were ungodly on the inside. Their hearts were wicked. Paul only boasted in the gospel (1 Cor. 9:16, Galatians 6:14). He would allow the Corinthians to tell the false teachers of his sincerity and integrity (Proverbs 27:2).

v.13 “Beside ourselves” means to be out of one’s mind. Many of Paul’s enemies charged him with being crazy. His message and zeal lent to that accusation. Jesus was called demon possessed and certainly John the Baptist seemed a little odd. Paul fit right in this category. If Paul was crazy, he asserted that he was crazy for God!

There must have been a debate within the church about Paul’s sanity. “In our right mind” speaks of one who thinks rationally and sensibly. Some contended that Paul was in his right mind. Paul said if he was sane, he was sane for the sake of the Corinthians. Of course Paul was sane, he just refused to get caught up in the debate. He chose to let his testimony speak for itself. Hopefully the Corinthians would recognize the truth and silence the critics.

v.14 “Control” means to compel. It refers to being under the influence of something. Paul was controlled by the love of Christ. Paul is not talking about his love for Christ but Jesus’ love for him. Paul’s understanding that the Lord loved him compelled him and other faithful preachers. Paul was compelled to continue in the ministry. He would faithfully proclaim the gospel because he had become aware of just how much the Lord loved him.

Christ’s love for us compelled Him to die for us. “One died for all.” The death of Jesus for the sins of the world reveals the universal guilt of humanity. Jesus died for us because we were dead in our sins.

v.15 Paul saw that humanity has an obligation because of what Christ has done for us. We are obligated to live for Jesus because He died for us. Not only did Christ die for us, but He rose again. His resurrection established as true all He ever taught. God’s great love for us demands that our all be given to Him. We owe God more than we could ever give Him. The least we can give Him is all we have, our life.

v.16 Paul no longer saw people according to the flesh. He saw them through spiritual eyes. He saw them as spiritual beings created for eternity.

Before Paul was saved, he knew Christ only according to the flesh. He saw Christ as a false teacher. He saw Christians as deceived and condemned. Paul now saw Jesus and humanity in an entirely different light. The gospel had opened his eyes (4:6).

v.17 The gospel is powerful. It places us in Christ. When we are in Christ we are new creatures. The old things is the old way of life we lived. Everything is new when a person is born again. Salvation is transforming. God not only save us from the penalty of sin but from the power of sin as well. He gives us a new mind, a new spirit and a new heart. Our desires and passions are completely changed.

v.18 “All this” is the new things that come because of salvation. All these things come from God. Man cannot reconcile himself to God. God alone can reconcile humanity to a proper relationship with Himself. He does this through Jesus Christ. Christ’s sacrifice for our sin appeased the wrath of God. Man cannot do that for himself.

Out of His grace, God has now given believers the ministry of reconciliation. This is done through the sharing of the gospel. We have the glorious privilege of bringing men and women to God through the gospel. It is nothing we do other than share what Christ has already done.

v.19 God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ. Because of the cross, humanities sin is not counted toward them. When we accept the gospel, God does not deny that we are sinners. He simply does not count our sins against us. Count means to “put to one’s account”. If we are in Christ God does not charge us for our sin. Christ has paid the wages of our sin. He has borne hell for us. Now we have the honor and responsibility of extending the gospel to the lost. We desire that they, like us, will be reconciled to God.

v.20 Ambassadors are representatives. As new creations we are the representatives of Christ. God urges others to come to Him through us! Paul believed that it was our responsibility to beg people to receive the gospel. As Christ’s representative we should reflect His character. Christ was passionate and diligent in His dealings with people. He so desired that even His enemies come to salvation that He prayed for them His final hours on earth.

v.21 The “He” here is God. God made Christ sin for us. This does not mean that God made Jesus a sinner. God makes no one sin (James 1:13). As well Jesus was sinless. The phrase means that God treated Jesus as a sinner. In other words, Jesus was punished for our sins.

As a result of Christ’s sacrifice, we can now be made righteous. The “righteousness of God” means that the righteousness comes from God. If we are “in Him” (Christ) we have the righteousness of God. Our own righteousness is not sufficient to please God. We need a perfect righteousness. That can only come from God (Romans 5:19).

Thoughts To Consider

1. The fear of the Lord should encourage us to live with integrity.

2. God’s love for us should compel us to be a witness to the lost.

3. When it comes to salvation we can take no credit.

4. Sadly most believers represent the world more accurately than they do the Lord.