We Commend Ourselves in Every Way
Notes
Transcript
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
We make our appeal
We work with God to make our appeal
The grace of God in Christ is unfathomably great in every way
This includes the wonder that the sinners He saves become the instruments that He is pleased to use in His work of redemption
Do not receive the grace of God in vain
This could be understood in 2 different ways
He is calling them not to refuse Christ through faith
He is calling them not to fail to bear the fruit that befits a Gospel life
He likely has both in mind, with a special emphasis on living fruitful Gospel lives
What he likely has in mind is their reconciliation to him in brotherly love and Gospel ministry
It is possible to receive Christ by faith and then waste much of your life in unfruitfulness in personal ministry
The favorable time and day of salvation
Paul cites Isaiah 49:8
Isaiah 49:8- Bible
This passage is a prophecy about the Servant of the Lord who will deliver Israel
This, of course, was a prophecy about the Lord Jesus
Paul is showing the Corinthians that the day prophesied by Isaiah has now come because the Promised Servant has come to deliver His people
We live in the favorable time and the day of salvation
Just as Paul brings this truth close to the Corinthians to apply it to their lives, so we too ought to live in light of this reality in our lives
Christ Jesus has finished His work on the cross
The Holy Spirit has been sent to dwell in us and among us
The Gospel is marching on to the ends of the earth
Let us not sit back and watch it pass by
We commend ourselves
We do not put an obstacle in anyone’s way
Paul refuses to do anything that would trip them up
Paul makes similar statements in 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 8:13-Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
1 Corinthians 9:12- If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
Didn’t he say several times that he was not commending himself?
Yes, he did twice
2 Corinthians 3:1- Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?
2 Corinthians 5:12- We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
But he meant that he will not commend himself as others do
He will not do it by accolades
He will not do so by personal aggrandizement
He will not do it by pointing to his ability or success
Paul’s commendation of their ministry is to shine a light on the grace of God in his life and ministry
2 Corinthians 11:30- If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
What defined Paul’s ministry
The bad (vv.3-5)
by great endurance,
in afflictions,
hardships,
Calamities,
beatings,
imprisonments,
riots,
labors,
sleepless nights,
hunger
The good (vv.6-7)
by purity,
knowledge,
patience,
kindness,
the Holy Spirit,
genuine love;
by truthful speech
the power of God;
with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left
The paradoxical (vv.8-9)
through honor and dishonor,
through slander and praise.
We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;
as unknown, and yet well known;
as dying, and behold, we live;
as punished, and yet not killed;
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
as poor, yet making many rich;
as having nothing, yet possessing everything
The paradox of the Christian life
We live between the “already” of the cross and the “not yet” of the consummation
The perception of the world is not in tune with the reality of the Christian life
Do you live as paradoxically as Paul did?
We have open hearts
We have spoken freely
Paul has not kept back any part of the truth from them
He has spoken with honesty, not twisting or changing or hiding any part of the truth
He did not care about the opinion of man as he spoke. He only cared about the pleasure of God
Our hearts are open as a parent to their child
Paul’s love is genuine and deep for the Corinthians
He is not serving them out of obligation or duty
He is nurturing them as a parent loves and nurtures a child
The desire is that they will grow up into Christ
May your heart be opened to us
They have been influenced by those who are slandering Paul and have closed themselves off to him to some degree
His plea is that they would restore their open-hearted affection for him
Fellow believers in Christ, especially in the local church, ought to live with hearts open for one another
May our love and affection grow for one another, and may that overflow into faithful and fruitful ministry in every way
Our passionate appeal for the truth must be matched by Spirit-empowered living and heartfelt love
This is the design of God for your life’s ministry to others
