A Picture of the Ministry

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

AIM: To discover the identifiable marks of Christian ministry

Introduction:

The Christian ministry is filled with wonderful satisfaction and joy. Explain.

But, the ministry is coupled with, at times, unbelievable hardships.

Those hardships can affect us emotionally, physically and even spiritually.

There can be hostility, criticism, dissatisfaction, even persecution.

We experience it. Paul had experienced it. He was to some degree experiencing it now with the Corinthians.

Does anyone here recognize the name, Pete Best.

How about John Lennon? Paul Mc Cartney? George Harrison?

Then why not Pete Best?

Pete Best was the Beatles very first drummer. The band had been playing around Liverpool and decided to go to London to see if they could sign a recording contract. The owner of the studio liked what he heard with one exception. He didn=t like Pete Best. He told the Beatles that if they wanted a contract they would have to get a new drummer. By the next week they had and the rest is history.

Pete Best got dissed. He got dumped.

Imagine how he must have felt his entire life?

Have you ever been dissed? Dumped?

A job. A sports team. A girlfriend. A boyfriend.

It doesn=t feel good.

Paul was struggling with something similar here at Corinth. He was sensing that these people were listening to those who were filling their ears with lies. They were pulling them away from the truth.

Look at Paul=s appeal:

Vs 11-13

7:2

Don=t dump us and in so doing dump the truth of the gospel.

So Paul does two things in chapter 6.

One, he defends his ministry. In so doing he gives us a good picture of what Christian ministry is like.

Two, he warns them about who they getting attached to. We will study that next week.

So Paul is appealing here to the Corinthians to understand the Christian ministry and make an appropriate response to it.

From this we discover crucial elements of the Christian ministry.

First of all. The Christian Ministry is about Passion. Notice Paul=s passion in verses 1&2.

Plead - beseech

Paul had such a passion for ministry that he beseeched the saved and unsaved alike. Time is short. People need to be won to Christ, and then

living for Christ. We need passion for the Spiritual well‑being of others.

To receive the grace of God in vain

Concerned that true believers would falter in their Christian life and would not be prepared for the BEMA seat of Christ

Or, there could be superficial acceptance

Or, the failure to let the implication take root

This can take the form of outright rejection. Or, Complaining or ignoring some the implications for Christian living. Or, apathy. Or, selfishness.

Failure to receive the grace of God at best would mean stunted lives and spiritual powerlessness. At worst, eternal damnation.

This would concern any genuine minister.

Secondly, the ministry has to do with passion and prevention.

Paul was fully aware that the truth of the gospel depended on God and not on the attractiveness of the minister or their persuasiveness.

But, he was also aware that inappropriate lifestyle could discredit the ministry on the eyes of an observing world. You are being watched.

I'm not encouraging phoniness that stems from the pressure to be perfect.

I am talking about being concerned about not dishonoring our Lord.

Note 7:2

WE MUST BE PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY.

Note finally, verse 3.

Paul continues by saying we commend ourselves.

Remember, he is not here bragging. He is defending the authenticity of his ministry.

This is for the spiritual life of the Corinthians.

This should teach us something about ministry and our relationships with others. There will be times when defending yourself is the appropriate measure. When the stakes are about truth and the affect of that truth in the lives of people you don't just sit back and say nothing.

So in essence Paul says look at the proof of our ministry.

Lastly, the ministry is about proof.

As a minister of the gospel Paul was not deterred even in the midst of great difficulty.

Look at the "in" conditions

4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God,

in much patience (abiding under), in tribulations (anything which burdens the spirit),

in necessities (pain, demands, anything you can't run away from),

in distresses (a narrow place - calamity),

Now Paul gets more specific. First what others did to him:

5 In stripes (blows, wounds, stricken), in imprisonments (under guard, this is plural),

in tumults (state of disorder riots),

Then, what he was willing to undertake on his own:

in labors (toil that results in weariness), in sleeplessness (consequence of devotion to duty), in fastings ("to eat not");

Note the "by" conditions. The first seven are positive statements of what the minister should be.

6 By purity (uncontaminated), by knowledge (seeking to know),

by longsuffering (makrothumia, long fused), by kindness (we are patient on the one hand and kind on the other), by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,

7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left (one hand holds the sword, the other the shield. Therefore being fully protected to cover yourself on the right and on the left.),

Note the sort of treatment handed out to Paul

8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

The "as" conditions

9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; 10 As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

What does the minister of reconciliation look like?

To what degree should he/she be involved in the ministry?

If we can't reach the degree described here we ought to at least be this kind of minister in kind?

We will not easily quit!!

Regarding passion. On a scale of one to ten, one being cold - ten being hot, what is your level of passion for others?

Regarding prevention. On a scale of one to ten, one being careless, ten being careful, how careful are you when it comes to integrity and living without offense. No legitimate complaints.

Regarding proof. On a scale of one to ten, one being not much, ten being a lot, how much evidence is there that you are one who will stick with the stuff.

Discourage you? I hope not. By the power of the living Lord Jesus we can be effective ministers of the gospel of God's grace.

There is a tale told of that great English actor Macready. An eminent preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me something." "Well, what is it? I don't know that I can explain anything to a preacher." "What is the reason for the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all." Macready's answer was this: "This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us. I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction." G. Campbell Morgan, Preaching, p. 36