Two Gifts

ME

It’s good to be back to join our MCBC family to worship God and share God’s truth with you this morning. I was away on a week’s cruise to Alaska, it’s my fourth time there (because Alaskan cruise towards the end of August are cheap) and I am blessed my father paid for the whole trip and treated Shannon and me as well as my brother’s whole family.

WE

For the most part it was a really good experience to share with great food, marvelling at the grandeur of creation with towering mountains and beautiful glaciers, seeing wildlife like the bald eagles, even two perching together on the beach, a black bear hunting for fresh salmon, but there also were some family drama with one of my niece throwing a temper tantrum and refusing to take a proper photo on formal night, and another family member got mad at the rest of us and didn’t speak on the day we landed. And seven out of the eight of us are Christians! It just reminded me once again just because we are a community of believers, it doesn’t guarantee a week without conflict. Such is our community in Corinth which Paul is trying to love and minister into maturity.

GOD

GOD

We picked up from after 2:5-11 on page 965 in your pew Bible where Paul told the church of Corinth to forgive the one who was committing sexual immorality with his father’s wife because through excommunication, he has repented and even if he caused Paul alot of grief, Paul would rather Satan lose from causing division and disunity to further than for him to win some respect and pride. We remembered that whatever Paul does, taught and modeled, it was always away from himself and for the sake of others, for the church, for his repentant opponent, for Christ. Having brought everyone relatively back on the same page, we begin with noticing Paul once again showing his other first mentality, even his weakness, if we can call him that, when he gave up on an opportunity to establish a new church for the sake of this church.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

What’s going on here? Remember Paul’s sidetrip which caused a lot of rumblings within the church of Corinth about how flippant he was in deciding to skip Macedonia in 1:15-16? And instead of making the visit, he had sent Titus on his behalf with a painful letter? Paul picks up where we left off in chapter 2:1. Troas is the city at the northwestern tip port closest by sea to travel to Macedonia or Achaia. Perhaps waiting for Titus’ return with the news of how the church (believers) of Corinth would respond to his letter, he saw another opportunity to start sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ IN Troas, and clearly there was reception from the people there, as Paul describes a door was opened for me. However, Paul is only human and his heart can’t be worrying about Titus or the letter he carries while at the same time share freely without emotional hindrance the gospel to the community of Troas. Why hasn’t Titus returned? Did the Corinthians took further offense to Paul’s latest letter and letter carrier? Could they have even harmed him and that’s why he hasn’t come back. Remember we are talking about waiting for months, and there is no cell phone you can call long dsitance to get an update, or reach Titus specifically. All this speculation was enough to drive Paul’s spirit to not be able to rest, so he decided the only way to break the tension is to give into his anxiety and find out what has happened and travel to Macedonia, where Titus would have needed to travel back to Asia Minor assuming he had missed the last boat by sea. Paul went again to Macedonia and onto his second missionary journey. Surprisingly we will not revisit his reunion with Titus until because Paul is going to take a deep dive into establishing the argument he is God’s minister of a New Covenant from the next verse all the way until near the end of chapter 7. Remember again, we are reading a contextual letter with a clear sender (Paul and Timothy) and a clear receiver (the church of Corinth and the saints of Achaia) wrestling with church life issues. This is why although we love the spiritual truths conveyed in chapter 4 about treasures in jars of clay, or chapter 5 which Pastor Israel two weeks back while I was away on the ministry of reconciliation, these are all to serve the larger context of Paul’s attempt to convince the church of Corinth he is a minister of the New Covenant.

Paul returns to his other theme of suffering and ties into the first of two gifts Christ bestows on us as ministers of the gospel: the privilege to share the gospel. Only he used a very interesting analogy which requires some explaining so bear with me:

fhi

2 Corinthians 7:5-16

I. GOD GIVES US THE GOSPEL NOT ONLY TO SAVE US BUT FOR US TO PROCLAIM TO OTHERS.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

We notice many analogies, one referring to a triumphal procession, and another using the metaphors of fragrance and aroma. We will get back to these latter ones later, but let’s focus on the first:

Aroma says who you’ve been with or where you’ve been to

korean BBQ, or smell from Keele St. bubble gum factory while working at Keele Print or going to York University

English Standard Version Chapter 2

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and

English Standard Version Chapter 2

17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Aroma says who you’ve been with or where you’ve been to

korean BBQ, or smell from Keele St. bubble gum factory while working at Keele Print or going to York University

English Standard Version Chapter 2

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and

What is a triumphal procession? And why should Paul give thanks to God for it, in fact, giving thanks to God for all of verses 14 to 16? A triumphal procession as the people of Paul’s time would have understood it was a grand spectacle featuring the victorious general clothes in purple robe, garland on his head, riding on his chariot, mighty, pompous and glorious, bringing the spoils of war, the images of the enemies and lastly the defeated enemies themselves chained with their families and supporters for all the public to see in humiliation, heading to the temple of Jupiter and ultimately ends in their execution or acquittal, as the general pleases.

The closest thing I can think of is the national military parades by socialist countries where they displayed before their “Caesar” the latest prowess of military technologies, armored tanks, missile launchers, fighter jets screeching high above the clouds, and the disciplined and uniformed marching of soldiers carrying machine guns, and military bands triumphally play their national anthemn displaying in all its glory the power and might of their country. Except usually the leader stands at a podium instead of being in the march. So maybe it’s more like the Raptors Parade in downtown Toronto a few months ago where the “victors,” the players, the coaches, and their families are on top of buses waving to cheering fans as it makes its way to Jurassic Park for their final inaugural (though there is no chained up Steph Curry or Kevin Durant tied to the last bus to be brought in shame from behind, that would be ridiculous, and probably illegal)! So maybe it’s a bit like the one (militaristic) and a bit like the other (the victor is part of the procession), but why did Paul use this analogy? If you read the ESV translation, it says Christ always lead us in trumphal procession, you would picture Paul being the one the chariot waving to the Corinth church as his opponents are forced to march in chains for the suffering they caused him… and this would be strange because everywhere from the first few words of the letter Paul never exalts himself except for being a slave of Christ. So what else could this mean? Here is where looking at another bible translation helps (and a shameless plug for me to encourage you to join one of the sunday school classes, particularly my How to Read the Bible for All its Worth where we will talk about this very topic today)!

The New International Version Chapter 2

14 But thanks be to God,q who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aromar of the knowledges of him everywhere.

Interesting the NIV adds ‘leads us AS CAPTIVES,’ which changes the whole meaning of the message, doesn’t it? If we are captives, i.e. the chained up and defeated combatant in the triumphal procession, well who else could defeat us but Christ himself, not with clubs and spears, but defeated us in our life of sin and shame by himself subjgating himself to the shame of the cross for the sin he never committed so as to become victor and proclaimed in his resurrection Lord and Saviour, not as a tyrannical general, but as our beloved Victor who won our heart and our very lives! This picture further paints Paul not only as a captive, but a wounded and suffering captive for the sake of this gospel to continue to be captive (willingly albeit) or captured to the mission of Christ: to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, the life, death and resurrection of this Crucified Saviour, the 'knowledge' of him, everywhere, whether in Macedonia, Ephesus, Philippi, Troas everywhere!

Now the metaphor of fragrance and aroma becomes apparent. Except also if tied to the triumphal procession, incense which produces fragrant is offered to the victor’s deity in acknowledging the battle was won because of his intervention. Incense however also reminds us of the priestly offering in the Old Testament, a sacrifice, with the Bible often saying an aroma pleasing to the LORD in Leviticus. Regardless, the aroma of Christ points to the fact an offering is made to God on our behalf, whether to declare victory, or to please the one who receives it, and the very act of this aroma is life Christ offered, which demands a response, a choice, a decision.

Fragrance

Aroma says who you’ve been with or where you’ve been to. If you ever been to a Korean BBQ place you wouldn’t be able to get away with it, or stand in a crowd who is smoking cigarettes (or is it vaping now), that burnt, bitter smell sticks to your jacket and pants and fabric. To someone the aroma of Korean BBQ may bring back memories of going to eat together in fellowship after a softball game, or a family dinner for someone’s birthday. It is well received. To another, like my father, it reminds him of a carcinogen and burnt meat and sticky grills, and overeating. Same aroma, different reception. Perhaps this analogy somehwat cheapen the aroma we are talking about. The message of Jesus came for us, to die for our sins, and pay the penalty we deserve, but was raised by the Father to be now seated to his right, and gives us new life to become a new humanity is the best gift, indeed good news to some. But to others, the same message means giving up being self-centered, the autonomy of having no one in charge of us, not having to be responsible for our actions, to continue to ignore our conscience. Those who are being saved, and those who are perishing. Paul then ask a rhetorical question as he feels the weigh of this tremendous task and responsibility, who is sufficient for these things? Or again, a better translation may be who is equal to such a task?

That’s the question posed to us too. Brothers and sister, before we even ask about the weightiness of the task, maybe we should ask do we know the task at hand? Just like Paul, we are to offer our lives to share the message of our Victorious Saviour Jesus and his offer of life. And this message is not just through words though it can’t be without words, but also with the life we lived. Are we willing to be like Paul a slave and servant of Jesus in full submission, letting him decide how we ought to live and making every opportunity to live for him and share his work in our lives to all those around?

We mentioned the first gift, but Jesus also offers a second gift:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

II. GOD GIVES US THE LIFE LETTERS OF TRANSFORMED LIVES TO CONFIRM OUR MINISTRY FOR HIM.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Fragrance

What are letters of recommendation? In the ancient world, to build relationships someone needs by way of introduction by someone prominent or know to the community to vouch for what the person says and what the person does. In such a high honour and reputation culture, who is who is important as to what type of reception or treatment, what sort of favours you get.

I had the privilege in my 13 years at MCBC to have written a fair amount of reference letters for my youths to apply for an university scholarship vouching for their extracurricular activity, listing their service in Koinonia Fellowship as a chair or the administrator, or applying for a mission trip to check boxes and fill in short-answers about this person’s character and competence, for seminary students, and even as we speak I still have two outstanding references to fill out to be given to our mission board and an internship for another church, respectively. I usually categorize two types of references. There are those who I have worked so closely with and have prayed so many times together, mentored and coached, saw together the ups and downs of ministry, even have challenged them or come into disagreement, or been to Pathway and Bloodvein together; THOSE references are the easiest to fill once I overcome the initial hump. Then there are those from youths and congregation who I hardly know anything about, but in desperation they ask me to write a reference for them. I have to admit I usually drag my feet a bit when it comes to producing it because we don’t have a history. I do it out of compassion and I often have to ask them what they want me to write and what have they done. It’s out of compassion and a sense of duty to do those ones. Which letter of recommendation is the church of Corinth asking from Paul?

of favours you get

Aroma says who you’ve been with or where you’ve been to

Paul contrasts those (assuming his opponents) who entered into the fray of the church of Corinth unannounced, boasting about their achievements or being recommended by some prominent rabbi or Christian leader, whereas Paul on the other hand, says he doesn’t need any of that WHEN IT COMES TO THE CORINTHIANS because he founded their church. He was there from the start, sharing the faith to the first convert, tentmaking in the busy streets by day, making house visits, worshipping and praying, teaching and correcting the newly found sprout of disciples by night. It’s as if Paul turns it around and says, you need me to give you a reference to prove I am a worthy apostle? Why don’t you look at yourself and who you were and where you are now and that would be enough, how you used to follow pagan deities and Roman customs, but now follow Jesus and the way of the Kingdom! And not just within the church, but who I am is made known to all the other believers, all the other churches I have planted all around Macedonia, Achaia and Asia Minor by your very existence! What an endearing way to speak of the relationship between a minister and his flock! Lest you think though Paul is attempting to take credit for all this hard work, notice in verse 3 four aspects about this Life Letter:

1. It’s from Christ. Paul takes no credit for the Corinthians since everything belongs first and foremost to Christ, who is the head of the church. Christ afterall is the only one who has fulfilled the plan of salvation, the only one who was sinless, the only one who was unjustly and wrongly crucified, but in an ironic twist, paid for the penalty of sin and shame, only one to be buried and resurrected in three days, only one who commissioned his disciples to create communities of His followers. Paul can’t do any of that. So what was Paul’s role?

2. Paul delivered the letter. He carried this mission and calling to whereever the spirit leads, ultimately leading him to the footsteps of Achaia he found this city of Corinth. But never mistake the content of the letter, and the messenger who delivered it. Never mix them up. The original word delivered should be to minister, which would make even more sense even though delivered fits more the motif of letter sending. Paul is a minister of the gospel ministry of Jesus Christ.

3. Written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Paul continues the metaphor of letter writting except to say the lives of the Corinthian believers are not static image which makes no response as David Garland speaks of in his commentary on 2 Corinthians. They are instead, their lives are instead imprinted by the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of God himself who speaks to them, loves them, pursues them, challenges them, corrects them, and equips them for ministry.

4. Lastly, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of the human heart. The use of tablets of stone language may point to those of us keen on Old Testament imagery to think of… the Ten Commandments. This is Paul’s clever way of pointing to the Old Testament ‘letter’ deliverer Moses and his relationship with the Old Covenant (another word for Testament) and Paul tasked with the delivery of the New Testament which we will explore in our message on September 22 from 3:7-18. Again, the contrast is not so much criticizing the law of Moses as dead, because God used his finger to etch out on tablets of stone this life giving commandment, but the misuse of the law DOES make the message dead whereas the Spirit’s work on the human hearts CAN and HAS transformed lives and communities permanently!

korean BBQ, or smell from Keele St. bubble gum factory while working at Keele Print or going to York University

Writing reference letters since day 1 of ministry, for scholarship, university application, seminary, mission, two outstanding ones

We come back to the question posed by Paul in 2:16c,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

Who is sufficient for these things?

and now we have the answer!

English Standard Version Chapter 3

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

This in a sense is echoing and expanding number 1 in terms of the Life Letter. Paul and anyone can have confidence to bear the weighty responsibility and privilege of being a minister of the gospel, to be captive in Christ’s triumphal procession, because it does not depend on us, it depends solely on God! It is God who calls Paul, an enemy of the Way, a persecutor of the followers of Jesus, an arrogant and brash zealot who goes out of his way to arrest Christ’s children, became the suffering aroma, the misunderstood apostle, to now plant churches all over the known world to make known God’s plan by way of a new covenant. Paul reiterates in verse 6 in a different way his contrast from the tablet of stone to the the tablet of the human heart with a comparison of letter (“grammatos” not the mailing type, but words, from which we get the english word “grammar”), and Spirit. What does the letter kill? The letter kills in the sense it can only point out our sins and failures, as in by reading that God says you shall not steal, but the letter themselves merely point to what you should not do, but has no power to stop you from doing it. However, the Spriit gives life by giving you the ability to choose not to steal.

YOU

This is a stark reminder for all of us who follow Jesus to not be living a life of following letters, where we accumulate more and more bible knowledge, can say it, memorize it, teach and scold others about it, yet fail to live the truth by refraining from evil and doing what God’s word tells us plainly we should do!

Such is the confidence that WE have through Christ toward God. This WE includes all of us today. You may be saying, WHAT? I am no apostle Paul? I haven’t planted a single church, or shared the faith with anyone, or have even suffered for the gospel. I can’t write so eloquently as Paul and I certainly don’t have this tight a relationship with Jesus. I don’t do my devotions regularly. I don’t have the confidence to be bold about my faith. Good! Then you are more ready than those who think they have something to contribute because of their talents and efforts to be a minister of the gospel. What did we say? It doesn’t depend on you! Your sufficiency to be a follower of Jesus is from God. Just like Paul. Just like Peter. Or a Martin Luther or Billy Graham. If you have given your life to Christ, you are a minister of the New Covenant, or New Testament. Let God worry about how he can use you, just be ready and available when the opportunity comes.

My further challenge for us this morning is who has God called you to imprint into their lives? Again, we are not the content, Christ is, but our proximity in their lives, in their joys and sorrows, when we face ups and downs, when we pray together, study God’s word together, go on a trip, an adventure, see each other off to university, get that first job, find a future partner, getting married, having their first child. Who is there to deliver or ‘minister’ a life letter being written by Christ onto you?

WE

We will pick up on just what this Ministry of the New Covenant is all about compared to the Old Covenant two weeks from now. Let’s pray.