Written On The Heart

No letter of commendation

In Paul’s day when a person came to give religious instruction they were generally given a letter of commendation from a respected authority or source. Being that the church at Corinth questioned his apostleship, they were wanting a letter of commendation to prove his apostleship.

Paul responds by saying that a letter of commendation is not necessary because they are his letter of commendation. What the Spirit of God had done in their hearts through Paul was enough to show his apostleship.

The Spirit of God had saved them and changed their lives. It was very noticeable by other in Corinth. The people were leading others to faith in Christ through Paul’s work.

God sent Paul to Corinth to share the gospel and start a church. That is enough! He needs no letter of commendation.

Application

Today many churches require letters of commendation before they hire a pastor. It takes many different forms. A church will often require a doctoral degree before they hire a pastor. This is a letter of commendation from an institute of higher learning. They will require several references to check out before they hire a pastor. They will require a certain number of years of experience before they will hire a pastor. There is nothing wrong with these requirements provided that they do not take priority over God’s calling in the pastor’s life. If God has called that man to pastor the church he is interviewing with, the church needs to be flexible with the requirements.

What is most important is God’s calling! There is nothing wrong with having a pastor with a higher level of education. As a matter of fact, I believe the pastor called should have a desire for pastoral education. There is nothing wrong with requiring and checking references. This is prudent in assessing the character of the pastor. Requiring experience is not wrong. Experience is necessary for a Pastor to handle all that is required of a pastor. Though there is nothing wrong with these requirements, they should not be a priority. God’s call on the pastor and God’s call to the church should be the priority.

Paul’s Confidence In Christ

Paul is quick to point out that what was happening in Corinth was not because of his strength, intellect, or leadership. It was Christ who made him a servant of the gospel that was killing the spirit of the law and awakening the Spirit of life.

Paul was only a servant that was called to share the gospel with a lost city of Corinth. He would proclaim the gospel and the Spirit of God would effect the preaching of the gospel. It was not Paul’s job to build the church and increase the numbers. He cannot do that! Only the Spirit of God can change hearts and save souls.

Application

The Spirit of God equips the church by making us adequate to make disciples. It is not the responsibility of the pastor to grow a church. It is the responsibility to train the saints for the work of the Lord.

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph.4:11-13

When a pastor is doing this, then not only will the church grow, but the community will change. You see when the church takes the gospel into the community, then you have a multitude of gospel sharers rather than just one.

I am glad to see that most in here are saved. You must understand the adequacy that the Lord has given you to perpetuate the gospel. I am dedicated to training you! Together we will make a difference for the kingdom of God!

An Unveiled Message

When Moses would go before the Lord, his face would shine because he had been in the presence of the Lord. The people were fearful of Moses so he veiled his face so he could communicate to the people. The laws that Moses were giving to the Israelites were more than they could handle. (10 commandments) They were never meant to keep to perfection, but instead to point to the need of a Savior.

We today do not have a message of legalism, but a message of hope. The hope in Christ that we share gives life not death!

Application

We must be careful not to veil the scriptures in our own hearts. William Barclay mentions that we veil the scriptures when we don’t use them to see our need for Christ and as a result causes us to live in accordance tot the truth of scripture.

The Letters to the Corinthians The Veil Which Hides the Truth (2 Corinthians 3:12–18)

(2) The idea of the veil now takes hold of Paul’s mind, and he uses it in different ways. He says that, when the Jews listen to the reading of the Old Testament, as they do every Sabbath day in the synagogue, a veil upon their eyes keeps them from seeing the real meaning of it. It ought to point them to Jesus Christ, but the veil keeps them from seeing that. We, too, may fail to see the real meaning of Scripture because our eyes are veiled.

(a) They may be veiled by prejudice. We, too, often go to Scripture to find support for our own views rather than to find the truth of God.

(b) They may be veiled by wishful thinking. Too often, we find what we want to find, and neglect what we do not want to see. To take an example, we may delight in all the references to the love and the mercy of God, but pass over all the references to his wrath and judgment.

(c) They may be veiled by fragmentary thinking. We should always regard the Bible as a whole. It is easy to take individual texts and criticize them. It is easy to prove that parts of the Old Testament are sub-Christian. It is easy to find support for private theories by choosing certain texts and passages and putting others aside. But it is the whole message that we must seek; and that is just another way of saying that we must read all Scripture in the light of Jesus Christ.

(3) Not only is there a veil which keeps the Jews from seeing the real meaning of Scripture; there is also a veil which comes between them and God.

(a) Sometimes, it is the veil of disobedience. Very often, it is moral and not intellectual blindness which keeps us from seeing God. If we persist in disobeying him, we become less and less capable of seeing him. The vision of God comes to the pure in heart.

(b) Sometimes, it is the veil of the unteachable spirit. As the saying has it, ‘There’s none so blind as those who will not see.’ The best teacher on earth cannot teach someone who knows it all already and does not wish to learn. God gave us free will, and, if we insist upon our own way, we cannot learn his

Be Conformed To the Image of Christ

When a believer comes to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, their lives are radically changed. They do a total 180. The Lord changes their hearts and they begin living for Him. The Holy Spirit begins the process of eradicating those things in your life that don’t conform to Christ’s image and replaces them with the characteristics of Christ.

Application

The way the Holy Spirit does this is through conviction. The Lord will allow trials to come into your life to reveal sin that you are unaware of. When you sin in the trial you will see your sin and be convicted of it. You can either repent of it or justify it. When you justify it you will have another trial that reveals it once again. When you repent of it, you become more Christlike.

Share example of lack of faith when it comes to provision.