The Love of Christ Controls Us

Introduction:

How do the death and resurrection of Jesus control your life?

What are the specific behaviors that those events compel you to carry out?

Do we sense that we are compelled or constrained at all?

Human beings were not created to live without restraint.

Freedom is not liberation from all moral restrictions.

It is living consonant with the purpose for which God created us.

We must wrestle with the events that happened in Jerusalem over the part of three days.

Did Jesus’ crucifixion occur randomly?

Likewise his burial?

What about his resurrection? If such a thing happened, it could not have been random or accidental given that it had not taken place before nor has it taken place since.

If none of that was random, then, why did it take place, and what does that mean for the way we should behave in our lives?

Paul has explained to the Corinthians that he has not resorted to peddling ideas, an indication of fainting.

He also has not become disillusioned with God despite the frequency and severity of his tribulations.

This is because he looks not on what he sees, ie his tribulations, but one what he does not see, ie the fulfillment of the return of Christ and the reception of the new, heavenly body.

Any sense of being “weighted down” Paul has it is because of the burden of being in this body but desiring the next.

The Corinthians Had a Reason to Brag on Paul: Heart Matters More than Appearance

Paul refused to pretend he had not conducted himself in a way obvious to the Corinthians.

He has been manifested to God in his conduct (2 Cor. 5:11).

He anticipated or expects to have been manifested also in their consciences (ibid).

He defiantly refused to establish his credentials with them again, therefore, and instead, he turns the tables by saying he has given the Corinthians an opportunity to brag on him.

Notice the contrast between “face” and “heart.”

Understanding what truly motivated him, and being reminded of his courage, and the source thereof, should give the Corinthians enough ammunition they need to withstand the attack on Paul’s ministry and message.

He has given them something to consider and something to bring up for consideration by the “super apostles.”

The super-apostles bragged on spiritual experiences, speaking ability, the exchange of money, and the absence of difficulty.

Paul pointed them to the heart.

He means more than courage, although this is included.

Consequently, two things defined Paul’s ministry:

For God (even if that appeared quite insane to others).

For them (even if he appeared to be in his right mind).

Christ’s Love Controls the Genuine Believer

Paul most likely means the first line of 2 Cor. 5:14 in both ways.

Notice that love controls “us.”

But, this is not merely emotion or feeling.

It is a love born of thought, reason, and consideration.

It is a love having come from decision about the evidence and where it leads.

Paul then walks the Corinthians through the logic that led to his conclusion:

One died on behalf of all, then all died (Paul is fond of using this in two senses).

He died on behalf of all so the living may no longer be living for themselves but for the one who died and was raised on their behalf.

Romans 5-6.

Through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, then, Paul understood the love of Christ and came to love Christ himself so completely that he lived under his lordship.

He faced dangers.

He endured insults.

He did not, however, stop obeying his Lord.