Here’s a synopsis of the first 5 chapters:
- Chapter 1: Christians who suffer can be encouraged. God will comfort them. But with that comfort comes responsibility: the comfort we receive when we suffer is to be used to comfort others so that God is glorified.
- Chapter 2: We are the aroma of life to the unsaved. With that comes a responsibility: to be intolerant of sin. We can’t smell like life to the sinner when we tolerate the things that lead to death.
- Chapter 3: God makes us competent by empowering our ministries. We can’t do this in our own power.
- Chapter 4: Our ministry and message (the ministry of grace) is superior to the ministry and message of the old covenant (the ministry of Law).
- Chapter 5: We are Christ’s ambassadors, taking Christ’s message of life to a world that is dead. We have a ministry of reconciliation (5:18) to carry out with passion. With that will come suffering. We will suffer in this life for the ministry of Christ. But it doesn’t matter. It’s just temporary. Besides, we have died to ourselves for Christ just as He died to Himself for us. In fact, the suffering highlights the very need for the ministry.
The unmistakable message throughout this letter so far has been that we have significant responsibility as Christians. This stuff is more serious than anything else. God didn’t call us to be Christians who keep to ourselves, friends, and families.
He’s called us into the world. That’s where he picks up in chapter 6 – Don’t waste the grace God gave you.
1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
V. 1, Receiving God’s grace in vain. How horrible is that thought? God loves us and gives us the eternal life He bought with His own blood, and we just say “thanks” and go on.
But God doesn’t give us grace for ourselves. His ultimate goal is not our individual salvation. Treating it that way is the ultimate narcissism. His purpose is for me to not only apply His grace inwardly, but also to extend it outwardly. He trusts us and appoints us as stewards of grace for the growth of His kingdom, not our individual sense of security.
Q: What will our lives look like if we receive God’s grace not in vain?
This is similar to what Paul told the Galatians in Gal 5:2, that if they allow themselves to be circumcised (which in their case was going back to the legal system and rejecting His grace), “
Christ will be of no value to you at all.”
If there are areas where I disobey God, where I ignore Him, where I don’t draw the strength from Him and instead act in my own strength – in those areas it is as if I didn’t have Christ at all. I assign a value of zero to Him in those parts of my life.
2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
V. 2, if you want to capitalize on God’s grace, do it now. “Now” is when you’re saved. “Now” is when God showed you His favor. “Now” is the time to use that grace for its intended purpose. If you see something that needs to be done, do it now. Enter into the life God wants you to live now. God's time is always right now. Don’t plan on it for this evening, tomorrow or next week.
3 We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,
Imagine you have cancer. I tell you I have cancer too, but I also have a cure. As long as you continue to take my product, your cancer will be gone. There are no negative side effects whatsoever. My product does much more than that, though. It will bring you joy even in tough times, improve your relationships, give you wisdom and understanding, impart a sense of security in your life, and more. Of course you’re skeptical, so you spend some time observing me and notice that I only tell people about my cure for cancer in my spare time. Often I encounter people with cancer but forget to tell them about my cure. When I do talk about it, my words lack much passion and I easily get distracted. What’s more, I sometimes don’t even use the remedy myself. You see me use it sometimes, but other times I turn to other remedies.
What would you think about me? That I don’t care about dying people. That I don’t really believe in the cure. Would you believe in it enough to try it yourself?
How different is that from the way so many of us Christians live with this answer to life and death?
Paul says he will do nothing to give people reason to mock his ministry.
This ministry God called us to and empowers us for is stuff of the greatest significance! Preserving its integrity is of the highest importance! Spreading it should be a core value – one upon which we should decide our actions.
The thought of preserving our ministry’s integrity should consume our thoughts!
Both Paul (Acts 26:24) and Jesus (Matthew 12:46-48) were thought to be crazy because of their fanaticism. Let them call us Jesus Freaks!
Q: How can we ensure the credibility of our ministries?
4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
This section shows what it looks like when we live out our “ministry of reconciliation” (see 2Cor 5:18). As Christians we should, with our ministries at the forefront, make ourselves “commendable” in every way. (v.4). And when we experience trouble, we should show great endurance, or it will cast doubt on God’s calling (vv. 4-5). Through hard work, long work days, even when we receive nothing in return. Paul often went hungry, but that didn’t deter him. We should be examples of purity, understanding, patience and kindness in every situation, allowing the Holy Spirit to demonstrate sincere love in our lives - love is a fruit of the Spirit, after all (v.6). We should always speak the truth through God’s power. [Note that “speaking truth” doesn’t just mean not lying. It means boldly proclaiming the truths of God without wavering.] We should battle sin through the weapons of righteousness (v.7), not worrying about whether we’re spoken well of or spoken badly of (v.8), remaining genuine even when people cast doubt upon us or reject us (vv.8-9), thankful that we are still alive (v.9). We should rejoice when things are sorrowful in our lives, make others rich even when we are poor, while we realize that we possess everything that is God’s even when we have nothing of the world (v.10).
11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.
Paul now uses the Corinthians as an example of what he just said. He has spoken the truth to them freely, but he has also opened his heart wide open to them, loving them affectionately. Yet they have not shown the same love to him. They have withheld their affection from him (cf. 7:2). He asks that they “fairly exchange” their love for his.
