BIG IDEA:
TRANSPARENT INTEGRITY OF MINISTRY REMOVES ALL OBSTACLES TO PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL
I. (:1-2) SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL
A. (:1a) Example of Paul Working in Fellowship with Christ
“And working together with Him”
B. (:1b) Exhortation to be a Profitable Servant
“we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain”
C. (:2) Urgency of Call to Reconciliation
“for He says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you;’ behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’–”
II. (:3-10) COMMENDABLE CONDUCT IN THE MINISTRY PAVES THE WAY FOR PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL
A. (:3-4a) Summary of Commendable Conduct
1. Stated Negatively – No Black Marks in the Ministry
“giving no cause for offense in anything, in order that the ministry be not discredited”
2. Stated Positively – Sacrificial Servant Leadership
“but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God”
Others might call this fanaticism … but it is godly zeal at work
B. (:4b-10) Specific List of Ministry Experiences & Corresponding Godly Character
– What has Paul been through?
– What type of person has he proven himself to be?
1. (:4b-5) Enduring Hardship and Physical Suffering
a. Enduring Hardship
– “in much endurance”
– “in afflictions”
– “in hardships”
– “in distresses”
Stedman: Endurance is the key there. God, looking upon Paul’s life, is pleased and glorified by the fact that no matter what happens to him he sticks with it. He endures; that is the point. This word literally means to “stay under the pressure.” We all feel pressure — pressure to give in here, to give up there, pressure to go along with something. But the mark of a Christian who has learned how to walk with God is that he stays under the pressure; he does not quit. The modern term, “hang in there,” expresses exactly what this verse means — “Just hang in there and don’t quit until you are triumphant.”
b. Enduring Physical Suffering
– “in beatings”
– “in imprisonments”
– “in tumults”
– “in labors”
– “in sleeplessness”
– “in hunger”
2. (:6) Exhibiting the Fruit of the Holy Spirit
– “in purity”
– “in knowledge”
– “in patience”
– “in kindness”
– “in the Holy Spirit”
– “in genuine love”
3. (:7) Engaging the Weapons of Spiritual Warfare
– “in the word of truth”
– “in the power of God”
– “by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left”
Kent: Spiritual weapons are adequate for protection on all sides”
4. (:8-9) Eliciting (But Ignoring) the Contradictory Evaluations of Men
– “by glory and dishonor”
– “by evil report and good report”
– “regarded as deceivers and yet true”
– “as unknown yet well-known”
– “as dying yet behold, we live”
– “as punished yet not put to death”
5. (:10) Eying Eternity as the Ultimate Goal
– “as sorrowful yet always rejoicing”
– “as poor yet making many rich”
– “as having nothing yet possessing all things”
III. (:11-13) AFFECTIONATE OPEN DIALOGUE EXPECTS RECIPROCATION
A. (:11) Initiating Affectionate Open Dialogue
“Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.”
B. (:12) Addressing Obstacles to Affectionate Open Dialogue
“you are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.”
C. (:13) Expecting Reciprocation of Affectionate Open Dialogue
“Now in a like exchange – I speak as to children – open wide to us also.”
Stedman: As I travel around the country, I find this is probably the number one problem in churches today. Christians actually think it is right for them to be closed in on themselves, to be private persons, unwilling to communicate who they are and how they feel and where they are in their lives. . . Here is the problem with many churches in this country. They are filled with Christians who will not open up, will not communicate their needs and struggles to one another. Their mouths are not open. . . This is what concerns Paul here. So he urges the Corinthians, “Open up, communicate, show acceptance. It is basic to all else.” That is Problem #1. If you do not respond to love, then do not wonder if your life remains cold, barren, lonely, empty and meaningless. When you are loved, deliberately love back and life will begin to expand.
Zeisler: The Corinthians’ love was restricted and reserved–and that is also a stumbling block. They withheld affection from Paul as they grew enamored of his opponents. A competition for status between Paul’s apostleship and the one claimed by those who came later to Corinth had left him devalued and loved less as a result. The apostle’s point here is that a love that must meet certain standards, that imposes rules and regulations, that must be earned before it expresses itself, is a stumbling block. “Open wide your hearts,” says Paul. The love that ought to be apparent in the Christian community is one that takes no regard for its own advantage, that no longer views anybody “according to the flesh,” as he pointed out in chapter 5.
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PREACHING CHRIST:
1) How does the ministry of Christ provide the best model of transparent integrity in the ministry and affectionate open dialogue as He shared His compassionate heart with His disciples?
2) As we minister as ambassadors for Christ, we are only the channel for the exhortations and instruction that Christ actively provides.
3) Our suffering and hardship is not worthy to be compared to what Christ endured in a compressed time period during His earthly ministry.
4) Christ is the ultimate Suffering Servant. As we meditate on Paul’s list of ministry experiences and spiritual character we always need to come back to the person of Christ as the ultimate role model in each area.