Welcome to Hope for Today, we are happy to be here with you. Our study in II Corinthians has brought us to chapter 6. Last week we had the first lesson on the Paradox of Ministry. Today we will continue this teaching. If you missed last week, just go to our website Heraldsofhope.org, there you can listen to last week’s teaching. This is the second lesson in the Paradox of Ministry and the last one is coming next week. Remember a paradox is a statement that seems contradictory, but when you think about it, it turns out to be true.
You might be thinking what is the paradox in ministry? Good question, earlier J Mark used the example of Jesus to illustrate a paradox. When He was here there was a group of people who loved Him and dedicated their lives to Him. However, there was also a group of people who determined to kill Him. He was so loved and so hated. This paradox has been repeated many times since then towards the followers of Jesus.
In II Corinthians 6 Paul shares a few other good things and few things that are very hard from his ministry, at first glance it seems they both can’t be true, but this is why it is a paradox. Turn there if you can and listen to Pastor J Mark as he shares part two with us.
In our continuing study of Second Corinthians, Paul discusses what I’m calling “The Paradox of Ministry.” At first, you may not be able to see it. But as we examine the Scripture together, it will become clear. Our text is Second Corinthians 6:1 to 10.
But before we read that, it’s appropriate to give a refresher on the background of the situation Paul is speaking about. Acts chapter 18 records Paul’s initial efforts in planting the church in Corinth, and we learn that he spent a year and a half there. After he moved on from there, several groups or factions formed around various leaders and began quarreling among themselves. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians didn’t clear up the controversies, and the situation worsened.
In the previous teaching we looked at the first paradox of ministry. It was “the perspective of privilege.
Regardless of how you serve in Christ’s kingdom, do you count it a privilege to be an ambassador for Christ? In the latter verses of our text, there’s a lot of paina lot of hostility, and a lot of accusation – much of it false. But there’s tremendous joy and blessing here, too. So, if you and I don’t understand the great privilege of ministry, we will be overcome by all the negativity accompanying it.
Now, let’s read Second Corinthians 6:1 to 10, and further discuss the next perspective.
1We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
3 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.
4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much [a]patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,
5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;
6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,
7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;
9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
The Next Perspective (to help us understand the paradox of ministry) is,
The Perspective of Passion
This perspective is closely related to the first one. When you and I realize that we are working cooperatively with the sovereign God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, how can we not be passionate about what we’re doing?
Paul was passionate in his love for the Corinthian Believers. He said, “I urge you; I beseech you, not to receive the grace of God in vain.” False teachers in Corinth attempted to lead the people astray, and people accused Paul of being a false teacher. But Paul says, “Like God, we are pleading with you to be reconciled to God.”
The word Paul uses is parakaleo. It’s like he’s saying, “Together, God and I are coming to you. We’re putting our arm around your shoulder, and we’re begging you; we’re imploring you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” Why is Paul so intense and so insistent?
He quotes Isaiah 49:8 from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. “In an acceptable time, I have heard you, and in the day of salvation, I have helped you.” Paul takes this Old Testament messianic prophecy and applies it to their situation. And then he adds, “Behold now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation.” None of us know if we’ll be alive tomorrow. We don’t know when our physical life will end. That gives an urgency and a passion to proclaiming the ministry of reconciliation.
In our previous study from chapter five, verse 20, Paul said, “We implore you; we beg you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” And we noted that the force of the language was, “DO IT NOW!” Sometimes, at home, when we boys were less than enthusiastic about our work, my dad would say, “Let’s get moving; we don’t have all day.” He was trying to help us see the urgency of the time and put a little passion into our work.
As God’s ambassadors, you and I must learn to become pleaders and exhorters. Our passion is to see people embrace the grace of God and grow in it! The apostle Peter closed his second epistle, saying, “But grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We have too many professing Christians who come to faith in Christ and never grow in Him. If we had a child like that, we’d be concerned; we’d be going to the doctor pretty quickly. But too often, we ignore Believers whose spiritual growth is stunted.
The writer of Hebrews stated it this way: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles [or sayings] of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are [mature], that is, those who by reason of [practice] have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
So, our passion as ministers and servants of the Lord is to plead with people to leave spiritual infancy and grow to maturity in the Lord. And that takes pleading, repetition, and patience. Sometimes, it looks like we’re getting nowhere with people; they take two steps forward and three steps back. And we may think our work is all in vain. I’m sure Paul felt that way about the church in Corinth. They were like a bunch of squabbling toddlers.
Paul’s passion was for the pure word of God. As followers of Christ and reconcilers with Him, we need that same passion. You know, human nature hasn’t changed since our first parents’ sin. People often come with some supposedly “new understanding” of Scripture. But if you do some digging, you find out they’ve just recycled an old heresy, gave it a new name, and dressed it in different clothes.
In Corinth, the Judaizers said, “Yes, you need Jesus, but you must also keep the Law. That way, you’ll be acceptable to God.” Paul said, “No, no.” He asked the Galatians, facing the same heresy, “Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Paul’s passion was that the grace the Believers in Corinth had received would not be in vain; it would not be to no purpose. That would be a tragedy for both them and him. And it would be a tragedy for those we work with, too.
So, the minister of God must continually be alert to error and take people back to Scripture. He must warn them not to let their latest experiences dictate their theology but rather let their theology dictate their experiences. He must be like a hound on the trail of a rabbit; he must keep focused on the pursuit of righteousness for himself and those who hear him. But let me quickly say that his passion will only sometimes be appreciated. That’s part of the paradox of ministry.
If you and I are going to be coworkers with God, if we are going to be passionate about the grace of God not being in vain, then it’s time for us to get to work. Paul wouldn’t settle for anything less than the grace of God achieving its purpose. We shouldn’t either. So, he pleads as God does – with a crisis mentality and a sense of urgency. Don’t let the grace of God be in vain.
Sure, there are going to be difficult times. There’ll be times of disappointment and heartbreak as we plead with people against the grain of trends. We can’t choose for them. But we have to be faithful. We need to embrace the privilege and the passion as part of the paradox of the ministry of reconciliation.
The Next Perspective (to help us understand the paradox of ministry) is,
The Perspective of Protection
Here’s where we get into the idea of the Gospel needing protection. Verse three tells us what the Gospel needs to be protected from. Look at what Paul wrote. “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.”
This statement in the original language contains a double negative. In English, that makes a positive. Not so in Greek. We could translate it this way, “Giving absolutely NO offense or stumbling block in anything lest the ministry of the Gospel be faulted.” Did you catch that? It’s not stated directly, but here’s what I understand Paul to be saying: the Gospel needs to be protected by the reputation of the proclaimers.
We know the Gospel is offensive. The God of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe in it. They love their iniquity and hate the light because their evil deeds are exposed. According to First Corinthians 2:14, their minds, controlled by false philosophies and fleshly desires, can’t understand spiritual truth.
But woe to those who cause unnecessary offense through their obnoxious behavior. Romans 2:24 is a terrible indictment against the people of Israel who had been given the Law of God. Paul was writing about the need for both Jews and Gentiles to exercise faith in Jesus for salvation. He wrote, “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is written.” In other words, the Gentiles looked at the Jewish people, especially the religious leaders, and saw how they manipulated God’s commands for personal and financial advantage.
Thanks for sharing the next two perspectives to help us understand the paradox of ministry. Today we heard about passion and just started protection. Last week was the perspective of privilege. Please join us next week as we finish this teaching on the paradox of ministry with the fourth perspective.
If you have any questions about today’s teaching or if you would like to hear it again. Please contact us and ask for it by title. Here is how you can reach us. The best way is via email and our email is hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or you can contact us on our website, which is heraldsofhope.org. And of course, it is always possible to write to us. Our address is Hope for Today, Box 3 Breezewood, PA 15533. We would love to hear from you, so feel free to contact us however is easiest for you.
Thanks again for listening to Hope for Today. Be sure to join us next time for the final part on The Paradox of Ministry. Till then think about this paradox Jesus gave us in His sermon on the mount, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” What a challenge!
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.
