Study in2 Corinthians

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The OpenSecret

Chap 2v12-3v6Presentation 04

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IntroductionSome years ago, I attended the funeral of an elderly Christian lady. During the course of that service the minister said, “One of the things that struck me most about Agnes was her transparency of character”. Her friends nodded in agreement they had often heard her describe herself in the words, “What you see is what you get”.

You always knew where Agnes stood and what her views were for there was an openness in both her speech and her manner. Paul displays that same openness. He too is saying, “What you see is what you get”.

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Unsettled In His TaskThe picture which many mistakenly have of the apostle Paul, is of a man of remarkable poise. One who is undaunted by the circumstances of life. This was certainly the picture which the self-made apostles in Corinth sought to project of themselves. This distorted view of Christian experience has undermined and crushed many Christians because it is so far removed from their own experience.

Note that in v12-13 Paul does not speak of poise but of a great unsettledness in his spirit.

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Unsettled In His TaskPaul had gone to Troas with the express purpose of exercising his ministry there. God had opened a door for him but in what sense? Is Paul describing an easy journey, a warm reception or hearts that were prepared to listen to the gospel? Whatever his this open door, because of his unsettled mind, became a revolving door. Paul explains the reason for his restlessness. He was deeply concerned about the welfare of the Corinthian church in which he had invested so much. Worried about the damage being done, he had sent Titus to try and sort things out but the longer Titus took to return the more anxious he became. He was so unsettled that he abandoned the opening that God had developed at Troas.

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Unsettled In His TaskThere are two practical points to be drawn. The first is that Paul was neither, a robot-apostle who was programmed to preach the gospel is a given location, see folk converted and then move on nor, was he so self- absorbed with the exciting business of winning converts that once won they were put to one side while he looked to see where his next ‘buzz’ was coming from. Paul had invested not only time but much of himself in establishing the church in Corinth and the uncertainty concerning its future and welfare was so great that he could not settle to any new work until he had news of how his beloved Corinthians were faring. He cared about them.

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Unsettled In His TaskSecondly, it is possible for the preacher to be so disturbed in spirit about what is happening to the work of God that he is rendered incapable of doing the work to which he is called. This distraction of spirit is only possible where there is a genuine concern for God's work and God's people. Paul had made reference to Satan's schemes in v11 and by immediately referring to an ‘open door’ which became a ‘revolving door’, does he suggest that Satan had used his legitimate concern for the Corinthians to unsettle him? Some of God’s servants have been so crushed and broken by trouble and dissension among God’s people that they were prevented from doing God’s work.

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Aware Of His RoutePaul makes it clear that though he may have been deflected, he was not out-manoeuvred. And he does this by the use of a very graphic metaphor in v14ff ... The figure of the triumphal procession is drawn from the victory parade led by a Roman general after a successful military campaign. Two groups of people would be involved in this procession, the general's troops who were hailed as heroes and the prisoners of war who were exposed to ridicule and disgrace. Paul is saying, “I am part of such a parade”.

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Aware Of His RouteBut does he see himself as one of the soldiers or one of the prisoners? Commentators are divided at this point. But it is just possible that Paul intends us to see him as both. So that he is saying, “Whether I feel like it or not, whether I am in the mood or not, wherever I go I am an advertisement for Christ. Whether men honour me as one of Christ's lieutenants or mock me as one of his clowns, I am part of God's triumphal march through the world. I am always on parade and because of this”.

Paul makes it clear that he cannot help influencing others for Christ.

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Aware Of His RouteJesus said something very similar to his disciples in the sermon on the mount; 'You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden‘ Matt.5v14.

There are two ways of building a city. You can hide it from the gaze and enquiry of others. You can camouflage it. Think of the city of Petra in Southern Jordan. It was built in this way, buried deep in the red rose rock. If you did not know which narrow gorge to travel down you could travel right past it!

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Aware Of His RouteBut you can also build a city which is intended to attract the attention of passers by. You build such a city on the hillside. Jerusalem was such a city. In the daytime the sun reflected off the brilliant white stones and at night the lights of the city would guide the passing traveller. It was a prominent landmark. Jesus was indicating to his followers, “You are a prominent landmark. The life of Christ within you cannot be hidden”. At times Christians may be tempted to despise thier littleness or, feel that their witness is making little impact for Jesus, but if we do not wilfully obscure the light of his presence we are making Christ known.

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Aware Of His RouteThe precise nature of that impact is now described by shifting from the triumphal procession to the incense that often accompanied such a parade. Paul is saying that that Christian influence is pervasive touching the lives of both the believing and unbelieving community. To one group of individuals the perfume is sweet smelling and life giving.

Just as a fireman's oxygen mask is the breath of life to those who have been overcome by smoke in a fire so Paul's life and ministry was a kind of spiritual oxygen that breathed life into men's souls.

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Aware Of His RouteBut there were others who found Paul and all he stood for to be an unbearable stench, a gas chamber into which lethal cyanide was released. This division in humanity is a division which the gospel makes. It is a division which people's reaction to Christ makes. But it is seen in its sharpest focus by those who like Paul engage in evangelism.

Are we surprised that he asks who is equal to such a task? The knowledge that the message we proclaim will draw some towards the life giving spiritual oxygen which Christ alone can supply but to those who find the message repellent - spiritual asphyxiation results

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Aware Of His RouteNot that the preaching of the gospel is the cause of this hardening but the occasion for it - an important distinction to preserve! There is an awful finality about the gospel. It divides men into two streams like road traffic cones and a choice once settled upon moves you irreversibly in one stream of traffic. The cones are not responsible for the lane you travel in but the conscious choice you yourself make. Hearing the gospel to return to Paul's metaphor, determines whether we are exposed to sweet, life giving, spiritual oxygen or deadly cyanide.

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Aware Of His RouteAs far as Paul was concerned it was a very serious matter to be a Christian. We are all potentially instruments of life or death to those around us. Our responsibility is simply to release the fragrance of Christ.

Let me ask you a very personal question. Do you smell? I am not suggesting you need a bath but while in the company of others are they aware of the fragrance of Christ. Do we try to avoid making an impact? Are we ashamed of reeking too much of Jesus? If you are a Christian you are supposed to smell!

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Affirming His MotivesTwo things that made Paul's gospel repellent to his opponents in Corinth are first, that it was proclaimed free of charge and secondly, its truths were not shrouded in mystery and associated with secret initiation rites. Paul deals with the first of these objections in v17. He describes his detractors as ‘peddlers’.

The word peddler has two meanings in Greek. First, it describes someone who traded for profit using questionable means. They were the ‘Del Boys’ of the ancient world- like the disreputable who ran wax into cracked pottery in order to achieve a higher price.

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Affirming His MotivesSecondly, the word ‘peddler’ described someone who, in order to increase their profit margin, would water down their wine or mix chalk with salt. They devalued the quality of their goods to increase their profits. If this is what is in Paul's mind then he is saying these people have diluted the gospel, and its demands. By making it as acceptable to as wide a range of people as possible, they may draw a large following but their diluted gospel is not life-giving. Today we hear folk say, “The message needs to be soothing or you will empty your church. Shed these notions of sin, judgement and hell for they alienate men. Do that and people will come and bring their money with them!”Paul's response and ours is that we do not peddle God's Word for profit.

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A God Given Recommendation Paul's opponents seem to have had wonderful references. The letters referred to in 3v1 were carried by travelling preachers from fellowships where they were well known to those where they were strangers. Paul's opponents carried such letters – Paul did not and this fact seems to have been used to undermine his ministry. Paul refused to be intimidated by them and says to those who had come to faith and grown in faith under his ministry, 'You are my reference'.

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A God Given Recommendation Pieces of paper are worth very little! Few present day employers place great weight upon references. Paul says to his reqaders, 'You are open confirmation of the power of my gospel.' Men's praise counts for little if God's authentication does not seal a one's ministry. Paul's converts were like a piece of heavenly graffiti and in such public view that no one could miss them. Paul is saying that the real authentication of the work of the Spirit in the testimony of our lives. Paul is saying that God intends every Christian to be an open letter of testimony and not something written in secret code or, invisible ink. Are we good references for the transforming power of Christ in our lives?

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A God Given Recommendation Several years ago a lady teacher spoke to me of her great embarrassment. She had been in the same school for a number of years and then a new member of staff, who was a Christian, arrived. He made no secret of his. One day after he had spent some time talking this lady teacher another colleague called her aside and told her to be careful or this new arrival would be trying to make a Christian out of her. She was profoundly embarrassed because she considered herself a true believer but other staff members did not know! What kind of references are we in the workplace and in our neighbourhood?

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A God Given Recommendation Paul introduces a theme that he will develop at greater length in v7ff. The superiority of the message of the gospel over that of the law. The inadequacy of the law lay in the fact that while it could tell men how they ought to live, it could not empower them to do so. The law is like the judge who jails you for bankruptcy, but can offer no help with the payment of your debts. And so in v6 we read, 'the letter kills but the spirit gives life'. Paul's meaning is that the law is purely an external moral code, such a code though it may be very successful in exposing men's sin, cannot remove that sin and certainly cannot provide deliverance from its power. What we need is an inner moral renewal and only the Spirit can produce that.

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A God Given Recommendation Paul's confidence in the new covenant lies in its transforming power which has changed the lives of his ‘referees’. Paul’s success is not rooted in his oratory, or power of communication, nor in his massive theological knowledge. His confidence rests in God and in the gospel which he was entrusted to proclaim. Paul was little more than a spectator who stood back and marvelled at what God did in people's lives. James Denny penetratingly comments that the only triumphs the servant of Christ can ever have are those 'which begin with God's triumph over us in Christ.'

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ConclusionPaul was open both about his failures and his successes but predominantly in pointing to God as the source of any blessing that he was instrumental in bringing into other people's lives.

This is the kind of refreshing transparency and openness that we should aspire to so that when people read our lives they are able to say, 'You get what you see'.

GOD