Chapter 31
The Message Heeded
[This chapter is based on the Second Epistle to the
Corinthians.]
From Ephesus Paul set forth on another missionary tour, during which he
hoped to visit once more the scenes of his former labours in Europe.
Tarrying for a time at Troas, "to preach Christ's gospel," he
found some who were ready to listen to his message. "A door was
opened unto me of the Lord," he afterward declared of his labours in
this place. But successful as were his efforts at Troas, he could not
remain there long. "The care of all the churches," and
particularly of the church at Corinth, rested heavily on his heart. He had
hoped to meet Titus at Troas and to learn from him how the words of
counsel and reproof sent to the Corinthian brethren had been received, but
in this he was disappointed. "I had no rest in my spirit," he
wrote concerning this experience, "because I found not Titus my
brother." He therefore left Troas and crossed over to Macedonia,
where, at Philippi he met Timothy.
During this time of anxiety concerning the church at Corinth, Paul
hoped for the best; yet at times feelings of deep sadness would sweep over
his soul, lest his counsels and admonitions might be misunderstood.
"Our flesh had no rest," he afterward wrote, "but we were
troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.
Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us
by the coming of Titus."
This faithful messenger brought the cheering news that a wonderful
change had taken place among the Corinthian believers. Many had accepted
the instruction contained in Paul's letter and had repented of their sins.
Their lives were no longer a reproach to Christianity, but exerted a
powerful influence in favour of practical godliness.
Filled with joy, the apostle sent another letter to the Corinthian
believers, expressing his gladness of heart because of the good work
wrought in them: "Though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not
repent, though I did repent." When tortured by the fear that his
words would be despised, he had sometimes regretted that he had written so
decidedly and severely. "Now I rejoice," he continued, "not
that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were
made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in
nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be
repented of." That repentance which is produced by the influence of
divine grace upon the heart will lead to confession and forsaking of sin.
Such were the fruits which the apostle declared had been seen in the lives
of the Corinthian believers. "What carefulness it wrought in you,
yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear,
yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal."
For some time Paul had been carrying a burden of soul for the
churches--a burden so heavy that he could scarcely endure it. False
teachers had sought to destroy his influence among the believers and to
urge their own doctrines in the place of gospel truth. The perplexities
and discouragements with which Paul was surrounded are revealed in the
words, "We were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that
we despaired even of life."
But now one cause of anxiety was removed. At the tidings of the
acceptance of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul broke forth into words
of rejoicing: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are
in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of
God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also
aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your
consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same
sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for
your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing,
that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the
consolation."
In expressing his joy over their reconversion and their growth in
grace, Paul ascribed to God all the praise for this transformation of
heart and life. "Thanks be unto God," he exclaimed, "which
always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of
His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of
Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." It was the
custom of the day for a general victorious in warfare to bring with him on
his return a train of captives. On such occasions incense bearers were
appointed, and as the army marched triumphantly home, the fragrant odour
was to the captives appointed to die, a savour of death, showing that they
were nearing the time of their execution; but to those of the prisoners
who had found favour with their captors, and whose lives were to be
spared, it was a savour of life, in that it showed them that their freedom
was near.
Paul was now full of faith and hope. He felt that Satan was not to
triumph over the work of God in Corinth, and in words of praise he poured
forth the gratitude of his heart. He and his fellow labourers would
celebrate their victory over the enemies of Christ and the truth, by going
forth with new zeal to extend the knowledge of the Saviour. Like incense
the fragrance of the gospel was to be diffused throughout the world. To
those who should accept Christ, the message would be a savour of life unto
life; but to those who should persist in unbelief, a savour of death unto
death.
Realising the overwhelming magnitude of the work, Paul exclaimed,
"Who is sufficient for these things?" Who is able to preach
Christ in such a way that His enemies shall have no just cause to despise
the messenger or the message that he bears? Paul desired to impress upon
believers the solemn responsibility of the gospel ministry. Faithfulness
in preaching the word, united with a pure, consistent life, can alone make
the efforts of ministers acceptable to God and profitable to souls.
Ministers of our day, burdened with a sense of the greatness of the work,
may well exclaim with the apostle, "Who is sufficient for these
things?"
There were those who had charged Paul with self-commendation in writing
his former letter. The apostle now referred to this by asking the members
of the church if they thus judged his motives. "Do we begin again to
commend ourselves?" he inquired; "or need we, as some others,
epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from
you?" Believers moving to a new place often carried with them letters
of commendation from the church with which they had formerly been united;
but the leading workers, the founders of these churches, had no need of
such commendation. The Corinthian believers, who had been led from the
worship of idols to the faith of the gospel, were themselves all the
recommendation that Paul needed. Their reception of the truth, and the
reformation wrought in their lives, bore eloquent testimony to the
faithfulness of his labours and to his authority to counsel, reprove, and
exhort as a minister of Christ.
Paul regarded the Corinthian brethren as his testimonial. "Ye are
our epistle," he said, "written in our hearts, known and read of
all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of
Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the
heart."
The conversion of sinners and their sanctification through the truth is
the strongest proof a minister can have that God has called him to the
ministry. The evidence of his apostleship is written upon the hearts of
those converted, and is witnessed to by their renewed lives. Christ is
formed within, the hope of glory. A minister is greatly strengthened by
these seals of his ministry.
Today the ministers of Christ should have the same witness as that
which the Corinthian church bore to Paul's labours. But though in this age
there are many preachers, there is a great scarcity of able, holy
ministers--men filled with the love that dwelt in the heart of Christ.
Pride, self-confidence, love of the world, faultfinding, bitterness, envy,
are the fruit borne by many who profess the religion of Christ. Their
lives, in sharp contrast to the life of the Saviour, often bear sad
testimony to the character of the ministerial labour under which they were
converted.
A man can have no greater honour than to be accepted by God as an able
minister of the gospel. But those whom the Lord blesses with power and
success in His work do not boast. They acknowledge their entire dependence
on Him, realising that of themselves they have no power. With Paul they
say, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of
ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able
ministers of the new testament."
A true minister does the work of the Master. He feels the importance of
his work, realising that he sustains to the church and to the world a
relation similar to that which Christ sustained. He works untiringly to
lead sinners to a nobler, higher life, that they may obtain the reward of
the overcomer. His lips are touched with a live coal from the altar, and
he uplifts Jesus as the sinner's only hope. Those who hear him know that
he has drawn near to God in fervent, effectual prayer. The Holy Spirit has
rested upon him, his soul has felt the vital, heavenly fire, and he is
able to compare spiritual things with spiritual. Power is given him to
tear down the strongholds of Satan. Hearts are broken by his presentation
of the love of God, and many are led to inquire, "What must I do to
be saved?"
"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but
by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's
conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds
of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for
Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
Thus the apostle magnified the grace and mercy of God, shown in the
sacred trust committed to him as a minister of Christ. By God's abundant
mercy he and his brethren had been sustained in difficulty, affliction,
and danger. They had not modelled their faith and teaching to suit the
desires of their hearers, nor kept back truths essential to salvation in
order to make their teaching more attractive. They had presented the truth
with simplicity and clearness, praying for the conviction and conversion
of souls. And they had endeavoured to bring their conduct into harmony
with their teaching, that the truth presented might commend itself to
every man's conscience.
"We have this treasure," the apostle continued, "in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not
of us." God could have proclaimed His truth through sinless angels,
but this is not His plan. He chooses human beings, men compassed with
infirmity, as instruments in the working out of His designs. The priceless
treasure is placed in earthen vessels. Through men His blessings are to be
conveyed to the world. Through them His glory is to shine forth into the
darkness of sin. In loving ministry they are to meet the sinful and the
needy, and lead them to the cross. And in all their work they are to
ascribe glory, honour, and praise to Him who is above all and over all.
Referring to his own experience, Paul showed that in choosing the
service of Christ he had not been prompted by selfish motives, for his
pathway had been beset by trial and temptation. "We are troubled on
every side," he wrote, "yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not
destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus,
that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."
Paul reminded his brethren that as Christ's messengers he and his
fellow labourers were continually in peril. The hardships they endured
were wearing away their strength. "We which live," he wrote,
"are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also
of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh
in us, but life in you." Suffering physically through privation and
toil, these ministers of Christ were conforming to His death. But that
which was working death in them was bringing spiritual life and health to
the Corinthians, who by a belief in the truth were being made partakers of
life eternal. In view of this, the followers of Jesus were to be careful
not to increase, by neglect and disaffection, the burdens and trials of
the labourers.
"We having the same spirit of faith," Paul continued,
"according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken;
we also believe, and therefore speak." Fully convinced of the reality
of the truth entrusted to him, nothing could induce Paul to handle the
word of God deceitfully or to conceal the convictions of his soul. He
would not purchase wealth, honour, or pleasure by conformity to the
opinions of the world. Though in constant danger of martyrdom for the
faith that he had preached to the Corinthians, he was not intimidated, for
he knew that He who had died and risen again would raise him from the
grave and present him to the Father.
"All things are for your sakes," he said, "that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory
of God." Not for self-aggrandisement did the apostles preach the
gospel. It was the hope of saving souls that led them to devote their
lives to this work. And it was this hope that kept them from ceasing their
efforts because of threatened danger or actual suffering.
"For which cause," Paul declared, "we faint not; but
though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day." Paul felt the power of the enemy; but though his physical
strength was declining, yet faithfully and unflinchingly he declared the
gospel of Christ. Clad in the whole armour of God, this hero of the cross
pressed forward in the conflict. His voice of cheer proclaimed him
triumphant in the combat. Fixing his gaze on the reward of the faithful,
he exclaimed in tones of victory, "Our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the
things which are not seen are eternal."
Very earnest and touching is the apostle's appeal that his Corinthian
brethren consider anew the matchless love of their Redeemer. "Ye know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," he wrote, "that, though He
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty
might be rich." You know the height from which He stooped, the depth
of humiliation to which He descended. Having once entered upon the path of
self-denial and sacrifice, he turned not aside until He had given His
life. There was no rest for Him between the throne and the cross.
Point after point Paul lingered over, in order that those who should
read his epistle might fully comprehend the wonderful condescension of the
Saviour in their behalf. Presenting Christ as He was when equal with God
and with Him receiving the homage of the angels, the apostle traced His
course until He had reached the lowest depths of humiliation. Paul was
convinced that if they could be brought to comprehend the amazing
sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven, all selfishness would be banished
from their lives. He showed how the Son of God had laid aside His glory,
voluntarily subjecting Himself to the conditions of human nature, and then
had humbled Himself as a servant, becoming obedient unto death, "even
the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8), that He might lift fallen
man from degradation to hope and joy and heaven.
When we study the divine character in the light of the cross we see
mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice. We see
in the midst of the throne One bearing in hands and feet and side the
marks of the suffering endured to reconcile man to God. We see a Father,
infinite, dwelling in light unapproachable, yet receiving us to Himself
through the merits of His Son. The cloud of vengeance that threatened only
misery and despair, in the light reflected from the cross reveals the
writing of God: Live, sinner, live! ye penitent, believing souls, live! I
have paid a ransom.
In the contemplation of Christ we linger on the shore of a love that is
measureless. We endeavour to tell of this love, and language fails us. We
consider His life on earth, His sacrifice for us, His work in heaven as
our advocate, and the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him, and
we can only exclaim, O the height and depth of the love of Christ!
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and
sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." "Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God." 1 John 4:10; 3:1.
In every true disciple this love, like sacred fire, burns on the altar
of the heart. It was on the earth that the love of God was revealed
through Christ. It is on the earth that His children are to reflect this
love through blameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross to
behold the Lamb of God.
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