COMMENDED AS MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 21, 2021 under 2021 |
Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; February 21, 2021 from 2 Corinthians 6:3-10
Theme: Our endurance for Jesus in the challenges of life commends our message to the world.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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As I began preparing for this morning’s message, I spent some time thinking about the pastors and faithful ministers that I have had in my life. I have been very blessed in that respect. Most of those godly ministers who bore such a great impact on my faith have gone to be with Jesus. But though I miss them greatly, the influence of their godly character, love for the Bible, devotion to Jesus, and faithful words of instruction still remain with me. And I often think of how I want to be like them, and to bear a similar influence for Christ in someone else’s life.
What is it then that qualifies someone to be that kind of an influence? What is it that ‘commends’ someone as a true, faithful minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ? When I ask that, I’m not thinking just of ‘professional’ or ‘vocational’ qualifications. Those are important too, of course. But someone can achieve the ‘vocational’ qualifications for professional positions through education or through ordination, and still not have a ministry is ‘commended’ as truly from God. What I mean to ask is, ‘What is it that qualifies and approves and truly ‘commends’ someone as a genuine servant of the gospel of Jesus Christ in God’s sight—whether they are professionally trained for vocational ministry or not?’
The apostle Paul tells us what commends a minister of the gospel in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10. He was writing to the Corinthians about the glories of the ministry of the gospel; and he said;
We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things (2 Corinthians 6:3-10).
Because the message of the gospel is a message that transforms lives through faith in Jesus, then a true minister of that gospel ought to show forth a manifestation of God’s grace by experience in the hard realities of life. And it’s those hard realities of life that Paul talks about in this passage.
In it, he shows us that our endurance for Jesus in the challenges of life commends our message to the world.
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Now; you might be tempted to pass by this passage as if it didn’t apply to you. You might think, “After all, I’m not a pastor. I’m not a preacher. I’m not an evangelist or a Christian teacher. This doesn’t apply to me; because I’m not a ‘minister’.”
But please don’t let yourself think that way. The fact is that, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, and He has redeemed you, and you have become one of His followers, then this passage applies very much to you. The privilege of ministry is yours; because by faith in Jesus …
1. WE’RE EACH CALLED TO BE MINISTERS OF THE GOSPEL.
When we personally placed our trust in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we entered into a great and glorious calling. It became, by God’s grace, our privilege to bear witness to the world of what Jesus has done for us. And now, we are engaged in the work—each one of us, in our unique situations in life—of inviting others around us to place their faith in Him.
The apostle Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 5. He had told the Corinthian believers;
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
Paul was certainly speaking of himself and of his co-preachers when he wrote those words. But it’s also true that you and I are to be ‘ambassadors for Christ’ in this world. The Great Commission applies to us. And even though we may not all be called into full-time, vocational ministry in some way; we are—nevertheless—ambassadors for Christ in the various spheres of life that God has placed us. We are—each one as individual believers—truly ‘ministers’ of the gospel.
Do you know what the word ‘minister’ means? In the original language, the word is diakonos; and it’s the Greek word from which we get the word ‘deacon’. It basically means ‘a servant’ or ‘a helper’. It’s true, of course, that God has ordained that there be an official role fulfilled in the church called ‘deacons’. They are appointed by the church leadership to minister in specific areas of church life in particular and authorized ways. But we are all—each one—to serve as ministers of the cause of Christ. ‘Ministry’, in that respect, truly is the privilege of every genuine believer in the church family.
The apostle Paul wrote about this in Ephesians 4. He spoke of how the resurrected Lord Jesus formed His church and gave gifts to it. In verse 11, Paul wrote,
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers … (Ephesians 4:11);
Those are official ‘ministers’ who are given by our Lord to serve His church. But it’s not that they are the only ones called by God to be doing the work of the ministry. Those official ministers are given by God to help every other believer in the church do their work. Those official leaders are given, as Paul goes on to say,
… for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (vv. 12-16).
So; don’t think of what Paul says in our passage this morning as only applying to those who are in vocational or professional ministry in some way. If you have been redeemed by Jesus and have become His follower, you are in the ministry—and Paul’s words apply to you.
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And what’s more; because each one of us has a role to play in the work of being Jesus’ ambassadors—and of proclaiming the message, “Be reconciled to God”—then we must be careful how we, as ministers, live in this world. As Paul tells us in our passage in verse 3;
2. WE MUST NOT BRING ANY BLAME UPON THIS MINISTRY.
When thinking about his own work and the work of his co-laborers in the gospel, Paul wrote, “We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.”
When Paul writes here about not giving “offense”, he’s not talking about doing his work of preaching the gospel in such a way that no one would ever be offended by it. That would be impossible. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul wrote that the gospel is ‘foolishness’ to those who are perishing. In Galatians 5:11, Paul spoke of ‘the offense of the cross’. If we try to make the gospel of Jesus Christ completely ‘inoffensive’ to the people of this world, then we would then cease to be preaching that God gave us to preach. Rather, what Paul is talking about here is that we live carefully in our work of ministering the gospel to the world; so that if anyone is offended, they are offended only by the message of the gospel—and not by how we live in proclaiming it.
Paul himself was very careful about this. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he said,
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Dear brother or sister in Christ; if you truly accept the fact that you are a genuine ambassador for Christ—and that you are called upon to minister the gospel to this world—then you will be very careful how you live. You don’t want—in any way—harm the message by your personal conduct. In Titus 2, the apostle Paul wrote to Pastor Titus and urged him to teach this to the people in the church. He said that they were to live carefully and obediently to Christ, “that the word of God may not be blasphemed” (Titus 2:5); and “that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you” (v. 8); and that the people of God “may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all thing” (v. 10).
It’s a tragic thing whenever someone rejects the message of the gospel. But dear brothers and sisters; I would never want to be responsible for someone rejecting that gospel because of my careless words, or my sinful conduct, or my disobedient pattern of life. May we so carefully live as to “give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed”.
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Instead, we’re to live and work in such a way as to show that we are faithful ambassadors of a wonderful Savior, and that the gospel message we proclaim is the truth that can be trusted. As Paul puts it in verse 4, “But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God …”
And this brings us back to the question I asked at the beginning. What is it that qualifies someone to be a genuine ‘minister’ of the gospel? What is it that commends someone as a true ‘ambassador for Christ’ in this world? It’s not just by academic training or professional certification. It’s by the fact that we prove the reality of the gospel of Jesus by our own experience in the midst of the trials and tribulations of life. It’s by our endurance for Jesus in the challenges of life that we commend gospel to the world—and ourselves as its ministers. We prove it by living it in the hard trials and tribulations of life.
As Paul goes on in this passage, he shows us …
3. HOW WE COMMEND OURSELVES AS ITS MINISTERS.
Paul begins by saying that “in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God in much patience …” What an important and necessary quality that is! I took many classes in my training for ministry at Bible college and seminary. But I never took a single class titled Much Patience 101. I took a lot of courses for which patience was an undeclared prerequisite; I can tell you that! But ‘much patience’ is rarely considered a formal requirement as a qualification for the ministry of the gospel. And yet, it absolutely should be.
‘Patience’ is best understood as the quality of calmly waiting for the hand of God; and enduring in the thing He has given us—with confident trust in Him—until His hand sovereignly moves. This quality is mentioned first, because it should be seen as the one that governs all the others. We not only need to be ‘patient’ in our ministry for the sake of the gospel; but we must have “much” patience. In God’s work, we need much patience toward God, and much patience toward people. Someone has called patience ‘the queen of virtues’. Everything we do in Jesus’ service is to be done with much patience. Don’t be afraid to pray for patience. God knows how much we need it in His service; and He knows how best to develop it in us.
And with that in mind, Paul then goes on to give us a list of things that ‘commend’ us for ministry and that bring assurance of the truth of our gospel. There are twenty-seven things that Paul mentions in this passage; and they can be divided up into three sets of nine each. The first set of nine, in verses 4-5, has to do with how we prove the gospel in the trials of life. The second set of nine, in verses 6-7, has to do with the ways that we exhibit God’s grace at work in our lives. And the third nine, in verses 8-10, has to do with the seeming paradoxes and contrasts that are involved in God’s call upon our lives.
It’s good to have professional and academic credentials in ministry. But these twenty-seven things qualify us for ministry more than any other qualifications ever could. And they are meant for all of us who are in the body of Christ.
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Notice the first set of nine qualifications that commend us for ministry. Those qualifications are found in verses 4-5. And they have to do with how we bear up through Christ while under trials.
First, we find that there are trials that come from difficult circumstances in life. Paul says that we prove the truth of the gospel by our much-patience “in tribulations”. The word in the original language means “pressures”; but the idea is that of distressing circumstances and troubles. Do we prove the reality of our gospel in times when the pressures of life are upon us, and when we experience affliction and trial? The next thing Paul mentions is that we prove the gospel “in needs”. The word that is used means ‘constraints’; and it speaks of the idea of suffering hardship because of a lack of resources. The ministry of the gospel is the greatest work in the world; and so often, this greatest of all tasks suffers under the smallest material supply. And yet, God provides miraculously. Do we trust God in those times to provide for His work? Then Paul mentions that we prove the gospel “in distresses”. The word Paul uses here describes a kind of ‘narrowness’ of situation—a tight squeeze. Often in the work of the gospel, it seems as if there are tight situations in which there are few options. Do we trust God to make a way?
Now; these describe how we are to bear up under difficult circumstances. But what about hostility from people? The Bible warns that all who live godly in Christ will suffer persecution. So; Paul mentions the ways that we might be tested by unbelieving people. He mentions that we bear up “in stripes”; which refers to wounds and blows and beatings received unjustly for the cause of Jesus. He also speaks of our serving as Christ’s ministers “in imprisonments”; which—along with stripes—was something that Paul was very familiar with. And third, he says that we bear up “in tumults”; which speaks of conditions of instability—or as its translated in the New International Version, “riots”. Paul’s preaching caused a few of those too. There have been many times in the history of God’s church in which God’s faithful servants of the gospel suffered such things. In some parts of the world, some of our brothers and sisters are doing so right now. Our own time may come soon. But those times of suffering the hostility of unbelieving people actually prove the truth of the gospel—and commend us as its ministers.
And in addition to the circumstances of life, and the hostility of men, we also must bear up patiently in the personal sacrifices that come along with our work If we are faithful to our call, we’ll experience the costs of serving. Paul spoke of being “in labors”; which speaks of being exhausted from hard and strenuous work. He also spoke of being “in sleeplessness”; because of the long nights of work and travel and preparation—and also, perhaps, because of pressing concerns and prayers. And he also spoke of being “in fastings”; and he probably doesn’t mean ‘fasting’ in the sense of devotion to prayer, but rather ‘fasting’ in the sense of not having enough to eat. Many a faithful servant of Christ knows what it means to have to go without.
But all these various trials and trying circumstances are in the hand of God. Nothing comes to us except by His permission. And He uses such trials to teach us ‘much patience’; and through them, He commends us to the world as His faithful ambassadors who proclaim a true message of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Will we let Him prove the truth of His gospel through them in our lives?
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Now; in the next set of nine—as they are found in verses 6-7—we find character qualities that exhibit God’s grace in our lives. The first nine had to do with things outside of ourselves. But these next nine have to do with things that God—by His grace—works into our inner being.
First, Paul mentions a set of four virtues that are necessary for ministry. He says, for example, that the ministry of the gospel is commended in us “by purity”. And just think of how important this is today! So many who have presented themselves as ministers of the gospel brought shame to the gospel by secret sin in their lives. We must be people who prove the truth of our gospel by the purity of our lives. And then, he mentions that we do so “by knowledge” or “understanding”. We need to be people who know God’s word, and know the doctrinal truths of the faith, and even know a thing or two about the world around us. We also need to commend our ministry “by longsuffering”. We need to be people who have a “long fuse”; because few things are more harmful to our reputation in the cause of Christ than for us to blow our top with people. And finally, Paul says that we need to commend our ministry “by kindness”. We need to be so gentle with people that they are not afraid to draw near to us and hear our message.
Those are four qualities that God wishes to work into us in order to exhibit His grace in us. But then, we also need to trust—outside ourselves—in God Himself. And so, Paul goes on to mention five ways that we commend the gospel by showing dependency upon divine resources. Paul says we do this “by the Holy Spirit”. The power for the ministry is not in ourselves; but rather, it comes from the Spirit of God at work in us. We need to do all things in dependency upon Him. Also, we do our work “by sincere love”. The word for “love” here is agape; which speaks of the self-sacrificing kind of love that Jesus showed toward us on the cross. Just as He sincerely loved us while we were sinners, so we need to sincerely love others with whom we share the gospel. The gospel is a powerful message when accompanied by the sincere love of Jesus at work in and through us. We also commend our ministry “by the word of truth”. We need to tell people what the Bible says. We need proclaim it “by the power of God”; trusting God Himself to prove the truth of His word. And finally, we need to commend our ministry in the gospel “by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left”. We need to make sure we live a holy and righteous life—fighting off the temptations to compromise with sin. The weapon I hold in my right hand is offensive, and the weapon I hold in my left hand is defensive; and so I need to fight for righteousness in my life in every way—putting sin to death in my life, and resisting the devil’s attacks.
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So; we commend ourselves as ministers of the gospel by the way we bear up under trials, and also by the way we let the grace of God be exhibited in our lives. And Paul then mentions a third way—explained to us by nine more qualities in verses 8-10. These appear to be pairs of contradictions; and yet, we commend ourselves as God’s ministers by the seeming paradoxes of His call upon our lives (vv. 8-10).
Paul says that we commend ourselves “by honor and dishonor; that is, by the fact that we hold to the same commitment to the gospel—and faithfully proclaim it as God gave it—whether we are held in high esteem for it or are ridiculed and laughed at because of it.
We commend it “by evil report and good report”. Sometimes the things that are said about us as followers of Jesus are true; and sometimes they are false. But we remain faithful to the truth no matter what. We trust God to show forth our integrity in His good time.
We commend it “as deceivers, and yet true”. The word for “deceivers” describes traveling con-men who defrauded people and ripped them off. That’s what some people will say that we are if we proclaim the gospel. But by closer examination, we prove to be true.
We commend the ministry of the gospel “as unknown, and yet well known”. The world may not recognize us. We may never gain fame and notoriety and applause in this world. Yet, we will hear the words “Well done!” from the Son of God on the day of His appearing.
We commend it “as dying, and behold we live”. Paul said that, in his work of the gospel, he died daily. Every day, we need to take up the cross and follow Jesus. And yet, we have grabbed hold of the message of eternal life; and by it, we live through the resurrected Lord Jesus.
We commend it “as chastened, and yet not killed”. We suffer the beatings and scourges of this world; and yet, by God’s grace, we are not put to an end. Like Paul, we are stoned and left for dead; and yet, we rise and go right back on proclaiming the message.
We commend it “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing”. There are many tears in the work of the ministry. But we look ahead to rejoicing on the day of harvest—and even before then!
We commend it “as poor, yet making many rich”. Sometimes, it costs all that we have to proclaim the message of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. And yet, by doing so, we bring others into the riches of His inheritance.
And finally, we commend this ministry, “as having nothing, and yet possessing all things”. We may have to give up families and houses and lands and the riches of this world in order to be the ministers of Christ God calls us to be. But we gain a hundred times more—and in the world to come, eternal life.
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Now; I began by mentioning the faithful ministers in my life that influenced me. Let me mention one more. Near the end of his own life of ministry—as he suffered in prison—the apostle Paul wrote to his younger friend Timothy. He had spent a life-time of service to the Lord Jesus—experiencing all those things that he listed for us. And as he came to the end of his labors, he told Timothy;
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:8-12).
He faithfully endured for Christ in the circumstances of life throughout his ministry; and thus he commended the truth of the gospel that he preached—all the way to the very end.
May we, by God’s grace, do the same.
EA
