Paul is writing to a church that he loves and that loves him, but with some detractors. He had written an earlier letter (1 Corinthians) to the church taking them to task for assorted problems. That letter was generally well received, but not universally. The early church didn’t necessarily meet in a single large group, but many smaller ones, and some leaders within those groups had destructive views of both the gospel and of Paul.
Paul has just been going over how the Corinthians are called to be ambassadors of Christ, working for the ministry of reconciliation. He then goes on, in chapter six, to lay out the job description that comes with that title.
He opens this passage with a prophetic text from Isaiah about the coming of Christ, about a unique moment in history. He is calling out the Corinthians passionately, much like he called out Peter in the past. Paul’s passion is most aroused when the gospel of Christ is being twisted to oppress others.
When he says that he “put no stumbling block” in front of anyone, he doesn’t mean to entirely avoid offense. Even a cursory reading of Paul’s epistles makes that clear. Instead, he means that there is a need to clear out whatever cultural baggage may make it difficult for people to come up God. In the case of Peter, that meant not commanding circumcision. In the case of Timothy, elsewhere, that meant getting circumcised.
In verses 4-5, he gets deeper into the job description, and starts with suffering. Suffering is not punishment – it is a necessary part of our role as Christians. Paul doesn’t just speak of suffering generally, but suffering specifically in the form of beatings received in punishment for sharing the gospel.
How is this possible? In verse 7, we see how – the power of God and the weapons he provides. Paul uses battle terms, to make it clear that the Christian life is like a war.
The job description goes on, running through a list of contradictions. Glory and dishonor, known and unknown, sorrow yet rejoicing. The Corinthians should expect hard times, but should also expect peace to come through that suffering.
Even when we share the Gospel and love people, they may not respond the way they should. The Corinthians had pelted Paul with many non-essential complaints – he wasn’t an original apostle, he didn’t have a proper letter of recommendation, and so on. But Paul still seeks to be opened wide to the Corinthians, even as they dispute around the margins.
We here at Seed Church are also called to be ambassadors of Christ, for the ministry of reconciliation. We’ve been charged, trusted, empowered with a valuable mission, one that is ultimately more meaningful than anything else we could do. We have meaning and purpose in a world that alternates between seeking it desperately and dismissing it sardonically.
Many of us have been hurt by people in the church, and so accepting the notion that we are on this mission with the church. Jeremiah gives us something of a model. He was called specifically to warn the Jewish people about their impending destruction, and was ignored, imprisoned and eventually killed without ever making a visible impact.
We are given an impossible task that is only made possible by the work of Christ and person of the Holy Spirit. We are not restrained by who or what or where we are, because we are enabled by God. We will fail and be taken advantage of, but we will be known by God.
Do we want this job? Do we need to take up this role as co-worker with Christ? Do we need to realign our priorities with the description of this job? The right time to act is now.
– Sermon Notes, Aaron James, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, April 8, 2018
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
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