Motivated to Minister - 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Motivated to Minister
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
I.
Motivated by Accountability to God
and Others, 2 Cor. 5:11-13
“Since,
then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are
is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you
again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can
answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the
heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it
is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.”
A.
To Fear the Lord, v. 11
“Therefore, because we realize how greatly the
Lord is to be feared, we are endeavouring to win men over, and God recognizes
what our motives are, and I hope that you, in your hearts, recognize them too.”
(Weymouth
1. Having just referred
to the fact that everyone will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ
to give an account of ourselves. Paul says for this reason we are “to fear
the Lord”.
2. “To fear the Lord”
does not mean to be afraid of God, but to respect and reverence God for who He
is and for what He has done for us. It is an attitude of worship.
3. In Deuteronomy God
sums up what he requires of each of us and the first item on the list is “to
fear the Lord.”
Deut. 10:12-13 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your
God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to
love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (13) and to keep the commandments and statutes of
the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?”
4. Solomon says the
same thing in the book of Ecclesiates .
5. And this is what
motivates Paul to persuade everyone to come to know the Lord Jesus.
6. At the end of verse
11 Paul is once again answering a charge of those who have criticized him. He
says you Corinthians know that my motives are pure.
B. Paul’s
Madness, v. 13
1. Apparently some of
Paul’s enemies in Corinth
2. And its probably
true that even today there would be many who refer to a man like Paul as a
religious fanatic.
3. William Barclay said
“The real enthusiast always runs the risk of seeming crazy to lukewarm people.”
4. More than once Paul
was thought to be crazy. In the book of Acts it says:
Act 26:24 “And as he was saying these things in his
defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind;
your great learning is driving you out of your mind."
5. And Paul was not
alone, Jesus’ own family thought that he was crazy too.
Mar 3:21 “And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they
were saying, "He is out of his mind."
6. But Paul says that
even if it were true it is for the sake of God’s work.
II.
Motivated by the Love of Christ, 2 Cor. 5:14-17
“For Christ's love
compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all
died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer
live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16So
from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once
regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold
all things have become new!”
A.
In verse 14a the NIV has “For Christ’s love compels us”, the Greek word here translated
compel means not such thing. The
idea is not urging or driving, but shutting up to
one line and purpose, as in a narrow, walled road. Paul’s conception of Christ’s love for him
holds him together to his task whatever men think or say.
B.
Verse 14b – 15 describes the
reason for why Paul was motivated to minister it was to get across the gospel
message that Christ came to die in our place. The one for the many. Annas the
high priest during Christ’s ministry once prophesied without actually realizing
the meaning of what he was saying. He said the following after Jesus raised
Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:47-52 “So the
chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are
we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48If we let him go on
like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away
both our place and our nation." 49But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at
all. 50Nor do you understand
that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the
whole nation should perish." 51He
did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he
prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one
the children of God who are scattered abroad.”
1.
Paul describes better what the death of Christ
did for the believer in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified
with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the
life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me
and gave himself for me.”
2. On verse 16 I like
the translation of the Contemporary English Version better, because I think it
explains what Paul is trying to say here.
2 Cor. 5:16 “We are
careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged
Christ in that way.”
C. New
Creations in Christ, v. 17
“Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold all things
have become new!”
1. The phrase “in
Christ” is Paul’s favorite expression for describing our position in Christ. The phrase occurs 77 times in the New
Testament and all accept 3 are in Paul’s writings.
2. “In Christ” refers
to the believers position in Christ. We have been placed in vital union with
Christ through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
3. Paul uses the
relationship that exists between a husband and a wife to illustrate his point.
Eph 5:31-32
"For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and
shall be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh." 32This
is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
4. There are two
different Greek words for “new”. One means something that is new in time: you
would use this word to say “I just bought a new car”. Now the cars are nothing
new, but in this present point in time this car is brand new.
5. The second word for
“new” means new in kind. It’s something that never existed before. It is the
word for creation or creating. That’s the word Paul uses here in v. 17. Each
one of us are new creations in Christ, one of a kind.”
III.
Motivated by the Commission of God, 2 Cor. 5:18-21
“All this is from God,
who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the
message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's
behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be
sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
A. The
Message of Reconciliation, v. 18-19
1. The word
reconcile means “a change from enmity to friendship. It is mutual, i.e., it is
a change wrought in both parties who have been at enmity with each other.
2. God’s love (John 3:16 ) provided the
means and basis for man’s reconciliation to God against whom he had sinned. It
is all God’s plan because of his love, but God’s own sense of justice had to be
satisfied (Rom 3:26) and so God gave his Son as a propitiation for our sins (Rom
3:25; Col 1:20; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). The point made by Paul here is that God
needs no reconciliation, but is engaged in the great business of reconciling us
to Himself.
B. Ambassadors
for Christ, v. 20-21
1. The word
ambassador means a representative.
2. They don’t
speak on their on but only that which was told to them
3. As a
representative an ambassador must be above reproach or else he brings disgrace
and shame to his country.
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