II Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
3 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
8 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
The apostle Paul continued to identify himself as a worker together with Christ. He and his companions were not in competition with Christ. They were not trying to improve on what Christ did and taught. They were subject to Christ in all things.
He was directed here to warn the Corinthians of receiving God’s grace in vain. Calvinism and many other groups have a false view of grace. God’s grace is not a license to sin. It is not that we can sin because God is gracious and will forgive. Verse 3 helps us to understand what Paul is speaking of here.
The true child of God is not to give offence in any thing. True Christians do not offend God with worldly living. They have been saved and worldliness is not their way any longer. This again exposes and refutes the modern emergent church philosophy which permeates most churches today. It is the continued product of the New Evangelical movement. It is the worldliness that permeates most religions.
In verse 2 Paul referenced the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
It was a communication between the Father and the Son. The Son offered Himself as the Saviour and He prayed that God the Father would forgive the sinners that were mocking Him.
John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
Jesus was also asking the Father to glorify His Son that He might glorify the Father. God the Father had helped His Son while on earth as He cried out to Him in the Garden and as He hung on that cross. There was a moment where the Father had turned away from His Son as He bore the sins of many. However, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He is the Saviour of mankind. Now is the day of salvation.
As mentioned in verse 3, Paul was using the life and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ as the motivation for the saints not to be an offence to God. In I Corinthians 5 the fornicator was an offence to God. He was considered a brother, but he was behaving like a wicked man. That cannot be in true Christianity. The carnality of the saints in Corinth also could not continue. God’s grace is not a license to sin. God’s grace is that help that the true child of God needs to walk faithfully with Him.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
In verses 4-10 Paul was directed to describe the evidence of the new creature. Notice he began in verse 4 with “in all things approving ourselves”. As Christians we can be guilty of sin. However, the design by God is to be free from sin. We know that does not happen until we get to heaven. The Nazarene religion is fraudulent. They redefine sin so they can make the claim that they do not sin.
The apostle Paul was a minister of God. The Greek Word translated as “minister” is ‘one who executes the command of another’. Once again we are reminded that the true child of God does not write his own instruction manual. God has already written that. His Word is our only and final authority. It does not matter what man might say. What matters is what God says. God’s ministers need to be careful not to diminish or exceed what God has said.
We see the need for patience, for enduring afflictions, of continuing faithful even in necessities and in distresses. Paul knew what it was like to be whipped. He faced that more than once. He also knew what imprisonment was about. They did not have the luxuries of our prisons today. I have heard that certain religious people were not well treated in prison. The world hates God and takes it out on those who stand for truth. The world has a difficult time differentiating between false teachers and true servants of God. There were tumults wherever Paul went. There were Judaizers who did their best to stir up trouble.
Paul knew what labour was about. It was labour to minister to the people. He also needed to labour with his hands at times, especially in Corinth where the saints did not appreciate the ministry of the Word as they should have. We see the various ways that the true minister of the Gospel of Christ will be tested and challenged.
In verse 6 we see the need for purity in our actions and testimony. We need to be aware of what is going on. We also need to be longsuffering with people showing kindness by the Holy Ghost by love unfeigned. I hear so much of professing Christians being led by the Holy Spirit to do things that are completely contrary to what the Bible says.
We see as well that the authority is the Word of Truth. It is the power of God that kept Paul faithful and willing to stand against the threats cast upon him. He had the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. He needed God to guide him, and he needed to be submissive to God.
There were times when he was honoured, and there were times when he was dishonoured. This was not because he was a failure, but some people liked what he was doing and more disliked what he was doing. Paul did not change his message due to external pressures. He submitted to the will of God and thus his message was constant. We can read his epistles and we can serve the same God and we can receive the same assurances from God.
Paul went to places where he was not known. He did not send messengers ahead and get the red carpet laid out for him. He was not interested in vain glory. Those who go around boasting and advertising their “expertise” set themselves up for failure. They actually put out a warning to those who are actually saved. A man that wants to exalt himself is not worth following.
The apostle Paul knew what it was like to be left for dead, physically. Spiritually he needed to die to self daily in order to live for Christ. He knew what it was like to be chastened by men who hated the truth, yet they could not kill him. God’s servants have a timeline laid out by God. We do not know that timeline, but He does.
There will be times of sorrow for the true servant of God. Sorrow at sin and sorrow over the sudden loss of a loved one or a fellow servant. Paul knew what it was like to have a good support group around him, but he also knew what it was like to be abandoned by just about everyone.
Paul also knew what it was like to be poor. He did not have much of this world’s wealth. He did not write his epistles to make money. He did it because God directed him to do it. Many people were made spiritually rich because he was a faithful minister of God. God knows the needs of His ministers. He does not make them materially rich, but He looks after them.
Even though Paul did not have much of this world’s goods, he was rich in Christ. He had treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust can corrupt and where thieves cannot break through and steal. That is what we need to keep in mind. We are living in a time of increasing lawlessness. Drug addiction causes those involved in that to steal to supply their habit. Others steal for other greedy reasons. The police are too preoccupied with other things to deal with these things. Some of them are involved in it themselves. The courts are insulated against reality and too many lawyers and judges do not have a clue of what true justice looks like. The true servant of God knows this but does not stop serving the Lord because of it. God will take care of these things in His time.
Pastor Bartel