We are all called to a ministry of reconciliation

September 24, 2001

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October 28 Lesson

We are all called to a ministry of reconciliation
___2 Corinthians 4:7-11; 5:11-21
___^4:7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. ...
___ ^5:11Since, 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. ¹²We 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. ¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For 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; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸All 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.

___By David Hardage
___Periodically, throughout the years of my ministry, I have witnessed a husband and wife experience marital separation and then, as both seek the Lord and his will, marital reconciliation.
___Unfortunately this marital reconciliation is not always the end result. Far too many marriages end in divorce. How-ever, on those occasions when a man and a woman are reconciled to each after having endured the strain and stress at separation, reconciliation is something special, even beautiful.
___In our lesson for this week, we will see that our Lord has called us, all of us, to a ministry of reconciliation. Many people around us are separated from God, and our assignment is to help bring them into a right relationship with the Lord.
___Please note that it will be practically impossible to help someone else restore their relationship with the Lord if our own personal relationship with our heavenly Father is strained.
___Take it from the top
___Paul had written the Corinthian Christians before. We have a record of one of his letters, 1 Corinthians, and many think he may have written as many as two others before this letter we call 2 Corinthians. However, since we do have these two letters recorded for us in the New Testament, we'll take what we have, be grateful for it, and seek to understand and apply the truths we find included there.
___His letter of 1 Corinthians was strongly worded as he sought to teach and correct. Many, even most, in the Corinthian church had responded well to Paul's writing, but not all reacted the way that might have been hoped. There were some who began to deny Paul's authority and even question his motives.
___I'm certain this cloud of doubt some had tried to cast over Paul's reputation hurt him, as it would hurt any of us. Let's keep in mind that our biblical writers, and in this case the spiritual giant Paul, were real people just like us and felt the same emotions we feel.
___I think you can sense Paul's emotion and determination in this lesson as we see him seeking to restore his reputation.
___In this letter he, from the very beginning, defends his authority, corrects the false teachings and tries to reaffirm his relationship with the Corinthians. As you study this letter in greater detail, you will discover it to be extremely personal.
___Obviously, Paul takes the ministry of reconciliation to be something all God's children should pursue, himself included. Paul earnestly wanted his relationship with his Corinthian friends to be as it once was. Certainly he desired for them to relate rightly to each other. Paul was not leaving this work to someone else, he was doing it himself.
___On the defensive
___In the first three chapters of 2 Corinthians, Paul defends his actions and his ministry. He wants the Corinthians to know he had every intention of visiting them, but the Lord changed his plans. In 1:28, Paul calls "God as my witness" regarding his truthfulness in this matter.
___In no way was Paul trying to influence the Corinthians only at a distance. He did not have anything to hide. He was operating out of a sense of obedience to God first and his obligation to the Corinthians second. He wanted them to inspect him and see if they found any truth to the lies being spread. He wanted the matter finished so kingdom work go on without disruption or distortion.
___In some ways, many of today's church members have unhealthy expectations of their ministers and their ministers' obligations to them. Most ministers I know want to fulfill their responsibilities to their congregations but first desire to be obedient to the Lord, and that is as it should be.
___When he begins to defend his ministry in 2:12, he does so by calling the Corinthians themselves as witnesses.
___Quite frequently, I am asked by students in our church to write letters of recommendation for them as they make applications for work or scholarships, or as they apply for admission to a university or college. Even though it takes a little time to do this, I have found it to be a rather rewarding experience for me and quite encouraging to the student.
___Paul tells the Corinthians he does not need any written letters of recommendation, but they, the Corinthians themselves, can serve that purpose.
___Dos and don'ts
___In the Corinthian church, a few had risen to seek and discredit Paul. In so doing, they had placed themselves on a pedestal and had tinkered with the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 4:1-11, the apostle reviews for all of us the high standards to which the minister should adhere.
___There are some things a Christian should not do. Namely, lose heart, operate in secret and shameful ways, distort the word of God, or preach and promote himself. Don't you think Christians and churches want the same standards to apply to their ministers today?
___Some encouragement to your pastor or one of your staff members, who you see and sense carry out their assignment with diligence, integrity, sincerity and humility, would be in order. Do not underestimate the power of a supportive card or call.
___On the other hand, the call to set forth the truth plainly still stands. I think by reviewing these dos and don'ts, Paul was convinced the difference between himself and his ministry and those in the church who were opposing him would be clearly visible.
___Jars of clay
___I have never had a broken bone, nor do I want one. (As soon as I write this, I'll probably slip, fall, and break my arm. ... However, as of now, that's not happened.) Even though I've been fortunate not to have broken a bone thus far, I am very much aware that it could happen. I am not invincible.
___One of the problems many Christians and most ministers struggle with is the problem of pride. A few spiritual victories can go a long way toward creating an arrogant spirit, and a Christian with an arrogant spirit is a Christian ripe for a fall.
___In 4:7, Paul reminds his readers that human beings are frail and mistake prone. It is amazing that God would entrust his message of salvation through Jesus Christ to people like the Corinthians and us. Paul had not had an easy time of it in his ministry and missionary work. Yet he had not given up. There was too much at stake.
___Tent dwellers
___Have you ever been on a Royal Ambassador campout? If not, take a moment and thank the Lord. If so, then you know what I'm talking about when I say that I'm grateful the experience was only temporary. It causes me to smile, thinking back on the trails, the rain, the hotdogs and the tents, knowing that the tent is not my permanent dwelling.
___The same could be said of our earthly bodies. They are not permanent. These bodies are temporary. This is Paul's message in 4:12-5:10. All through life, an individual's body grows, develops and slowly but surely begins to fade. We all know and experience this. However, there need not be a fading away of our spiritual strength and stamina.
___Paul wants his readers to continue their spiritual development toward Christlikeness for as long as they live, and we can never be all we should be without some kind of service and ministry to others.
___To the work
___All too often, we hear and see preachers and other ministries whose primary purpose in ministry is to get ahead, make money and pursue popularity. Paul did not, and we should not, think too highly of these kinds of preachers. Instead, Paul preached out of an intense concern for eternity. Paul and his companions wanted to do nothing more than honor God by bringing others into a new and right relationship with him. That which motivated Paul was dramatically different from the motivation of his opponents.
___Nothing brought more joy to Paul than to see someone, separated from God and bound by sin, recreated by the power of the Holy Spirit. I have a sense that the apostle's own recreation on the road to Damascus stayed fresh in his heart and mind.
___Every Christian has experienced the reconciliation about which Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18. Because of what we've experienced, we have the opportunity, even the privilege, of encouraging others to do the same.
___It has been said that there are two ways to look at life: (1) A slow journey away from God; and (2) a purposeful journey toward God. Our lives as Christians ought to be lived in such a way that those around us turn from a journey away from God to a journey toward God. This was Paul's ministry, and it is ours.
___It's a beautiful thing
___Do you remember the Blimpie sandwich commercials when the owner of the restaurant chain described his sandwich as "a beautiful thing"? I've eaten one, and it is good. However, there is nothing better, or more beautiful, than a sinner being reconciled to the God who loves him and gave his only Son to die on the cross for a world of sinners that were lost.
___As a Christian, reconciliation is your ministry, and it is a beautiful thing.

For thought and discussion
___ What are some of the differences and similarities between Paul's first letter to the Corinthians and this second letter?
___ How would you feel, or perhaps how did you feel, if your Christian ministry or your Christian integrity were called into question by someone else? What would you do to defend your reputation?
___ Make a list of things a Christian should never do when he or she is sharing the gospel. How is your list similar to Paul's?
___ Without listing your personal ailments or mistakes, what are some indicators you are enjoying a temporary experience here on earth?
___ Do you remember the last time you led someone who was separated from God to be reconciled with him? Perhaps for many of us we would need to recall our own reconciliation experience.
___ What does "being made new in Christ" mean? What does it not mean? In other words, how "new" is "new"?

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