Motivation for Ministry
2 Corinthians Series • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
If you recall from the first few chapters of 2 Corinthians - Paul is making a defense of his ministry.
After Paul planted and pastored the church in Corinth, false teachers invaded the church and turn it against Paul. They pointed to Paul’s afflictions, his ministry style and his humble appearance as signs that Paul wasn’t a true apostle.
In the first few chapters of this letter, Paul has been defending himself and his ministry - showing that he is a man of integrity and that he ministers with integrity.
And here in chapter 5, he nears the end of his defense and he’s charging the Corinthians to make a decision. “Who are you going to follow? You know me, you know my ministry style. God knows what’s I’ve done, you know what I’ve done. Who are you going to choose? Me? Or the other guys?
It’s not time of the Corinthians to make a decision on who they are going to follow - are they going to go the way of the false teachers, style over substance - or the way of the apostle Paul - who is motivated to ministry by the proper means?
In the verses we’re going to look at this morning, 5:11-15, Paul lays out 2 motivations that spur him on in his ministry.
On the surface they may seem like opposites, but once we understand these words and phrases form a biblical standpoint, we’ll see that they are indeed compatible with each other.
What motivated Paul’s ministry? Fear and love. Hear the Words of God. 2 Corinthians 5:11-15.
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;
15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Fear of the Lord
Fear of the Lord
Paul starts out in v.11, “Therefore...” And that word is really a concluding word. “In summary...” or “In conclusion...” we might say.
In the previous verses, Paul wrote about one day standing before Jesus’ judgment seat. He wrote it was his aim to please God whether at home in the body or away - because he knew that one day he would be judged for what he did what what he was given.
And as a conclusion to that thought, Paul writes “Therefore, knowing the fear of he Lord, we persuade others.”
What motivates Paul in ministry? Knowing that he will be judged one day, but also a healthy fear of the Lord.
We see this phrase throughout Scripture - the fear of the Lord. The ancient Israelites were commanded to fear the Lord and keep his commandments.
This could either be the fear we feel towards the Lord of the fear that the Lord inspires. Either way - it is a healthy understanding of who God is that motivates Paul to serve him.
Now, we have to understand hat is meant by ‘fear of the Lord.” It’s not being afraid or terrified of God. that kind of fear can often result in paralysis - deer in the headlights kind of look.
Fear can cause us to stand still and not do anything. But that’s not the kind of fear Paul is talking about here. By fear of the Lord, he means holding God in awe and reverence - having a healthy understanding of God’s “omni’s” God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
I believe we’ve lost a little of the fear of God. In an effect to make Christianity and God more appealing, we’ve lessened the awesomeness of God in order to turn him into something that is more marketable. We’ve downplayed how great and powerful he really is.
We want God to be a combination of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny - giving us good things when we’re good. Or we sometimes think that God is a benign deity.
But hear me on this and know this…God is worthy of being feared. He isn’t Santa or some indifferent and benign deity…He is indeed God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
For the author of Proverbs 1:7, fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom, for the apostle Paul, fear of the Lord was motivation for him to carry out the ministry God had entrusted to him.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
However, in this section, not only is Paul stating a motivation for ministry - he is also continuing his defense of his ministry. The false teachers that invaded the Corinthians church after Paul’s departure pointed to a number of aspects of Paul’s ministry that they said disqualified him and his ministry.
In vv.11-13, the underlying issue here is that Paul is accused of not having outward physical signs of spiritual experiences. This is most likely why Paul writes about often about outward spiritual experiences in this letter.
Here Paul writes about the way he conducts his ministry - so that his converts will be proud of their spiritual father. He knows there are detractors in Corinth who want to see signs and wonders and outward manifestations from Paul, as a sign of his calling.
And he knows there are some in Corinth who boast about their outward experiences - or there are some who put more emphasis on on a polished and eloquent presentation than the actual content of that presentation.
Paul on the other hand, though he may have experienced those ecstatic experiences in his private life, doesn’t brag about them in public in order to strengthen his credibility.
Instead, Paul focuses on one thing and one thing only - persuading people that one day they will stand before Christ’s judgment seat, and that that same Jesus, died and rose again for them.
In v.13, Paul writes, “If I’m out of mind - it is for God.” It seems like a strange comment to make - but that was obviously a charge that was brought against Paul.
Only someone who is out of his mind would think suffering and affliction are good things. Only someone who is not of sound mind wouldn’t brag about their own ecstatic experiences and instead choose to boast in their weaknesses.
But Paul writes here that if he is out of his mind it is for all the right reasons. That he would consider affliction something to be proud of…and not his own ecstatic experiences does seem a little wacky...
but Paul isn’t humble bragging here, he isn’t acting out of his self interest or because he has lost his mind. He does everything he does for God and the for the Corinthians best interest.
Paul defends himself, not as a point of pride, but so the Corinthians have an argument to make to defend their spiritual father against his detractors.
The Love of Christ
The Love of Christ
So what else motivates Paul? We’ve seen that Paul’s fear of the Lord drives him in his ministry, but why else does Paul serve God? Look at v.14 - the love of Christ controls us.
Some English translations say - the love of Christ compels us. Some idea. The love of Christ compels Paul to serve him. The love of Christ controls all that Paul does.
Now, isn’t this a beautiful phrase - the love of Christ. But what is meant by it? Well, it could mean Paul’s love FOR Christ. That Jesus is the object of Paul’s love…so Paul serves him.
Motivated by his own personal love for Jesus - Paul aims to please God and persuade others.
And as wonderful and thrilling, and as great a motivation as that is…I believe option 2 actually fits the context and the grammar best.
Paul is motivated to ministry because of Jesus’ move for him…and for all humanity. Think about - Paul is so moved by Jesus’ displayed love that he can’t help but minister. He is so taken aback by Jesus’ love…and that love spurs him on in his ministry.
This is a pretty incredible statement - the love of Christ controls us…think about where Paul came form. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in the mid 50’s AD…and about 15 years prior to writing this letter…something very different controlled Paul.
Something very different compelled Paul to carry out a very different kind of ministry. Bigoted hatred and blind rage motivated Paul to think about Jesus in a very different way.
Hatred towards Jesus controlled Paul and compelled him to carry out a wave of persecution on Jesus’ followers.
You didn’t have to dig very far in to Paul’s past to see that he once thought Jesus to be a lunatic - not Lord. He thought Jesus was cursed by God for dying on a cross…He surely didn’t think Jesus was God’s promised Messiah.
But after Paul’s encounter with the risen Jesus on the Damascus Road - he came to see Jesus in a very different light. Paul came to see Jesus’ death on the cross in the very different light. More on that next week.
But now, because of his conversion experience and coming to a new understanding of who Jesus is - Paul is now controlled by the love that Jesus showed to humanity. And that love compels him to serve.
vv.14-15 are incredible verses. They really are worthy of their own sermon. But quickly today, take note of what’s going on in these verses.
Paul states his conviction - the love of Christ controls us. And after stating his conviction, he makes a conclusion. One has died for all. Paul once came to a very different conclusion about Jesus death - but now he sees Jesus’ death as sacrificial, not as a sign of punishment or of being cursed by God.
But Paul’s conclusion continues - Christ died for all, so all have died. It wasn’t the simple bare facts that Jesus died that compelled Paul - it was the nature of his death…the reason for fit…he died for all.
There was no reason for Jesus to endure God’s wrath…but 5:21 is a beautiful summation of the gospel - he, Jesus, who knew no sin became sin for us - so that we might become the righteousness of God.
What compelled Paul was that Christ died FOR all - on behalf of all - as our representative. What should have happened to us, instead happened to Jesus.
And because Jesus died as our substitute, because Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…we can have our sins forgiven though faith in him.
Now, Paul uses an interesting phrase…he writes, “Christ died…for all.” What does that mean? Does it mean that eventually everyone will be saved no matter what? Well, the universalist would have us believe that that’s true…but this isn’t the case.
What Paul means is this - yes, Christ died for all - as in, his atoning sacrifice was made on behalf of all people for all time.
Salvation through faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice his universally available, but, as he writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 - it is only by being ‘in Christ’ that we are made new creations. That phrase “in Christ’ is Paul’s way of expressing salvation. There are number of ‘in Christ’ statements scattered throughout Paul’s writing.
While Jesus’ sacrifice was made on behalf of everyone, while is is still universally available to everyone without distinction, each one must personally accept and believe in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross of Calvary.
The benefits of salvation, the righteousness of Jesus, isn’t automatically imputed on to everyone. Like Paul, we all must individually come to believe in Jesus as our Lord.
So Paul has stated his conviction - Christ’s love controls him; he’s stated his conclusion - Christ died for all. And in v.15, Paul makes a ‘So what’ statement…an application of sorts.
If Christ’s love controls him, he believes that Christ died for all - how did that impact Paul’s life? How does that impact our lives?
If Christ died for all, if all who are in Christ become new creations - they they also have died. They have died to themselves. they have died to self-centered living.
those who are living in Christ no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Dying to self is a common theme in Paul’s writing. In Romans 8:13 Paul talks about putting to death the deeds of the body. I, Paul writes these beautiful words. Galatians 2:20.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
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.
And here in 2 Corinthians, Paul writes first, negatively - that we shouldn’t live for ourselves. Your life, your salvation has been bought with a price…Jesus’ blood. Therefore, we are called not to serve our own self-interests.
We like to think we are the captain of our own ships…the master of our own fate. Well, freedom is an allusion. We all serve a master - we either serve sin and self or we serve Jesus.
As Christians, we must follow suit with Paul. The possiblity of falling back into a life serving self is always present for Christians. Many of Paul’s associates fell into that trap - but what kept Paul going was his unwavering desire to serve Jesus...
A desire that was fueled by Jesus own love for humanity…displayed for all to see on the cross.
For us today, we live in a distraction filled world, but we too must put to death our own selfish interests that naturally come to us...
and instead, like Paul, we must live our lives for the sake of the one who died and was raised on our behalf.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So what motivated Paul’s ministry? Fear and love? Are they incompatible reasons?
Not when we understand them from a biblical perspective. Fear isn’t terror, but respect. Love isn’t mushy gushy feelings, but concern for the spiritual well being of others.
And when we understand them that way - they are consistent with each other and reconcilable.
The fear of the Lord and the awareness of Christ’s love fit perfectly together to provide the true motivation for Christian ministry.