‘The Significance Of A New Creation’--XXII—2Corinthians 5:9--6:10...
14. The PRACTICAL REALITIES Of MINISTRY-B—2Corinthians 6:3-10...
Part B of point 14 in the series.
A true Christian receives a new nature in order to accomplish ministry!
Need:
*The key to our verses is 2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Paul clarified the significance of being a new creation in Christ to the Corinthian church.
There is great significance to being a new creation in Christ.
14 significations/signifiers of being a new creation in Christ.
Previously we have found that A new creation is significant in its New...
1. PLEASUREs(5:9)
2. RECEPTION(5:10)
3. PERSUASION(5:11)
4. OPPORTUNITY(5:12)
5. SOUND INSANITY(5:13)Risk
6. LOVE(5:14-15)
7. CONSIDERATIONS(5:16)
8. NEWNESS/Creativeness(5:17)
9. RELATIONSHIP--Reconciliation(5:18-19)
10. INSTRUMENTATION/Mediation(5:20)
11. RIGHTEOUSNESS(5:21)
12. VIEW Of VANITY(6:1)
13. URGENCY(6:2)
Attention:
You are a lousy cook if.…
•Your husband refers to the smoke detector as the oven timer.
•Your family automatically heads for the table every time they hear a fire siren.
•No matter what you do to it the gravy still turns bright purple.
•Anyone has ever broken a tooth eating your homemade yoghurt.
•Your kids know what "peas porridge in a pot nine days old" tastes like.
•Your son goes outside to make mud pies, the rest of the family grabs forks & follows him.
•Your kids' favorite drink is Alka-Seltzer.
•You have to buy 25 pounds of dog food twice a week for your toy poodle.
•Your kids got even with the neighborhood bully by inviting him over for dinner.
The responses of the family indicated Mom's cooking ability.
So the responses of Christian family(ministers) commend their ministries before God.
No matter what we do for a living or how we worship together corporately, much more is required to bring about the actual working of ministry than may be perceived/considered/grasped.
We will see that Paul & Timothy commended apostolic ministry to the Corinthian church thru a list of Practical Realities within which they operated.
The significance of how being a new creation in Christ is played out in the Practical Realities of Ministry.
We are going to examine the significance of these Practical Realities one-by-one in their manifestation as Commendors of God-ordained Ministry.
14—A new creation is significant in the...
PRACTICAL REALITIES Of MINISTRY-B(6:3-10)
So far we have looked at the role of...
A. OFFENSE & BLAME(6:3)...as well as...
B. MINISTRY COMMENDATIONS(6:4ff.)(CONT...)
i. (6:4)Patience—cheerful endurance & constancy
ii. Tribulations—pressures
iii. Needs—forced subsistence
iv. Distresses—narrowed circumstances
v. (6:5)Stripes—officially sanctioned punishment
vi. Imprisonments—(officially sanctioned removal from society)
vii. Tumults—chaotic/unstable lifestyle
viii. Labors—physically/mentally taxing work
ix. Sleeplessness
x. Fastings—prayer & fasting
xi. (6:6)Purity—living uprightly
xii. Knowledge—personal, of God & His way
xiii. Longsuffering—refrain from wrath/revenge/vengeance
xiv. Kindness—Useful moral goodness
xv. The Holy Spirit—
xvi. Sincere Love—Unhypocritical
xvii. (6:7)the Word Of Truth—God’s unfailing word
xviii. the Power Of God—God’s ability
xix. The Armor/Weaponry Of Righteousness—protection
xx. (6:8)Both Honor& Dishonor
xxi. Both Evil Report & Good Report
xxii. Perceived as Deceivers yet Genuine
xxiii. (6:9)As both Unknown & Well-known
Continuing our look at MINISTRY COMMENDATIONS we find a 24th Commendation in 6:9....
14—A new creation is significant in the...
PRACTICAL REALITIES Of MINISTRY--B(6:3-10)
B. MINISTRY COMMENDATIONS(CONT...)—
6:9—A 24th Commendation as ministers of God...
“as dying, & behold we live”
Comes in their being regarded “as dying,” while at the same time being obviously witnessed as those who “live.”
Such ministers continually carry about the dying of the Lord Jesus(2Cor. 4:10). The dying of the Lord Jesus is taking upon oneself a full commitment to Him above the threats that such commitment entails.
2Cor. 4:7-12—“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God & not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.
The Christian minister always lives under the threat of death. He/She largely does not agree with family, friendly, political, or other directives which arise from the things near & dear to the ‘natural’ heart. Christian ministers are threatened due to what the lost consider foolish.(1Cor. 2:14).
1Cor. 2:14—“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Jn. 3:19-21—“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
And when it becomes plain to the lost that you are a willing partner with Christ Jesus, then you become alienated by them at best! At worst(depending upon how you look at it) your life is taken!
We minister at the expense of everything else...Even our own lives!
!We must die to self so we might live! Argumentation:
**Acts 14:19-20—[In the Asian city of Lystra, after healing a man crippled from birth]“Then Jews from Antioch & Iconium came there; & having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul & dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up & went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.”
**Rom. 6:5-14—“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, & your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
**Jn. 11:25-26—“Jesus said to her-(Martha)-, “I am the resurrection & the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives & believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
**2Cor. 1:8-11—For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, & does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.”
Any Christian who ministers has that same sentence upon them as well. Either that, or their work is not ministry at all.
Rom. 8:28-39—“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; & whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, & furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Php. 1:21-24—“For to me, to live is Christ, & to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart & be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.”
Heb. 2:14-15—“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh & blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, & release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
?Do the DYING & LIVING declared thru your ministry commend your ministry as born/borne of God...
...OR does it negate it?
Illustration:
The Messianic Jew(Christian) who related to the Rowan Southern Baptist Association—that when he became a Christian & told his Jewish mother, she told him that he was dead in her eyes!/They haven’t spoken since!/DYING & LIVING
A Spy for the US Government/They are so taken with their government’s foundation & direction, & so concerned with anything that might dismantle it, that they will do anything to protect their nation’s integrity/They will forego—their personal life—choosing life in the shadows rather than being recognized—They will forego Family life, their Freedom to operate in the ‘private sector’, They will forego even their own identity...Just so they can serve & protect the nation they love/DYING & LIVING
“Dying”—apoynhskw—Present Active Participle—1) To die—1a) Of the natural death of man, 1b) Of the violent death of man or animals, 1c) To perish by means of something, 1d) Of trees which dry up, of seeds which rot when planted, 1e) Of eternal death, to be subject to eternal misery in hell. Strong—To die off(literally or figuratively).
From—apo—a primary particle; “Off,” i.e. Away(from something near), in various senses(of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative)—&—ynhskw—a strengthened form of a simpler primary yanw(which is used for it only in certain tenses); To die(literally or figuratively)
“Behold”—idou—Particle—1) Behold, see, lo. Strong—second person singular imperative middle voice of eidw; used as imperative--Lo!.
“Live”—zaw—Present Active Indicative—1) To live, breathe, be among the living(not lifeless, not dead); 2) To enjoy real life—2a) To have true life & worthy of the name, 2b) Active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God; 3) To live i.e. Pass life, in the manner of the living & acting—3a) Of mortals or character; 4) Living water, having vital power in itself & exerting the same upon the soul; 5) metaph.--To be in full vigor—5a) To be fresh, strong, efficient, 5b) as adj.--Active, powerful, efficacious. Strong—a primary verb; To live(literally or figuratively).
14—A new creation is significant in the...
PRACTICAL REALITIES Of MINISTRY--B(6:3-10)
B. MINISTRY COMMENDATIONS(CONT...)
A 25th Commendation as ministers of God...
“as chastened, & yet not killed”
Commendation comes in their being regarded “as chastened,” while at the same time being regarded as “not killed.”
Paul is contrasting fruitful training toward growth, with condemnation that is deserved.
That is, that rather than being the recipients of what may appear as certain judgment for wrong actions, Paul & Timothy(as well as all Christians) are instead recipients of God’s favor as loved children are chastened.
“Chastening” speaks directly to those who are saved. Chastening does not kill & is never intended for such. “Chastening” is rather intended to direct a loved & dear child properly... & thus to direct them from straying from the right way.
“Chastening” also indirectly speaks to those who are lost. It speaks of personal direction by the Holy Spirit, & thereby to the strong compulsion of the flesh to oppose God’s direction.
—This is very sobering for those who would take ‘commitment’ to Jesus lightly/frivolously, as inconsequential or to be received with a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ attitude(6:1—“vain”).
God has not abandoned us in chastening(1Cor. 5:4-5). His purpose is to hone us to His purposes & to fulfill our God-ordained destiny which was set before the foundation of the world!
1Cor. 5:4-5—“In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Argumentation:
**Ps. 118:17-18—“I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the LORD. The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death.”
**Acts 9:10-16—“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; & to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise & go to the street called Straight, & inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in & putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, & the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
**1Cor. 11:27-32—“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body & blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, & so let him eat of the bread & drink of the cup. For he who eats & drinks in an unworthy manner eats & drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak & sick among you, & many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”
**Job 33:16-30—-(Elihu to Job)-“Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction. In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword. Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with strong pain in many of his bones, So that his life abhors bread, And his soul succulent food. His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones stick out which once were not seen. Yes, his soul draws near the Pit, And his life to the executioners. If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, To show man His uprightness, Then He is gracious to him, & says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom’; His flesh shall be young like a child’s, He shall return to the days of his youth. He shall pray to God, & He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. Then he looks at men & says, ‘I have sinned, & perverted what was right, And it did not profit me.’ He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light. Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, To bring back his soul from the Pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”
**Job 5:17-18—-(Eliphaz the Temanite spoke truthfully...)-“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”
**Heb. 12:1-11—“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, & the sin which so easily ensnares us, & let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author & finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, & has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary & discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate & not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, & we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits & live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
**Jonah 1:1-4, :8--3:3—Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, & cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, & found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, & went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD sent out a great wind on the sea, & there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up.”.....“Then they said to him, “Please tell us! For whose cause is this trouble upon us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew; & I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea & the dry land.” Then the men were exceedingly afraid, & said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?”--for the sea was growing more tempestuous. And he said to them, “Pick me up & throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous against them. Therefore they cried out to the LORD & said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, & do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You.” So they picked up Jonah & threw him into the sea, & the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, & offered a sacrifice to the LORD & took vows. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days & three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. And he said: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows & Your waves passed over me. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD, my God. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.” So the LORD spoke to the fish, & it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, & preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose & went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.”
?Do the CHASTENING & ESCAPE From DEATH declared thru your ministry commend your ministry as born/borne of God...
...OR does it negate it?
Illustration:
We use a hand-held sharpener for our iron-bladed kitchen knives/If we want to sharpen a knife, we hold the sharpener firmly in hand while we force the hilt of the blade into the sharpener at the pinch-point between two spring-loaded metal dowels/The pinch-point is set at a particular angle by the factory so that sharpening will result/At that pinch-point the blade is pulled thru & any corrosion or dulling is removed/Every time a knife is sharpened a minuscule amount of it’s metal is scraped off/The microscopic dulled edges are removed producing a usable edge that is trustworthy/A dull knife is dangerous whereas a sharp one is a great tool/CHASTENING vs. ESCAPE From DEATH
You likewise are to be a trustworthy tool in the hand of the Master/Carver/Maker. Losing a little of your flesh in every encounter with God. All in order to be found in Christ complete!
“Chastened/Disciplined/Punished/Beaten”—paideuw—Present Passive Participle—1) To train children—1a) To be instructed or taught or learn, 1b) To cause one to learn; 2) To chastise—2a) To chastise or castigate with words, to correct—2a1) of those who are moulding the character of others by reproof & admonition, 2b) of God—2b1) To chasten by the affliction of evils & calamities, 2c) To chastise with blows, to scourge—2c1) Of a father punishing his son, 2c2) Of a judge ordering one to be scourged. Strong—from paiv[A child or slave]; To train up a child, i.e. Educate, or by implication--Discipline(by punishment). Used 13X.
“Killed/Put to death”—yanatow—1) To put to death; 2) metaph.—2a) To make to die i.e. Destroy, render extinct, 2b) by death--To be liberated from the bond of anything, literally--To be made dead in relation to(something). Strong—from yanatov[Death]; To kill(literally or figuratively). Used 11X.
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
The responses of the family indicated Mom's cooking ability.
So the responses of Christian family(ministers) commend their ministries before God.
Action:
14. A new creation is significant in the...
PRACTICAL REALITIES Of MINISTRY-B(6:3-10)
B. MINISTRY COMMENDATIONS(6:4ff.)(CONT...)
xxiv. Perceived as Dying yet Actually Living
xxv. Chastened...& not killed
i. (6:4)Patience—cheerful endurance & constancy
ii. Tribulations—pressures
iii. Needs—forced subsistence
iv. Distresses—narrowed circumstances
v. (6:5)Stripes—officially sanctioned punishment
vi. Imprisonments—officially sanctioned removal from society
vii. Tumults—chaotic/unstable lifestyle
viii. Labors—physically/mentally taxing work
ix. Sleeplessness
x. Fastings—prayer & fasting
xi. (6:6)Purity—living uprightly
xii. Knowledge—personal, of God & His way
xiii. Longsuffering—refrain from wrath/revenge/vengeance
xiv. Kindness—Useful moral goodness
xv. the Holy Spirit—
xvi. Sincere Love—Unhypocritical
xvii. (6:7)the Word Of Truth—God’s unfailing word
xviii. the Power Of God—God’s ability
xix. The Armor/Weaponry Of Righteousness—protection
xx. (6:8)Both Honor& Dishonor
xxi. Both Evil Report & Good Report
xxii. Perceived as Deceivers yet Genuine
xxiii. (6:9)As Unknown & Well Known
Part ‘B’- subpoints xxiv.--xxv. of point 14 presented 02/26/2017pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
