Our Ministry of Triumph:

We in II Corinthians 1-8

Just as in the Bible, everyone who chooses to believe in the Son of God asks this question from Acts 2:37:

Now when they heard this (the truth about our Lord Jesus Christ), they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

God supplies the answer in Acts 2:38:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

But people are still are asking God to show them what to do with their lives. They continue to search for God’s plan because there is only one answer that can satisfy their great desire to do His will. Even though there are many answers offered and many answers insisted on, for anyone who really wants to live for God only the truth will serve. What does the Bible mean when is says be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and receive the gift of the holy spirit?

Most believers are still stranded in Act 2:37, and even those who understand the beginning of Acts 2:38 do not really understand the fullness of receiving the Holy Spirit. The word receive in Acts 2:38 means “to receive for all to see, to receive into evidence.” It’s like receiving a husband or a wife. It’s like receiving a newborn son or a daughter.

Even after some one has understood the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, even after he has evidenced power from on high by speaking in tongues, a believer’s quest may not be over. A person may even have spoken in tongues and interpreted and yet still feel that there is more to do for God. Yes, that’s true. Of course it is! There are nine manifestation of the Spirit of God, and all of the manifestation are given to profit withal. Only evidencing three of the nine manifestation of the spirit is like having 900 acres of land and only planting 300 of them. The harvest of the three hundred is certainly a blessing, but a saint doesn’t need to walk in the wisdom of Solomon to feel, vaguely, that there is something more to be done.

While many of the keys about how to properly receive speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophecy are found in I Corinthians, the study of II Corinthians is for those who desire to receive the triumph in Christ that God has called us to. This study of II Corinthians is for those who speak in tongues, interpret, and prophesy boldly, and for whom the question yet remains: “men and brethren what shall we do?” Many keys and principles to carrying out our ministry of triumph will come to light as we study II Corinthians chapters 1-8. But before we get into II Corinthians, the background of a believers walk in power lays out the big picture of God's desire for our victorious life in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 continues to explain what it means to receive the Holy Spirit:

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

When we are living I Thessalonians 1:5-6, the question asked of Peter and the apostles has long since been answered satisfactorily, but what does this look like? I Thessalonians 1:7-8 tells us:

So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

There were no unanswered questions left for the Thessalonians. They were receiving the answers directly from God on a daily basis and living the life that is more than abundant. We know this because Paul, speaking for God, didn’t need to say anything to them at all. What is really remarkable is why Paul, in I Thessalonians 1:9, says it was so plain that he didn’t need to say anything:

For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

The people who felt the impact of the lives of those in Thessalonica became living epistles of the Thessalonians, who were in turn, living epistles of Paul. Paul was seeing his spiritual grandkids! He must have been so blessed to see people doing it right because others he had taught had been faithful. The move of the word of God is always family. It is the way of the Father with His children.

The Thessalonians’ “faith to God” was spread abroad in every place because, as it says in Romans 1:16-17:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

"What then shall we do?" We are to live by believing. We are alive, we have spiritual life, because we have believed. Now as we continue believing God’s we reveal what we believe to others who also believe. As we live by believing we speak the gospel. As we speak the gospel, the righteousness of God, God’s all enveloping outpouring of love to us in Christ, is made known to others. When some of these believe the cycle of victory begins again until, like the Thessalonians, our believing towards God is spread abroad in every place. When we live according to Romans 1:16-17, we become living epistles of Paul and the Thessalonians. Doesn’t church once a week sound easier? It may be, but II Corinthians explains why the more abundant life is worth it. It tells how we can be sufficient to be able ministers, living epistles, and the image of the glory of God. It spells out the answer to the question, “men and brethren what shall we do?" To examine these details, it is helpful to trace the use of the pronouns, such as “we,” very carefully.

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All of the lessons, or themes, in II Corinthians are revealed in its introductory portion. This isn’t unusual in a well-written document, but notice the almost symphonic shifts in the voicing of the word we in II Corinthians 1:1-5 as these themes are introduced. II Corinthians 1:1-1:2a begins:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Grace be to you and peace…

This second epistle to the Corinthians is to the church, the body of Christ. The epistle is from God by way of Paul’s ministry and by way of Timothy our brother in Christ. Throughout this epistle, one use of we and our means Paul and Timothy together. In II Corinthians 1:1-2a, a second group, the church of God, all who are born again, are introduced and referred to as you. In those days the saints who needed these words lived in Corinth in the parts of Greece called Achaia. Corinth was the capital city of Achaia, so all of the saints in all of Achaia who were together with, in the same boat as, Corinth are included in the epistle’s mailing address.

In II Corinthians, because of the royal majesty in God’s choice of words, rightly dividing to whom a verse is specifically addressed requires a command of the scope of the church epistles. For example, in II Corinthians 1:2b-3 below, the context of Paul and Timothy together, and you --the household of God changes into we -- all of us who belong to the one true God in Christ including Paul and Timothy:

… from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

This salutation is also found in Romans 1:7, Galatians 1:3, I Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, I Thessalonians 1:2,and II Thessalonians 1:2. In every case our God includes the entire church because God is the Father of all who have received His Son. For example, here is Ephesians 1:1-3:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Here Paul is in the singular, yet his salutation is in the plural. The grace and peace Paul sends is not of himself, but from God through our savior Jesus Christ. The only ones capable of receiving this quality of peace are those who are now at rest with God through Christ Jesus.

In Galatians 1:1-4, for example, the salutation is from Paul and the brethren, but the context quickly establishes that the entire church is included in the our of the salutation:

Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

Often the salutation itself begins to immediately address the needs of the saints in accordance with the overall purpose of the epistle. Above, in the Galatians example, the epistle is designed to magnify God’s grace to those who have become fixated upon the law and the works of men. Hence, even in the salutation, God’s redeeming grace in Christ is emphasized. In Ephesians, written to the faithful in Christ Jesus, God is blessed! Below, in I Corinthians 1:1-3, the salutation emphasizes to the carnal-minded, divided believers in Corinth that they are part of a larger body of believers that in every place calls on the same Lord:

Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Likewise, knowing the scope of the church epistles and God’s heart for the unity of His church, tells us that we in II Corinthians 1:2-5 includes us all:

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

God is made known as blessed. He is always blessed, but this reality is very comforting to the Corinthians in the context of the word of God that the Corinthians have accepted from I Corinthians. Also, since God is always blessed, He is the one who is able to energize of all the comfort in the church. Additionally, the Corinthians are immediately informed of their ability to comfort others with the comfort they have received from God.

Carefully rightly dividing the shifting pronoun references means the truths introduced as the main ideas of II Corinthians will fit with all the truths given in the church epistles. Below, in Romans 8:16, is part of the Romans truth that II Corinthians magnifies:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

As we endure, that is, as we remain in Christ through tribulation, the result is the consolation of being glorified together with him, now and in eternity. Being a witness is forever, sitting quietly in a church...who knows?

Now, these symphonic shifts in voicing include great depth of practical correction. For instance, the phrase, “we may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble,” continues to build throughout the epistle to include Paul’s comfort of the Corinthians, the comfort the Corinthians are called of God to share with others, the comfort that the Corinthians have already given Paul, and, finally, the comfort that all of those who have fellowship with God have to offer to those who are without God’s presence and glory. All of this comes together through the subtle movements in the sense of the word we. The Corinthians had been full of divisiveness. Now, in II Corinthians, again and again God will encourage them in the unity He has purposed from before the foundations of the world for them.

If we misread some of the we’s, as of Paul and Timothy alone, we could miss a major theme of II Corinthians: the spiritual equality in the household of God. This reality is given foundationally to the church in Romans 12:3:

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The single measure of equality before God is the faith of Jesus Christ through which we have all come to God. Salvation belongs to all equally, for as Ephesians 2:8-9 says:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

The power of this spiritual equality is given in practice in I Corinthians 12:7:

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

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Now, in II Corinthians 1:6, the pronoun reference shifts again, self-evidently and without warning:

And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which (saving consolation) is effectual (is energized) in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

Obviously, we in 1:6 refers to Paul and Timothy. It is obvious because God puts a second person pronoun, your, in the immediate context to show we is Paul and Timothy.

While II Corinthians 1:4-5 contains the main ideas of II Corinthians chapters 1-9, II Corinthians 1:6 introduces the way these truths will be made plain to the Corinthian church. Paul and Timothy’s lives in the ministry will set the pattern for the powerful consolation God plans to energize in every saint who plans to walk in fellowship with Him. Secondly, according to 1:6 above, though Paul had just sent a letter intensely reproving the Corinthians, he wasn’t puffed up. All of Paul’ and Timothy’s afflictions are on behalf of the body of Christ which they serve as special marked-out bond slaves to the master. Throughout II Corinthians, even though the Corinthians had been failing to walk by the spirit, Paul and Timothy show them total love. II Corinthians 1:6 also begins to explain that Paul and Timothy are comforted by knowing that the Corinthians are once again receiving from God.

II Corinthians states that the salvation wholeness of God through Jesus Christ is energized, effectual, in the enduring of the same sufferings that Paul endures. Paul will teach the church how he and Timothy, and all those who are fellow laborers with him, who live spiritually, who are mature in Christ, endure physical and mental pressures for the gospel. II Corinthians teaches people how to become examples to the church. It teaches all believers how to put into practice the ability they have from God to walk in the apostle Paul’s steps, even as he walked in our lord’s. Again, all of this comfort is by way of correction. II Corinthians 1:7 exhorts the Corinthians by the rewards of God’s eternal comfort, to remain in fellowship and to stand with Paul in the work of the ministry to which every saint is called:

And our (Paul and Timothy’s) hope of you is steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

In II Corinthians 1:8 Paul and Timothy share the hardships they endured in Asia with the Corinthians:

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

Then, in 1:9-10, Paul tells of the consolation they received through the power of Christ within:

But we had the sentence of death [the answer to death, death’s judgment – Romans 8:2, death has lost its sting because of Christ] in ourselves [Christ within], that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

Who delivered us from so great a death [we were dead in sin], and doth deliver [from physical death]: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us [at Christ’s return];

Throughout II Corinthians chapters 1-7, the Corinthians are taught how to receive these three areas of comfort even as Paul and Timothy had. Notice, once again, in both II Corinthians 1:7 and 8, the Holy Spirit’s contextual markers. The readers know that it is Paul and Timothy who are referred to as we because God has placed a second person pronoun, ye and you in this case, meaning the church, in the immediate context. The geographical place, Asia, also marks we as meaning Paul and Timothy.

II Corinthians 1:11-14 continues to include Paul and Timothy together and their common purpose in writing the Corinthians:

Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;

As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Notice that you-ward, you, and five uses of ye, show plainly that we refers to Paul and Timothy.

We includes all of the church once again in II Corinthians 1:20-22:

For all the promises of God in him [Christ] are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us [the church].

Now he which stablisheth us [Paul, Timothy and Silas] with you in Christ, and hath anointed us [the church], is God;

Who hath also sealed us [the church], and given the earnest of the Spirit in our [the church], hearts.

These verses are shuttle back and forth in their pronoun reference. They shift from we, the church as a whole, and we, Paul, Timothy and Silas. The use of we referring to the church is made known, once again, through a scope of the church epistles. These uses either refer to God’s glory revealed in Ephesians, or else they are reminders of truths first made known in Romans doctrine. Again, God’s Word places a second-person pronoun, you, in the immediate contexts of uses of we that refer to Paul, Timothy and Silas.

Backing up, II Corinthians 1:19 shows that in him, in 1:20, means in Christ, and that us, in 1:21, is Paul, Timothy, and Silas:

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.

To establish us [Paul Timothy and Silas] together with you in Christ shows again the spiritual equality or the body of Christ. The same God whose great in workings established Paul Timothy and Silas despite the pressures they faced, was the same God whose great in-working among the Corinthians to help them receive and overcome the errors in practice that kept them from their walk in Christ. All who are ever established by God are all established together in Christ as members in particular in the body. Notice, though, that the anointing, sealing, and receiving of the earnest of the spirit are each given in the past tense. These are three areas of the blessing we each have in God’s gift to us of holy spirit. I John 2:II describes the benefits of this anointing [chrio Strong’s 5548 – verb, to rub] from God with a related Greek word [chrisma Strong’s 5545 –the rubbing] referring to the benefits of the Christ within us as the anointing from God. Ephesians 1:13 and 4:30 tell more about how we have been sealed through the holy spirit of God, and, finally, II Corinthians 5:5 and Ephesians 1:14 tell us of the wonderful earnest of the spirit we have inside.

These three area areas of comfort correspond to the three areas in which Christ is the answer to death. As God has rescued us from eternal death when we believed, so also we are sealed up, untouchable by the enemy through the holy spirit we have received. As the power of God does deliver us from death in this present time, so also we live our lives by the authority and victory of our anointing, which is Christ within. Finally, we have been given the earnest of the spirit. As we receive the spirit of God into evidence we have the earnest, the assurance of our savior's soon return. Each of these areas of comfort and blessing are topics in II Corinthians chapters 1-7. The springboard for II Corinthians 1-7 is God’s current victories for His saints in establishing them while, just as in II Corinthians 1:20-22, His eternal victories in Christ are magnified as the sources and principles of this success. The trouble Paul and Corinth overcame is one of the bookends of II Corinthians 2:17-7:4; their victories serve as the other.

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As there is one spirit, yet each believer is a unique creation, so there is but one ministry to which we each have been called with individual responsibilities. The comfort of God we receive and comfort others with will also be a reflection of our unique positions in the body of Christ; however, the principles of receiving and living in this comfort are the same. All of this becomes clear in the light of the truths of the one body of Christ revealed in Ephesians. Though the theoretical lessons of the one body are simple enough intellectually, it is the mutant idiocy of the old man nature’s heart and soul that is the slow student. It is the heart, which must be diligently exercised unto Godliness and to the mystery thereof.

Our Triumph in Christ

In II Corinthians 2:12-14a it is written:

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ.

But who is the us? Is it Paul and Timothy? Is it Paul and Titus? Perhaps it is Paul, Silvanus, Timothy, and Titus. Backing up several verses to 2:10-11, helps reveal the context:

To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Here, in 2:11, us is plainly all of God’s people at Corinth and Paul. More specifically, we includes all of those who are not ignorant of Satan’s devices. This use of we is the first in II Corinthians that includes all in the church who meet a specific condition.

I and II Corinthians are epistles of practical reproof and correction. These epistles explain to the church what they were doing wrong and how to focus on getting back to doing things the right way. However, the Corinthians still could recall Romans. They could still remember the foundational truths of Christianity even though they were not applying these truths properly. For instance, those in Corinth knew and had not forgotten the truth, given in Romans 5: 1:

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Neither had they forgotten the truth revealed in Romans 8:1:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

They knew and understood the trick that Israel had been caught up in. They realized that Israel, according to Romans 9:31-32, had sought the righteousness of God through their works and had, therefore, failed to attain to it:

But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

All of those who are born again, and who recognize the Romans truth that our standing before God is based on what the LORD has done for us, are those who are not ignorant of Satan’s devices. All who are willing to recognize grace and to live according to Romans will, as Paul does, forgive and recognize God’s forgiveness in Christ. We will not allow Satan to get an advantage over us. Satan’s trick, referred to in 2:11, reemerges in II Corinthians 7:10:

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

If we break the full sharing relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ, we need to recognize what we’ve done. Nothing will keep a believer behind mental bars more than a good excuse. Recognizing where God’s Will is and where we may have been is Godly sorrow; however, sorrowing that we aren’t good enough to return to fellowship with God is not God’s Will. This is the sorrow of the world that does not have Christ. It isn’t for believers.

If we are going to live the more than abundant life our savior came so we could receive, then we need to recognize God’s righteousness in us. We need to rest in God’s grace. If we don’t, our ability to receive from God is very limited. This truth is beautifully expressed in I John 3:20-21:

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

We do not want to have the sorrow of this world where our own heart condemns us. Instead, we want to recognize our lord and savior and God’s work through him on our behalf. Then we can walk in the love we have received from God and have confidence, boldness, towards God.

God’s Word has so woven the context of 2:11-14 together that not only is the word we clarified but the very threshold of walking into our triumph in Christ has been spelled out. Here again is 2:10-14a:

To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

The word furthermore indicates that the section about overcoming the grief Paul had over reproving the Corinthians is changing to a new section on overcoming the pressures of moving the ministry of God’s Word to the world. This starts in II Corinthians 2:12 and continues in 2:13:

I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ,

This is the second use of the second person plural pronoun (us) means all in the church who meet a condition from God’s Word. Here our triumph in Christ is based on the condition that we remain in Christ. The great principles of triumph in Christ are exemplified by the victories won by Paul and Timothy, but the keys to the triumphs God has planned for our own lives is the subject of II Corinthians 2:14-6:10. Reading on, II Corinthians 2:14b says:

...and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

The phrase in every place also shows that us is intended to, or potentially could, apply to the whole church. Although not every born-again believer will remain in Christ, in fellowship with God, they could. Although not every believer will choose to renew their minds and manifest the sweet savor of this new quality of knowledge, it is available to all. This phrase in every place appears first in the salutation of I Corinthians 1:2:

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place [en pas topos] call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Below are the only other two places that the Greek phrase translated in every place appears. From the use in I Timothy 2:8:

I will therefore that men pray every where [in every place-- en pas topos], lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting,

It's clear that in every place isn’t an exaggeration for figurative emphasis, an hyperbole (Bullinger 423); it is, rather, God’s will for the church, for as I Timothy 2:4 says:

Who [God] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

The fourth use of in every place, in I Thessalonians 1:8, speaks directly to the record of II Corinthians 2:14:

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

How perfect is His word when we are patient enough to hear it! In every category of life God answers our questions with His perfect salvation; however, we must be patient and diligent to receive. The impact of the word of the Lord in every place is explained in living color in II Corinthians 2:14-16a:

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.

This is our triumph in Christ. This is what it looks like. “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ,” wow, what a promise! We are to God the sweet savour of Christ. Before I heard the gospel, the idea of my life being pleasing to God in such a powerful manner that it required figures of speech for emphasis was unthinkable. Even to consider this to be a possible reality today almost brings tears to my eyes. What a redeemer we have in Christ!

Now, II Corinthians 2:16b:

And who is sufficient for these things?

This is an amazing verse. Besides being the keystone verse to II Corinthians 1:1-7:16, it basically asks, “who are we?” or, “who are these that in every place make such a great impact with the truth of God?” That is so thrilling. Aren’t these the answers the church needs right now? Too bad it’s been 2,000 years since these verses were first written. When are we going to decide to learn God’s Word? When! Now-a-days, we figure that since it’s been 2,000 years, being stupid about the things of God is acceptable with Him.

Another way of paraphrasing 2:16b is, “how can being the sweet savour of Christ be possible?” The answer to this question goes on for chapters.

Who Are the Able Ministers?

Who is sufficient to be the sweet savor of Christ? The answer is unspoken because it has already been stated that, "we who are in Christ are always led to victory, and, in victory, we are the sweet savour of God’s knowledge.” However, in 2:17 some the conditions for being triumphant in Christ are explained in more detail:

For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

From II Corinthians 2:11- 5:21, except in a few specific places, we includes all who choose to renew their minds and walk in fellowship with the Heavenly Father. II Corinthians is still an epistle of practical reproof and correction. In chapters 1-10, however, II Corinthians gives its correction very gently. Paul uses his life as an example of correct practice in Christian living and as an example of the blessings that flow from living right doctrine. Again, in II Corinthians 3:4-6, “who is sufficient for these things?” is answered directly:

And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Here, in 3:6, we are ministers of the spirit because the Spirit makes alive. Look, I know it's so big it's hard to believe. Shoot this scripture has to be about Paul and Timothy and you know maybe Barnabus, but it cannot be about all of us! Here, check out these very similar passages in Galatians 3:3:

This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

How'd you get the spirit? Sure from faith to faith: Romans 10:9-10 and Romans 1:17. Now, does Galatians 3:5 below say the apostles that ministereth the spirit?

He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

No it doesn't. So why add words. Ok, so who is the he? The conditions that "he who ministers the spirit among you" must meet is that:

1. he ministers with the accuracy of God's Word, or the hearing of believing would not be possible.

2. he works miracles among the saints...how? He believes and speaks the word of God.

Are there any special qualifications for workings of miracles in the church? Well yes, here is Mark 16:17 and 16:20:

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

The qualifications for having the Lord working with you is that the words you speak are God's Word and that you believe. That's being a minister of the spirit. That's being a minister of the New Testament. That is God's Will for all of us. We are His sons and daughters. We bear the name of His only begotten Son.

Remember that the picture of our triumph in Christ in II Corinthians 2:16-17 is:

For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.

When we evidence Christ within and refuse to water down God’s Word, we lead those who find the smell of God’s grace sweet to eternal life. We are the fragrance of the eternal life we have to eternal life in them who are being saved.

Because the new covenant of the spirit results in a glory that excels the hope of the law as much as the sun excels the moon, we have great hope. II Corinthians 3:12, therefore, says:

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech.

However, the words of speech are not in the text. That’s why 3:12 really reads:

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great boldness [parrhessia].

This boldness pertains to our openness to God in Christ in ministering the spirit even as Ephesians 3:12 declares:

In whom [Christ Jesus the Lord] we have boldness [parrhessia] and access with confidence by the faith of him [Christ].

This boldness or openness with God is vividly portrayed II Corinthians 3:18:

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We all is mentioned because the emphasis in 3:18 is on every member of the church. It doesn’t matter how far away from being at home with God one has gone, His throne is always available to every born-again son. We all, always, have open access if we choose to use the openness God has made available in His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In 3:12 those who used boldness are in Christ Jesus, they are walking in the light, they are sharing fully with God. However, 3:18 says that every saint may be transformed by the renewing of their minds if they choose to be. God’s Word has momentarily left the use of we who triumph in Christ, and God has told us so directly by saying “we all.”

When we renew our minds what does that mean? Does it mean we have nice thoughts? Maybe, but more importantly it means we have God’s spiritual power in evidence in our lives! Our life is like a house of prayer! We live like tabernacles of God. We are the holy of holies with the curtains open. We are transformed. We are transfigured. As I Corinthians 3:18 says, “We are changed [matamorphoo -- metamorphosized] into the same image we behold in the spiritual mirror of His word! What is this image we are changed into? Why II Corinthians 4:4 tells us:

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

This how we can be the sweet savor of Christ to God and to the world. This is how we can be living epistles of Christ to the world! This is how, when we renounce the hidden things of dishonesty and refuse to water down the word of God, that, we are, as II Corinthians 4:2b says:

… by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

As we remain in Christ, renewing our minds, we are triumphant in Christ and the glory of the LORD is made known to all. When we are transformed into the image of God, the glory of Jehovah Ellohim El’ Shaddai radiates as II Corinthians 4:6 boldly declares:

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Where 2:14 begins with our being triumphant in Christ and the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of God, the truth is restated, in conclusion, that as we behold in the glass of God’s Word the glory of God, we shine forth the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Carrying Out Our Ministry

Listen to II Corinthians 4:1:

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

In Romans 12:1 we are implored by God because of His great mercy to renew our minds:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Hence, we could be we all as the context continues down from II Corinthians 3:18. However, because in II Corinthians 4:1, our response to God’s mercy is to “faint not”; hence, we is, once again, those who have chosen to renew their minds and to walk in love. If you haven’t been walking in Christ already, you can’t faint!

Just as Romans asked all to respond to God’s mercy, here, all who have responded are lovingly asked to refuse to quit. II Corinthians will also talk about the physical bodies Romans beseeches us to present to Him. They are called earthen vessels and tabernacles. II Corinthians shows how and why we must rely entirely on Him to carry out the doctrine and commands of the obedience of believing revealed in Romans.

What is this ministry of the spirit we have received? It is, again, to radiate God’s glory as we are changed “from glory to glory” by coming to Him openly. All of us have been made able ministers of the spirit, but will we use our abilities? Those who have a renewed mind use their spiritual abilities and don’t quit. Refusing to quit, perseverance, is another quality of those who are triumphant in Christ through God. II Corinthians 4 and 5 give us several true reasons not to quit. The first is because we are so thankful for God’s grace and mercy in allowing us to be made able ministers and to have this ministry and this access to Him.

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So far, we has been: first, Paul and Timothy; second, the entire church; third, Paul, Timothy and Titus; and fourth, those who are triumphant in Christ. So far, ye has only referred to the Corinthians. In II Corinthians 4:5 this changes. II Corinthians 4:2 begins:

But [we who see that we have this ministry and faint not] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Notice the second person plural pronoun (our) isn’t commending to ye Corinthians. Instead, these believers are commending themselves to every man’s conscience (in every place) in the sight of God. If the pronoun ourselves had been commending to the Corinthian church, then the we would have to mean, “we, Paul and Timothy.” Making this one mistake in recognizing to whom this passage is addressed, throws our understanding of the entire section into confusion. However, when the ye of II Corinthians 4:5 is specifically understood, the rest of this II Corinthians 4:1-6 section flows perfectly.

There are specific examples of Paul and Timothy commending themselves, in the sight of God, to the Corinthian church. For instance in II Corinthians 5:11-12 it is written:

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.

This, however, refers back to the principles of triumph being made known to all of the church here in II Corinthians 4:1-5. The logic of 5:11-12 is based on, relies on, the truths of II Corinthians 4:1-5. In other words, since all who are in Christ commend themselves to everyman in the sight of God as living epistles and as the sweet fragrance of Christ, and since Paul and Timothy are in Christ in their ministry to the Corinthians, then the Corinthians must know for themselves Paul and Timothy are speaking the truth in love. Whatever attacks upon the ministry of the integrity of God’s word were going on at Corinth, it fell to the Corinthians themselves to testify of the man of God. An imperial edict from Rome could do no better than the honest, Godly testimony of the believers who knew Paul and Timothy’s heart the best.

Now, in contrast to II Corinthians 3:1-2 and 5:11, II Corinthians 4:1-6, fits perfectly with, and plainly belongs to the family of truths relating to every member of the Christ’s body’s utter triumph in Christ. Here again is 4:2:

But [we who see that we have this ministry and faint not] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

For instance, this verse, rightly divided, amplifies and augments the truth about speaking “as of God” already explained in II Corinthians 2:17. It is the literal the truth about being the sweet savor of Christ leading to eternal life as given in 2:16. The next verse, II Corinthians 4:3, sheds more light on those who are perishing:

But if our [those who are changed into the same image, those who are ministers of the spirit] gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost [appollumi]:

The word perish in II Corinthians 2:15 is also the Greek word appollumi:

For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish [appollumi]:

Hence, II Corinthians 4:4 continues to explain the state of those to whom the fragrance of Christ is the fragrance of death [their current unredeemed state] unto death [no eternal life because of their choice to believe not]:

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Finally, then, in the context of those who are being saved and those who are perishing, II Corinthians 4:5, for the first time, states what it is we who are triumphant in Christ speak:

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

Compare this to Romans 10:9-10:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

In Romans who proclaims these glad tidings? Romans 10:6 says:

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)…

These verses in Corinthians and in Romans fit together as one. In II Corinthians Christ Jesus [the resurrected one] the Lord [to whom every knee must bow] is preached. Why? Only to bless those who choose to obey him by believing. If people believe and obey they’ll be saved. Those who walk in the love of God speak God’s Word as servants of their fellowmen for Jesus’ sake. We speak humbly, and we recognize, as we endure for the gospel, how much our Lord himself endured on our behalf. Hence, even though some who may not believe might complain bitterly about the spokesmen, God’s Word says it is the righteousness of believing that speaks and that we who speak are even to Him a sweet fragrance of Christ even as II Corinthian 4:6 declares:

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

In this context, then, ye in II Corinthians 4:5 means all those who have yet to hear God’s Word. Romans uses the figure of speech, personification, to emphasize who those that speak have become. God’s righteousness is a dynamic reality, but it, itself, doesn’t speak; people do. Romans 9:30 tells who it is who has attained to the righteousness of God, who it is that speaks:

What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.

All who have believed have attained by faith the righteousness that is of God in Christ. All who have believed have received the commissioning to speak God’s Word. Romans is so very personal. If you, just one person, believe, you, that one, will receive salvation. God makes his invitation to eternal life one on one. In II Corinthians the church is being corrected; therefore, the we of all who walk in power is given and, then, agrees with ye -- all to whom the gospel is made known.

II Corinthians 4:6 summarizes and concludes the truths of our sufficiency in Christ as able ministers of the spirit:

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The Almighty God, through Christ, has shined in our heart through so that we can give the light of the knowledge of God that is in the completed and perfect redemption of mankind by our Lord Jesus Christ. This emphasizes why we preach not ourselves and what we think. Our calling in Christ as ministers is to show the glory of God evidenced in what He has done through Christ.

Establishing even further how impossibly foolish it is to preach ourselves and our great ministries, II Corinthians 4:7 introduces another metaphor for those who are triumphant in Christ:

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

These earthen vessels are our physical bodies. The carrying out of our commissioning as ministers of the spirit is explained with two great metaphors for our physical bodies. The first is to an earthen vessel and the second is as a tabernacle of God. Both metaphors refer to the glory of God within us that II Corinthians 2:14-4:6 has just told us about. God first compares us to earthen vessels in Romans 9:20-24:

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

The riches of His glory is made known in Colossians 1:27:

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

This is the treasure that we now have in earthen vessels!

As we preach Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake, we may lack resources according to the five senses to carry out our commissioning as servants, but it doesn’t matter because we are never absolutely without resources, or a way of escape. That’s because God is with us who always causes us to triumph in Christ. This is what II Corinthians 4:8-9 makes known:

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

We will always need to rely on God's strength to have the victory when we speak His word. I know. Many of you are saying, "See that, we're right! It's a whole lot safer in church!" But victory is so sweet, so rewarding. I guess it's just choices we have to make. One category of rewards, rewards that appear in this life, is discussed in II Corinthians 4:10.

II Corinthians 4:10, is not about the troubles our physical bodies must overcome in the furtherance of the gospel. It’s about each saint’s identification with Christ. It isn’t about the work of the ministry. It is about the ability to carry out the work:

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

This corresponds to truths such as that given in Romans 6:3-4:

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The word dying includes the crucifixion, so verses like Galatians 2:20 also apply:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The riches of the glory of the treasure we carry in us is Christ within, but for us to have Christ living in our hearts, he must have died for us. Because of the dying of our Lord Jesus Christ, Christ now lives in us.

II Corinthians 4:11 is about getting our spiritual resources into action no matter how short of ability we seem to be in the senses realm:

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Wow, the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh! God must have made us righteous if we are to have His Son’s own life evidenced in our mortal flesh. How can this happen? I Corinthians 12:7-11 tells of the nine manifestation of the spirit energized by the Spirit. God’s powerful gift of Christ within is manifest by speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits, believing, gifts of healing, and miracles.

People don’t want to deal with this standard for believing the truth. That’s one reason everyone is so careless in handling the truths about to whom this section of the scripture is addressed to. II Corinthians is to the born-again believers. II Corinthians 2:17 is to those in Christ who refuse to water down God’s Word, and it is to those who speak as of God, out of the love God has for people. II Corinthians 3:18 is to all who are changed as they behold the glory of the LORD God in the face of Jesus Christ. As born again saints with the full spiritual power of the faith of Jesus Christ within, we represent the full power of the bank of God to the world.

II Corinthians 4:11 says we who live!!! That’s not just Paul and Timothy and other “ministers” somewhere off in some ethereal world of those good enough. No, all who have Jesus Christ as lord have the holy privilege of having the life of the only begotten Son of God evidenced in our mortal bodies! How about that! Tough to believe, huh? That must be why God had to write it down in a book for us. It’s just immense.

Now live doesn't mean simply alive physically. There are plenty of plain, old, physically-alive people everywhere who haven’t accepted the Lord. How could those who don’t believe end up evidencing Christ’s life in their physical bodies? More importantly, we who live are the fragrance of eternal life unto eternal life. We are ministers of the spirit because the Spirit giveth life, eternal life. Look at Romans 8:10:

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Now wait a second. This can’t mean that when we get born again our physical body becomes a corpse! Good thing. But what does it mean? According to Ephesians 2:5a:

Even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ.

Before we believed we were dead in trespasses and sins; now only our body is dead. But dead in what way? Before we received Christ in us we had absolutely no spiritual life, no eternal life in us at all. We had no basis for communication with God who is Spirit. However, now we have the spiritual ability to walk with God. The spirit is life eternal because of righteousness.

But are we living according to the spirit? Are we believing to share fully with God through Jesus Christ our Lord? If we are, the Bible says not only do we have (spiritual) life (eternal), but we are living (spiritually). So, then, who are the we who live of II Corinthians 4:11? Romans 8:13, below, tells us exactly:

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [thanatoo—put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Romans 6:11 puts it like this:

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 8:13 also begins to give us insight into the tricky looking first half of II Corinthians 4:11:

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake [dia Iesous—through or because of Jesus ], that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Through the years many have taught that Romans 8:13 says that the path to a spiritual relationship is to beat your physical body with sticks, or to hang yourself on a cross, or simply to starve yourself or to never get married. However, the deeds, or works, of the flesh that are to be put to death are given in Galatians 5:19-21:

Now the works [ergon] of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:

The basic recipe for putting to death the works of the flesh is given in Galatians 5:16:

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

As we walk by the spirit we are dead to sin but alive to God. That’s how we who live, who are alive to God, are delivered to death. We are delivered to Jesus Christ’s death for us so that we are dead to the power of sin. Philippians 3:10 says:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

As we are made conformable to the death of Christ for us, we live in the power of his resurrection and the power of his resurrection lives in us. As we recognize that Calvary covered it all, that Jesus Christ’s work for us in his death and resurrection is absolutely complete, so also will we walk in glory now and in eternity.

So, because the word for ties II Corinthians 4:11 to the entire context of II Corinthians 4, we have additional evidence that those who have this ministry of the spirit and who don’t faint (II Corinthians 4:1), that those who commend themselves to every man’s conscience in God’s sight (II Corinthians 4:2), that those whose gospel is only hid to those who are lost, that those who preach Christ Jesus the Lord from the heart of service, those with God’s light shining within and radiating outward, that those who have the ability to overcome despite all sense knowledge odds are those who, with Christ in them, are conformed to the death of, united with, walk in life as dead to sin with our Lord Christ Jesus. These are the believers that have the very life of Jesus Christ himself in evidence in their mortal bodies. These are the ones, not apostles awaiting the return, but us if we choose to walk out and believe, who have in evidence the nine manifestation of the holy spirit. The believers with all of these stars on their spiritual lapels are not necessarily apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers; no, they are born again saints who do one thing and one thing only: believe. They walk by the spirit. They live spiritually. They are transformed by the renewing of their minds!

Now, II Corinthians 4:12:

So then death worketh (energeo—energizes) in us, but life (energizes) in you.

Does us still refer to we who live from 4:11? Certainly the context flows down from II Corinthians 2:14 and roars into II Corinthians 4:11, only a single verse away, in triumphant crescendo declaring we who live!. Additionally the phrase death worketh in us only makes sense in terms of seeing that it is the death of Christ for us, as revealed in 4:11.

Finally, the phrase life in you says exactly to whom you refers.

II Corinthians 2:16 describes two groups of people to whom we make known Jesus Christ the Lord:

To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

To the first, we are the savor of their unredeemed state, through our gospel being hid, to their second death in the judgments. To the second group we are the savor of the eternal life of Christ within us to the eternal life they receive when they believe. The phrase life (works) in you perfectly describes the effect of our service on the chosen ones we are led to! It is the life of Christ manifest in our mortal body as the death of Christ to sin for us is energized. As we walk by believing in the justification we have received by believing we evidence life of Christ within us. To those who love the sweet smell of Christ, this life of Christ is energized in them to eternal life. Here is II Corinthians 4:12 again:

So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

In the case of those who are perishing, we faint not because we have this service to offer as we, ourselves, have received mercy. However, with those who are being made whole, we have additional reasons to faint not. These begin to be revealed in II Corinthians 4:13:

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

It is written in Psalm 116:9-10:

I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

I believed, therefore have I spoken: (but) I was greatly afflicted.

The Septuagint adds but, while, of course, being greatly afflicted isn’t part of the reference in II Corinthians. The language of II Corinthians 4:13 means that we, those who are walking by the spirit, have the same spirit of the faith (of Jesus Christ) about which faith it is written: “I believed therefore have I spoken.” When we walk by the spirit we live as he lived for as he is so are we in this world. When we are transformed by the renewing of our minds we exhibit the same life, the same believing that our Lord exhibited. What is it that the Lord believed that led him to speak? It is the same quality of believing, says II Corinthians 4, that those who walk by the spirit evidence today. What is this quality of believing? II Corinthians 4:14 continues:

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by [dia—through] Jesus, and shall present [paristemi] us with [sun—together as one] you.

We are will be raised together by God through (dia) Jesus Christ, and, as II Thessalonians tells us, the church of the body will be gathered as one, all together (sun), both those that sleep and those of us who remain. II Corinthians 4:14 is saying that the raising up and the standing beside will both occur to the church as a whole. The word present, or standing beside is interesting. Stand beside whom? This is foreshadowing of the tremendous truths about to be revealed later in this section of the scripture about the bema of Christ. It is God’s will for us to know our hope with the absolute certainty of the Psalmist and of the savior concerning whom he spoke.

Parenthesis and Dialogue in II Corinthians 2:14-6:10

Although there may be more, these are the parentheses in II Corinthians 2:17-6:10:

II Cor. 3:1-3, II Cor. 3:7-11, II Cor. 3:13-17, II Cor. 4:15

II Cor. 5:7, II Cor. 6:2, II Cor. 6:13

The parentheses supplied by the King James Version make themselves known, to a large extent, in the verse. In the original languages, these parentheses demand attention, grammatically, right in the verses in which they are written. The parentheses listed above in the first row, however, make themselves known in the context. If I were to write in English, "Our fellowship often prayed for I Timothy says this is right that the leaders of our nation would become born again," everyone would see that I left out the parenthesis around for I Timothy says this is right. However, if I wrote this: "Our fellowship often prayed for the leaders of our nation. (In I Timothy God asks us to do this so that we may live in peace.) When we prayed, we pictured how wonderful it would be when they began to overflow with love and peace because of God's Word," a parenthesis would still be required. However, in this case, the subject matter, not the grammar requires the parenthesis.

All of this is important because in the original God-breathed word there were no punctuation marks at all. The workmen of the word, through the ages, have had to supply these marks as they have believed before God to rightly divide the scriptures. The King James Version translators are so wonderful because they always did as little as possible when translating from Greek to English. If they added a word they thought an English reader needed to understand the scriptures, they put it in italics. Likewise, they only added the most evident and demanding parenthetical punctuation. Many of the parentheses that are not demanded by grammar are not included in the King James, yet the addition of the parenthesis makes a significant difference in understanding the passages. Each student of God's word must decide for himself or herself, before God, where these parentheses go.

If setting aside the parenthetical information adds to the unity of the passage, then the remarks are parenthetical. In English writing today teachers often speak of the unity or coherence of a paragraph (or longer paper) based on its topic sentence (or thesis) and its concluding sentence or clincher. If an idea or a set of words does not make sense with the topic, then it detracts from the coherence of the passage. Generally, parenthetical material diverges from the main idea obliquely, but nevertheless relates to the topic sub points. This is how I used the two parenthetical statements in this paragraph. The idea of thesis and a longer paper do not directly connect to the explanation of paragraph unity; however, these idea do relate to coherence in general. Likewise, the two parenthetical remarks complement one another and add to the overall message about the coherence of any passage.

This is how the parentheses of II Corinthians given in the first row work. The material in each relates to the main idea of the passage, yet it diverges in some way from the order or coherence of the sequence of ideas. Likewise, the material within the II Corinthian parentheses often complements the other parenthetical information, and all the parenthetical elements, with an emphasis, enlarge the power of the central message. Therefore, to allow the scripture to interpret itself in the context as to these parentheses, the student of God's word must stay extremely focused on the main idea and the sequence of supporting points of the passage as a whole.

It is challenging to talk about the use of dialogue in II Corinthians as a rhetorical device or a figure of speech because, at times, the revelation given to Paul speaks literally using the pronouns "we" and "you." Yet, at other points, in the passage "we" and "you" are also used in the figure of speech, or rhetorical device, of dialogue. The first principle of studying figures of speech as used in the Bible is that the Bible is to be understood literally whenever and wherever it's own internal truths allow. Only when the internal truths of the word of God itself do not allow for a literal interpretation of a passage is that passage figurative. Secondly, it is the Bible itself that sets the standards, the application, and the meaning or interpretation of the figure of speech.

Based on this, the uses of "we" and "you" in II Corinthians 3:1-3, for instance, since it is literally Paul talking to the Corinthians, is not the figure of speech dialogue. However, in Romans 10:6, 8-9:

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

But what saith it [the righteousness which is of believing]? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we [who have attained unto the righteousness of believing—Romans 9:30 & 9:23-24 and who are the brethren of Romans 10:1] preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man (all man and any man) believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

the character of the righteousness of believing is given words in Romans 6. Here the use personification emphasizes the use of dialogue because righteousness cannot literally speak.

Then, in Romans 10:9, when the Bible says, "which we preach," the Heavenly Father sets forth the literal truth. Only those who have attained to the righteousness of God through believing, the brethren of Paul not according to the flesh, preach the word of believing. What do they preach in your house of worship? Additionally, because thine is not literally all who read this, but must be understood as anyone who has not yet believed, this is the figure dialogue. This wonderful use of the figure of speech dialogue is applied, with a mathematical exactness and a scientific precision in the exact same situation in II Corinthians 5:20-21:

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

"We," who are in the role of these ambassadors for Christ, including Paul, are those who are they which live (5:15), in Christ (5:17), a new creation (5:17), reconciled to God (5:18), received the ministry of reconciliation (5:19) and have the responsibility for the word of reconciliation (5:19). Those that are in this role speak, by way of the figure of speech dialogue, to a "you" who has not yet believed. The Corinthians have believed. That's why they are the church of God; that is why the epistle is written to them (and to us). Hence, they cannot be the "you" to whom "we," the ambassadors for Christ, speak.

We know that this "you" has not believed because of the phrase, "be ye reconciled to God." If someone has believed, then they have already received reconciliation and the atonement (Rom. 5:10-11); that is, they have already been reconciled (II Co. 5:18). Hence, the characters of the ambassadors for Christ are speaking to the characters of those who have not yet believed. The use of the present tense for all ambassadors, even those who are reading the scriptures, emphasizes that the literal truth is being given in a non-literal dialogue.

II Corinthians 4:12, then, must also be the figure of speech dialogue:

So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

In this case, if "us" is understood through the context as "we who live," then the "you" is those who have not yet believed and who do not yet have eternal life. These two character roles makes this is the figure of speech dialogue.

II Corinthians 4:15 is a parenthesis. II Corinthians 4:12 comforts us by showing how we are victorious as ministers of the spirit when we are transformed by the renewing of our minds are conformed to the image of God's Son. Nevertheless, the use of the ellipsis in "(Jesus Christ's) death worketh in us" emphasizes the daily challenge of the renewed mind walk. Just as the section on our sufficiency in God gives way, in II Corinthians 4, to the walk as ministers or ambassadors, so too, here in 4:16, the comfort concerning God's daily deliverance for us as we walk, gives way to the comfort we have in a knowledge of our hope of Christ's return. II Corinthians 4:13 declares that, as we evidence the holy spirit, we are evidencing the spirit of one who knew certainly that he would walk in the land of the living before God. II Corinthians 4:14 carries out this logic saying that:

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

It is II Corinthians 4:16-18 that carries out this logic:

For which cause [Christ's return and you with us] we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day [because the death of Christ for us worketh in us– is energized within],

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory [the saints with us at Christ's return];

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen [including Christ's return]: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal

II Corinthians 4:15:

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

makes the most complete sense only once we read 4:16-18. The cause that keeps us from fainting is not only that every thing is for the sakes of the ones we speak to, but that they will be with us at Christ's return. Our joy as ministers of the spirit is in knowing that those who believe will be with us at the return. The love for people that we have before God based on His Son's soon return allows us to speak "as of sincerity as of God." Placing II Corinthians 4:15 out of logical order makes it parenthetical and gives it an added dimension. In II Corinthians Paul is always literally part of the "we," even when we includes many who are not literally speaking. Paul's example of right believing is always carried to mind in this reproof epistle about the practical errors evidenced in the Corinthian church. Hence, although 4:15 is certainly parenthetical, whether it is dialogue or literal is a challenging question. Here are the other verses on the same subject with which this parenthetical comment must be understood:

1 Thessalonians 3:9 &13: For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;

...To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

1 Corinthians 3:21-23: Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;

Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

2 Timothy 2:10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

The instruction in this area is almost entirely in terms of the love of the apostle Paul. Hence, it seems most honest to consider the parenthetical comment in II Corinthians 4:15 not as dialogue but as literal.

Hence, in the case of those to whom we are the savor of life unto life, all of these things conclude in accordance with II Corinthians 4:16a:

For which cause we faint not.

The truths of the relationship between believing in Christ’s return for us, the renewed mind, and our spiritual ability as ministers of the spirit to carry out the ministry continues in 14:16b-18:

but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

While we look [skopos—focus in on] not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

These truths echo the truths in II Corinthians 3:18. The glory of the ministration of the spirit that so exceeds the glory radiant on the face of Moses refers to the whole age, with its ultimate glorious conclusion in the joyful return of Jesus Christ for the church. Look, or scope in on, takes the place of behold openly because of the differing perspectives of these sections. II Corinthians 2:14-3:18 is our ability to minister, while II Corinthians 4:6-4:18 is our ability to carry out the ministry.

Holy Tabernacles

II Corinthians 5:1 continues explaining those things that last, and those things, such as our earthen vessels, that don’t:

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

We continues to be those in Christ who have a renewed mind. Although one might be born again, if one has been wrongly taught concerning the hope of Christ’s return, one might not know, mentally perceive, the hope of Christ’s return. An accurate knowledge of the return of Christ for his church continues to be a key element in the II Corinthians walk of triumph.

II Corinthians 5:2-4 lays out more of the mind of the spirit:

For in this we groan [stenazo—Romans 8:23], earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

The emphasis in this passage continues to be on the riches of the glory of the Christ in every saint. Even in eternity our new spiritual body, with it Christ-like abilities, is described as clothing and as a dwelling place for the power of God already dwelling within.

The Greek word for groan reminds us of the foundational truth of Romans 8:16-25 being re-taught here. As in Romans, this truth is taught to every saint, or “we within this tabernacle.” Reflecting, again the foundational treatise on believing, on the one hand, this part of Romans begins with God’s testimony of us, by the spirit, as His sons (Romans 8:16), while on the other, the II Corinthians 5 sections ends in 5:5 with this declaration:

Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest [arrhabon] of the Spirit.

The spirit is the down-payment, the proof God has given us of His Son’s return for us. Romans mirrors this exact truth when it says in 8:15-16:

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption [huiothesia--sonship], whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

Which spirit is it that is our spirit? It is the spirit of sonship whereby, by way of which, we cry “Abba Father” as we speak in tongues. As we cry “Abba Father,” not only does the Father witness that we are His sons through Christ, but, in accordance with Romans 8:17, He witnesses also that we are, therefore, His eternal heirs:

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Because we have this earnest of the spirit, II Corinthians 5:6-7 says:

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

If we are lacking confidence in our father’s eternal faithfulness, the cure is simple: evidence His spirit more, speak in tongues much in your personal prayer life. All of those who have this confidence can say, as II Corinthians 5:7 says:

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

This is a fourth iteration of the truth II Corinthians 3:18, 4:13, 4:18. Again, the antecedent for the first person plural pronoun, throughout this entire section is “we who are in Christ.” II Corinthians 5:8 continues again after the parenthesis building upon 5:6:

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

II Corinthians 5:9 says of those who are thus transformed by believing God’s Word that:

Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

Hence, the truth of II Corinthians 2:17:

For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

and the truth of II Corinthians 4:2:

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

is being fully explained in both 5:9 above and in 5:10 below:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Additionally, the unanswered question from II Corinthians 4:14:

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by [dia—through] Jesus, and shall present [paristemi] us with [sun—together as one] you.

has been answered. II Corinthians 5:10 has just explained that we will all be raised up with the whole church, all together, and all will appear before the bema, the judgment seat of Christ to receive among the whole body according to our service or lack thereof to the body. The details about the consequences of moving the wrong stuff in the body has been given in I Corinthians 3:5-4:6.

II Corinthians 5:11a summarizes these great truths in the lives of His ambassadors:

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God;

Because those who look on the things that are eternal understand the reverence of the Lord, we persuade men to also reverence him; that is, as ambassadors we preach Christ Jesus the Lord. As II Corinthians 2:17 says, and as this section depicts in detailed fashion, what an ambassador for God does is, first of all, made known to Him.

II Corinthians 5:11b begins a new section:

And (de) I trust also (kai) are made manifest in your consciences.

The Greek can be translated:

Now (de) I also (kai) trust that to your consciences we have been made known (phaneroo—infinitive passive perfect form).

This perfect form expresses an action that is completed. Everything else in this entire section is a continuing, present tense action. This verb form and the sudden appearance of the first person singular form of trust: I trust, tells us that the antecedent for we has returned to “we-- Paul and Timothy.” Your must refer to the Corinthians’ consciences. This therefore, is not dialogue. This is not "we which live." This is literally we, "Paul and Timothy," and "you" Corinthians.

God will never abandon us, and neither will His Word. We never need to assume anything in studying to rightly divide the word of truth. II Corinthians 5:12 also gives information to match with the scope of II Corinthians so that we know surely that we means Paul and Timothy:

For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.

“Commending ourselves again,” indicates that the first commendation has been completed, just as the perfect form of manifest suggests. These verses cannot be talking directly about, “you to whom we are the fragrance of life to life.” Instead, Paul is speaking to the Corinthians who are concrete examples of those to whom he and Timothy had already been “the sweet fragrance of Christ.” Paul is speaking, once again, to those who are living epistles, written by God, that show he and Timothy are ministers of Christ.

All of the regal beauty of what it means to live according to the love of God in the renewed mind is brought to bear when Paul and Timothy’s lives are set as examples. For instance, in Mark 3:21, when our lord’s ministry became so intense and demanding that neither he nor his disciples had time to eat, the Lord continued ministering. When those near to him heard of these things they said the Lord was beside himself. In Corinth very similar obstacles arose for Paul and Timothy. Hence, II Corinthians 5:13a:

For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God:

If Paul and Timothy were crazy in their intensity concerning the ministry of the spirit, the Corinthians themselves knew that Paul and Timothy were made known to God. If, as some in Corinth said, they were beside themselves, then it’s God’s business. However, as 5:13b says:

or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.

The Corinthians knew personally that Paul and Timothy’s intensity was about their love from God for the Corinthians. This they could boast of first hand in accordance with II Corinthians 5:12. II Corinthians 5:14 continues by explaining Paul and Timothy’s hearts:

For the love of Christ constraineth us (Paul & Timothy); because we (Paul & Timothy) thus judge, (:) that if one died for all, then were all dead.

However, this verse, II Corinthians 5:14, shifts back to we who are triumphant in Christ. Paul and Timothy’s love towards the Corinthians is given as an example to the Corinthians of the love all who walk in the renewed mind have towards those with whom they share the gospel. II Corinthians 5:14 shares Paul and Timothy’s motivation: the Lord died for all, including Paul and Timothy. Paul and Timothy’s love is based on beholding the completed work of Jesus Christ on their behalf. All who will walk victoriously in Christ must also judge as Paul and Timothy have judged.

It is by carefully following this logic in the context of II Corinthians 5:12-14, then, that the reason we is once again all who are the sweet fragrance of Christ through the renewing of their minds in II Corinthians 5:14b-21 is made plain. This logic is established when II Corinthians 5:15-16 says:

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Wherefore henceforth know [oida-mentally perceive] we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known [ginosko—to be acquainted with, to know by experience] Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know [we him no more.

II Corinthians 5:15 is based on 5:14. The conclusion of 5:14, “then were all dead,” is even repeated to remind the reader. We who are now are alive to God through Jesus Christ plainly owe him our all. As the word wherefore indicates, 5:15 is also built on the dramatic conclusion “then were all dead.” Because all are reckoned in the flesh as dead, the love of Christ constrains us “to know no one after the flesh.” Instead, we know those who are also alive to God by their walk. Therefore, the we of II Corinthians 5:15 refers to all who are constrained by God’s love who thus judge: “that if one died for all, then were all dead.” It is II Corinthians 5:16b that, ultimately, takes all of the guesswork out of the reading of the 5:13-17 when it says:

yea, though [even if] we have known [ginosko] Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

This is in the essence of “even if we have known Christ after the flesh.” Some in the first century church had known the Lord in his earthly ministry, but not Paul and Timothy. If we in II Corinthians 5:16 pertained only to Paul and Timothy, this statement about knowing our Lord according to the flesh wouldn’t have been needed.

Now that this subtle shift in pronoun reference has been clearly seen, a review of the passage shows that it is a revelation of Paul and Timothy’s hearts as examples of renewed mind. This shows that our entire walk in God’s transforming power begins with the recognition of Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice for us. Because of his work for us, we don’t live for ourselves but for him. That’s why all things were for the Corinthians sake. Also, because of his work for us we don’t know, or mentally picture, one another based on the flesh. Hence, the glorying in appearance in II Corinthians 5:12 also takes on a deeper meaning. The flesh is what appears, and believers who walk by the spirit look at those things that they cannot see, the things eternal, the things of the spirit.

Although Paul and Timothy’s lives are not specifically held forth as an example of this newness in II Corinthians 5:11-13, II Corinthians 5:17’s therefore also refers back to the right judgment that is the foundation of the renewed mind walk:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [ktisis—creation]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

If we who live were all dead, then the life we now experience in Christ is completely new. This section is an application and augmentation of Romans 6:4:

Therefore we are buried with him by [the] baptism into [the] death [of him— by an ellipsis]: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

II Corinthians 5:18:

And all [these new] things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

is often misunderstood. People think that it means that if we are in Christ nothing will ever happen to us God doesn’t want, but this is impossible. Ever since II Corinthians 2:14, God’s Word has been talking about being triumphant in life and overcoming adversity by remaining in Christ. If, once we were born again, the Bible taught that everything came from God, then the Bible would be teaching us how to overcome God’s own will, which, itself, is expressed in the Bible! The "all things of God" are all of the things that are become new in II Corinthians 5:17. These are the things of the spirit that we walk in as sons of His. Hence, II Corinthians 5:18 plainly relies on II Corinthians 5:17. The antecedent of us is any man [ei tis—whosoever, a gender neutral word] who is in Christ.

This is so critical to seeing the scope of this II Corinthians, of Romans, of Thessalonians, of Ephesians, yet this is as new to many congregations as speaking in tongues, the new birth, and the spirit of God. How can we be living epistles of Christ if we don’t have the ability to bring folks to God? What is it that the sweet fragrance of Christ does for those who choose to believe? It leads them to life, that’s what. That’s the ministry of reconciliation. What is it called when the death of Christ is energized in us so that life is energized in others? It’s the ministry of reconciliation. What’s it called when we are transformed into the image of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ for all the world to see? That’s the ministry of reconciliation. Now whether we ever walk in it or not, we’ve got it. This ministry belongs to us. Why? Because God has given it to us, and as Romans 11:29 says, “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

Now, this ministry is not the calling to continual service within and to the family of born again saints. That has to do with God’s unique plan for every saint in the one body. To this calling within the family I Corinthians 12:5 speaks:

And there are differences of administrations [diakonia—ministries], but the same Lord,

as does Romans 12:

Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching.

However, the ministry of glory, this ministry of the spirit, is the service available to every person who has Christ within. We all have this same single ministry or service to the world. It’s a family deal. This ministry is to radiate the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ even as the glory of the law was radiated on the skin of Moses as he mediated the old covenant to Israel.

Is that all we do? II Corinthians 5:19-20:

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors [presbuo] for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

We do one other thing. We speak God’s Word. We implore the world as God would, for as II Corinthians 2:17, as of God speak we in Christ. We open God’s heart to the world in our savior’s place. As he has taken our place on the tree of crucifixion, we are permitted to take his place as mediators of the new and everlasting covenant of life! So much of being the church which is Christ’s body is bound up in understanding this: we speak for God as the Lord would speak for God if he were walking on planet earth today.

The ministry of reconciliation is a literal part of what God has given us spiritually when we were born again. When we use the access we have to the Father and are transformed by the renewing of our minds, the ministry is in operation. Forget about it, if you want to live the more than abundant life you’re going to be a living epistle of Christ—period, end of story. However, the word of reconciliation is appointed to us from the Bible. We must have heard some of it to receive the new birth, but it is all written in the Bible.

The word ambassador is descriptive of our lives as having the ministry of reconciliation and holding forth the word of life. As dwelling in these tabernacles, we are travelers from a distant kingdom. We are emissaries of God. The word ambassador in I Corinthians 5:20 is the verb presbuo. It is also used in Ephesians 6:20. These are the only two places that the verb form is used in the Greek text. The Aramaic, however, uses izgaga (86-in Aramaic Concordance) in these two verses. This is an Aramaic noun form that is also used in Luke 14:32 and 19:14. A Greek noun form of presbuo, presbeia, is also used in these verses. In Luke 14:32 the meaning of presbia is clarified:

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth [apostello] an ambassage [presbeia], and desireth conditions of peace.

Here ambassage clearly means what we mean today by an ambassador. It means one who is legally appointed and authorized as a representative of a higher authority to communicate with another kingdom. As ambassadors for Christ, we represent the kingdom of God with the full authority of the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, and God has appointed to us a message to deliver to the world: be ye reconciled to God! God has already provided the conditions of peace; these we as ambassadors, make known. It’s not that He couldn’t make war, but because of His great love he desires peace through His Son with all mankind.

II Corinthians 5:21:

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

I love it. The Word has done it again. We has shifted to we—all mankind. God has done it right in the verse, without warning, and without fanfare. II Corinthians 5:21 is part of the message we deliver to the world. As our Lord conducted himself among us, we too conduct ourselves as his ambassadors. We make ourselves of no reputation. We don’t go around boasting about how we’re ambassadors. Boasting about ourselves is the last thing we should think about. There is simply no need to boast. If we’re walking, the world knows it. If we’re not walking, why should we boast? Instead, we preach Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants, your ministers, for Jesus’ sake. When we speak, we speak to the world as members of all humanity. We testify of His Word, and our lives are first hand evidence of God’s Will for all people.

Receive Not His Grace in Vain: Triumph in Christ

II Corinthians 6:1 is another sudden shift in pronoun reference:

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

The keys to getting this verse are right in the verse, but the Greek is tricky to translate into English. The key word is receive. In the Greek it is an infinitive in the aorist tense. The aorist gives the tense an already-done-deal feel that’s hard to capture. The New Jerusalem Bible has this translation:

As his fellow-workers, we urge you not to let your acceptance of his grace come to nothing.

This is tremendous on receive. The Greek word receive, especially when used of salvation, means to receive subjectively. Acceptance is a great choice. Additionally, the sense the New Jerusalem Bible gives to the acceptance is of an acceptance that has already happened. Yet the tense is not rendered directly as a past tense. That’s just right. The Aramaic of 6:1 does employ a perfect tense form of receive, not just an infinitive form, that properly translates into the English past tense. The Aramaic of I Corinthians 6:1 reads:

And as helpers we entreat you, that the grace of God that you received should not become void in you.

So then, is we all who are in Christ? Is ye all those who are offered the grace of God by His ambassadors? It can’t be all to whom grace is offered because it is talking to those who have already received the grace of God. God, by way of Paul and Timothy are beseeching those who have dechomaied God’s grace to walk in it, to shine it forth, to manifest this grace for all to see. The words in you come directly from the Aramaic text. That is so accurate. Where is the grace we have received? It’s in us. It’s Christ in us the hope of glory!

The other key that allows II Corinthians 6:1 to interpret itself right where it is written is the word then. II Corinthians 6:1 picks up with the love of Christ that constrains Paul and Timothy. They are workers together with God as apostles to the Corinthians. When they ministered Christ to the Corinthians initially, they served as ambassadors for Christ, but now they entreat the Corinthians by specific revelation from God for the church. The principles of their ministry are the same, but the revelation they are given, which we in the church are called of God to obey, separates them as apostles. Nevertheless, the love of Christ that they constrain the Corinthians by is the love that all who have the basic principles of the renewed mind should, as fellow workers with God, have for those to whom we speak. Paul and Timothy are begging the Corinthians, by their own examples of love, to live for God as they do. The Corinthians have received the grace of God. They are reconciled to Him, but will they renew their minds and manifest, lombano, that gift that is in them and reign in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17)? Paul and Timothy, by revelation from God, exhort them to do just that.

A lot of this biblical research detective stuff is needed because of textual and linguistic impasses, but nothing can stop His Word. His Word lives and abides forever! Today is part of forever. Speaking of linguistic impasses, where is this word also in 6:1 going to go? The word also is present in the Greek texts. Another important research question is whether the word you is properly supplied in the correct place in the King James Version of 6:1. Below is another possibly correct rendering given by the American Standard Version:

And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain

If we stay with King James Version’s translation, the context fits a little better. Putting also after entreat expresses a continued entreaty from 5:20, but putting also after you shows, a little more clearly, that you represents a second group of people distinct from the group in 5:20.

God’s Word has also provided some contextual cement in II Corinthians 6:2:

(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.)

This verse is a reference to 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;

Who is it that was given as a covenant to the people? Sure, it is our Lord Jesus Christ. So, who was praying? Sure, our lord was praying! Isaiah 49:8 is, in turn, this amazing answer, by revelation, to the Lord’s prayer first given in Psalm 69. Here is psalm 69:8-9:

I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.

For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

These verses, especially 69:9 by the reference to it in John 2:17, establish that our lord is the subject. That’s why, when Psalm 69:13 says:

But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation,

the record in Isaiah becomes so amazing. Psalm 69 shows our Lord praying for deliverance in an acceptable time, a time acceptable with God. Because he had to give his life for all mankind, he could not pray for deliverance until we were all justified, until the time when the acceptable sacrifice had been completed.

The scope of this reference is necessary so we understand why God, by revelation, adds in II Corinthians 6:2:

behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

God’s Word is saying that as He delivered His only begotten Son out of death, so He is willing and able to deliver us in every challenge we face (remember II Corinthians 1:9-10!!). However, God adds that, for us, now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation, for we have been redeemed. His sacrifice for us is completely complete. We don’t need to pray for deliverance at some future time. God will act on His word this very instant! What a redeemer we have! What redemption to walk in! There is no reason for the grace of God to remain dormant in us (II Corinthians 6:1). It's God's will that each and every one of us manifest the wholeness of the risen Christ within (II Corinthians 4:10) in every situation in life to which we are called, especially as we share His word in every place we find ourselves. Paul and Timothy are the perfect examples of what it means not to receive the grace of God in vain. I Corinthians 15:10 says of Paul:

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain [kenos]; but I laboured [kopio] more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Here, the grace Paul received was as an apostle, but for us as ambassadors the principles are the same. We are to allow God to work within us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. We are to evidence our salvation, holding forth the word of life. As I Corinthians 15:58 says:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work [ergon] of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour [kopos] is not in vain [kenos] in the Lord.

When the grace of God is dormant in us there is no labor for the Lord, but when we believe and energize it, it will never, ever, be in vain.

All of this, then, adds to the certainty that the pronouns in II Corinthians 6:1 work like this:

We [Paul and Timothy] then, as workers together [sunergeo] with him [God— as ambassadors and especially as ministers to you Corinthians], beseech you also that the grace of God you [Corinthians] have accepted should not come to no purpose [become vain --kenos] in you.

II Corinthians 6:1-11 is the finale section of our triumph in Christ. With the promise of God to deliver us from every obstacle and trial to the labor of ministering the spirit and the gospel of God, how can any saint not accept the invitation to service as an ambassador for Christ?

How, then can we accept God's calling to us, delivered by the scriptures even as it was delivered to the Corinthians by the apostle Paul? How, then can we be certain that we don’t receive God’s grace to no point, that God’s grace is not fruitless in our lives? Here again is II Corinthians 6:1b:

...that the grace of God you [Corinthians] have accepted should not become vain [empty--kenos] in you.

The revelation given in II Corinthians 6:3-4 begins to tells us how to avoid this. Instead of allowing the grace of God to be fruitless in us, we are called to live the life that is more than abundant by:

Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry [of reconciliation] be not blamed:

But in all things approving ourselves [we who are triumphant in Christ] as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

II Corinthians 6:4-10 lists, on the one hand, difficulties that could easily become a stumbling block to a laborer, and, in every instance, on the other hand, II Corinthians 6:4-10 gives God’s answer, God’s way to turn every possible defeat into an exhibition of our triumph in Christ. The truths of both the obstacles and the victory are simultaneous and ongoing. This simultaneous, continuing action is expressed with Greek infinitives of the verbs translated in the King James Version as giving offense and approving.

The Douay-Rheims English translation of the Latin Vulgate reads for 6:3-4:

Giving no offence to any man, that our [we—the church] ministry [the ministry of reconciliation] be not blamed.

But in all things let us exhibit ourselves [we—the church] as the ministers [servants, ministers of the Spirit] of God, in much patience, in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses,

The Aramaic of 6:3-4 has been translated:

Do not give a cause of stumbling to anyone in anything, that there may not be a blemish on our [we—the church] service [the ministry of reconciliation].

But in everything let us show ourselves [we—the triumphant in Christ] to be ministers [servants, ministers of the Spirit] of God with much endurance, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses.

Both of these ancient sources shed light on the sense of the difficult Greek infinitives: the sense of the II Corinthians 2:14-6:11 triumph in Christ passage is continuing to its dramatic climax. We refers once again to all who choose to walk in fellowship with God. It’s not that the Greek is inaccurate; it’s that the Greek syntax is so dramatic it’s a little difficult to translate it into English.

Thus then, because 6:2 leaves the Corinthians no reason to receive God’s grace in vain, II Corinthians 6:3-4a begins, in dramatic fashion, the longest sentence in the epistle, a sentence that by its structure itself, shows what all those who will walk by believing and not by sight can handle:

Not giving any offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed,

but, in everything, we [who are triumphant in Christ] commend ourselves as God’s ministers with great patience [recognition of the rewards at Christ's return]:

As II Corinthians 6:4b-6:5a explains, patience, allowing God to work in a situation, is the key for a successful ambassador in every mental and physical distress:

in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults,

II Corinthians 6:5b tells how an ambassador for Christ who will not faint responds:

in labours, in watchings, in fastings.

II Corinthians 6:6a gives the quality of the always triumphant ambassador’s response:

by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

Finally 6:7a gives the means of response for an ambassador who commends himself in every situation:

By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness

II Corinthians 6:7b reiterates the idea, from II Corinthians 6:4, that the ambassador is patient in everything. The right hand is the hand of blessing and the left, the hand of cursing. In every positive and in every negative situation, the ambassador for Christ is equipped to triumph. Hence, when 6:7’s says:

By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

it leads directly into 6:8-10’s crescendo of apparent opposites:

By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

In everything God’s sent ones are victorious as they continue to walk in newness of life, heralding the word of reconciliation, shining forth the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Having completely explained every principle of success that those who are triumphant in Christ employ, including Paul and Timothy, II Corinthians 6:11 proclaims:

O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

These beautiful figures of speech express the active love Paul and Timothy have for the Corinthians. In the first figure, the mouth, as part of the process of speech, is put for the whole process of communication. In this way the open mouth represents the open minds and souls of Paul and Timothy. The second figure puts the physical heart for the seat of decision-making and for the throne of the personal lives of Paul and Timothy. Their hearts are enlarged, magnified. Not only have they thrown all of their deepest motives and feelings open in love, but they have enlarged these things for all to see. One beautiful translation of 6:11a reads:

O’ Corinthians, we have told you every necessary thing (opened our hearts)…

Paul and Timothy, in writing by revelation to the Corinthians, have covered every principle needed to triumph in every place in Christ Jesus the Lord. If we plan to share God’s will with others, we can run through the checklist of principles held forth in II Corinthians 2:14-6:11 in our minds. Are we watering anything down? Are we holding anything needful back? Are we demonstrating God’s power for all to see and explaining it with the love God would have for people? Are we carrying ourselves with an attitude of service as we share the Lordship of our savior Jesus Christ? Are we responding to adversity by staying focused on the eternal weight of glory and, hence, being renewed in the inner man? In every challenge we face, God has made a way to overcome and has footnoted the signposts leading to victory in this section. Finally, when we feel we have done all can we honestly, before God, say what Paul and Timothy are saying by revelation from God in II Corinthians 6:13. Can we say truly that our mouths are open and that our hearts are enlarged?

This doesn’t mean that II Corinthians 2:14-6:17 shares everything that can be profitably uttered about God! No, that’s why the above literal according to usage translation is so excellent; everything Corinthians needed at the point they were in their relationship with God has been shared. The Corinthians had already been taught and shown by example the foundation of Romans, yet they remained immature. Paul and Timothy share everything necessary for the Corinthians to grow up and walk in accordance with Ephesians 4:14-15:

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

When we’re done teaching folks, can people know that they know that they know they have God’s will? Beyond this, have we held forth every needful thing with the result that people can hold forth the word of reconciliation, the gospel of peace and, in love, make known the power of God from faith activated by believing to the faith of Jesus Christ as received by believing? Do people have the confidence in their Father and in what he has done for them in Christ that they can walk as the sweet fragrance of Christ unto God and the savor of eternal life to eternal life to all of those who are being made whole?

In II Corinthians 6:12-13, Paul beseeches the Corinthians, as he would his own children, to magnify their hearts of love to Paul and Timothy:

Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.

Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.

The phrase, "be ye also enlarged," abbreviates the entire process whereby Paul and Timothy’s hearts were enlarged. As Paul and Timothy’s mouth has been opened and their hearts enlarged so, Paul and Timothy beseech, may the Corinthians be enlarged and share with Paul and Timothy in every needful thing. These are specific echoes of the overall II Corinthians themes first declared in II Corinthians 1:6b:

which (saving consolation) is effectual (can be energized) in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:

and in II Corinthians 1:7:

And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

The Corinthians, Paul knew by revelation, were still feeling the pressure about having to change. This pressure wasn’t coming from Paul and Timothy; instead, it flowed from the broken fellowship that the Corinthians were involved in. This is addressed in II Corinthians 6:14-16. Just as we became Paul and Timothy, suddenly, in II Corinthians 6:11, so we is, again, the entire body of Christ in 6:16:

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye (we --Frieburg, Tischendorf 8^th edition, Nestle-Aland 26^th edition) are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

In II Corinthians 6:17, ye refers to God’s people in the Old Testament and, by application, to all of God’s people, to all who have Jesus Christ as lord, today:

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Then, in II Corinthians 7:1 us is, once again, the entire church which is the temple of the living God:

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Finally, from II Corinthians 7:2 until the end of the epistle, the predominant use of we is Paul and Timothy. However, there are many repeated subjects that echo the we who are triumphant in Christ from the tremendous ambassadors for Christ section.