IN NEED OF CONFIDENCE

Paul has raised the matter of our sufficiency to carry out Christ's ministry. "Who is sufficient (ἱκανός) for these things?" (2 Cor. 2:16). Where do we find our worthiness in ministry? When the task looms large, and our need is great where do we turn for confidence that we can accomplish the mission? What qualifies us for ministry?

Three times in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 Paul uses variants of the word translated "adequate, sufficient or worthy" (ἱκανός) to answer his question. The adjective was primarily used in reference to a numerical quantity being large enough to meet a need which, by extension, came to mean competent or qualified when used of people (BAGD, p.374). For example, the word was used of a large quantity of wheat sufficient to meet the tax requirements. The neuter form of the adjective was commonly used for posting bail as security in a legal case (MM, Vocabulary, p.302). Sufficient to meet a need easily shifts into sufficient to undertake a task as Paul uses it here.

The adjective was used in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament (LXX) to translate a Hebrew word meaning need. ἱκανός was used to describe what someone needed to alleviate hunger, perform a sacrifice or help a friend. The word focused on the idea of need. This explains why the LXX uses ἱκανός to translate "Shaddai" the name of God. God is "El-Shaddai," the Almighty one who is sufficient for our needs! Paul follows the LXX usage when he connects our competency - adequacy - with our need. (TDNT, 3:728-729). God is sufficient to meet our insufficiency because He is "El-Shaddai."

Paul says "we are not adequate in ourselves" (ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν ἱκανοί), but our adequacy (ἱκανότης) comes from God (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ). Paul shifts from the adjective ἱκανοί to the noun ἱκανότης which refers to qualification or fitness to perform a task (BAGD, p.374). The relative pronoun beginning verse 6 (ὅς) points back to God in verse 5. God made us adequate (ἱκάνωσεν) to be servants! He qualifies us to became slaves. The verb means "to make sufficient," often carrying the connotation of empowering or authorizing someone to carry out a task (BAGD, p.374).

Now we can understand Paul's words opening verse 4. "Such confidence we have through Christ toward God." We have (ἔχομεν) confidence. The present tense verb indicates that we have confidence continuously in ministry - an assertion Paul himself needed to remember given his previous despair! We, too, need the reminder regularly in life. The word translated "confidence" (πεποίθησιν) is in the emphatic position at the start of this whole unit of thought. The noun comes from the perfect tense form of the verb meaning to depend on, trust in or place our confidence in someone (πείθω). The perfect tense of the verb can carry the force of "believe in" the sufficiency of God similar to its usage in the LXX (BAGD, p.639).

We have now come full circle in Paul's thought process. We are needy. We are not competent in ourselves. We are not qualified to even be servants of God. Who is qualified for these things? Not me! Not you! Nobody. We are qualified only as we recognize our neediness and His sufficiency. We become competent in His competency. The irony of our faith is that our confidence begins with our need. Our confidence in ministry develops as we discern His sufficiency in our need.

CONFIRMATION IN MINISTRY

How do we make it in ministry when others attack us and hard times overwhelm us? When conflicts erupt, and critics rise up, who replenishes our broken hearts? How do we stay faithful under fire? Paul wrestled with those questions as the waters of despair threatened to engulf him (2 Cor. 2:13 & 7:4). God comforted Paul with the positive report of their love for him (2 Cor. 7:6-7).

People! Changed lives! Heart memories! Paul says people are our "letters of recommendation" (2 Cor. 3:1). The expression "recommendation letters" (συστατικῶν ἐπιστολῶν), was a technical term for a common practice in the ancient world. An influential person would write a letter on behalf of someone else. Such letters were a form of credentialing. The recommended person would carry the letter with him to validate his request for help, hospitality, acceptance or employment (Witherspoon, Conflict & Community, p. 377).

Paul writes to the Corinthians, "You, yourselves (ὑμεῖς ἐστε) are our letter!" The pronoun is emphatic. People were his letter of recommendation, "having been written" (ἐγγεγραμμένη) on his heart. The verb is a perfect passive participle indicating the writing took place in the past with ongoing results in the present. The hand moving the stylus to write this letter on his heart was Christ himself because they were Christ's letter (v.3 ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ, subjective genitive). He changed their hearts and wrote their story on Paul's heart.

Does Paul say they were written on "our" (ἡμῶν) hearts or that he was written on their ("your" - ὑμῶν) hearts? The best manuscript evidence reads "our" (ἡμῶν) hearts (Metzger, Textual Commentary, p.577). Paul carries the letter of recommendation wherever he travels like a man carrying a papyrus to authenticate his credentials (Rienecker, Key, p.459). He later writes that they were in his heart to live and die together (2 Cor. 7:3) - a beautiful expression of the Christian bond.

Paul's credentials were people, not paper, and they were written on his heart (and perhaps much maligned Timothy's heart as well since the pronoun is plural). The letters were written (v.3) not with "ink" (μέλανι) on "stone tablets" (πλαξίν λιθίναις) - a mixed metaphor - but with the "Spirit of the Living God" on "fleshy heart tablets (πλαξὶν καρδίαις σαρκίναις). The ending ιναις as opposed to ικος on the word "fleshly" (σαρκίναις) indicates the raw material used for writing rather than an ethical description of the writing (Moulton, Grammar, 2:378). Human hearts are the paper on which God writes his greatest masterpieces!

Everywhere Paul goes their letters are being known (γινωσκομένη) and being read (ἀναγινωσκομένη). The verbs are present tense participles indicating a continuous and repeated reading "by all men" (ὑπὸ πάντων ὰνθρώπων). Paul's heart is an open book for others to read the stories of God's grace written in human lives.

How does God confirm our confidence to "keep on keeping on" in the face of conflict and disappointment? God confirms our confidence as we remember the lives of those He has changed through us. God uses His people, and our good memories of people, to replenish our discouraged hearts for His work.

Lord, remind me of your converts when I am tempted to obsess about my critics!

NO MERCENARIES ALLOWED!

The preacher pollutes God's message when tainted by money. Paul addresses the temptation to preach God's Word with mercenary motives in 2 Corinthians 2:17. Many (οἱ πολλοὶ), not just a few, in his day, were huckstering God's Word and the same is true - if not truer - in our day. Money motives can quickly corrupt our preaching. We can get caught up in salary comparisons to the point that we compromise our message. The goal of prosperity dilutes the power of the message.

The word translated "peddling" (καπηλεύοντες) means to merchandise God's Word for a profit (Rienecker, Key, p.458). The word carried a distinctly negative connotation in Paul's day although the noun form merely referred to a retailer. The noun was used in the Septuagint for wine merchants who watered down the wine for greater profits (Isaiah 1:22). It was also used by philosophers like Plato to describe the sophists who marketed their teaching for the money. The word became synonymous with deceitful hawking of merchandise for unfair profits - profiteering (TDNT, 3:603).

The prophet Zechariah foresaw the day when "there will no longer be a Canaanite" in the Temple (Zechariah 14:21). The word "Canaanite" referred to the traders or merchants from Phoenicia who sold their wares in the Fish Gate and controlled the financial exchanges at the Temple (TDNT, 3:603). Jesus undoubtedly saw the same huckstering in the Temple in His day which led to His cleansing of the "robber's den" (Matthew 21:12-13). He drove them out with a whip. No room for mercenaries in the ministry!

How should we preach God's Word? We should preach out of sincere motives (εἰλικρινείας). The word means unmixed or pure (BAGD, p.222). Paul spoke about the unleavened bread of sincerity (εἰλικρινείας) and truth in contrast to the leaven of sin that corrupts the church (1 Corinthians 5:8). We must not water down the message or mix the Word with sinful desires to make us more successful in ministry.

The etymology of the word εἰλικρινείας is interesting. It comes from two words, εἰλη and κρίνω. The second word means to judge, but the derivation of the first word is questionable. It could mean "light of the sun" so the light/heat of the sun judges us by melting the covering (presumably wax that hid cracks in pottery) that hides our motives (TDNT, 2:397). However, the derivation of εἰλη is uncertain (Moulton, Grammar, 2:273). Sincerity emphasizes the sense of being tested or judged since κρίνω is foundational to the meaning, but we should not press the analogy to the sun very hard.

God tests our motives in preaching. We speak (λαλοῦμεν) "in the sight of God" (κατέναντι Θεοῦ). Literally, the adverb means "opposite" God although the figurative meaning "in the sight of" expresses the sense well (BAGD, p.421). When we preach God's Word we stand, as it were, opposite the tribunal of God. We stand before the judicial bench of our sovereign judge. The warning is stark. He sees through our mixed motives.

No mercenaries allowed!

THE SMELL OF CHRIST

We smell of Christ. We reek of the gospel. We are either the sweet smell of expensive perfume or the rank odor of a rotting corpse depending on the response of the sniffer. Paul writes, "We are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Paul draws his metaphor from the spectacle of a Roman triumphal procession. We are the prisoners being dragged through the streets as trophies of God's grace on display before the world. Wherever the victorious Christ drags us we emit "the smell of the knowledge of Him" (την οσμην της γνωσεως αυτου) before the watching crowds who treat us so rudely according to the word picture Paul is painting (2 Cor. 2:14). The aroma emanating from us could refer to the practice of scattering spices along the triumphal path, or it could refer to the stench that rises from the bodies of the prisoners themselves (Witherington, Conflict and Community, p.366).

We are the fragrance of life to those who are being saved (τοις σωζομενοις). The word for "smell" used here (ευωδια) means a pleasant aroma, a delightful fragrance. The word translated "being saved" is a present tense participle in the passive voice. The rescuing is performed by someone else, namely Christ, and is a continuous ongoing process. People are being rescued as they sniff the perfume of Christ in our lives.

We are the stench of death to those who are being destroyed or ruined (τοις απολλυμενοις). Once again the participle is in the present tense emphasizing the ongoing aspect of the process. The form can be either middle or passive. The verb in the middle voice simply means to perish or die, and this is probably the force of the word as opposed to being destroyed by someone else. The word in the middle voice can mean simply to be lost (BAGD, p.95).

The significance of the parallel phrases "out of life into life" (εκ ζωης εις ζωην) and "out of death into death" (εκ θανατου εις θανατον) is more difficult to determine. We could make a case that the first phrase refers to the living one (a believer) leading the dead one (an unbeliever) into life, but the parallel phrase cannot be meaningfully understood in a similar way. The best way to understand these phrases is to see them as Semitic idioms. The Hebrews expressed a superlative - really alive or really dead - by repeating the word (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, pp.80-81, fn18). We are a living smell or a deathly smell to all we influence in this world.

Another analogy is possible although we cannot be certain. The Talmud and the Mishnah refer to the Torah as medicine. The Law is a powerful drug which can be either life-giving or lethal depending on the reaction of the one receiving the drug. The life-giving or lethal nature of the Law is not intrinsic to the Law itself in Rabbinic thinking but is the result that comes from the nature of those who are touched by the Law (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p.81, fn19). Paul, with his Rabbinic training, could have also had this imagery in mind as he expressed these truths regarding the gospel.

Preaching the gospel is always effective one way or another. God's Word works to produce results in the lives of people for life or death. The smell of Christ in us will always accomplish its perfect work in others.

Who is adequate for such a calling?

THE PARADE OF TROPHIES

Paul erupts into a doxology (2 Cor. 2:14) when the positive report from Titus (2 Cor. 7:5-7) transforms his despair into delight. "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ" The present tense of the verb (θριαμβευοντι) coupled with the adverb "always" (παντοτε) expresses a truth Paul now realized. Triumphing was taking place even while despairing. The sun is always shining above the clouds.

The verb translated "leads us in triumph" is one word (θριαμβευοντι). The word can mean "cause us to triumph" (see KJV), but the primary meaning of the word is to "lead or exhibit in a triumphal procession" (BAGD, p.363). Some argue that the latter meaning is incongruous. Paul does not picture himself as the conquered person but as a partner in the conquest (Hodge, Second Corinthians, p.44). At the very least, some say, we should picture ourselves as soldiers in a Roman triumphal procession (Rienecker, Linguistic Key, p. 458).

Paul is painting the picture of a Roman triumphal procession for a victorious general - an ancient ticker tape parade. We have many descriptions of these triumphal processions in ancient literature. It was called "A Triumph." The parade began with the city officials followed by trumpeters. The spoils taken from the enemy followed by white oxen to be sacrificed came next in the parade. Then the prisoners of war were paraded in chains before the soldiers marched through the city followed by musicians and dancers celebrating the victory. Finally, the victorious general riding in his chariot arrayed in a purple toga entered the city as the honored leader (Rienecker, p.457).

We, like Paul, are the prisoners of war, not the soldiers, in this triumphal procession. We are trophies of God's grace being paraded through the streets of this world (Witherington, Conflict & Community in Corinth, pp. 366-370). As trophies, we are in the parade not to bask in the glory of the king as soldiers but to be "Exhibit A" of the greatness of His grace. This theme of a suffering captive sets the tone for Paul's great discourse on the "glory of the ministry" in 2 Corinthians 2-7 (Robertson, Glory of the Ministry).

What happens to the captives? The prisoners of war are killed in the end! We, too, die to bring Christ glory! The death of the prisoners was not immediate, however. The emperors often kept prisoners of war around for years as Julius Caesar did with the Chief of Gaul (Robertson, Glory of the Ministry, p.40). Vercingetorix, Chief of Gaul, was killed eventually to glorify Caesar. We die eventually to glorify Christ. Until then, we live as trophies of His grace bringing glory to our King!

SOUL CORROSION

Conflict corrodes the souls of spiritual leaders. The byproduct of soul corrosion is despair. Many call it "burnout." We feel this soul weariness in our ministries, and Paul felt it in his ministry.

"Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus, my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went to Macedonia" (2 Cor. 2:12-13).

"For when we came to Macedonia our flesh had not rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within" (2 Cor. 7:5).

Paul uses the same expression in both verses separated by four chapters in his letter to the Corinthians. He writes, "I had no rest" (εσχηκα ανεσιν - εσχηκεν ανεσιν). The verbs are in a perfect tense because Paul was stressing the strain on his spirit continuing until he met Titus returning from Corinth in 2 Corinthians 7 (Rienecker, Linguistic Key, p. 457). The word translated "rest" (ανεσιν) means relief or relaxation for his spirit (BAGD, p. 65).

Paul was so depressed that he could not even enter the door (θυρας) that the Lord had opened (ανεωγμενης) for ministry in Troas. The passive voice shows that the door was opened by God. The perfect participle indicates that the door continued to stand open (Rienecker, Linguistic Key, p.457). The pit of despondency so sapped the energy out of Paul's ministry that he couldn't even take advantage of God's opportunity for reaching people for Christ. God gave him an open door, and he walked away in despair. Churches, sadly, are littered with burned-out ministers like Paul.

Conflict had erupted in the church at Corinth. Paul had written two letters to the church - Corinthians A and B. Corinthians A (1 Cor. 5:9) is a letter we no longer have, and Corinthians B is our 1 Corinthians. Paul had followed up with a personal and very painful confrontation in which the opposition reared up to attack Paul (2 Cor. 2:1). He left Corinth in despair and wrote a third letter (Corinthians C) which we also no longer have (2 Cor. 2:3-4,9). It was a painful letter and, after sending Titus with the letter to Corinth, Paul was filled with anxiety regarding how the letter would be received (F.F. Bruce, Apostle of the Heart Set Free, pp. 264-279)

Paul describes his feelings in 2 Corinthians 7:5. He was pressured (θλβομενοι) in everything (παντι); battles raged outside his soul (εξωθεν μαχαι) meaning with other people - either enemies of the gospel or fellow Christians who criticized him. He felt terrors within his soul (εσωθεν φοβοι) that he was a failure in ministry. Few fears are more demoralizing than feeling like all your years of hard work are going up in smoke!

If we know the dark side of ministry, Paul knew it too! But burnout need not be permanent. It wasn't for Paul! In between these two descriptions of despair is a grand parenthesis of triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14-7:4). A.T. Robertson titled his exposition of these chapters "The Glory of the Ministry: Paul's Exultation in Preaching." Ministry burnout leads to the glory of the ministry when lifted from the pit of despair by God's grace.

PERFECT LOVE'S PRESENCE

The purpose of Christ's revelation of God to us is the presence of His perfect love in us. Jesus closes His priestly prayer for us with these words dripping with tears of love. "I have made Your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:26).

The Father's love for His only Son is the same love that lives in us. God revealed Himself to us in His Son for the express purpose of making His love live in us. The expression "the love with which you loved Me" (η αγαπη ην ηγαπησας με) is called a "cognate accusative" (Blass/Debrunner, Grammar, p. 85). It is a Semitic idiom consistent with the Hebrew style of writing that John often displays. The noun (αγαπη) is followed by the same root as an Aorist verb (ηγαπησας) to form a cognate accusative (Moulton, Howard, Turner, Grammar, 3:245).

The cognate accusative expresses the content of the Father's love (Robertson, Grammar, p. 477). The inner content of the Father's love for us is His love for the Son. He loves us with the same love He possesses for His only Son. It is not merely - if we can ever use such a word to describe God's love - the fact that He loves us. Jesus prays that God's love might be "in them" (εν αυτοις) so, by extension in us.

God's perfect love lives in us. It is not just that God loves us. God intends the inward presence of His perfect love to fill our lives. God's purpose is that His perfect love will rule our lives and govern our relationships (Meyer, John, p. 475). We can love others with God's love because God's love is present in our hearts in a way that was impossible for us as unbelievers. Perfect love is in us because Christ is in us! His presence creates the capacity for our love which is why Jesus adds "and I in them" (καγω εν αυτοις).

There is a rich and precious implication of these words that we should not miss. The Father loves the Son who lives in us! God's love does not attach itself eternally to sin so the object of perfect love is the perfect Christ living in us and reproducing His life in us (Godet, John, p. 905). Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:39) because Christ is in us and nothing can separate the Son from the Father (John 17:26).

Love is the perfect end to His priestly prayer for us because love is the end of God's eternal purpose for us.

"But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13).