In the opening section of chapter 5, Paul continues this discussion on his ministry from a heavenly perspective. He knows that death is going to come sooner or later for everybody, and in Paul’s case it is perhaps coming sooner because of the kind of hardships he was enduring. This body is at best a ragged tent. It is going to be folded up and put away one day. But Paul says that the glory of the Christian hope is to know that when that tent is put away, we have an eternal dwelling made by God in heaven (v. 1).
In the opening section of chapter 5, Paul continues this discussion on his ministry from a heavenly perspective. He knows that death is going to come sooner or later for everybody, and in Paul’s case it is perhaps coming sooner because of the kind of hardships he was enduring. This body is at best a ragged tent. It is going to be folded up and put away one day. But Paul says that the glory of the Christian hope is to know that when that tent is put away, we have an eternal dwelling made by God in heaven (v. 1).
What we teach is not that which comes out of the experience or heart of man. It is that which God has revealed to us in our own language in propositions that we can understand. At this point we are criticized. Some people say, “Well, that really is something you can’t support because why should you regard the Bible in particular as God’s revelation?” We answer at that point, “We believe that the Bible is the Word of God because the Lord Jesus Christ taught this. And if He is God and, therefore, speaks truthfully as God must speak, then we can trust what He says about the Bible.”
At the beginning of the two major sections of this portion of 2 Corinthians, 5:1-10 and 5:11-6:2, you notice that they each begin with the words “we know.” 2 Corinthians 5:1 says, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” And then in the first half of verse 11 we read, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.” That introduces us to a theme that ties these two sections together, which is the theme of Christian knowledge. It causes us to raise the question: How is it that Christians know or claim to know anything—that is, anything spiritual?
Do you have your eyes on what is happening internally? Do you know that in all of the circumstances of life, all of the things you go through, God is renewing you inwardly? He is building within you a new character. He is building a new life, one that is going to exist for all eternity in His presence.
Here in chapter 4 he talks about being hard pressed, crushed, perplexed, persecuted, and other things. Then he goes on to say, “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake” (v. 11a). Do you see yourself in any of those terms? You probably have experienced at least some of these things in some way if you try to share the Gospel and live for Christ.
Beginning in verse 7, Paul begins to talk about the ministers. He refers to himself, but the use of the plural is significant. Paul is not appealing to his own experience alone, drawing attention to how much he suffered. Yes, he is speaking personally because he has a personal relationship with these Christians. But he is speaking in more general terms. The suffering that he has experienced is true of the apostles as a whole, and, to some extent, of other people as well when they try to bear a witness for Christ.
The second practice Paul avoided was the use of deception. This is pretending to do one thing, but actually doing something else. I regret to say that an application of this takes place even in the Christian church, where something will be put forward to attract people but which is really not what the church is all about. It will be done simply because it is believed that you have to do something to get them in, and then after you get them in, you can begin to work with them. That is a tragedy because that can be a form of deception. They pare off the hard edges of Christianity, including the difficult sayings of Jesus Christ about discipleship, because they say that if you talk about those things you turn people off and they will not even listen.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
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