II Corinthians 6:6

Second Corinthians 6:6

Here in Second Corinthians chapter six the Apostle Paul is describing some very important characteristics of his ministry that Christ had given to him. Paul told us what he was trying to accomplish in verse 3: “that the ministry be not blamed.” And Paul told us about the great opposition to him that involved “stripes, necessities, and distresses.” As we think about the kind of ministry that Paul had, we can ask ourselves if we have that kind of ministry. Can we also say that these are the characteristics of our ministry? If we cannot, then we are headed for trouble, and it is no wonder that we bear so little fruit. Paul said about his ministry in Second Corinthians 6:6, “By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned.” Paul understood the importance of pureness. This word refers to every kind of uprightness as well as pureness of thought and pureness of character. Over the years and in community after community a tremendous amount of damage has been done by people in many ministries who did not have a dedication to this principle of purity.

How many people have stopped going to church or stopped growing in faith because of a person in Christian leadership who committed adultery? How many people have had their faith damaged because someone that they trusted turned out to be someone who did not have this dedication to purity? Far too many, I am afraid. Story after story could be recounted of the personal disasters that have taken place only because this principle was not adhered to. The Bible requires that if any man desire to be a pastor he must be a husband of one wife. That means a person who is attached to only one woman and does not desire nor seek another woman no matter what are the circumstances. That type of a person, a one-woman man, is the only kind of person qualified to be a pastor. Any one else will cause great blame to the ministry, and some people may never get over it.

Paul said that his ministry was also characterized by “knowledge.” Knowledge is important, knowledge about the word of God if you are going to have a ministry without blame. Some people do things that they never should have done. The world knows that they should not do them, but they do them because they have false ideas. If only they had more knowledge, they would not have made such mistakes, and they would have had a more effective ministry: one without blame. A good example of that is the racial segregation ideas that came out of the deep south. It seems strange that Christians could have adopted such extreme racial views from their culture and then so willingly made them a part of their biblical interpretations. There was a time when many churches in the South taught racial segregation as if it was a part of the gospel. This was one case where the world was right and the church was wrong. Those Christians who held on to their segregationist views too long found that their ministries were harmed by doing so. If only they had better understood the truth of the equality of all men. All are descended from Adam. All have sinned. Jesus died for all. All become saved in the same way: by turning from sin and turning to Jesus. That is equality. That is truth. If you understood the truth of these great biblical principles, you would never accept any kind of racial segregation. Knowledge is the key. The things that you believe and teach: are they really what God teaches us, or are there some foolish teachings that came from man or the traditions of man? There are many other examples. With the horrors of child abuse that take place in our society, Christians should never portray themselves as advocating violence against children. Jesus said, “Permit the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Knowledge is the key. Get knowledge, and with all thy getting, get understanding.

Paul had already mentioned that patience was a part of his ministry. Now he mentions something that is closely associated with patience and that is “longsuffering.” This word comes from two words that together mean literally “to be far off from anger.” Christians should always be slow to anger. If you are going to have a ministry without blame, then you must bear the sufferings without reacting the way the arm of the flesh reacts: with anger. You must learn to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune without getting angry. “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Remember that you are trying to minister to people. You are trying to have a positive effect on them. It is all about how you treat people. That is why Paul also said in Second Corinthians 6:6 that his ministry was characterized by “kindness.” There is a right way to treat people. If you have patience, and pureness, and knowledge, and longsuffering; then and only then you just might be able to treat people the way that you ought to treat them. Remember that Jesus said, “Be as wise as serpents, but as gentle as lambs.”

As we list all of these things that characterized the ministry of the Apostle Paul and that need to characterize all of our ministries, we must not forget that we are not just talking about human behavior. As Paul wrote in verse 6, we are talking about the “Holy Ghost.” You can do all the things that are listed in these verses, but it will all be in vain unless you are led by the Holy Spirit. We were totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit to be led to Christ or we would have never been saved. Sometimes people talk about leading someone to Christ. The only one who leads someone to Christ is the Holy Spirit. The same principle is true concerning the Christian life. Do everything that you can to do the right thing, but never forget that you are still totally dependent upon the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit if you are going to accomplish anything of true value for Christ. That is why we are warned in other epistles to “grieve not the Spirit” and “quench not the Spirit.” Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Paul knew how much he needed the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit. He also said that his ministry was characterized by “love unfeigned.” There are a lot of people who talk about love, but not near as many who have love unfeigned. The word that is translated “unfeigned” means literally “without hypocrisy.” The best way to avoid this kind of hypocrisy is to not just tell people that you have Christian love, but to show them by what you do for them when you see their time of need. Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love one for another.” We cannot over-emphasize the importance of Christ-like love in a Christian ministry. If you do not have this kind of love, you will drive people away from your ministry or you will attract them for the wrong reasons.

In Second Corinthians 6:7 Paul listed more things that were a part of his ministry. He wrote, “By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.” If we are going to talk about a ministry for Christ and what it should contain, we cannot forget about “the word of truth.” “If any man speak, let him speak as of the oracles of God.” “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” It is not your words that count: it is the Word of truth that counts. God will speak through His word, not your word.

It is not surprising that after Paul mentioned the word of truth, he mentioned the “power of God.” God uses His Word to do His work. The power of God refers to the enabling that God alone can give. If you have the power of God, then anything is possible because God can do anything. With God all things are possible. If you have the power of God, good things will be accomplished in spite of the bad things happening around you. The power does not come from you or your name or your family history or the sound of your voice or the way that you dress. The power comes from God.

God is holy. He uses that which is right and good because God is great and God is good. Never do that which is wrong in order to get a chance to do right because God’s power works with that which is right. The power that you have in your life will be directly related to the rightness of the things that you do, and the effectiveness of your ministry will be related to it also. One of the reasons that the devil wants you to do that which is wrong is because he knows that it will hurt your ministry. Do right until the stars fall. Go forth with the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. Notice that Paul calls it the “armour of righteousness”. Armour refers to instruments that are used in battle. The Christian life is a battle: a difficult, tough, and demanding battle, and that battle takes place every day. You will only be prepared for the battle if you have the “armour of righteousness” on the right hand and on the left.

In Second Corinthians 6:8-9 Paul mentioned things that show the contrasting reputation of a true Christian ministry. How is your ministry viewed? It depends upon who is viewing it. If there is criticism, consider the source before becoming too concerned. The Bible says in these verses, “By honor and by dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known.” If you live for Christ people will honor you for it. Because there are so many hypocrites and phonies out there, people will respect and honor the genuine thing. There will be a good report about you in the community. Your true character will become known by all, and it will go before you. On the other hand, there will be always be some people who are so opposed to the truth that the better you become at following Christ, the more that they will dishonor you, make an evil report of you, and say that you are the deceiver.

In the rest of the things that Paul mentioned Paul emphasizes that there was both a bad side and a good side to the things that happened. Yes, there were terrible things that happened to him, but Paul had enough faith in the promises of God and enough awareness of the leading of God in his life that Paul was able to see good even in the worst of things that happened to him. Paul wrote, “As dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” When Paul said, “As dying, and behold we live,” he was undoubtedly talking about the dangers that he faced being a Christian in the Roman Empire, but he was probably also talking about the spiritual necessity of dying to his self-will. If you are going to serve Christ, you must die to your self-will. You must die daily. If you do die to yourself, then you will find a strong spiritual life as never before. Jesus said, “He that saves his life shall lose it; but he that loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s the same shall save it.”

When Paul said, “As chastened, and not killed,” he was probably looking at things the way that someone would look at them who went through some great tragedy. Sometimes through a flood, or a tornado, or a fire people lose everything; but they can still say, “Thank God that we are alive.” They come to realize that their life is more important than anything else that they might lose. Of course, when Paul said, “As chastened, and not killed,” he was probably showing once again his great optimism and ability to look on the positive side.

That is also shown in verse ten when he said, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” If you learn to follow Christ faithfully year after year, then no doubt you have learned this same lesson. You will have your share of sorrows, but you will also always have in the Lord a source of joy and rejoicing that the world knows nothing about. The New Testament tells Christians, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Jesus said to His disciples, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Christians should be the happiest people in the world. Even if we suffer some great trials like the Apostle Paul did, we should still be able to say, “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.”

In Second Corinthians 6:10 the Apostle Paul said two things regarding material possessions, “As poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.” Because of the ministry that Paul was called to, he took a path in life that resulted in having given up most material possessions. These people in our day and age who claim that God is going to increase your material prosperity if you serve him are teaching a false doctrine. That might happen, but also it might not happen. It did not happen in Paul’s life. The principle is this: if you are going to serve Christ and truly find His path for you, you must be willing to forsake any possession that He asks you to. The Bible warns Christians and says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon: either you will hate the one, or love the other.” Spiritually minded Christians realize that there are some things that are more valuable than money: such as glorifying the name of Christ, or teaching the Word of God, or helping lost souls come to find the way to heaven through faith in Christ.

___________________________________________________