So You’re a Priest: The Fragrance of Christ

This is part 5 of a sermon series through 2 Corinthians. Knowing what you know of Jesus in the New Testament, what does Jesus look like to those around him? What would Herod, Pilate, or Caiaphas (the high priest) have said about Jesus? How about the Pharisees? How about the rich and powerful? How about the dredges of society, the prostitutes and the lepers? How about those without hope or faith? Which of these would have seen Jesus as the genuine article, a real success story?

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Commentary

Today’s text is on the cusp between two sections of Paul’s letter. What came before was his defense (such as it was) for a change of travel plans; what follows is Paul’s defense of a new form of ministry, his (and our) ministry of a new covenant.

v12-13 We like to think of ministry as a series of mountaintop experiences, but Paul’s ministry has a lot of valleys in between. Paul was ministering in Troas, yet he had a sense of unease due to the absence of Titus. No doubt Paul prayed to meet Titus (returning from Corinth) in Troas, and failing to rendezvous with him there, Paul opted for Macedonia.

v14 through us. The Greek word order is important:

But Thanks be to God,
who always leads us
in triumphal procession in Christ
and through us
spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him
in every place.

The focus is the center: through us. Through us the mysteries of the saving power of Jesus are revealed.

fragrance. The metaphor of an aroma that will be a sweet aroma to some and a sickly stench to others is introduced here.

v15-16 The same Greek word order (called a chiasm) appears again:

For we are to God
the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved
and those who are perishing.
To the one we are the smell of death;
to the other, the fragrance of life.

By this means Paul introduces that idea of two worlds in conflict: one world that is perishing, although it knows not; and another world to which the Spirit is laboring to give birth.

v17 we do not peddle the word. Please do not see this as a Biblical mandate for not supporting a pastor! The culture at that time had a lot of itinerant preachers who would appear, preach, collect an offering, and hit the road again. Paul says, "I am not that man."

Application

There is a lot that God does that makes little sense: the suffering of the righteous, the worldly success of the unrighteous, unfettered evil, the existence and power of Satan. If God is God, why evil?

However, a new world is being born, a new age is being ushered in by the Spirit. Ultimately that new age will be manifested in a new heaven and a new earth and the dwelling place of God will be with us (Rev. 21:1-4). Ultimately the old earth, the old way of living, will pass away. It is the way of life that is incompatible with God.

We live in the age where the old still dominates at times, the old mindset still prevails. And when the new way of living appears, the old recoils at its appearance, for the old knows the truth: to let this new thing live, everything must change. The old way of life will fight for its life, even as it is dying.

Points to Ponder

Where is the Spirit breathing new life into you? Where is the cutting edge for you of a new
way to live?

At the same time, where do you resist? Can you trust God to bring you through the change?

Prophetic Sign?

Sunday afternoon, about 1:30, the church sign:

Casco Alliance Church

Making a Difference in the Neighborhood

got taken out by a truck attempting to make the turn onto the side street by church.

A moment of silence for our new sign, which was almost exactly one year old ...

Ironically, in the adult Sunday School class that very day, I had asked the question: The sign says, "Making a difference in the neighborhood." Are we interested in making a difference, or not?

The previous sign had said, "A caring, sharing fellowship," which seemed a bit introspective.

This sign, "Making a difference ..." was certainly a challenge to be lived up to in the community.

What should a sign say, and to whom is it speaking?

Is a sign for those who go to the church already?

Is a sign for other Christians to dope out what kind of a church we are?

Is a sign for lapsed Christians in an attempt to woo them back?

Is a sign for non-Christians to entice them in?

You know what I'm saying. Signs like "A Bible-believing church" speak volumes to those who know the lingo, but to what purpose? Signs like "Gods is still speaking" speak volumes as well, but to whom?

What should a sign meant to explain the church to non-churchgoers say?

So You’re a Priest: Grieving for Grace

This is part 4 of a sermon series through 2 Corinthians. Last week ("Good Grief!") I said that grief is the pain, the friction, caused by the desires of this world rubbing up against the call of another world, the world for which we have been made. Today let’s see how that looks in the church.

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Commentary

Today’s text is a continuation of the text from last week (2 Cor 1:23-2:4). Although the two texts together are one, long argument, there were two distinct, but related, points to be gleaned by breaking the argument in half. Last week, I spoke mostly about the grief (the friction between this world and the next) felt by the sinner. It was pain that led to a change of heart, a change of attitude. This week, we’re looking at the grief felt by God’s agents of grace, who have to bear with loving and encouraging the unlovable. Grief can soften even the heart of a saint.

v5 grief. The repetition of the word here is a tipoff that the passage continues Paul’s argument from the previous passage. The verb tense used here indicates long, drawn-out action: you grieve now because of past events when someone grieved you. Isn’t that the way it is for us? We find ourselves depressed and unable to cope because we have allowed ourselves to be victimized by others. (NOTE: Do not read what Paul is not saying! Paul does not say not to punish the sinner. Rather, the punishment inflicted thus far is enough, and Paul will not pile on more. Instead, now is a time for healing.)

v7 forgive/comfort. The Biblical antidote for victims is invariably the same. Forgive your enemies and pray for those against you. Remember a few weeks ago, I said, "Comfort does not mean being comfortable." How would that apply here?

excessive sorrow. The NIV uses the word sorrow instead of grief, but it’s the same word used in v5. Is the grief Paul fears depression and self-condemnation by the sinner, or judgment and unforgiveness on the part of the church? Either way, it’s the friction of two worlds colliding!

v8 reaffirm your love. The one punished still belongs, still has a place.

v10 forgive. Curiously the verb tense is the same odd tense (perfect) used in v5 denoting present status due to past action: past forgiveness implies current forgiveness. There is no taking back of forgiveness. There is no such thing as conditional forgiveness. This is pure grace.

v11 Anything short of forgiveness gives Satan a foothold.

Application

We don’t know who the troublemaker was, but 1 Corinthians gives some likely candidates—those involved in: incest (1 Cor 5); making rules about eating meat sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8); impropriety in worship (1 Cor 11,14). In at least one case, Paul advised expelling the sinner from the group. So how does that jibe with Paul’s instruction here to forgive and comfort? How do we judge, discipline, and yet forgive?

Forgiveness must always be unconditional. Anything less is an abuse of power; anything less is lording it over those who are caught in the snares of this world. Unconditional forgiveness must precede discipline; it must precede contrition by the sinner; it must precede any attempt to love or comfort the sinner. When we try to deal with the sinner without forgiveness first, we risk acting out of our own pain, grief, and neuroses.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean going back to the way things used to be. Certainly that’s not what Paul wants here. However we, agents of God’s grace, turn into agents of grief when we refuse to forgive. The grief we feel is the need to nurse old wounds even as God calls us to something better. Letting go of the past is going to feel like losing, or dying. But forgiveness by us frees us to be fair in the discipline and limits meted out. Step into your future; let God heal you so you can heal others.

Points to Ponder

Does forgiveness mean forgetting the evil, or not letting the memory of evil consume us?

Where do you need to unconditionally forgive someone? What comfort do they need from you?

So You’re a Priest: Good Grief!

(I put this out early, because I don't think I'll have any time to get it out there tomorrow ... PS - Hi out there to all you guys in Cold Bay!)

This is part 3 of a sermon series through 2 Corinthians. As I said last week, although Paul goes to great pains to defend his change of plans, I am not satisfied. Not that I don’t understand the tensions involved; rather, I don’t understand what caused him to change his mind. Here he goes more into his thought process—we will get the Why? but not the How? of his change of mind.

2 Corinthians 1:23-2:4

23 I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.
24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
1 So I made up my mind that I would not again in grief come to you.
2 For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
3 I wrote as I did lest in coming grief I might receive from those in whom I ought to have rejoiced (having confidence in all of you, because my joy is all of you).
4 For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

Commentary

I rewrote portions of the NIV verses here in order to highlight certain words & ideas not clearly communicated in the NIV translation. Two word groups stand out in today’s passage: the contrasting ideas of joy/rejoicing and grief/grieving.

Joy: During the Great Awakening, the great preacher Jonathan Edwards observed revival going on around him and pondered: How one could distinguish between genuine revival and counterfeit enthusiasm? He preached a series of sermons that grew into A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections. Among other arguments, Edwards says neither praise, nor strong feelings, nor love, nor zeal, nor confidence, nor testimonies are evidence of a regenerate (born again) spirit. However, Edwards continues, regeneration is more likely where there is an orientation towards God which has as its focus God, not self. This change of orientation might include: humility; gratitude; a quest for holiness; a change of nature; a softened heart; and the promotion of love, mercy, meekness, and forgiveness. This orientation is what Paul has in mind when he refers to joy. In an earlier sermon I said comfort does not imply being comfortable; here we see that joy does not imply manic happiness.

Grief: The word group refers to a particular kind of grief or pain, i.e. the friction caused by the desires of this world rubbing up against the call of God’s kingdom. It is the sorrow Paul feels for the lost (Rom. 9:1-3). It is the remorse that leads to a change of heart (2 Cor. 7:9-11). It is the shattering of the dreams of the rich young ruler against the rock of Christ. (Mark 10:20-23). It is not gratuitous pain; it is growing pain, putting aside worldly desire for the sake of something more.

Application

When Jesus (and later Paul) arrived on the scene, the discussion of pleasure and pain was totally different. Why do we do about pain? Greek philosophers came in two basic flavors:

Some said the goal was to maximize happiness while minimizing pain (Epicureanism). We see that in the world today, where people on one hand strive after things that they think will make them happy and on the other they avoid the things which they think will cause them pain. Where do you do this?

Some said the goal was to maximize self-control while avoiding passions, good or bad (Stoicism). Marcus Aurelius said, ""Get rid of the judgment, get rid of the 'I am hurt,' you are rid of the hurt itself." We see something like this in Buddhism, which claims, "The suffering ends when the craving ends, or one is freed from all desires by eliminating the delusions." Where do you do this?

Christianity says something different. Pain is the crucible where we have the opportunity to be forged into something different. Pain is the place where God is calling us to turn from a preoccupation with worldly desires—happiness, confidence, security, etc.—to godly contentment—humility, forbearance, tolerance, gratitude, etc. (However, unlike Buddhism, although the pain changes it never ends as long as we’re in the world. We are not called to live outside of the world, but in it, changing it. The friction between the old and the new is always going to be there--not just between us and them, but within us as well.)

Paul was willing to scold the Corinthians—and let them stew in their own juices for a while—because he hoped that their pain would lead to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10-11). His absence allowed that pain time to do its job. At the same time, although Paul spared himself the pain of disappointment and confrontation, he suffered through the pain of surrender of control—allowing the Spirit time to work instead of going back to force the Corinthians to conform to his will.

Points to Ponder

Where to you need to work through the pain of repentance? The pain of surrender of control?

Where has pain driven you closer to God? Can you be in pain and still have joy as described above?