2 Corinthians 4:1

Therefore seeing we have received this ministry.

The apostolic ministry

Paul represents this

I. As a ministry of light (2 Corinthians 4:4).

1. Cf. John 1:5. Nothing could be more different than the minds of Paul and John, and yet both call revelation “light.” According to John, to live in sin was to live in darkness; according to Paul, it was to live in blindness. The gospel threw light--

(1) On God: light unknown before, even to the holiest. Out of Christ, our God is only a dreadful mystery.

(2) On man. Man, with godlike aspirations and animal cravings, asks, “Am I a god or beast?” The gospel answers, “You are a glorious temple in ruins, to be rebuilt into a habitation of God.”

(3) On the grave; for “life and immortality” were “brought to light through the gospel.” Until then immortality was but a mournful perhaps.

2. Note three practical deductions.

(1) Our life is to be a manifestation of the gospel. We do not tamper with the Word of God (verse 2). It is not concealed or darkened by us, for our very work is fearlessly to declare the truth, and to dread no consequences.

(2) Light is given to us that we may spread it (verses 5, 6). If God has illuminated us, then we are your servants, to give you this illumination. This Paul, who had himself been in darkness, felt vividly; and shall we refuse to feel it? Perhaps we who have been in the brightness of his revelation all our lives scarcely appreciate the necessity which he felt so strongly of communicating it.

(3) It is the evil heart which hides tim truth. Light shines on all who have not deadened the spiritual sense. “Every one that is of the truth heareth Christ’s voice.” “The evidences of Christianity” are Christianity. The evidence of the sun is its light. Men who find their all in the world (verse 4)--how can they, fevered by its business, excited by its pleasures, petrified by its maxims, see God in His purity, or comprehend the calm radiance of eternity?

II. As a reflection of the life of Christ.

1. In word. Cf. verses 2 and 13. We manifest the truth, “commending ourselves to every man’s conscience,” because we speak in strong belief. Observe the difference between this and theological knowledge. It is not a minister’s wisdom, but his conviction, which imparts itself to others. Nothing gives life but life. Real flame alone kindles other flame. We only half believe. In verse 5 Paul says he preaches Christ, and not himself. The minister is to preach, not the Christ of this sect or of that man, but Christ fully--Christ our hope, our pattern, our life.

2. In experience. It might be a matter of surprise that God’s truth should be conveyed through such feeble instruments--“earthen vessels” (verse 7). But this very circumstance, instead of proving that the gospel is not of God, proves that it is. For what was the life of these men but the life of Christ over again--a life victorious in defeat? (verse 8-11). In their sufferings the apostles represented the death of Christ, and in their incredible escapes His resurrection. Figuratively speaking, their escapes were as a resurrection. In different periods of the same life, in different ages of freedom or persecution--as we have known in the depressed Church of the Albigenses and the victorious Church of England--in different persons during the same age, the Cross and the Resurrection alternate and exist together. But in all there is progress--the decay of evil or the birth of good (verse 16). (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)

Paul, the model minister

I. His motives.

1. His sense of the glory of his office. “Seeing we have this ministry.” This arose out of iris conception of the glory of the gospel (Romans 11:13). With this view of his office the apostle always strove to rise to the level of its dignity (1 Thessalonians 2:4),

2. His sense of his indebtedness to Divine mercy. “As we have received mercy, we faint not.” His whole being was penetrated with a sense of the munificence of God towards him. He never touches upon this theme but his words glow with extraordinary power.

3. The Divine cognition. “In the sight of God” (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:11). What an incentive to earnestness and honesty of purpose is this fact of God’s infinite eye being ever upon us! By these motives Paul was sustained, so that he fainted not. His sail was the exalted dignity of his office, his rudder his sense of the Divine eye ever upon him, his ballast the deep-felt gratitude of his heart for the mercy of God. Every Christian minister has need of the same motives--

(1) To stimulate industry and conscientiousness.

(2) To sustain in the face of apparent want of success.

(3) To inflame zeal in the face of want of appreciation.

(4) For support in face of the difficulties usually besetting ministerial work.

(5) To guard against any partial discharge of duties.

II. His method.

1. Negative. “But have renounced,” etc. In the discharge of the duties of his exalted office he totally repudiated all methods and practices of which he had reason to be ashamed. He entirely avoided “tricks of the trade.” By his emphatic repudiation he implies--

(1) That particular care should be shown by us to avoid degrading our office by resorting to unworthy tricks and dishonest craft for securing success.

(2) That peculiar care should be shown to avoid all tampering with God’s Word with a view to please men.

2. Positive. “By manifestation of the truth.” What does this involve?

(1) An honest, clear, naked statement of it. It is impossible to convey gospel truth in too naked a form. The painted window of the cathedral may be exquisitely beautiful, yet it dims the light, and clothes the surrounding objects with false though gorgeous hues. The window which does the greatest justice to the light is the one that transmits it in all its purity, without manipulation or distortion.

(2) A full statement of it in all its parts and bearings. It is only as it is thus presented in its completeness that it can prove a saving power upon men’s hearts. Any one-sided presentation of it will certainly fail to attain that perfecting effect it is calculated to produce. Light consists of three primary colours--red, blue, and yellow. Not one, however, of these elements alone will produce vegetable growth in full perfection. Experiments have shown that yellow, while yielding the largest amount of light, prevents the germination of seed. Under the red the most heat is produced, but the plant is unhealthy. Beneath the blue the strongest chemical effect is produced, but under this influence the strength of the plant fails to keep pace with its growth. So a representation of the truth all doctrinal is like light all yellow; it has in it only illumination for the head. A representation of it all love is like light all red; ii has in it only warmth for the heart. A representation of it all ethics is like light all blue; it has but chemistry for the conscience.

(3) A manifestation in the life. The ministry must needs be illustrated by the life.

III. His power. “Commending ourselves to every man’s conscience”--not to their prejudices, passions, or tastes. It was a power arising, not from the charm of office, but from the charm of truth, earnestness, and holiness. (A. J. Parry.)