The Paradox of Ministry
What do you think about this statement; “the only constant in life is change?” Is that true? Has that been your experience? This is what we call a paradox. A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is often true. In the example I mentioned, we have the words constant and change. We see those words by themselves as opposite, and yet, we must admit the statement is true.
Here’s another example of a paradox, one that’s very relevant to our day. “Social media disconnects us from each other.” The word social implies that media is bringing people together. But scientific studies and our own experiences show us that it actually does the opposite. Social media actually disconnects us from genuine relationships. Most of us know what it’s like to sit in a group of people at a family gathering or in someone’s living room, and most, or all, of the people who are there are looking at their phones instead of talking to each other.
Even the Bible contains paradoxes. One that immediately comes to mind is in Matthew chapter 20. Here, the mother of James and John asked Jesus if her boys could sit on either side of Him in His kingdom. Jesus’ answer reveals the paradox. “Whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant.” In our minds, great and servant are opposites, and we know which one we prefer. There are many others, but you get the idea.
In our continuing study of Second Corinthians Paul discusses what I’m calling “The Paradox of Ministry.” At first thought, you may not be able to see it. But as we examine the Scripture together, I think it will become clear to you. Our text is Second Corinthians 6:1 to 10.
But before we read that, I think it’s appropriate to give a bit of a refresher on the background of the situation that Paul is speaking into. Acts chapter 18 records Paul’s initial efforts in planting the church in Corinth and we learn that he spent a year-and-a-half there. After he moved on from there, several groups or factions formed around various leaders and began quarreling among themselves. Evidently, Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians didn’t clear up the controversies and the situation continued to get worse.
One thing we learned in previous studies is the deep love that Paul had for the Corinthian Believers. He had poured 18+ months of his life into this congregation and developed many close relationships with the people. And yet, there were those there who were accusing him of being a false teacher, of being an evangelist for hire and other ridiculous things. Because of this, we noted that the last several chapters we’ve studied in this letter are actually Paul’s defense of his apostolic ministry. Our text today seems like the concluding section of that defense.
Someone has said, “it isn’t unusual for the preacher to be the most loved man and the most hated man in his community.” To the ones who hear him and believe what he teaches, he’s a friend, a spiritual father, and a mentor. But to those who don’t believe him, he’s the voice of irritation and conviction, a troublemaker, someone who is accused of being bigoted and hateful because he proclaims God’s unchanging Word.
This isn’t surprising because the faithful pastor/teacher represents Jesus Christ. And we know how the...
