882. The Fragrance of the Knowledge of Christ

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today, we're beginning a new study series from 2 Corinthians, preached by BJU Seminary professors.

Let's listen as Dr. Leighton Talbert walks us through an introduction to 2 Corinthians. Lord willing, over the course of the next two semesters, we're going to be working through a significant stretch of this letter, 214 to 713-ish. But what holds this section of the letter together? What makes it a unit? And what makes it a unit significant for seminarians? Well, it's Paul's personal testimonial about the nature of an apostolic New Covenant ministry. And my task in this message is basically to set the stage for the series.

And I want to do that in three basic ways. The historical context, the background of 2 Corinthians, the literary context, how this letter is constructed, how it's put together, how it progresses. And then the theological context, basically we're going to do a very brief biblical theology, not the whole book, but especially of the section that is our concern.

So let's start with the historical context. Paul's relationship with Corinth was complicated. More so, it seems, than with any other church that we know about from the New Testament. There was a very mixed reception to his ministry. There were interloping preachers from outside that would come in in his absence and undermine his authority and undermine his ministry. Apparently, there was perhaps at least one additional brief and very difficult, painful visit that is not recorded by Acts at all. There were multiple letters, clearly more than two, and those letters are characterized by very warm encouragement and yet also embarrassingly necessary self-defense on Paul's part.

And incredulous questions that he poses and very pointed rebukes and sometimes very blunt threats. So what I want to do in this section here basically is try to sketch out the basic situation that leads to the writing of what we call 2 Corinthians. And I've chosen this map mostly just because it's simple and clear and includes pretty much just what you need to know for this little historical review. You've got Ephesus, you know where that is, Troas, Macedonia, Achaia, and Corinth right there. That's all you need to know.

Forget all these lines over here. So about five years after his initial church plant in Corinth, Paul is in Ephesus. This is about AD 54 to 55 where he basically headquarters his ministry for about two years.

When a delegation from the church at Corinth shows up and they have news about the church along with some questions and issues that they're trying to work through as a church. So Paul in response to that writes what we call 1 Corinthians and sends it back probably with the delegation from Corinth. We know from 1 Corinthians chapter 5 that this is not his first letter to them. He references another letter there that he already wrote to them.

So he's written at least one other letter. Paul's plan at this point then is just to remain in Ephesus for a while longer and then travel up from Ephesus to Troas and through Macedonia and then down to Corinth mostly by foot. But apparently due to some other developments, Paul becomes very concerned about the situation in Corinth. Some think that he actually made a quick personal trip right across to Corinth that's not mentioned by Luke in the book of Acts.

Some think that he wrote an additional what's referred to as a severe letter that we also don't have any record of. What we do know however is that he sent Timothy and Erasis on ahead of him to Corinth to try to prepare the way. He mentions that in 1 Corinthians. So when Paul finally leaves Ephesus to go to Corinth, he had arranged a rendezvous at Troas with Titus on his way back from Corinth. But when he gets to Troas, there's no Titus.

And he gets very concerned. But he proceeds on into Macedonia and then he finally meets up with Titus in Macedonia. And he is so relieved at the mostly good news about the Corinthian church that he gets from Titus that he pens another letter right there on the spot in Macedonia, gives it to Titus, turns him around and sends him right back to Corinth with 2 Corinthians, what we call 2 Corinthians.

So it's written on the road in great relief that he finally hears back from Titus and things seem to be going pretty well. And so he writes a letter, sends it off to Corinth to prepare for his coming visit. So in 2 Corinthians, Paul basically responds to the very mixed news that Titus brought from Corinth. And it's because of this complicated backstory, he praises their repented response to what he had written.

He encourages them to prepare very generously for this upcoming collection that he wants to take back to the brethren in Jerusalem, that he wants to come from the Gentiles. He warns a rogue faction of false apostles in this letter, 2 Corinthians, that has infiltrated the Corinthian church and has been slandering him and undermining his authority and impugning his motives. On the heels of this letter, he arrives in Corinth and he stays there for three months. And again, it's because of all this complicated backstory, the 2 Corinthians is widely recognized as the most difficult to understand among Paul's letters. As part of the ongoing history of the Corinthian church's stormy relationship with Paul, her divinely appointed apostle, 2 Corinthians is anything but an abstract treatise written in a vacuum.

Neither is it merely an expression of practical theology. It's a letter written on the fly by a greatly relieved Paul en route to an ecclesiastical powder keg, which has only recently been diffused, but there's still people waiting in the wings with matches in hand. So all of this has everything to do both with the context and the spirit of this letter, what Paul writes and how he writes what he writes. So what did Paul write about in this letter? That brings me to the literary context. 1 Corinthians, as you're probably well aware, proceeds very logically and very systematically from one announced topic to another. 2 Corinthians is not anything like that. Not only in terms of content, but in terms of construction and how Paul moves from topic to topic. And understanding how this unique letter is put together has everything to do with accurately interpreting and accurately applying any particular part of it. The letter naturally self-divides into three major sections. And as unspiritual and non-theological as it may sound, those divisions actually revolve around Paul's imminent visit to Corinth. That's how it divides.

That's how it unfolds. So the first seven chapters are basically the explanation of his delay. His personal conduct and his apostolic ministry are the focus. 8 to 9, preparations for his arrival when he gets there, specifically the collecting for the saints in Jerusalem. And then 10 to 13, problems related to his coming visit. And those have to do specifically with vindicating his apostolic authority.

So that's basically a flyover view. What we want to do now is kind of zoom in on that first section of the letter. So the first seven chapters are the explanation of his delay, personal conduct, his apostolic ministry, personal apostolic ministry. And the first subsection of that is the introduction, the blessings of God's comfort in affliction, which we just read. And the text on the screen just helps visually reinforce what we heard in the reading. All the red is affliction, suffering.

All the blue is comfort. You see that stand right out. That's the focus of this introduction, the blessings of God's comfort in affliction and our fellowship in that comfort. The next major section of chapters 1 to 7 is 1, 12 to 13, and that has to do with Paul's coming visit, Paul's past letter, and Paul's present journey. And the first section of that, 1, 12 through 2, 2, is Paul's coming visit, reasons for his delay. And you actually see I've got the references to his coming, his constant references to his coming.

That's what he's talking about and why that was delayed. And then 2, 3 through 11, he moves into his past letter, and basically he's been concerned for its disciplinary aftermath. And he talks about, I wrote, I wrote, I wrote.

He's focusing on the letter that he wrote and his concern about how they would have responded to it. And then 2, 12 to 13 is Paul's present journey, and specifically his concern over his delay in meeting up with Titus. You see what he says here, when I came to Troas, he's talking about this present journey that he's still on when he writes this letter.

When I came to Troas, I had no rest because I didn't find Titus. But then suddenly, beginning in 2, 14, you have the most unexpected and extended shift of focus, I would say, in all of the epistolary literature. Paul transitions here into a major digression, a spirit-directed digression, but a digression nonetheless, and the digression is the subject of this Seminary Chapel series.

But first I want to show to you that it really is a digression. If you look at 2, 12 through 13, Paul is distraught because he didn't find Titus in Troas when he went on to Macedonia. He picks that up in 7, 5 to 6. When we came to Macedonia, carrying on with the story that I started back there in chapter 2, our bodies had no rest, but God finally comforted us by the coming of Titus. What you've got in between is 81 verses, and yet Paul picks up exactly where he left off in chapter 2 and doesn't miss a beat.

So what is in between? What is all this 81 verses? Paul actually shifts from his personal plans and his immediate concerns to a much bigger topic, why he does what he does, or more accurately, why we do what we do, because there is a shift from first-person singular pronouns like I and me that characterize... All you've got to do is look at the red. All the way up to 2, 13, it's I and me and my.

That doesn't mean he's egocentric, but that's the focus of what he's talking about. But then you've got a shift beginning in 2, 14 to first-person plural. All of a sudden now it's we, our, us, all the way through into chapter 7. The pronouns completely shift, and that shift from singular to plural and back again in chapter 7 is significant literarily, because it's one of the markers that Paul has, in fact, shifted gears for this 81-verse section.

But the shift of plural pronouns in the second section is also, I think, applicationally significant, because the focus, by extension, is why we do what we do as New Covenant apostolic ministers. And when you trace Paul's thought in the two corresponding sides of the parenthesis, 1 through 2a and then 7, you find this remarkably aligned chiasmus. He starts in chapter 1 with his coming visit, reasons for delay, his past letter, and then he ends that first section with his present journey. Then you've got 81 verses, and then all of a sudden he picks right up with the present journey, and then goes to the past letter, and then goes to his coming visit. And if I can give you one more snapshot of the verbal topical correspondence between chapters 1 to 2 and chapter 7, because that's what so clearly sets off the parenthesis as distinctive.

So, you've got 2 Corinthians 1 to 2 on the left, you've got 2 Corinthians 7 on the right. And you don't even have to be able to see the words, but you can see the correspondence of the words, and the themes, and the focus. All the references to trouble and tribulation in yellow, you've got that matched over when he gets back into chapter 7. All the references to comfort, you've got matched over when he gets back to that in chapter 7. All the references to happiness in scene, he comes back to that in chapter 7. The writing in the magenta, he comes back to that in chapter 7. The Titus in Macedonia, down there at the bottom, he comes back to that in chapter 7.

I have confidence in you in all things, that black with the white lettering, he comes back to that in chapter 7. And what's interesting is, he doesn't talk about hardly any of that stuff in between. He talks about some suffering a little bit.

But none of what you see mirrored in 1 to 2 and 7 is found in that parenthesis. He's on a different track. It is a digression.

That's our focus. So what is it all about that he has digressed to? So that brings me to the theological context. So what I want to do for the rest of our time pretty much is map out the themes that dominate this parenthetic discussion so we have a clear picture of the big ideas that are rolling around in this parenthetic digression. Themes are just leading ideas. And ideas are conveyed by words and phrases. And if you pay attention to the words that dominate, that's one of the most immediate tip-offs to what someone is talking about. This is not rocket science. It doesn't even take very advanced exegetical work. It's just observant, wide-angle reading of the text. So what are some of the leading thematic words in this section?

Well, we've already talked about comfort and consolation, but look at the references. Chapter 1, chapter 2, 3, nope, 4, nope, 5, 6. He doesn't get back to that until 7. In other words, this is not something he talks about in the digression. It disappears.

It's not on the scope. So it's one of the themes that ties together what comes before and what comes after, but the theme doesn't surface in the parenthetic section at all. Now these next three are actually related, so I put them up here together. You've got references to suffering, chapter 1, references to sorrow in 2 and 7.

You've got 1 in chapter 6. Terms for trouble and affliction, you've got a couple. That theme shows up a little bit in this parenthetic digression, but the bulk of that focus, as you can see, is in chapters 1 and 2a and then 7. So suffering is a topic that he returns to briefly and ties into this parenthetic discussion. So what is the parenthetic discussion all about primarily?

Ministry. Look at the references. He doesn't use this terminology in chapter 1. He doesn't use it in chapter 2.

3, 4, 5, 6. He doesn't even use it back in chapter 7. In terms of this first main segment, 1 through 7, he's focused on something very distinctive in this 81-verse parenthesis. So it does show up, just to tip you off here, this terminology does show up in chapters 8 and 9, but in a totally different sense of ministering to someone financially when he talks about the offering. It shows up in the last section, 10 through 13, when he talks about defending his ministry. But in terms of our focus, our section here, he doesn't talk about it in 1 or 2 or 7. It's a focus. It's the primary, central focus. So what does he have to say about this ministry? Well, it's glorious. Look at the references again.

He doesn't use that terminology in 1 or 2 or in 7. That's a focus. It's a major focus. And he's connecting the ministry and the glory of that ministry.

And then there's this. The term commend or commendation. Again, you don't see it in 1 or 2.

It's not huge, but it is focused in this parenthesis. That word commend is a little easy for us to misunderstand. When Paul talks about commending ourselves to others, he doesn't mean self-congratulation. He means demonstrating our authenticity. The authenticity of our ministry. So, for example, he says in chapter 4 verse 2, of renounced, shameful, secret things, ESV says underhanded ways, not walking in craftiness, not distorting the word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth, we commend ourselves, we authenticate ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. So again, Paul's going to talk about this more in 10 to 13. That's true, specifically as he defends the authenticity of his apostolic ministry against false teachers. But here in 3 through 6, in this open-hearted unfolding of what it's like to be engaged in ministry. It's Paul's way of laying all of his cards out on the table. If you don't like that analogy, all of his quirkle cubes. So that everybody can see what he's got.

He's not holding anything back, he's not hiding anything. He's basically saying, look, the way we live, the things we suffer, and the reason we do all of this ought to commend the genuineness of us in our ministry to you. And when you trace those themes, the way that Paul weaves them together in this parenthesis, and summarize the core of the conversation this way, it has to do with authenticating ourselves as true ministers of a glorious gospel, even in the face of suffering. In the last few minutes, what I want to do is try to flesh out the progression of that roughly four-chapter discussion. Paul basically develops a series of six propositions about Christian ministry. Just ignore the chapter divisions, just follow Paul's thought, and look for grammatical and topical transitions, and I'll try to call your attention to the core sections of this. So we're just going to be kind of flying a little more slowly over 2A through chapter 6. So if you look back at chapter 2, verse 14, and just kind of keep your eyes and ears open for those. I haven't actually had you turn or even look at a specific text, but I am now. So turn to 2, 14, if you're not already there. This is the beginning of this section, the beginning of this parenthesis, the beginning of this digression.

Just kind of keep your eyes and ears open for those themes that we looked at. The first major proposition that he argues for is that God diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge by making inadequate people adequate ministers of the surpassingly glorious new covenant. Look at verse 14, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge of him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. Verse 16, he says, Who's sufficient?

Who's adequate for these things? For we're not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. Look at chapter 3, verse 5, I'll drop down to you.

Not that we're adequate in ourselves to consider as anything coming from ourselves, but our adequacy, our sufficiency is from God. He has made us sufficient, adequate as ministers of the new covenant, as opposed to, drop down to verse 14, the old covenant. And you know this extended passage where Paul contrasts the glory of the old covenant ministry to the far surpassing greater glory of ministering the new covenant with its uniquely transforming power. Look at the last verse of the chapter, verse 18, But we all with unveiled face, beholding us in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit. Then he moves to this, Therefore we do not give in, despite opposition or affliction, because this ministry is about others and God, it's not about us. Chapter 4, verse 1, Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we've received mercy, the idea here is we don't give in, but we've renounced the hidden things of darkness. I already read verse 3 where he talks about authenticating ourselves to every man's conscience. Drop down to verse 5, For we don't preach ourselves, we preach Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus' sake.

For God who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, he is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earth and vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. Verse 15, For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. The whole ministry is about others and God, it's not about us.

That's the whole focus of that section. And then he says, Besides, our present affliction is bearable and momentary compared to the future weight of eternal glory. Look at verse 16, Therefore, we, he says it again, Therefore, having gone through, we don't give in.

We don't lose heart. But though our outward man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction, and Paul speaking from considerable experience here of affliction, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.

If you have never read C.S. Lewis's sermon, The Weight of Glory, you owe it to your spiritual growth and your spiritual welfare to look that up. And the three of you who take the trouble to remember and look it up and read it, it will be world view altering for you.

Be one of those three. Verse 18, Why we look not at the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen. Because the things that are seen are temporal, the things that are not seen are eternal. Four, just keep going right in chapter five, for we know that for earthly intent, he talks about the resurrection, okay, as part of the glory that we're looking forward to. Drop down to verse nine, therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to him because we are all going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, whether good or bad. So meanwhile, because of that, meanwhile, our future accountability is motivating our present ministry.

That's where he goes next with this. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God. And I hope we're made manifest to your conscience as well. Drop down to verse 18. Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. So how do ministers validate their authenticity?

He goes there next. Six, one through 10. Let me just start with chapter six, verse three, giving no offense, no cause for offense in anything so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending or authenticating ourselves as a servants of God in much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labor, sleep, regardless of the circumstances. Ministers, true ministers, validate their authenticity by their steadfastness irrespective of circumstances. And then he comes, lastly, to this, number six, ministries validate their authenticity by their holiness in wholehearted response to their God-given ministers. Now what on earth is a ministry? Nope.

It is not a large aquatic mammal. You got ministers, you got ministries. It's that simple.

Don't bother looking it up in your dictionary. It's not there yet. But look at what he says. I'm gonna pick up with verse 11. We have spoken freely to you.

Chapter six, verse 11. We've spoken freely to you. Corinthians, our heart has been wide open to you.

We've held nothing back. I'm gonna give you a very free rendition of verse 12. There is no reticence toward you on our part, but you are reticent in your own affections toward us.

I think that's the gist of what he's saying there. So now in like exchange, we open our hearts to you, open your heart wide to us. Verse 14. Don't be bound together with unbelievers. What partnership has righteousness and lawlessness?

What fellowship has light with darkness? Drop to verse 16. What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. That's new covenant language. That's from the new covenant in the Old Testament. Verse 17. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you and I'll be a father to you and you should be my sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, now he applies it. Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness and the fear of God. Make room for us in your hearts.

We've wronged no one, we've corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one, and then he starts transitioning right back to where he left off in first half of chapter two. Paul's principles of ministry in 2 Corinthians can be summarized I think in four key points that surface repeatedly through the letter in a variety of expressions. Number one, the necessity of establishing and maintaining credibility with those to whom we minister.

That's on the front burner for Paul. Secondly, the importance of responding rightly to a minister who has established credibility with us and not running to somebody else because I don't like their answer. If he's established credibility with you as one of God's ministers and one of God's appointed ministers in your life, grant him that. Thirdly, the minister's gratification when people do respond rightly to his ministry of God's word. And then the glories and challenges and priorities and sacrifices and privileges and responsibilities of an apostolic new covenant ministry.

That's at the heart of what he's focused on, especially in this digression as well. And all through this section, Paul is compelling the church to evaluate Christian ministry. And it's interesting, he's not writing to pastors.

He's not just writing to professional ministers. He's explaining to the church at Corinth what it's like to be engaged in ministry, compelling them to evaluate Christian ministry in the light of larger realities. Paul's parenthesis in 2 Corinthians 2, 14 to 7, 2 is a wide angle view of New Testament Christian ministry that will transform how you think about ministry, how you prepare for ministry right now, how you make plans and decisions when you're in ministry, how you view yourself in the context of ministry, how you react to suffering in ministry, how you exercise discipline and how you respond to those who repent and those who don't, how you defend your ministry, how you relate to your ministries, and how all of us regard and respond to God's appointed ministers in our lives. It would be hard, I think, to imagine an extended passage that is more apropos than this one for seminarians, men and women who are called to prepare to minister apostolic truth to others regardless of what your specific concentration might be. So I think we have an awesome series to look forward to and a lot to learn from Christ through Paul about ministry. Father, we thank you for the opportunity to have your word and to be able to spend this time looking at it in this particular way, in this particular book, in this particular passage that you have graciously directed our attention to for the coming weeks. We ask that you would teach us, that you would open things in our experience, in our minds, in our hearts, in our understanding that we have not seen before, that you would firm up the things that we already hold to and need to not give in on. So we pray, Lord, that you would sanctify us and sanctify this passage to us to accomplish all that you desire to in all of our lives as ministers of New Testament apostolic truth that we are seeking to continue on. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You've been listening to a sermon from BJU Seminary Professor Dr. Leighton Talbert. Thanks for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue the study in 2 Corinthians on The Daily Platform. .