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Sermons

May 24/25, 2014

Wide Open

Jason Meyer | 2 Corinthians 6:3-13

We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
    We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.—2 Corinthians 6:3–13

Introduction

No Obstacle

You may have noticed that my sermon text began with the words: “We put no obstacle in anyone’s way” (2 Corinthians 6:3).


As I do every week, I meditated on my sermon text on Monday morning and this week something different happened. I asked the Lord if I have ever put an obstacle in someone’s way. As I earnestly prayed in this way, I felt a deep sense that last week’s Sunday special meeting had been an obstacle and had not served the flock well. There are numerous reasons for the confusing nature of Sunday’s meeting. I could go into all of them, but I will not do so. When things are confusing and do not serve people well, I believe it is the job of a leader to own it and take responsibility. Leaders must lead in everything, including being a lead repent-er.

The motion that the elders made called for open dialogue according to normal parliamentary procedure, which calls for an even-handed, back and forth discussion in 10-minute increments. That is what I was proposing, but it backfired. It was supposed to ensure that no one could shut down the discussion too soon, but it ended up muddying the waters of the discussion. We spent more than 45 minutes debating whether someone could speak for 35 minutes. Therefore, I believe that our proposal resulted in an unintentional obstacle, but an obstacle nonetheless. Unintentional sin required a sacrifice in the Old Testament. So I am owning putting an obstacle in the way of open communication. Please forgive me.

I want to glorify God, and I want to make this right. The sermon text ends with these words: “We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us ...” (2 Corinthians 6:12). I do not want to place a restriction on this conversation. My heart is wide open. My desire for reconciliation has only grown in these last few months. I sent an email to the concerned group calling for a new meeting that is free from all the things that put an obstacle in the way of open communication. This meeting is simply to clear up confusion that resulted from our last meeting. There have been some changes with the Concerned Group and so we were not able to have the meeting on June 1 as I had proposed. We are in the process of discussing next steps with the Concerned Group. I will aim toward providing an update to the congregation next Sunday, June 1. It seems wise not to rush forward without thoughtful prayer and wisdom. I would ask you to be in prayer for us as well.

Along the way, I have been struck by how much 2 Corinthians seems to be scripted to what we are experiencing as a church. What we need to do, over and over again, is lay down our lives, and let God raise them up again. Christians must preach and practice the gospel. The message and the manner must match. We preach and live the death and resurrection of Christ. God ensures that our message and matter will match.

The Christian church in our day has a renewed emphasis on being cross-centered. The cross is right at the heart of Christianity. Yes and amen. But let us be clear on the cost of the cross. We cannot be cavalierly cross-centered. We are called to preach the cross and we come to experience it.

That is why the mark of real Christianity is the same as the mark of real apostles: not escaping suffering, but enduring suffering. Why? We are too weak to escape suffering and trying circumstances. We aren’t strong enough or smart enough to escape. But that is part of God’s plan. He calls us not to escape with our strength and smarts, but to endure with his strength. When we are crushed and killed, something happens that is unexpected and surprising: life blossoms. “I am crucified with Christ and yet I live. Not I, but Christ who lives within me. His cross will never ask from me more than I can give, for its not my strength, but his. There’s no greater sacrifice, for I am crucified with Christ and yet live.”

The apostle Paul fully opens up to the Corinthians. Everything is on display and out in the open. Paul’s openness in displayed in three areas: his apostolic ID (vv. 3–10), his affection (vv. 11–12), and his appeal (v. 13).

Paul’s Apostolic ID

Several observations are in order for these verses. The first thing to note is the relationship to what came before. It is hard to see in English, but Greek makes the connection clear. Verse 3 begins with participles that connect to the verb of verse 1. “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” (2 Corinthians 6:1) Paul is working with God in the appeal to not receive the grace of God in vain. How does he work with God in this appeal? God and his apostle work together in this appeal by not putting an obstacle in anything, but by commending his ministry in everything. You can see the dual contrast between a distraction (obstacle) and an attraction (commendation) and between obstacle in anything and commending in everything.

Paul doesn’t want to do anything to detract from the appeal that he and God are making together; he intends quite the opposite. He aims to attract attention to the appeal by having the message (death and resurrection) match the manner (death and resurrection seen in Paul’s ministry). How do people see the death and resurrection in Paul’s ministry? Answer: Endurance (Resurrection power) in affliction (death). Suffering and death is plain to see, but Paul’s endurance is also plain to see. This is really the same point that Paul keeps making over and over. Recall what Paul says a few chapters earlier.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.—2 Corinthians 4:8–11

Endurance is God’s commendation because it is his resurrection power at work in Paul so that Paul perseveres in the pain. Without this, all one can have is self-commendation.

I believe that the structure of these verses reinforces this point. Look at the first three verses: We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.

“Great endurance” is the head term of the list. Some translations like the NIV even separate it out with a semi-colon. I think this term is set apart from all that follows because of three evidences. First, “endurance” is singular, while the other adversities that follow are plural. Second, endurance has a qualifier (“great”) unlike the rest of the list. Lastly, it is hard to understand how adversities would commend Paul without the positive virtue of endurance giving the interpretive lens for how to read them.

This list that highlights Paul’s great endurance (God’s resurrection power) is subdivided into four units. First, you will notice a list of hardships, all introduced by “in” and all in the plural (vv. 4b–5). Second, there is a list of graces, all introduced by “by” (same Greek word as vv. 4b–5, but used in a different sense) and all in the singular (vv. 6–7). Third, there is a summary of responses (“honor and dishonor, slander and praise”), which are introduced by the word “through” (vv. 7–8a). Fourth, there is a list of right hand and left hand commendation introduced with “as … and yet” (vv. 8b–10).

Now let’s read the verses again and see if we can catch the structure of each unit.

In the first list, the list of hardships, all introduced by “in” and all in the plural (vv. 4b–5), there are three different types of afflictions referenced: general afflictions (“afflictions, hardships, calamities,”), afflictions inflicted by others (“beatings, imprisonments, riots”), and voluntary or self-inflicted afflictions for the sake of the mission (“labors, sleepless nights, hunger”).

Following the list of afflictions, there is a list of graces, all introduced by “in” and all in the singular: “by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left” (vv. 6–7).

Then there is a summary of responses in an ABB’A’ format and introduced by the word “through”: “through honor (A) and dishonor (B), through slander (B’) and praise (A’)” (vv. 7–8a).

Finally, there is a list of right hand and left hand commendation introduced with “as … and yet”:

Dishonor/Slander                Honor/Praise
“We are treated as impostors,     and yet are true;
as unknown,                              and yet well known;
as dying,                                   and behold, we live;
as punished,                              and yet not killed;
as sorrowful,                             yet always rejoicing;
as poor,                                    yet making many rich;
as having nothing,                    yet possessing everything” (vv. 8b–10)

Here is an initial application of these verses. The death (suffering) and resurrection (endurance) of Christ is on display in the apostle of Christ, but there is more. The ambassador of Christ also gives a Christ-like response to suffering. I love that the list of graces are in the middle of the overall list. It is almost as if, when surrounded, crushed, and squeezed by hardships and slander, what comes out of Paul are these graces of God. This is not only to be true of the apostles; it is to be true of all followers of Christ. I could show this further in Paul’s writings, but let me go to another apostle to show you the texture of Scripture. Notice Peter’s emphasis on endurance.

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.—1 Peter 2:19–25 

We endure by entrusting ourselves to the just Judge and the Savior and Shepherd of our souls!

Another application to make at this point is that we must avoid the ditches of disappointment. There are two ditches that are easy to fall into: expecting too much or expecting too little. 

When we expect too little in this life, we have an under-realized eschatology. What that means is that we will forget what God has truly done, namely that sin and Satan have been defeated on the cross. If we forget this, we will have a cynical and fearful demeanor and we will end up believing that, because suffering still exists, sin and Satan haven’t been defeated. There will be no difference in our lives. 

On the other hand, if we expect too much in this life (an over-realized eschatology), we will arrogantly think that no suffering should come to us in this life. We would easily believe the Prosperity gospel, that we will be rich and free from suffering. 

The truth is that we ought to have our expectations set by what the bible says to expect (an inaugurated eschatology). Because sin and Satan are defeated, we can rejoice. However, sin and Satan are not yet fully destroyed and therefore, we still feel the affects of sin, suffering and Satan’s work. So today we are sorrowful and rejoicing, but one day, we will watch sin and Satan not only defeated but also destroyed, and we will have no more sorrows. We will only rejoice forever. By having biblical expectations, we will be both thankful and hopeful in this life.

Paul’s Affection

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections.—2 Corinthians 6:11–12

Let me make two observations on this verse. First, the English versions hinder your ability to see that Paul says two things are open: his mouth and his heart.

Second, both of these things that are open, have been opened and will stay opened. Paul uses the perfect tense for both of these ideas. His mouth has been opened to them and his heart has been opened to them. Paul has in mind all of his past interactions with the Corinthians. His mouth and heart have never been shut. Both are currently open, but they have always been open. Everything that he has said has been for their sake. His heart has always been open and it remains open. If that is so, then what is the roadblock to reconciliation? One word: Them.

Paul’s Appeal

In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.—2 Corinthians 6:13

Paul’s appeal relates back to the previous verse. Paul uses a term that stresses equality or fair exchange. If he has opened his heart wide open to them, they should reciprocate. Paul sweetens the image further by appealing to them as a father that dearly loves his children. Why would they reject their father in the faith after all that he has done to see them come to Christ (beatings, imprisonments, going without sleep, rest, and food)?

This appeal is the main point of this passage. Last week’s main point was be reconciled to God (5:18–20); this week’s main point is be reconciled to Paul as God’s apostle. They are really two sides of the same coin. Be reconciled to God and God’s apostle.

Conclusion

The Hardest Thing to Believe: God’s Heart Is Wide Open and Stays Open

What is the hardest thing to believe? It might surprise you to know that I believe the hardest thing to believe should be God’s love. The world may give different answers. Some would say that it is really hard to believe that God made the world in six days because of the fact that many people militantly treat the theory of evolution like an indisputable fact. Some would say that it is hard to believe the miracles of the Bible like the virgin birth. I would propose a different answer. I believe the hardest thing to believe is God’s love.

Now some people are going to part ways right now as they listen. Some believe that God’s love is almost too easy to believe and others believe that God’s love is almost too hard to believe. I have spoken to both groups as your pastor. Let me speak first to those that think God’s love is too hard to believe.

God’s love is too hard to believe because the sting of suffering hurts too much ...

Some of you find it too hard to believe in God’s love because the pain seems too great. I call this “the ouch factor”; it just hurts so bad that it is hard to think about anything else. The pain is always there and it is difficult to get relief from it. The suffering seems too intense. Circumstances seem too oppressive.

Here is what I am calling you to believe: suffering is not a sign of a lack of God’s love for you; he never promised that Christians will escape suffering. Rather, he promised that he will hold you so that you can endure suffering. His arms are open right now. Entrust yourself to his care. The promise is that he will never let you go. Nothing can separate you from his love. Listen to the list again.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 
        “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; 
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:34–39

I don’t know if you have ever been to the ocean when the waves are coming in strong. You can take your child out there and they would be swept away by the waves, but you hold onto their hand. Imagine being a child. Sometimes the waves come over you, and you get water up your nose, but your daddy pulls you up. Sometimes your daddy has had enough and picks you up so that you can wipe your eyes and have a break from drinking seawater. This is a picture of God being with you in suffering. After you get hit by a wave of persecution, famine, peril, things present or past, height or depth, or anything in all creation, you get up and say, “He was right. He still has me by the hand. He didn’t let me go.” When it has happened enough, you conclude, “He won’t ever let me go. His love is stronger than all of those waves.”

But in addition, I call you to believe the promise of His presence for the life to come. He is going to lift you up higher than you can imagine. No more waves; no more sea; not more tears. What is happening now is actually preparing you for the glory of that day. You can’t see what suffering is doing. You can’t see how suffering is serving you. You can’t see the eternal weight of glory that your suffering is producing.

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.—2 Corinthians 4:17–18

God’s love is too easy to believe ...

You might say that you don’t struggle at all with believing that God loves you. But I would come back and ask you a question: Then why are you underwhelmed at his love instead of being overwhelmed? Why doesn’t it captivate you?

If you are underwhelmed right now you are probably missing three things about God’s love.

First, your view of God’s holiness is too low. God is perfectly holy. He hates sin perfectly. Do you feel revulsion for sin? You should—and God feels infinitely more! Do you flinch at how filthy your sin is? God does more. Even our sense of sin’s dirtiness is tainted by sin; we don’t sense it profoundly enough with enough intensity and anger. God does.

Second, God loves us, even in our sin. He loves us even when we fail and sin. This is hard to believe because he is so holy. Kids often come to parents in a moment of triumph. They feel like a victory hug after a home run. You can hug me now—I performed well. You are pleased with me, right?! But God loves us even when we strike out. He loves us even in our filthy mess. How could he? How could his love for sinners and his holy hatred for sin fit together and not be like oil and water? Do you feel it?

Do you feel it? If you really are that holy and you know everything about me, then how can your arms really be open that wide right now? Even after I failed you so miserably for so much of my life? Do you feel the flinch? Believers still have it at times. They hold back and wallow in guilt and shame because they just can’t believe that God would want them in their mess. For unbelievers, the problem is that the flinch becomes a permanent stance or position.

It is hard to believe God loves you because you know things about you that are not loveable. We sometimes sing cute little jovial songs like “I’ve got peace like a river. I’ve got joy like a fountain.” I’ve got guilt like a mountain, all right. These are not molehills either. I mean mountains. And Satan, called the accuser of the brethren, has a field day when he walks by these mountains. He has tons of evidence of my failure, my guilt, and my shame. What he says seems to ring true as well at the first hearing. He says, “Why would you go to God? You think he wants you? He won’t take you. Not after that. He is ashamed of you. Don’t bother. Don’t go.” And it is a temptation to believe him, because it seems to accord with our sense of justice and guilt. It seems to be right; God should reject us. He should forget us. He should give us the cold shoulder. We did not earn the right to be loved. Ah, but there is the lie: God never said we had to earn it. He said we couldn’t earn his love.

The only answer to how a holy God who hates sin could love sinners is the cross of Christ. Jesus paid the price for our sin. Why did Jesus come and die to pay your debt if you could have or if there was no debt? What God demands of us, he gives to us in the gospel and the gift of righteousness. The love of God sent the Son of God to bear the wrath of God so that we could receive the love of God. We are part of the greatest love story ever told. Satan is the father of lies. It is a hellish lie to believe that God does not love you and does not want you to come to him. God is different than the devil. He does not lie. In fact, the contrast is greater. God cannot lie. Will you call his love a lie? He loves you when he says he does. His heart is open when he says it is. He speaks truth because he is truth.

Third, it is hard to believe that God loves you, as much as he says he does. The issue here is how much he loves us. It is off the charts. You can’t take a scale and weigh it; you can’t take a tape measure and measure it, you can’t take a telescope and have it all come into view. There are not even any mile markers to it. You can’t even estimate it. Any estimate falls too short to even come close. Paul said that the love of Christ surpasses knowledge. It is immeasurable. It is too deep to dive to the depths; it is too elevated to scale the heights; it stretches too far to reach the end of it. God’s love amazed, overwhelmed, filled and controlled the authors of Scripture. It should scare us when what amazed them bores us. Could it be that we need to make God’s love harder to believe again, so that we can be amazed by it again?! Perhaps instead of believing it with ease, we are not believing it; “No greater love” no longer seems true. God’s love is so good that it should seem too good to be true. Sadly, the church seems to have an easy time believing in God’s love. It should not seem so easy. My prayer is that for you it would be hard to believe again so that it will feel amazing again.

He would not have told you to come if he didn’t mean “come.” God is the Father of mercy. He not only does not lie; he cannot lie. Ever. Come means come. Won’t cast you out means, I won’t cast you out. I have loved you with an everlasting love means everlasting love. God so loved the world means He SO loved. So loved. Mega-mercy, here, friends! O the wonder of it all. The treasure of the gospel. The beauty of receiving underserved, unearned, yet undeniable, unending love. God’s love and God’s truth for the win; Satan’s lies are shot down. The gospel wins when you believe that he loves you as much as he says he does because of the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. What he demands of you he gives to you in the gospel. That is why we don’t celebrate our failures. We mourn our failures and let them take us to the cross where we celebrate a grace that is greater than all our sin. Do not doubt the worth of Christ’s sacrifice. Your sin is great, but his grace is greater. His love is stronger. He loves us when he says he does, as much as he says he does. Amazing!

Let me make one last appeal. Parents, do you love your children? When your child does something wrong, do you stop loving them? Do they stop being your child? Do you suddenly close your heart to them? Of course not! Then how dare you believe that you love your child more than God loves his children. We are the children of God. God does not give snakes or scorpions or stones when we ask him. He gives what is good. He gives much better things than fish, eggs, and bread.

The Christian life is a fight for delight because of the wandering nature of our hearts. Our hearts are prone to wander. The heart is constantly looking for something to win its attention. Our hearts have spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder. Those of you that have been diagnosed with ADD; I am not diminishing what you go through. I am identifying with you at the heart level. My heart has ADD. The heart is always looking for the next thing to arrest its attention. The heart wants to find something to fill it and amaze it. In the Bible, you can be filled with anger or filled with jealousy. What that means is that anger has so flooded the heart that the heart controls what we say and do. What we Christians want is for the love of Christ to control us. We need his love to so amaze us and flood us that it takes over. And it can every moment because it is true every moment. God’s love never fails, never gives up, never runs out. And on, and on, and on, and on it goes. It satisfies and overwhelms and takes us over.

Closing Song: “One Thing Remains”

Discussion Questions

  • Leaders must lead in everything, including in being a lead repenter. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Do you view yourself as a lead repenter? Why or why not? 
  • Christians must preach and practice the gospel. The message and the manner of life must match. We preach and live the death and resurrection of Christ. Would you say this reflects the nature of your walk with Christ? Why or why not? If not, what would need to change?
  • The Christian church in our day has a renewed emphasis on being cross-centered. The cross is right at the heart of Christianity. But let us be clear on the cost of the cross. We are called to preach the cross and we come to experience it. That is why the mark of real Christianity is the same as the mark of real apostles: not escaping suffering, but enduring suffering. How have you experienced suffering (or are currently experiencing suffering)? Have you seen God’s grace enable you to endure through the trials? 
  • Why is it better to rely on God’s strength, rather than on our own, when we experience suffering? 
  • God’s open, enduring love should be the hardest thing to believe. People usually think that (1) God’s love is too easy to believe or (2) God’s love is too hard to believe. Do you see yourself in either of these categories? Why? 

Application Questions

  • Have you placed any obstacles in the paths of others lately? What will you do to tear down this obstacle? 
  • Have you put up any roadblocks to reconciliation lately? With whom do you need to be reconciled? Will you trust God and take the first step to be the lead repenter in this area of conflict? 
  • God’s love is a beautiful thing. Name are some ways that you can reflect on the gospel this week so that you will have a renewed vision of God’s love for you and those around you.