Read 2 Corinthians 5:11–15. How does this passage demonstrate that Paul’s ministry is Christ-centered?
Paul knew he was supposed to render an account of his ministry to Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). He knew “the fear of the Lord” and sought to persuade people about the gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 5:11, ESV). This fear is reverence and awe toward Christ and, hence, it is combined with Paul’s love for Christ and trust in Christ’s love for him. In the Old Testament, to fear the Lord means to walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and soul (Deut. 10:12).
Paul’s ministry is not self-focused but Christ-focused. He did not commend himself. The reason for his boasting is Christ (2 Cor. 12:9). He said, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14, ESV). Thus, the Corinthians’ opportunity to boast about him (2 Cor. 5:12) means to be proud of his Christ-focused ministry in contrast to the self-focused ministry of his opponents.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:16–21, Colossians 1:19–23, and Ephesians 2:13–16. What did Paul mean by “ministry of reconciliation”?
Christ is the minister of reconciliation par excellence. As such, He “has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18, NKJV). The idea of reconciliation occurs over and over throughout 2 Corinthians 5:16–21. This is an essential concept for Paul, and so it must be for us, too.
God has reconciled humanity to Himself by means of the atoning death of His Son. Those who were reconciled to God are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Now, they are supposed to pass this “message of reconciliation” onward by proclaiming the gospel of Christ (2 Cor. 5:19, ESV). In this sense, “we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us” (2 Cor. 5:20, NKJV).
Think about what Christ has done for you. Think about the guilt, the sin, the condemnation that would be yours but for what He did for you at the cross. How should this reality impact how you relate to others, especially those who don’t know the Lord?
Supplemental EGW Notes
Individually and as a people we have a most solemn work before us. There is a daily preparation of heart and mind to be gained in order that we may be fitted to work out the purposes of God for us. The perils of the last days are upon us, and at this time we are each determining what our destiny for eternity shall be. Individually we are to form characters that will stand the test of the judgment. Individually we are to give, in the church where we are, an example of faithfulness and consecration.
The ministry of the Word is designed to prepare a people to stand in the times of temptation in which we live; and church members are to cooperate with the work of [the] ministry by revealing in the life the principles of the truth, that no word shall be spoken or act performed that will lead into false paths or create a condition of things that God cannot approve.
There has been revealed to me the grave dangers we shall meet in these last days of peril and temptation. Our only reliable light and guide for this time is in the Word of God. We must take this Word as our counselor, and faithfully follow its instructions, or we shall find that we are being controlled by our own peculiar traits of character, and our lives will reveal a selfish work that will be a hindrance and not a blessing to our fellow men. . . .
It is the duty of those who stand as leaders and teachers of the people to instruct church members how to labor in missionary lines, and then to set in operation the great, grand work of proclaiming widely this message, that must arouse every unworked city before the crisis shall come, when, through the working of satanic agencies, the doors now open to the message of the third angel shall be closed. . . .
The righteous judgments of God, with their weight of final decision, are coming upon the land. Do not hover over the churches to repeat over and over again the same truths to the people, while the cities are left in ignorance and sin, unwarned and unlabored for. Soon the way will be hedged up and these cities will be closed to the gospel message. Wake up the church members, that they may unite in doing a definite and self-denying work. . . .
The world is preparing for the closing work of the third angel’s message. The truth is now to go forth with a power that it has not known for years. The message of present truth is to be proclaimed everywhere.—The Upward Look, p. 274.
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.