Giving God the Credit.

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. – 2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NLT

There is no doubt that some among the believers in Corinth had been questioning Paul's authority. They had been spreading rumors that Paul was not really qualified to address the various issues he been writing about. Evidently, false teachers had been influencing the Corinthians, contradicting the teachings of Paul, and using as their basis of authority, forged letters of recommendation from Judea. In other words, they had papers to back them up. It appeared as if they were official representatives "true" apostles back in Jerusalem. The inference was that Paul was an imposter and charlatan. He was a fake. And all that he had been teaching was to be rejected as false and dangerous.

But Paul had no desire to play their game. He was not going to waste his time trying to prove his validity by producing letters written by men. He knew his calling and who it was that had issued his call. As far as Paul was concerned, the proof of his ministry's integrity was to be seen in the transformed lives of the men and women of Corinth. He knew that others could see the change and that was why the Corinthian believers were suffering persecution. Paul viewed their changed lives as "a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you" (2 Corinthians 3:3 NLT). The Spirit had clearly been at work in Corinth, opening the eyes of men and women as they had heard the gospel message proclaimed by Paul. This had not been the result of Paul's efforts, but it had been the work of the Spirit – from beginning to end. Paul didn't need letters of recommendation, because it wasn't his work to begin with. It was God's work. Paul had no delusions of grandeur. In fact, he fully understood that he was not "qualified to do anything" on his own. The work in Corinth had nothing to do with Paul's competence or credibility. It had everything to do with God and His decision to work through someone like Paul. "Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant" (2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NLT). In essence, Paul was telling those who were casting aspersions on his ministry, to take it up with God. What Paul had been able to accomplish in Corinth had been a clear work of God, made possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. He had simply been a tool in the hands of God to accomplish His will.

How easy it is for us to believe that we are vital to God's plan. How quickly we can assume that God needs us to accomplish His will. We can find ourselves taking credit for what God has done and becoming prideful about our own competence and significance to His Kingdom cause. We want to boast about our credentials and brag about our qualifications. But Paul knew that he was nothing without the Spirit's work. He knew that he was not qualified or competent to do anything on his own. The ministry of life transformation and redemption was entirely the work of God, not man. Our degrees, diplomas, education, intelligence, gifts, abilities, talents and resumes mean nothing if God is not in it. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on Him. If lives are being changed as a result of anything we have done, it is because God has chosen to work through us. We are not accomplishing great things for God, but instead, He is simply choosing to accomplish His work through us, and oftentimes, in spite of us. God did not need Paul to accomplish His will. But He had chosen and commissioned him to spread the good news about Jesus Christ among the Gentiles. And God's Spirit had clearly worked through Paul, preparing hearts to hear and accept the gospel message. Paul didn't need any other proof than the transformed lives of the Corinthian believers. He knew that God was at work, because he could see it. Paul had no reason to brag, but he also had no reason to doubt. It could have been easy for him to question whether or not what he had been doing was truly of God, but the evidence was undeniable and irrefutable. Lives had been changed, and only God can bring about true, long-lasting life transformation. Only the Spirit can give life. So Paul was confident and content that what he was doing had God's blessing and complete recommendation.

Father, we need to look for life transformation. We need to learn to see where Your Spirit is at work in our midst. Too often we base our success based on our own qualifications and efforts. But the true criteria for success in Your work is changed lives. And only You can bring that about. Open our eyes so that we might see where You are at work. Don't let us focus on what we are doing, but on what You are doing through us. We can measure programs and we can count heads and think we are making a difference. But if lives are not being changed and if people are not being saved, our work is in vain. Remove from us any desire to please or prove our significance to men. Let us be content with the proof of changed lives as Your Spirit works among us. Amen.

Now What?

Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:3-18

“The crowds asked, 'What should we do?'” – Luke 3:10 NLT

John came onto the scene preaching a message of repentance. He was calling the people to change their minds about God and their mindset about what it means to be in a right relationship with God. But his was a call to life transformation via behavior modification. While at this early stage of the game John is preaching the Good News, it is as of yet incomplete. His job is to prepare the way for the Messiah. He is getting the hearts of the people ready to receive the Message of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone. To do so, he must call them to repentance. He must make them aware of their need and their inability to live the life God demands of them. To date, they have been saddled with attempting to keep the Law in an effort to please God and have a right relationship with Him. They have been counting on their Jewishness – their standing as descendants of Abraham – to qualify them as children of God. Now when John breaks the bad news to them that "God can create children of Abraham from these very stones" (Luke 3:8 NLT), and "every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown in to the fire" (Luke 3:9 NLT), they are blown away. They ask him, "What should we do?" Look closely to the answer he gives them. "If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry" (Luke 3:11 NLT). He is calling them to a different lifestyle. He is calling them to reconsider how it is they live their life and what they will consider as their priorities for living holy lives. He talks of sharing and sacrifice. He tells the corrupt tax collectors to "collect no more taxes than the government requires" (Luke 3: 13 NLT). In other words, change your behavior. Stop doing what you are doing and act differently. He tells some soldiers, "Don't extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay" (Luke 3:14 NLT).

Do you see what John is doing? He is raising the bar. He is making this about life change, not political revolution or religious renewal. After 400 years of silence on God's part, He is picking up His message right where He left off. Listen to the words of God against the people of Israel, given through Malachi the prophet some 400 years earlier. "You have said, 'What's the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven's Armies that we are sorry for our sins? From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.'" (Milachi 3:14-15 NLT). God goes on to warn them, "Look I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse" (Malachi 4:5-6 NLT).

That same passage is used by the angel when he tells Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth will have a son. Speaking of John the Baptist, the angel says, "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly" (Luke 1:17 NLT). John's job, like that of any prophet of God, was to call the people to repentance, to convince them to turn back to God. That required them to acknowledge their sin and to come to grips with their shortcomings. They had failed to measure up to God's revealed standard as expressed in the Law. Now he tells them that God was going to require them to live completely different lives than they were currently living. John tells them, "Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God" (Luke 3:8 NLT). God expected not only repentance, but life change. And this call by John was meant to leave the people feeling inadequate and incapable of pulling off what God was calling them to do. And what better way to prepare their hearts for the coming of the Savior. A recognition of our own sinfulness and helplessness must always proceed our acceptance of God's gift of salvation. Our inability to measure up is what drives us to turn to Christ as the solution to our problem. The reality of the judgment of God hovering over all those who fail to live in complete obedience to God should cause us to gratefully and eagerly accept His mercy and grace as expressed through His Son's own death in our place.

I find it interesting how verse 18 explains what John was doing. "And in this way, with many other exhortations, John proclaimed good news to the people" (Luke 3:18 NET). This was all part of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John was explaining the problem. He was opening their eyes to the dilemma they faced. After 400 years, God's expectations had not changed. His holy requirements were the same. And the people's ability to meet them remained unchanged as well. Which is why He was sending His Son.

Father, how hard it is to admit our need. Even after experiencing Your gracious gift of salvation, we can easily tend to think we can live this life in our own strength and according to our own set of criteria. But like the Israelites in John's day, we have to come to grips with our need for You and Your Son's sanctifying power. We do not have the capacity to live the lives You've called us to on our own, but thanks for the finished work of Christ and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we can and should be living transformed lives. Amen.