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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/tim-burton/a-letter-of-christ/
2 Corinthians, please, in chapter 2. 2 Corinthians, chapter 2. 2 Corinthians, chapter 2, and maybe we'll read, we'll take time to read it, verse number 14. 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. Now, thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God. In the sight of God speak we in Christ. Verse 1 of chapter 3, do we begin again to commend ourselves, or need we as some others epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.
I just noticed the expression at the beginning of verse number 3. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ. That's really what's on my mind this afternoon. One of the things you find in Scripture is when God loves a subject, and every subject in the word of God is a subject that God loves, God loves His Son.
And so God gives us many expressions, many descriptions of the person of His well-beloved Son. And you go through the word of God and there's just a plethora of titles, of descriptions of the person of the Lord Jesus, because God loves His Son.
Did you know that God loves the assembly? Did you know that the assembly is a place that God loves? We can really see the measure of God's love of the place, because of the descriptions that He uses for it.
And you go through the word of God, and what you find is at least 10, maybe a little bit more, different expressions that are used that describe God's assembly, the church of God. Whether it's the little flock, whether it's God's husbandry, God's cultivated field, whether it's God's building, whether it's the temple of God.
You go through and you find a number of expressions that convey to our hearts something of the truth of the local assembly. We have read an interesting expression in chapter number 3 and verse number 3 of 2 Corinthians, ye are the epistle of Christ.
That is a description that God uses of the local assembly. I find it interesting that we are really breaking into the passage here in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 into a parenthesis. It starts in verse number 14 of chapter number 2 and it carries itself all the way to verse number 4 or so of chapter number 7.
And in that parenthesis, Paul is really defending his apostleship. And he does so in a number of ways. One of the things he does in relation to the gospel that is preached, it's the savor of Christ. The savor of Christ.
You notice that expression in verse number 15, for we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ. Did you know that when Christ is preached there is an aroma that sends to God? There is a savor that ascends to God?
You say, but there is no one coming to the gospel meetings. Well, maybe we need to get out into the community and invite others to come in. But whether there are people there to preach to or not, when Christ is preached, it's a savor to God.
God receives a sweet savor when Christ is preached. And so Paul touches the savor of Christ, but then he mentions that he is a servant of Christ. And that's one of the things that he is developing here.
We'll touch that in a minute. He's a minister, the minister of the new covenant. And then in relation to the savor of Christ and the servant of Christ, there is the service of Christ in relation to the gospel that Paul has brought.
But we read this interesting expression. And just at the end of verse number 17, Paul makes a contrast. He said, we're not as many which corrupt the word of God. And Mr. Portman touched on this briefly, just as he mentioned in chapter number four of the context, the background here, these likely Jewish teachers that were coming and they were commending themselves.
Remember, it's not those that commend themselves that are approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. Those are the ones who are approved. And here were men that were coming. And as they came into Corinth and into the assembly and likely had an influence upon them, that they were really kind of saying that Paul, Paul isn't really all that he makes himself out to be.
He's not a genuine apostle. And Paul says, hold it now. There are people that were buying this idea that Paul was not a genuine apostle. Well, Paul actually says that you're my epistle. You're my letter of commendation.
And if you discredit me as an apostle, you're discrediting yourself as an assembly because I planted you. Paul said that in 1 Corinthians chapter number three, didn't he? I planted. A Paul is watered.
God gave the increase. God said there was, Paul says there was a work that was established there. And I saw that work established. He said, not only are you my epistle, he says, you're really the manifestation that I am a genuine apostle sent by God.
But then he actually just turns the analogy and he says, ye are the epistle of Christ. I want you to think about a letter and its influence. A letter and its influence. There have been letters written, even in American history, letters written to certain people that had an effect upon the history of this nation.
Letters with an influence. You think of a letter now. Not too many of us, I suppose, pick up a pen and get a piece of parchment, piece of paper and write letters nowadays. Most of the letters that we write are all on the keyboard.
We type it out and we send it off by email. Gets there a little bit quicker. But I want you to think of an old-fashioned letter. And every letter that is written has a writer. A writer. Now if that writer is going to communicate what's in his mind, then he has to have a pen.
So there's a writer and there's a pen. Now if you're going to use a pen and write a letter, you want to make sure you have the right ink. So it's a pen that's filled with ink. So you have a writer, you have the pen, you have the ink, you have the paper, and you have the readers.
Now those are the five things that I want you to think about this afternoon, just for a few moments. The writer? Who wrote the epistle of Christ? The pen? Who is the pen? What is the ink? What is the paper upon which this letter was written?
And who are the readers of this letter? I'll give you five Ps, okay? Five Ps. And one of them might be a little bit dicey, so we'll see whenever we come to it. But the first one I want you to think about is the penman.
The penman. In the epistle that Brother Portman read from Galatians, Paul says that he wasn't sent of men, he was sent of the Lord Jesus. He was sent of God the Father. And really whenever I think of this epistle that was written, Paul came into the city of Corinth.
And Paul came first of all by himself in Acts chapter 18. And God did a work. God was the penman of the letter, the epistle of Christ. I think of every work that is established and every work that will be maintained is a work that will be done by God.
It starts with God. It continues with God. And it finishes with God. So God is the great penman of this epistle, the epistle of Christ. And so Paul came, and as he came, he of course was the pen. Now I want you to think about Paul for a minute.
So the penman is God himself. Carrying out, of course, the commission. You remember the Lord Jesus that mentioned in Matthew chapter 28, just before his ascension, back to glory on resurrection ground.
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 to 20, he said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.
And the Lord Jesus, in his commission, was really communicating to those apostles the great desire of God. You know, God's desire hasn't changed. He still expects us to carry of the great commission. Was it Mr. Allen, Mr. Jim Allen from the north of Ireland said on one occasion, he said of those three expressions, he said we are to make disciples, that's teaching all nations.
We are to mark disciples, that's baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we are to mold disciples, teaching them to observe all things. That is the great desire of God.
That is the great desire of the penman, is that there would be people established in the things of God, people who have been saved. Mind you, the power of the gospel is a real thing. Thank God for the power of the gospel.
And here was Paul. Paul was just, he was just a pen. You see, there's no glory that is given to a pen. If I wrote you a letter, you wouldn't ask what kind of pen did you use? It's the writer that's in view.
God is the one who is glorified. There is nothing in the pen. And yet Paul was the pen, because this is the letter, this is the letter of Christ, ministered, Paul says, ministered by us. The great contrast, of course, in relation to Paul at the end of verse number 17, he said these men came, corrupting the word of God, but what marked Paul?
Four things marked Paul. Sincerity, as of God, being from God, in the sight of God, he says, speak we in Christ. I would say there are four things that we learn there in relation to this man, Paul, who came with the gospel.
The first one, his purity was of sincerity. The idea of the word sincerity is the idea of purity. That is something that ought to mark those that seek to communicate the gospel. Purity, be marked by purity.
But not only purity, he says, but of God. This is really the authority. So there was purity, here is now the authority, he was sent from God, not like these other men who commended themselves. Paul says, no, I was commended of the Lord himself, I am approved of God.
There was his purity, there was his authority, there was his accountability, in the sight of God. I think that is something we need to appreciate. While no one else sees the work that is being done, it is in the sight of God.
God sees it all. So that is our accountability. We will stand answerable, by the way. In all that we do, according to the word of God, we will stand answerable to God for how we live, how we move in relation to the things of God.
But the last expression there, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. Now that is an expression that really conveys something of the harmony of the message that Paul preached. So there was his purity, there was his authority, there was his accountability, but there was his harmony.
All that Paul preached was in keeping to what was in Christ. Speak we in Christ. It was in harmony with the deposit that he had received. I want you to think of this penman for a minute. One of the things that impresses me is when Paul came by himself at the start, when Paul came to Corinth and when Paul preached anywhere, he was a man who was willing to work with others.
That is a commendable feature. Could I say something? In the work of God, whatever aspect it is, even in assembly life, it is paramount that we are able to work with one another. You know, Paul uses three different expressions, maybe a few more, but I will mention three of them.
He speaks of fellow servants. And whenever Paul is speaking about fellow servants, it is really the idea that we all have the same commander, we all have the same master, we all serve the same Lord, and so we are fellow servants.
Paul also says that we are fellow soldiers, because we are all in the same conflict, we are all in the same struggle, we are all in the same warfare. But Paul uses this expression as well. Fellow helpers, or fellow laborers, because we are all in the same cause, we all have the same work.
And Paul brought others into his ministry, and there were those that he worked with, and there were those that he labored with, and so he does not say, it was ministered by me, he says, it was ministered by us.
The epistle of Christ was ministered by us. We were the instruments, the frail instruments. Paul says in chapter number four, is it verse number seven, earthen vessels. God has deposited the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels, so that the power and the excellency may not be of us, but it would be of God.
So that God would be glorified. It is this pen now, in the hand of God, establishing a work, an epistle of Christ. And so there is the man Paul himself, and there is the message that he brought, and one of the lovely things I find about these chapters here in 2 Corinthians is because Paul begins to elaborate the extent, if you will, the greatness of the ministry of the new covenant.
The ministry of the gospel that we preach, what is it marked by? It is a contrast, of course, to what Mr. Portman has already told us. It is a contrast to that old economy, with its fading glory. The gospel that we preach is unique.
The message that Paul brought, it was distinct. What marked this message? It was really a message of regeneration. A message of regeneration, because in verse number six, you notice what it says of chapter number three, the Spirit giveth life.
It is a ministry of regeneration. New life from God comes through the Spirit of God. It is also a ministry, a gospel, the gospel of justification, because you'll notice what it says in verse number nine of chapter three, the ministration of condemnation be glory.
That's a reference to the old economy, the old system of law, given at Mount Sinai. Much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. So there is really, this new ministry is marked by regeneration, but it's also marked by justification.
It's marked by transformation, because at the end of the chapter, we are changed from glory to glory. It is, whenever you come to chapter number four, it is a message of illumination, because the God who shined in the darkness shines into our hearts.
Thank God we ever saw the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. It is also a ministry that relates and brings comfort in relation to resurrection. That is something that Paul touches in chapter number five, verse four, for we, he says, for we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
And Paul says that this gospel, the ministry that I preach as a minister of the new covenant, it touches resurrection, and there is a blessed hope that looms before us. It touches reconciliation. In chapter number five, be reconciled unto God.
It touches separation. Come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord. And so these are things that touch the ministry. And Paul brought this message, just the pen down, just the pen in the hand of God, and the gospel came to Corinth, and a city that was marked by such immorality.
They heard the glorious gospel of Christ. And I want you to think about the ink, the ink upon the page. Paul says it wasn't like regular ink. It was with the Spirit of God. I see that as, you'll forgive me for using the word, but just to keep with the alliteration, the pigment, the pigment that was used.
You think of a pen. In Paul's day, by the way, in the Greco-Roman world, a man had a pen. They never had dyes back then in the pen. It was a pigment that was used that left the mark, the color upon the page.
What left the mark wasn't the pen, but what came through the pen. You see, Paul, I was thinking of this here, that pen, whenever you use a pen, a pen has ink within it. It's filled with ink. You know what Paul was?
Paul was a man who was filled with the Spirit of God. Filled with the Spirit of God. There are two different expressions, you know. Every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God. That's truth that is found in Romans chapter 8.
For if we do not have the Spirit of Christ, we don't belong to Him. We are not of His. Upon believing, we receive the Spirit of God. We were indwelt by the Spirit of God. But could I ask you, dear believer, this afternoon, are you filled with the Spirit?
Are you filled with the Spirit? You say, what's the difference between being indwelt by the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit? Being filled with the Spirit is being under its control. Under the Spirit's control.
You remember what Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 5? He says, Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. There are people, whenever they consume alcohol, it distorts their mind.
They're not longer sober. They're no longer clearly thinking. Whenever they're filled with wine, whenever they're filled with liquor, it causes them to be controlled by it. Paul's making the contrast there.
Don't be controlled by that. Be controlled by the Spirit. Now, we cannot have more of the Spirit. We receive the Spirit of God the moment of conversion. But the Spirit of God can have more of me. It's laying all on the altar for God.
It's back to Romans chapter 12, where Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Portman have taken us there already. Laying all on the altar of God. Don't allow our minds to be controlled and marked by the things of this world, but be filled with the Spirit.
Allow the Spirit of God to control our lives. Here was Paul, and Paul came with the gospel filled with the Spirit. The man who was filled with the Spirit was a channel that God could use to establish a work for God.
Could I tell you what the state of Iowa needs? Men and women who are filled with the Spirit. I could say the same thing of people back in Prince Edward Island, where I come from. What we need is individuals, believers, who are filled with the Spirit, who can be a channel of blessing for God.
Here was Paul, and Paul is writing the parchment that was put on the page. It was not ink, the pigment rather that was put on the page. It was the Spirit of the living God. Mind you, that's an interesting expression.
Only two times in 2 Corinthians will Paul use the expression, the living God. Here it is, the Spirit of the living God. In chapter number 6, it is the sanctuary, the temple of the living God. It is a wonderful thing to see a work of God, a work of God done.
I want you to think not just of the pen men, and not just of the pen that was used, and of the pigment, the Spirit of God, but I want you to think about the parchment. The parchment upon which this letter was written.
This epistle of Christ. Where was it written? Who was the paper? Who was the parchment? It was the believers in Corinth. The believers in Corinth. Do you want to think of the power of the Gospel when Paul is writing in 1 Corinthians chapter number 6?
As he mentions fornicators and idolaters and adulterers and effeminate and abusers of themselves, and on and on he goes with the list there, and Paul says, and such were some of you. And such were some of you.
But when the Gospel came, left a mark upon them. A mark that established a work of God that was done. And the paper, you say, could anything of purpose, of value, come upon parchment like that? What about right here instead?
What about in the surrounding areas? Different assemblies that are represented here? You think when the Gospel first came many years ago, a man called Oliver, a man came with the Gospel, visited communities.
Could anything be done there? Parchment, so defiled and wreaked by sin. Could anything of God come from the hands of such people? Could God establish a work? Ah, the same God that worked in the past still works today.
And such were some of you. The parchment, not much could be done from our perspective. We could do nothing with it. But the pen in the hand of God, with the Spirit of God, left a mark in Corinth. And Paul says, ye are the epistle of Christ.
And of every assembly that is represented here today, this afternoon, ye are the epistle of Christ. God has done a work. And God is still doing a work in the lives of His people today. Tell me, folks, who are the readers?
Who reads the epistle of Christ? That's where we want to get to. That's the ministry, any practical experience today. And Paul says this, it's known and read of all men. Now what is Paul saying? Paul is saying that this letter penned by God, written with the Apostle Paul, those who minister the Gospel, by the power of the Spirit of God, upon this parchment, the paper, the believers in Corinth.
He says that's taken now. And there are folks in the area, and they look at the letter, they look at the assembly, and they read it. It's known and read of all men. There are people that drive by the roads, that see the lives of God's people, and they can do nothing but read the letter of Christ.
And they see God has done a work, the power of God. Could I tell you something this afternoon? Our testimony in this world is vital. We are known and read of all. Could I tell you, my dear sister, whenever you're in the workplace, people are reading the letter.
My brother, whenever you're in the workplace, people are reading the letter. What are they reading? Young men and women here in school, people see your lives, they're reading the letter. What are they reading?
I want you to think about your testimony for a minute. There is a testimony that is both public and private. I would say whenever it comes to the local assembly, you know, you think of 1 Timothy, is it?
1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. When Paul is addressing Timothy there, who was established, who was in Ephesus at the time, and what Paul says, how you behave, how you ought to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
One of the great purposes of the local assembly, if I could put it in that language, is to be the pillar and ground of the truth. Truth is to be proclaimed in the local assembly, so that whenever we stand and we open up the word of God, our minds are directed to the person of the Lord Jesus.
Our minds are directed to him, and truth is to be proclaimed in the gatherings of God's people. But the truth that is proclaimed is truth that has to be practiced. You can't have the two being inconsistent.
They have to be consistently coherent. If we preach one thing and practice another, that's hypocrisy. The world will see it. They will see right through it. But if we are going to be genuine, honest epistles of Christ, telling the world of his glories, then our practice must match our preaching.
There's an idea, likely not here, you good folks here in Iowa, I don't know, but you know there's sometimes, what becomes a norm in Christian experience sometimes, sadly, is that, well, I act this way in business, and I act this way at home, and I act this way in the assembly, and that is inconsistent with the word of God.
That is inconsistent with the word of God. There are two, with this I'll sit down, there are two different references in 1 Peter. In 1 Peter, where our brother Fitzpatrick has read from, our public testimony is seen really in 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse number 12.
Paul will use this expression on two occasions, and only two. Having your conversation, your manner of life honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may buy your good works, which they shall behold.
Glorify God in the day of visitation. Which they behold. You know what Peter is writing about there? Your public testimony. Your public testimony will be beheld by the world around. But in chapter number 3, Peter will use the expression again.
He'll say this, speaking about the wives, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives, the manner of life of the wives, while they behold your chaste conversation, manner of life coupled with fear.
I know the context is speaking of wives who have unbelieving husbands, but you know the reverse in principle is true. It's also true whenever two parents who are believers have children who are unbelievers.
You see, what is done in the home is witnessed by those in the home. And our testimony, publicly is on display, it's being observed. And our testimony privately is being observed. So in relation to this letter, the epistle of Christ, known and read of all men, what do people read?
When they see me, am I communicating the letter of Christ in a way that is worthy of this person? So that when others see me, they see Christ, and they're attracted to Him. May God help us to appreciate the truth that every local assembly is a letter of Christ, and that we would appreciate that we are indeed read by others.
May God bless His Word.