Slices
Prepare
In today’s passage, Paul struggles to find peace. So, while it’s not always easy, take some time to name your worries and cast them onto the Lord.
Bible passage
Ministers of the new covenant
12 Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13 I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Explore
Waiting to hear their reaction to his second letter, sent with Titus, had left Paul unable to settle in Troas (vs 12,13), such was the priority he attached to the Corinthians. Paul contrasts his own heartfelt motivation with some false teachers who were accepting payment from the Corinthians (v 17). This is the first open acknowledgement that others were working to oust him as the leader of the church in Corinth. How can we avoid being drawn into the unhelpful behaviours we see here?
Paul seeks to demonstrate his credentials, thus emphasising that he needs no references from anyone (v 1), they themselves are his own recommendation (v 2). Their own faith in Jesus proves that Paul’s ministry is from God (v 3). Rather than needing human authorisation, God has, by writing on their hearts with the Holy Spirit, provided all the proof that could possibly be needed (Jeremiah 31:33). His opponents might advocate keeping the Law, but Paul insists that the Law kills rather than giving life. Through Christ, God has qualified Paul (literally, made him ‘sufficient’) to minister this new covenant of the Spirit (vs 5,6; Galatians 2:6–9). What could any human recommendation possibly add?
Respond
Think for a moment about how your faith impacts those around you. How might the ‘pleasing aroma of Christ’ become more discernible to those you know?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezra 3,4; Luke 3
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Mission Partner ACTS in Thanet, running the transition to secondary school workshops and final assemblies of the year. Pray for Team and Trustees’ away day coming up and the opportunity to reflect and pray, for the growth of the Secondary Schoolwork Project, and for deepening relationships with schools and churches.
Because a strong start begins with smart preparation
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