Authentic Christian Ministry

All right, thank you.

So if you look under number two, here's the background where we are in 2 Corinthians.

So Paul was speaking about his experience with Titus, how he was waiting for him to receive the news, but he did not get it.

And now we will have to wait until chapter 7, verse 5, to learn the outcome about Titus meeting with Paul and that he actually brought good news.

But Paul will now go into the discussion of what it means to be an apostle, the servant of the new covenant.

And why does he do that? Because if the Corinthians understand this, they will be able to understand other things that he wants to teach them and that he wants them to understand as disciples of Jesus.

So...

In the ancient Greco-Roman world, the letters of recommendation were an important thing.

So you can imagine that in the world where people traveled for an extended period of time, did not have Zoom, did not have phone calls, and met people over great distance, with no immediate means of communication, that these letters were an important way how to recommend someone or to vouch for someone.

Now, what seems obvious from the text is that because Paul did not carry any such letter, that some of his enemies question his apostleship.

And they say that he is not a proper apostle.

And so what we have in these first nine verses is Paul saying, I don't need such a letter of recommendation or commendation.

And the reason is that we live under the new covenant.

And the major difference between the old covenant and the new covenant is what was promised back in Jeremiah 31, that God says, I will put the spirit into their hearts.

And The fact that Paul started the church in Corinth, that people were converted to Christianity, and not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles, Paul says, that's my letter of recommendation.

That's the evidence that the Spirit is at work and that he used my ministry to bless you.

So why would you now expect that I carry some letter of recommendation? So this is what it is all about.

Now, we could ask, in what sense can people be an epistle of Christ? So when Paul says, you are...

You are a letter of commendation and recommendation.

I think you have heard preachers say, Jesus has no hands but yours.

Jesus has no feet but yours.

And of course, in that sense, analogically we can say, you are the only Bible that most people will ever read in their lives.

And especially for those of us who live in the secular part of world, it's definitely true.

So like in Czech Republic, over 60% of population never had any exposure to Christianity.

That means not even at a wedding or a funeral.