We are all looking for success in ministry. The question is: What is true success? One of the ways we pursue success is by getting endorsements from others. If the right people endorse us then it must mean we’re doing something right.
Getting men and women to endorse our ministries is a coveted accomplishment today. Like the slogan from Farmer’s Insurance (“We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.”), we want others who have “seen a thing or two” to endorse our ministries so that others might embrace what we’re doing.
Endorsements aren’t necessarily wrong—until we put our confidence more in people than in God. Endorsements can certainly aid our ministries but they can also hurt them if they’re from the wrong people. Therefore, the biggest need is to have the right endorsements—or the right endorsement.
This is what Paul is getting at in 2 Corinthians 3:1-6. False teachers have sought to discredit Paul’s ministry while at the same time seeking to get others to endorse their ministry. How will Paul respond? Will he now try to seek endorsements from other men to level out the playing field with these guys? And if you were one of the Corinthians, how do you know which ministry you should follow?
That is why Paul is telling the Corinthians that he has the ultimate endorsement—from God Himself! Therefore: What is a God-endorsed ministry?
God-Endorsed Ministry Produces Confidence Not “Cockiness” (v4)
Paul doesn’t lack confidence but he doesn’t endorse “cockiness”. Paul is not “conceited or arrogant”. It is not wrong for Christians to be confident if that confidence arises from the right source. Paul Barnett says, “This confidence [of Paul] is entirely God-given.” Where do you find your confidence in ministry? Is it in your giftedness or godliness? Is it in your opportunities and connections?
God-endorsed ministry is one that is repentant of “cockiness”. Those who are cocky are those who put their confidence in themselves as if they were the source of their success. Paul rejects such cockiness. Notice the direction of Paul’s confidence. He is confidence “toward God”. Unlike Paul’s detractors, Paul is not putting his primary confidence in the hands of men but in the hands of God. Paul’s conscience is clear through Christ that God endorses his ministry. Barnett says, “Self-'commendation' advertises oneself, whereas 'confidence…toward God' reflects a deep trust in God arising from Paul’s careful reflection about his ministry.” In other words, Paul isn’t in the business of directing people’s eyes to be primarily on him. Paul isn’t “advertising” or “billboarding” himself. Paul wasn’t trying to amass “likes” and “retweets”. Paul would’ve been very against our celebrity pastor mentality.
Instead of putting his confidence in his gifts, godliness, or experience, Paul’s confidence is through Christ. Unlike Paul’s life as a Pharisee where he put all his confidence in himself (see Gal. 1:13-14 & Phil. 3:4-6), he is now putting his confidence in Christ and through Christ into all of ministry.
Why is Paul confident? Paul is confident because he is seeking to do ministry God’s way rather than Man’s way. He has “renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways”. He refuses “to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word”. He is positively seeking to proclaim Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1-2). He is seeing the Holy Spirit transform the lives of his people (2 Cor. 3:18). He is proclaiming good news of grace rather than old ways of the Law (2 Cor. 3:7-11).
Notice that in all these how God-centered, Christ-saturated, and Spirit-empowered Paul is. He is not fixated on what’s trendy, man-centered, works-based.God-Endorsed Ministry Produces Spirit-Sufficiency Not Self-Sufficiency
The confidence that Paul has is not in himself but in the Spirit of God. What is our strength compared to His? What are our strategies compared with His? Paul explicitly says, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit” (3:5-6).
It is the Holy Spirit who can cause spiritually dead people to be born again (John 3). It is the Holy Spirit who can write God’s Law on our hearts (Ezekiel 11:19). He is our Helper (John 14:26), guarantee (Ephesians 1:13), our assurance (Romans 8:16). He enables us to pray (Jude 1:20). He comforts us (1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He gives us gifts to serve the church (1 Corinthians 12:4). He helps us put to death sin (Romans 8:13).
God-endorsed ministry is ministry that depends on the Holy Spirit rather than on ourselves. God-endorsed ministry is ministry that chooses to let the Spirit speak through His Word rather than choosing to use our words. If we want a God-endorsed ministry then we must repent of self-sufficiency, personality-driven, celebrity-pastor types of ministry.God-Endorsed Ministry Produces Life Not Death
Lastly, when our ministry is faithful to God’s Word, we not only should have confidence and depend on the Holy Spirit but we should also expect to see real spiritual life. “For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (3:6b).
It is not that God’s Law in itself is evil. The problem is that we are evil. Therefore, a ministry that is Law-emphasized is one that kills. Legalism kills people spiritually. If we truly want to see people obey the Law then that only happens as the Gospel is proclaimed. The gospel of grace preached to the souls of lost sinners does a powerful work by the Holy Spirit in their lives that results in gospel obedience. It is only as the grace of Christ is proclaimed that we are transformed to then want to walk according to God’s ways.
That only happens if the gospel is proclaimed. God will not endorse a ministry that abandons His gospel. The opposite effect will occur. Instead of life we will see death.
The only way to see life is if we proclaim the grace of the God of life. It is only seeing a resurrected Jesus that enables us to see resurrected people. Therefore, we can’t expect to see life in our churches when we let something or someone outshine Jesus Christ and everything He has accomplished for us.