Peter Misselbrook's Blog
May 18 2020 - 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 – Fellow workers with God

In speaking of the nature of his ministry, Paul describes himself and his colleagues as “God’s fellow workers” (2 Corinthians 6:1). God has a plan and purpose for his world. That purpose is displayed in Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ character we see all that God purposes that we shall be. In his death we see God’s judgment upon this present world. In his resurrection from the dead we see the hope of a new creation. By his outpoured Spirit the power of the new creation is already at work in this dying world. God’s plan is to make all things new. And Paul has been enlisted by God; he has a role to play in the implementation of God’s great plan; he is a fellow worker with God.

Jesus taught us to pray to our heavenly Father, “May your kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” Whenever we give legs to our prayers and work for the establishment of God’s kingdom we are fellow workers with God. Here is work from which we shall never be made redundant until Jesus returns.

But the work of the kingdom is demanding and costly. It cost Jesus his life and he calls us to follow him in the way of the cross for the sake of the kingdom. In 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 Paul describes his paradoxical life as God’s fellow worker: “As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

There are some in Corinth who are seeking to gain pre-eminence in the church by commending themselves to others – by boasting of their great spiritual experiences. Paul is also ready to commend himself – by faithful and tireless kingdom work in the face of all manner of opposition. He is content to be deprived of many of the things which this world values if only others may be enriched with the treasures of God in Christ. And, he adds, it’s not as if we are really deprived of anything, for in Christ we possess all things.

So Paul pleads with his much loved children in Corinth, “we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain” (6:1). God has heard the groans of his dying world. He has sent his Son as Saviour of the world, sent him to give life and hope and a future. God has shown us his favour in the Lord Jesus Christ. The doors of salvation have been opened wide and God calls everyone to enter into the blessings freely given in Christ; “now is the day of salvation.”

We can hear both the passion and frustration of Paul in this letter. He is hurt and saddened that some in Corinth now seem to despise his ministry. But his greatest concern is not for himself and his own reputation but for the Christians in Corinth to whom he has ministered. He is anxious that they do not turn away from the grace of God in a crucified Messiah for the empty show of self-promoting preachers.

Lord, give us the spirit that animated Paul in the work of the kingdom.

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do your will.

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May 18 2019 - 1 Kings 3 – Solomon's wisdom

Solomon began his reign with the violent destruction of those who might threaten his power from within his kingdom. He then sought to ensure the security of his kingdom from foreign invasion through an alliance with the king of Egypt whose daughter he took as a wife. Solomon is behaving like a king of the nations.

Verse three of this chapter provides a strangely mixed verdict on this man: "Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places." It is easy for us to be critical of him – "How could he truly love the Lord and walk according to God's instructions while taking foreign wives who worshipped other gods and sacrificing at sites which all too often had been devoted to the worship of Baal?" – but we need to examine our own hearts and to ask if we had been given a position of power like that of Solomon, how might we have behaved?

Even though Solomon was worshipping at the high places, his worship seems to have been directed to the Lord. At Gibeon, where Solomon had offered extravagant sacrifices to the Lord, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Be honest with yourself, what would you have asked for? What shaped Solomon's life was not so much his love for the Lord as the Lord's love for him – Jedidiah.

Solomon is aware that he has been given responsibilities and tasks that exceed his own ability. He has been made king over the people of God and feels as ill equipped as a child. He has been entrusted with the work of building a temple fit for the Creator of heaven and earth. How will he manage to do these tasks well? He knows he is not able to do them in his own strength. So Solomon asks the Lord for wisdom – for God's presence and help in all he has to do.

The Lord was pleased with Solomon's request and grants him the wisdom he needed. But God also promised him riches and honour surpassing any other contemporary king. The wisdom and splendour of Solomon will become proverbial.

The incident with the two prostitutes shows the nature of the wisdom granted Solomon – wisdom to make good practical decisions; "All Israel ... held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice" (v. 28). Much of Solomon's wisdom will be recorded in the Book of Proverbs.

Solomon had wisdom to rule and to advise others, but seemed to have lacked the wisdom to govern his own life well. He allowed the world around him and its pattern of kingship to shape his own behaviour. He also left a bad legacy to his children.

We have a superior king. King Jesus is one whose wisdom surpasses that of Solomon (Luke 11:31); in him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). He was filled with the Spirit of God beyond all measure. He not only loved God his Father but was perfectly obedient to all that the Father had given him to do. He saved us from our sins and made us his own. He "has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are to be filled with his Spirit; given wisdom by and from him that will shape our lives to be like his beautiful life. This is the wonderful legacy which Jesus has for all his children.

Lord Jesus, you have the wisdom that makes fools of the wise of this world. By your Spirit, transform us by the renewing of our minds that we may think as you think, love as you love and do what you would have us do. May the world be in awe of you and be drawn to bow the knee to you and own you as their Lord and King. May our lives, filled with your Spirit and wisdom be used to attract others to you.

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Peter Misselbrook