THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians

Message One
The Constitution of the New Covenant Ministry

Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 3:6; 4:1; 1:3-22; 12:1, 7; 1:3-5, 8-10; Acts 9:15-16; Col. 1:24; Phil. 3:10; John 11:25

I. The ministry is based upon God’s covenants—the old covenant and the new covenant—2 Cor. 3:6:

A. A ministry is to carry out what God has covenanted with His people; without God’s covenant, it is impossible to have any ministry, and whatever we do cannot be considered a ministry—v. 6.

B. The ministry is the service that we render to God to carry out God’s covenant—v. 6.

C. Based upon the new covenant of the New Testament, there is the ministry of the new covenant, which is uniquely one—Jer. 31:31-34; Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 3:6; 4:1; Acts 1:17.

D. Whatever we may do to carry out our own preferences or desires is not a ministry of God but is merely a human work—2 Cor. 3:6.

II. In 1 Corinthians the gifts are covered as a major subject, but in 2 Corinthians the gifts are replaced by the ministry—4:1:

A. The ministry is to minister the Christ whom we have experienced; the church needs the ministry much more than the gifts—1:3-4.

B. The ministry is constituted with, and produced and formed by, the experiences of the riches of Christ through sufferings, consuming pressures, and the killing work of the cross—vv. 3-8; 4:8-12.

C. Second Corinthians gives us a pattern, an example, of how the killing of the cross works, how Christ is wrought into our being, and how we become the expression of Christ; these processes constitute the ministers of Christ and produce the ministry for God’s new covenant—vv. 8-12.

D. The ministry produced and formed by the experience of the sufferings, the afflictions, of Christ is the proof that the apostles are ministers of Christ—Acts 9:15-16; Col. 1:24; Phil. 3:10.

E. The ministry comes out by the working of the cross; it is by the way of the cross that we have the riches of Christ to minister to others—2 Cor. 4:12.

F. The ministry is produced by the experiences of the anointing Spirit as the anointing, the sealing, and the pledge, with the experience of the cross—1:21-22.

G. Ministry is a matter of being constituted with grace through experiences of suffering—v. 12; 12:9; 1 Cor. 15:10; 1 Tim. 1:14; 2 Tim. 1:9; 2:1.

H. The constituting of a ministry depends upon the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity—2 Cor. 13:14.

III. The ministry of the new covenant is produced by revelation plus suffering—12:1, 7; 1:3-5, 8-10:

A. In the Epistles of Paul we see three things—revelation, suffering, and ministry—Eph. 3:5; Rom. 16:25; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 4:1.

B. The revelation we receive is burned into our being through suffering—Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 4:1.

C. How much life and how much reality of the riches of Christ we can minister depends upon two elements—how much revelation we have received and how much we have suffered for what has been revealed to us—Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 2 Cor. 4:1.

IV. The ministers of the new covenant experience God as the God of resurrection—1:8-10:

A. Resurrection is the very God, who resurrects the dead—John 11:25:

1. The working of the cross terminates our self so that we may experience God in resurrection—2 Cor. 1:8-10.

2. The experience of the cross always issues in the enjoyment of the God of resurrection—vv. 8-10.

B. The ministers of the new covenant have the response, or answer, of death in themselves that they should not base their confidence on themselves but on God, who raises the dead—2 Cor. 1:9; 3:5; 4:14:

1. God is working through the cross to terminate us, to bring us to an end—1: 8-10.

2. Once we have been brought to an end, we will no longer trust in ourselves but will trust in the God of resurrection—vv. 8-10.

C. Our natural ability must be dealt with by the cross and brought into resurrection—Matt. 16:24; Phil. 3:10-11:

1. Natural ability acts on its own, not according to God’s will, and seeks its own glory and satisfies its own desire—John 8:50.

2. After our natural ability has been dealt with by the cross, it becomes useful in resurrection for our service to the Lord—Phil. 3:10-11.

D. To live in resurrection is to conduct ourselves in the “singleness and sincerity of God”—2 Cor. 1:12:

1. The apostles’ situation forced them to be simple, that is, not to base their confidence on their natural human ability to work out a solution to their difficult situation—v. 12.

2. Being single and simple is an expression of the life in resurrection; only when we live in resurrection and by the God of resurrection are we simple—v. 12.

V. To live in resurrection is to conduct ourselves “not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God”—v. 12:

A. Just as fleshly wisdom equals ourselves, so the grace of God equals God Himself—God for our enjoyment— 12:9; 1 Cor. 15:10.

B. The resurrected Christ is given to the new covenant ministers as grace, enabling them to enjoy the experience of resurrection out of death—2 Cor. 1:8-10.

C. The ministers of the new covenant experience, in resurrection, a mysterious transfer out of “Tyre” and “Dan” into the tribe of “Naphtali”—2 Chron. 2:14; 1 Kings 7:14; Gen. 49:21; Hab. 3:19; Psa. 22 (title):

1. A hind signifies a person who trusts in God when he is in a desperate situation and who lives in resurrection for God’s building—Hag. 3:17-18.

2. Our life and our being should not only be transformed but also transferred so that we are absolutely of “Naphtali.”—Gen. 49:21.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

A MINISTRY TO CARRY OUT WHAT GOD
HAS COVENANTED WITH HIS PEOPLE

No other portion in the Bible shows us the matter of the ministry more clearly than 2 Corinthians 3 and 4. First, in these chapters Paul touches the matter of the ministry based upon God’s covenants, the new covenant and the old covenant. Without God’s covenant there is no possibility to have any ministry. A ministry is to carry out what God has covenanted with His people. Without God’s covenant we do not have any work to do. Without God’s covenant whatever we may do cannot be considered a ministry. The ministry is just the service that we render to God to carry out God’s covenant. Whatever we may do to carry out our own preference or desires is not a ministry of God but is merely a human work. (CWWL, 1993, vol. 1, “The Ministry of the New Testament and the Teaching and Fellowship of the Apostles”, msg. 1)

THE CHURCH NEEDING THE MINISTRY MUCH MORE THAN THE GIFTS

Being Constituted of, Produced and Formed Through Sufferings,
Consuming Pressures, and the Killing Work of the Cross

The first Epistle to the Corinthians was the apostle’s argument, an argument which defeated and subdued the Corinthians, who had been distracted and confused. Now the second Epistle brings them back into the experience of Christ, who was the subject of his argument in the first Epistle. Hence, the second Epistle is more experiential, more subjective, and deeper than the first. In the first, Christ, the Spirit with our spirit, the church, and the gifts are covered as the major subjects. In the second, Christ, the Spirit with our spirit, and the church are further developed, but the gifts are not even mentioned. They are replaced in this book by the ministry, which is constituted of, and produced and formed by, the experiences of the riches of Christ through sufferings, consuming pressures, and the killing work of the cross. The second Epistle gives us a pattern, an example, of how the killing of the cross works, how Christ is wrought into our being, and how we become the expression of Christ. These constitute the ministers of Christ and produce the ministry for God’s new covenant. The first Epistle deals negatively with the gifts; the second speaks positively about the ministry. The church needs the ministry much more than the gifts. The ministry is to minister Christ whom we have experienced; the gifts are just to teach the doctrines concerning Christ. The proof that the apostles are ministers of Christ does not consist in the gifts, but in the ministry produced and formed by the experience of the sufferings of Christ, His afflictions.

Being Pressed Down unto the Despairing of Life

In verse 5 Paul says, “Because even as the sufferings of the Christ abound unto us, so through the Christ our encouragement also abounds.” Here the sufferings are not sufferings for Christ, but Christ’s own sufferings as shared by His disciples (Matt. 20:22; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 1 Pet. 4:13). “The Christ” is a designation of the condition of Christ, not a name (Darby). Here it refers to the suffering Christ, who suffered afflictions for His Body according to God’s will. The apostles participated in the sufferings of such a Christ, and through such a Christ they received encouragement. According to verses 6 and 7, their affliction and encouragement were all for the encouraging of the believers.

Verse 8 says, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, as to our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were excessively burdened, beyond our power, so that we despaired even of living.” The word burdened here, the same Greek word as in 5:4, means weighed down, pressed down. Paul was in Asia when he wrote 1 Corinthians. At the time, he and his co-workers were in affliction. The persecution and attack upon them was extremely heavy. They were heavily burdened, burdened beyond their power. They were burdened to such an extent that by their natural power they could not bear it. They even despaired of life. According to their estimate of the situation, they had no hope of living. They were sure that they would die, that they would be killed by the persecutors.

In verse 9 Paul continues, “But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not have confidence in ourselves, but in God, Who raises the dead.” Literally, the word sentence means answer, or response. When the apostles were under the pressure of affliction, despairing even of life, they may have asked themselves what the issue of their suffering would be. The answer, or response, was death. (Life-study of 1 Corinthians, msg. 1)

Life Being Manifested in Paul Because He Experienced the Killing of the Cross

Life could be manifested in Paul because he experienced the killing of the cross. Suppose Paul did not have any problems, troubles, opposition, or persecution. Suppose he was also strong physically and never had any problems with his health. If such had been the case, it is not likely that there would have been the manifestation of life in Paul. But when Paul was with the Corinthians, he did have problems and difficulties, and he did encounter opposition and persecution. Sometimes even the saints in Corinth caused him trouble. Paul knew that if everything had been easy and comfortable, it would not have been possible to have the same manifestation of life.

When we are in a comfortable environment, there is less opportunity for life to be manifested. But when we are opposed, persecuted, and criticized, when we have problems with our health, and when we are troubled by the saints in the church, we are in a proper situation for the manifestation of life. When Paul was with the Corinthians, he was in that kind of situation. This afforded him an excellent opportunity to have the Spirit within him manifested as life.

In verses 8 and 9 Paul indicates the kind of difficult situation he was in. He says, “We are afflicted in every way, but not straitened; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” In these verses Paul mentions four things. First, he says that they were afflicted in every way, but not straitened. The Chinese version says that they were attacked in every way, attacked from four directions: the front, the rear, the right, and the left. Nevertheless, they were not straitened, cramped. This indicates life. Not to be straitened in such a situation is to have the manifestation of life.

Second, Paul says that they were perplexed, unable to find a way out, but not despairing. The apostles were shut up; they did not have a way out. However, they were not utterly lacking a way out. This part of verse 8 contains in Greek a play on words. First Paul speaks of being unable to find a way out, and then, of not being utterly unable to find a way out. Once again, this is life. Seemingly they were unable to find a way out. But because of the Spirit in them as life, they were not utterly unable to find a way out.

Third, Paul says that they were persecuted, but not forsaken. This means they were pursued by enemies, but they were not abandoned, deserted; that is, they were not left behind in an evil plight. Finally, in verse 9 Paul says that they were cast down, but not destroyed. Although they were struck down, they did not perish.

Paul was afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. All this provided an opportunity for life to be manifested. Life overcomes all these things. Even though he experienced affliction, perplexity, persecution, and being cast down, Paul was still very living. He was not straitened or despairing, and he was not forsaken or destroyed. Life certainly was manifested in him.

What Paul Was and What He Lived Being His Ministry

By presenting his own experience as a confirmation of his ministry, Paul indicated that he and his ministry were one. What Paul was and what he lived were his ministry. The ministry was what Paul was and not merely what he did or the work he accomplished. Paul lived in such a way that his living was a confirmation of his ministry. Paul’s ministry was a ministry of the Spirit, and his living was full of life. This means that his living was the manifestation of the processed Spirit, the cooked Spirit. Paul lived by the Spirit, and life came out of him. Life was manifested to the Corinthians and ministered to them. When this life entered into them, it immediately became the Spirit. Then when they lived out the Spirit, the Spirit became life to others. This was the confirmation of Paul’s new covenant ministry.

In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul seems to be telling the Corinthians, “Our living and our being are the confirmation of our ministry. We and the ministry are one. This means that we are the ministry. The ministry is our being, our person, our living. What we live is the confirmation of the ministry. I have told you that the ministry is the ministry of the Spirit. Now I confirm this claim by testifying to you of my experience of the manifestation of life in the midst of a difficult environment.” (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 31)

Being Constituted of Grace Through Experiences of Suffering

Verse 11 says, “You also helping together by petition on our behalf, that for the gift unto us through many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf.” The Greek words rendered “helping together” also mean working together. The gift in this verse refers to the grace given (v. 12), the grace that the apostles enjoyed in the experience of resurrection out of death. Literally, persons means faces, implying that thanks are given by those with cheerful countenances.

The gift in verse 11 is very different from the gifts in 1 Corinthians. The gift is the grace of God, and this grace is resurrection life, the resurrected Christ. The resurrected Christ was given to the apostles as grace. This enabled the apostles to enjoy the experience of resurrection out of death.

Paul gives us a testimony of living in resurrection life. The apostles were living in resurrection. God had put them into a particular situation, a situation that was actually death. There was no way for a human being to escape out of such a situation of death or to have the power to overcome it. Only the God of resurrection, the God who is Himself resurrection, could deliver them. He came in to deliver the apostles out of that death situation. That deliverance was an experience of resurrection. God resurrected them out of death, and their experience was an experience of God as resurrection. Furthermore, it was an experience of the resurrected Christ as grace, the gift given to them by God.

In these verses Paul tells the Corinthians how the apostles were encouraged and thus were qualified to encourage others. He then goes on to speak of his experience of the resurrected Christ and of the God of resurrection. Because Paul and his co-workers experienced such a grace, they had the spiritual capacity necessary to encourage others. This kind of experience constituted them ministers of the new covenant, ministers of grace. Therefore, what we have in 2 Corinthians is not gift but ministry. Furthermore, ministry is actually a matter of being constituted of grace through experiences of suffering. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 1)

THE MINISTRY BEING PRODUCED BY REVELATION AND SUFFERING

Now that we have seen something concerning the revelations Brother Nee received from the Lord and his sufferings, we want to see something concerning his ministry. Following the sufferings is the ministry. The ministry comes out of revelation plus suffering. Without revelation a person cannot have any ministry because he has nothing with which to minister. But if a person has revelation without suffering, he still does not have a ministry. He may have a gift to teach, but there is a great difference between a gift and a ministry. The ministry is something higher, deeper, and more valuable. A gift in itself may be superficial, low, and cheap.

If we have the revelation, God will put us into the furnace, the oven, so that we can pass through the sufferings. Through the sufferings, we learn the real lessons in life. Then we will have the ministry. We all have to be deeply impressed with these two things—revelation and suffering. The ministry comes out of revelation and suffering.

The Revelation Being Burned into Us by Suffering

The book of Acts and the Epistles of Paul show us his sufferings (Col. 1:24). We know by Paul’s writings that before he passed through the sufferings, he received revelations (2 Cor. 12:1, 7). He first received the revelations, but this does not mean that after receiving them he immediately went out to eloquently pass on his knowledge to people. If he had done this, it would not have been the ministry. What he shared would have been merely a teaching or an exercise of his gift but not the ministry. We know, however, that the apostle Paul was not like this. After he received the revelations of the Lord, the Lord put him into the oven, into the fire, to be burned, to suffer. In his writings we see the sequence of the revelations first and then the sufferings. Then the ministry came out of these two things.

The revelation has to be burned into us. We may use the illustration of making a certain kind of porcelain vase. An artist may paint a picture on the vase, but the vase then needs to be burned. Then the picture is burned into the vase. After the picture has been burned into the vase, it can never be erased because it is one with the vase. Our receiving the revelation may be compared to the vase receiving the picture. But after this the revelation needs to be burned into us in order to make the revelation one with us. To receive revelation is one thing; to be burned with the revelation is another thing.

Having a Ministry Through Suffering Plus Revelation

The revelation is burned into us by suffering. No real minister of God can avoid suffering. This is impossible. We all need it. How much life and how much reality of the riches of Christ we can minister depends upon two elements—how much revelation we have received plus how much we have suffered for what has been revealed to us. Suffering has to be added to revelation. Then we have a ministry.

In all the Epistles we can see three things—the revelation, the suffering, and the ministry. Then there is the work. The work comes not out of the teaching or the gift but out of the ministry. Paul said that he had received this ministry (2 Cor. 4:1) and that he was made a minister of the new covenant (3:6). Today the word minister has been spoiled because of being misused in Christianity. We have to realize what a minister is. A minister is one who has a real ministry that was created with two things—revelation plus suffering. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 1, “The History of the Church and the Local Churches”, msg. 8)

HAVING CONFIDENCE ONLY IN GOD, WHO RAISES THE DEAD

While they were being persecuted, the apostles wondered what the outcome would be. According to their estimation, they were dying. This was a self-insight which led to a particular vital decision. It caused them to have no confidence in themselves. As far as they were concerned, there was no way out. Their confidence was in God, who raises the dead.

The Working of the Cross Terminating the Self
That We May Experience God in Resurrection

The experience of death ushers us into the experience of resurrection. Resurrection is the very God who resurrects the dead. The working of the cross terminates the self that we may experience God in resurrection. The experience of the cross always issues in the enjoyment of the God of resurrection. Such experience produces and forms the ministry. This is further described in 4:7-12.

Toward the end of 1 Corinthians Paul speaks of resurrection. Now at the beginning of 2 Corinthians, Paul brings the believers back to this matter of resurrection. As we shall see, this is related to ministry. Ministry is not a matter of our doing; it is a matter of our living. Both the ministry and the living revealed in this Epistle are of resurrection life.

Having No Confidence in Ourselves

In 1 Corinthians Paul declares the fact of resurrection. Resurrection should be our daily life; it should be for us the power to overcome sin and death and live in the first day of the week. Now in 2 Corinthians Paul gives a testimony of how the apostles lived in the first day of the week. They had no way to live in the seventh day, no way to live in the old creation. This means that it was not possible for them to live in themselves. They had no confidence in themselves. To have no confidence in ourselves means that there is no longer any way for us to live in the old creation. Because the apostles were living in the first day of the week, their confidence was solely in the God of resurrection, the God who raises the dead. They regarded themselves as already dead. This indicates that Paul not only wrote about resurrection, but that he lived resurrection. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 1)

The Natural Strength and Ability Becoming Useful
in Resurrection for Our Service to the Lord

The natural strength and ability are useful if they are dealt with by the cross. After being dealt with by the cross, they are in resurrection. Some brothers speak in their natural eloquence, but other brothers speak with an eloquence dealt with by the cross. This is the eloquence in resurrection. Some who are short of experience may ask what the difference is between the natural eloquence and the eloquence in resurrection. It is hard to explain, but if you have the experience, it is easy to discern. Only those with the experience can discern the difference between the undealt with, natural strength and ability and the strength and ability in resurrection through the dealing of the cross.

In resurrection something divine has been wrought into our strength and ability. Even some divine element has been wrought into our eloquence. When we speak, we need to have our eloquence dealt with by the cross. The cross always works the divine element into the person it deals with, bringing God into him. If you have never been dealt with by the cross in your eloquence, that is the natural eloquence with nothing divine. But if your eloquence has been dealt with, that kind of eloquence is in resurrection and is full of the divine element. In the natural eloquence there is no God. But the “dealt with” eloquence in resurrection is full of God. After being dealt with, our strength and ability become useful in resurrection for our service to the Lord. (CWWL, 1979, vol. 2, “Basic Lessons on Service”, lsn. 20)

To Have Confidence in the God of Resurrection and
Have No Confidence in Ourselves Being to Live Christ

In 1:9 Paul continues, “But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not have confidence in ourselves, but in God, Who raises the dead.” Because they realized they were dying, the apostles did not have any confidence in themselves. Their confidence was in God.

The God in whom they were confident was not simply the One who created the heavens and the earth. Rather, their confidence was in the God of resurrection, in the God who raises the dead. Here Paul does not say, “I call upon the God who created heaven and earth to witness for me.” In verse 9 Paul refers not to the God of creation, but to the God of resurrection.

Paul’s confidence was not in himself; it was in the resurrecting God, the God who raises the dead. To have confidence in the God of resurrection and have no confidence in ourselves is to live Christ. If I have confidence in myself, then surely I am living myself. I am not living Christ. But here is an apostle who had no confidence in himself. His confidence was fully in the very God who raises the dead. In this matter he is a pattern of living Christ.

Conducting Ourselves in the World in Singleness and Sincerity of God

In verse 12 Paul goes on to say, “For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in singleness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.” This testimony is related to the pattern of living Christ for the church. Paul’s conscience testified that he lived in singleness; being political was not his manner of living. With Paul there was no politics. On the contrary, he was single. However, Paul did not live his own singleness and sincerity; he lived the singleness and sincerity of God.

The expression “the singleness of God” implies that God Himself is this singleness. Likewise, the phrase “the sincerity of God” actually means that this sincerity is God Himself. In 1:12 Paul does not speak of his human singleness or sincerity. His singleness and sincerity were God Himself.

NOT IN FLESHLY WISDOM, BUT IN THE GRACE OF GOD

In 1:12 Paul also says that he conducted himself not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God. Grace is the processed Triune God. First Corinthians reveals that the Triune God has been processed to become the life-giving Spirit for us to enjoy. This enjoyment of the processed Triune God is grace.

In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace unto me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” The expression “the grace of God” in this verse and in 2 Corinthians 1:12 actually indicates that grace is God Himself. The grace of God is the very God. Hence, grace is not something which belongs to God; grace is God Himself.

Grace Being the Triune God in Resurrection

Furthermore, the unprocessed God is not grace. Rather, grace is the Triune God in resurrection. It is not God only as He is revealed in Genesis 1; it is the God revealed in the Epistles of Paul. The God in Paul’s ministry is not merely the God of creation, but He is the God in resurrection. Resurrection involves the processes of incarnation, human living, and crucifixion. After passing through this process, the Triune God entered into resurrection. Therefore, when we speak of God as the God of resurrection, we imply the process through which He has passed.

Christ passed through incarnation, through thirty-three and a half years of human living, and through crucifixion, which lasted six hours. After he died, He was placed in a tomb. Then He went into Hades and had a tour of the realm of death. Following that, He came forth in resurrection. Now He is the God not only of creation, but also of resurrection. This processed God is now our grace. How happy I am in Him! He is my enjoyment, my feast, my rest, my strength. This is my God.

Being Terminated to Live Christ

It is easy to talk about termination. But for us to actually be terminated we need to experience a great deal of suffering. For example, the Lord will use your husband or wife and your children to terminate you. If you are a wife, the Lord will use your husband to terminate you. If you are a husband, the Lord will use your wife to cut you to pieces. Furthermore, your children will also be helpful to Him in bringing you to an end so that Christ may live in you.

It is easy to say in a doctrinal way that we have been crucified with Christ, that we no longer live, and that Christ lives in us. This may be nothing more than a teaching. It is possible to go on speaking like this for years, quoting Galatians 2:20 again and again, but still not live Christ for the church.

We all need to experience the inward cutting in a practical way so that we may be terminated. The Lord will even use the saints in the church life to accomplish this for us. In a sense, the church life is a life of slaughter, a life of termination. Praise the Lord that we are willing to be slaughtered because our desire is to live Christ.

If we live Christ, our confidence will be in the God of resurrection, in the God who raises the dead. Then we shall conduct ourselves in the grace of God, and we shall be one with the unchanging Christ of the faithful God, the Christ who is the unique yes. Thank the Lord that in all these verses in 2 Corinthians 1 we see that Paul was a pattern of living Christ for the church. (Life-Study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 16)