The arrival of summer usually means that youth and children’s ministry leaders breath a collective sigh of relief that they have survived another academic year! It can also be time to take stock and reflect. A time to remember why we do what we do – and how we can keep going as we serve the Lord in the place He has us.
In this longer form essay, we take a look at some principles from 2 Corinthians 4:1-7 that will help us to keep going in gospel ministry – perhaps especially in the days when things feel incredibly difficult. In some ways, these verses encapsulate Paul’s ministry philosophy and they spell out for us how we can persevere in ministry to the next generations.
1. Ministry rests on the mercy of God (v.1)
‘Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.’
Paul understands that the reason he finds himself in gospel ministry, the reason he is labouring so patiently for the church in Corinth, the reason he has anything of any significance at all to say as an apostle of Jesus Christ is because of God’s mercy.
He has a profound personal appreciation for the mercy that God has shown him in the gospel and that is what propels him into sacrificial service of others.
Our appreciation of God’s mercy to us in Christ and our enthusiasm to keep going in service of Christ always go hand in hand.
Jesus lived a perfect life. He died an atoning, substitutionary death. He rose from the dead. He ascended to the right hand of the Father. And He did these things for you. It can be so easy in youth and children’s ministry to forget what it means to be recipient of God’s mercy.
Paul kept going as a Christian minister because he appreciated all that God has done to save Him and also because he knew that this ministry – despite all its hardships – was actually good for him.
He views his very call to apostleship – his involvement in all of the pastoral and theological and inter-personal mess that is the Corinthian church – he views it all as a kindness that has been extended to Him by God. That’s quite remarkable. He doesn’t see his salvation as being a positive and his ministry as a chore. His call to apostleship isn’t something that he has to endure in order to enjoy the benefits of being in Christ. No! His very involvement in ministry is a mercy that God has extended to him.
When our view of God’s mercy becomes mundane, then ministry can easily become a chore. We must remember that we get to do what we do by the mercy of God. Whether it’s a school assembly, preparing materials for family devotions, leading a youth weekend away, giving a parenting seminar, having an intense pastoral conversation with a young person…these opportunities and privileges are afforded to you by the mercy of God.
2. Ministry must be done with integrity (v. 2)
‘Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.’
There is, of course, a theological integrity in view here. One writer helpfully summarises this verse by saying:
‘Authentic ministers (1) do not live by pedagogical tricks, (2) do not twist God’s Word, but rather (3) live out a pattern of life and ministry that is commendable.’
George H. Guthrie
How we teach matters – no pedagogical tricks, no gimmicks, no bait and switch approach to ministry.
What we teach matters – we are not at liberty to twist the message to suit ourselves or other people.
And then – just as crucially – the people we are and the people we are becoming as we teach matters. God is just concerned with the work He is doing in us as He is about the work He might do through us in gospel ministry.
Ministry must not just be done with theological integrity but with personal integrity. We are to guard both our life and our doctrine. If we compromise on our commitment to the consistent practice of godliness, eventually it will show.
Psalm 78 is cited often in the world of children’s and youth ministry – particularly for the blueprint of how we are to pass on the faith cited in the preface (Psalm 78:1-8). However, Psalm 78:72 – the very last verse of the Psalm – is also crucial for us to reflect on in gospel ministry:
‘And David shepherded them (Israel) with integrity of heart; with skilful hands he led them.’
In gospel ministry, both of those things are always to go together. Skilful hands are hugely important – we do not want rough shepherds or lazy shepherds or incompetent shepherds leading the flock of God. But integrity of heart is everything – because we do not want wolves devouring and scattering the flock of God under the pretence of being their shepherds.
3. Ministry is hard because people are blind (v.3-4)
‘And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.’
One of the criticisms that came Paul’s way in Corinth was that his preaching lacked the same punch as that of the super apostles. And it wasn’t just criticism of his delivery or his style but rather his substance – the actual content of his gospel. ‘Some people just don’t get it Paul – what you’re saying doesn’t really connect with people or resonate with them – it doesn’t really work.’
But Paul doesn’t take the criticism personally. In fact he sees the real heart of the issue. The hiddenness of the gospel amongst some in Corinth cannot be attributed to his lack of rhetorical skill but rather to spiritual condition of those to whom he preached.
For some the gospel is veiled. When the gospel is preached and not accepted, when Christ is proclaimed and not cherished, when the Scriptures are opened and not believed the issue, according to Paul, is not with the message, but the people. That ought not to produce a smugness or a superiority within us but rather a deep humility in us because we realise that but for the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit then the veil would still be over our eyes.
It also ought to produce a deep compassion is us – a burden for those who are blind and perishing because they cannot see either the depth of their sin nor the glory of the gospel.
Paul goes even further in v4 and helps us to see why it is that people are spiritually blind. Because the god of this age has blinded their minds so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
There are echoes of the early chapters of Genesis throughout this passage and the reference to Satan here in v 4 is intended to bring to mind the his deceptive intrusion in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.
Consider what is it that Satan attempts to do humanity in the garden? He attempts to darken their view of God; to obscure and distort their view of the Creator so that they no longer see Him for who He really is or themselves for who they really are. There is all the difference in the world between believing that your Creator is your destroyer and believing that your Creator is your friend. Satan convinces Adam and Eve that the latter is true and Adam falls into darkness and all of humanity falls with him.
This is why ministry is hard. Because it is a ferocious, gruelling, exhausting, tumultuous and painful battle against a scheming, deceitful, conniving, evil enemy and his forces.
Ministry is a mercy (v.1)…but it is also a battle. This is the tension that we live with as ministers of the gospel. That’s why you feel like you do and that’s why ministry so often feels like it does.
The work we are called to involves spiritual forces that are far beyond us. Christian ministry is not just about technique. And ultimately it is God alone who can shine his light into the human heart so that His image bearers can see the light of the knowledge of the glory of Christ, who is the very image of God.
You and I cannot do that – we are immensely under-qualified. Our job is to love people faithfully, guard our lives and doctrine closely and to pray as though it all depends on God – because it does.
4. Ministry means serving Jesus and others (v. 5)
What is it that is at the very heart of Christian ministry? v5 tells us:
‘For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake.’
What a profound summary of what gospel work is all about. It would be hard to describe the Christian ministry more comprehensively in so few words. We need to remember that ultimately, ministry isn’t really about us at all! It is about the glory and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gary Millar says of this verse:
‘A basic step in a lifetime of gospel ministry is to get over ourselves: to realise that ultimately whether people like us or not doesn’t really matter. Whether we are perceived as successful or not doesn’t mater. Whether we are recognised or not doesn’t mater. All that matters is preaching Christ as Lord. We keep going because its about Him, not us.’
Ministry is about serving Jesus above all else. And in some ways the litmus test for whether or not we have really understood what it means to embrace Jesus as Lord will be the extent to which we see ourselves as the servants of others. Notice Paul doesn’t put a full stop after Jesus Christ as Lord in v5. No – he adds that we are to view ourselves as the servants of others for Jesus’ sake. This is to be the posture of true Christian leadership. We do not advance the cause of the gospel by asserting our power or with swagger. No – the cause of the gospel is advanced as we engage in sacrificial service of others. We follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus – the One who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but who made Himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant.
The children, young people and families in your church; the teams you lead, the staff you care for, the apprentices you train, the volunteers you organise – God has put you in their lives so that you might serve them for Jesus’ sake. This is always how we are to lead in Christian Ministry – as servants of others.
5. Ministry requires remembering you’re only human (vv. 6-7)
Christian Ministry means recognising and remembering our own weakness, fragility and finitude. We must remember that we really are only human, after all.
The work of regeneration is God’s work – only He can illumine a heart to see the glory of the gospel. And yet the remarkable thing is, that God invites us to join with Him in the task of building His Church. v7 – we have this treasure in jars of clay. We get to share the glorious treasure of the gospel with children, young people and families in our communities and we do so in the confidence that the power to bring about real, lasting spiritual transformation is from God and not from us!
The God who made everything out of nothing and brought light out of the darkness does not need you or I to build His Church. We are, in purely functional terms at least, incredibly dispensable in the work of the gospel. God can do all that He wants to do without any of us.
But it is to His glory that He uses jars of clay like us. Clay jars were like the takeaway boxes of the ancient world: good for more than one use…but generally with a lifespan of only a few years and all too easily cracked.
It is a powerful and poignant image for what it means to be human in ministry. We are much weaker and much more fragile than any of us care to admit. You and I – we have all the glory and dignity of being image bearers, yes. And we also have all of the limitations, frailties and vulnerabilities of flawed and fallen human beings. We are just jars of clay. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t incredibly precious; but it does mean that we are incredibly limited. It is good for us to remember that in Christian ministry.
And so as another academic year comes to an end – we do well to meditate upon these principles from 2 Corinthians 4:1-7. The Lord is at work in His world for His glory. He is building His Church. And in His great mercy He is using weak jars of clay like us to do so. Let us rejoice in the privilege it is to be involved in this great work – and rest in the confidence that it’s success is not at all contingent on our performance.
