I invite you this morning to
turn with me to the book of 2 Corinthians. This is Paul's second epistle,
second letter to the Corinthians. He writes this letter Approximately,
we have no way of knowing the exact date. This one says this,
and that one says something else, and the historians, I think,
get confused sometimes in their writings, but approximately a
year after he wrote his first letter. Now, if you'll remember
in my closing lesson on 1 Corinthians, I told you that he wrote to them
and told them that he had to stay at Ephesus for a while.
He was going to try to stay at Ephesus until the time of Pentecost. And then he hoped to be with
them and perhaps even to winter with them. But this is the thing
about preaching. We go when and where the Lord
wills. And everything that we hope to
do, we have to submit to that will. I hope to do this. I plan
to do that if the Lord will. And so about a year, approximately
a year after he wrote his first epistle to the Corinthians, he
pens this letter. Now, Ephesus, if you'll I don't
know if you've ever looked at a map or even if you're interested,
but the Aegean Sea goes up past Greece and goes way up and then
it comes back down. Corinth was here and directly
straight across from Corinth was Ephesus, right on the shore. in his journeys to just take
ships straight across and be with them in the winter there
and then go on his journey. But that didn't happen. And so
he wound up going to Philippi. And Philippi is clear up at the
top of the Aegean Sea. And so instead of coming to see
them, he's now even further away than he was when he was at Ephesus. And Paul's second letter He defends
his office as an apostle. Paul was an apostle. He held
the highest office in the church. And he was an evangelist and
a minister of the gospel. And he defends himself against
accusations, all these accusations of these false prophets and enemies
of the gospel of God, enemies of the free grace of God. And
in this letter, Paul again sets forth the glory of God in the
reconciliation of his elect through the glorious person and work
of Jesus Christ. And then also, Paul encourages
the saints there at Ephesus to get involved and to do service,
to enter into the ministry. Because you're not a preacher
doesn't mean you're not in the ministry. Preachers can't preach
except God make provision for them. People say, well, you just
need to live on faith. You can't live on faith. You
can live by faith, but you can't eat faith. You can't wear faith. You have to have clothes. You
have to have food. There's things involved in this. And Paul encourages these saints
there at Ephesus to get involved in these things, things that
are going on all around Not only in their little congregation,
but in other congregations. And he encourages these saints
in this letter to give themselves to the ministry of Christ. And
then he gives clear direction concerning gifts and giving and
their service toward Christ. Now I want to emphasize this
before we get into this epistle. I like to emphasize this every
so often. This is the Word of God. What
we're about to read and study is the Word of God. It's not
merely the concepts or opinions of different men. That's not
what the Bible is. It's not a collection of opinions
and concepts of different men over different ages. But these
words are penned under the influence of the Holy Ghost. This Word is God-breathed. God breathed. And these words,
because this is the Word of God, His Word is current. My sister
used to tell me all the time, she's kind of an intellectual,
and she told me, she said, well, that was written 2,000 years
ago and got no application to our day. It's as current as if
it were written this morning. That's how current the Word of
God is. And it's applicable to our lives as if they were penned
almost immediately. So why do I say these things? I say these things because I
desire for you to pray for me. That as we go through this Word
of God, and we look at these verses one by one as we go through,
or in a collection of verses, that God will help me to clearly
and correctly set forth His teaching in this book. And that God will
work in your heart that you might submit to it, that you might
understand it, and obey it, and apply it to your lives. Now,
I want to begin our study with Paul's salutation to the church. What on earth is a salutation? Do you know what it is? I don't
think I knew what it was. I knew it was an introduction
to a letter, but do you know what salutation means? It means
a cheerful greeting. That's what it means. A cheerful
greeting. Very simply. Alright, let's look
here in verse 1, chapter 1, 2 Corinthians. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, unto the church
of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints, which are
in all Achaia." Now, let's start here. Paul, an apostle. This is both his name and his
office. He did not affix to his name
and title all his accreditations. Paul had accreditations. You
might say Paul was a doctor. He could have put doctor before
his name because he was a doctor of theology. Paul graduated from
the school of the Hebrews by the most notable teacher that
the Hebrews ever had, Gamaliel. He had degrees. He had degrees. I see sometimes when I've got
this little thing on my computer and I can look up and I can see
messages and outlines by different men. modern day men. And I look on there and here's
all these initials and numbers and names and all this stuff
affixed to their name. And Paul didn't affix anything
to his name. And he had things to affix to
it. He'd been taught by one of the
greatest teachers the Jews ever knew. He was in their circles
at one time honored as a master theologian. Yet Paul did not
use any of these things or attach any of these things to his name
and title. And not only did he refuse to
use these accreditations, but he took those things along with
all the other honors he once gloried in and put them where
they belong, out on the dung heap. That's what he says over
in Philippians chapter 3. Verses 4-8. He says, I'm Paul. Not Saul of Tarsus. I'm Paul. Not that ignorant church persecutor. Not that man who held the coat
of the first martyr. Not Dr. Saul. Not Master Saul. Just Paul. Just Paul. And then, secondly, he says,
Paul, an apostle. What a contradiction in terms. Paul, an apostle. The chief of sinners holding
the highest office in the church. Think about it. Don asked all
the preachers one time at one of his Bible conferences, this
is before I came here to pastor, to come forward. He wanted the
church to see these men and become acquainted with them, and they
all went up. And he looked around the congregation, and I was still
sitting back in the back. And he said, you need to come
on up here. He said, you're a preacher, aren't
you? And so I did. But I didn't go up at first not
because I wanted to appear pious or humble. I just couldn't imagine
my name connected with the ambassador of God. I just could not. And I don't think any preacher
can. I don't think he can. I think he feels the same way
as Paul. He's just Paul. But God called
me to be an apostle. Daniel, an evangelist. It seems like a contradiction
in terms, don't it? Yet here it is in the Word of
God. Paul, an apostle. Now watch this. Here's the next
thing he tells us. By the will of God. Here's the
confidence of a man called of God to the ministry. The will
of God. The will of God. My friend, there
is nothing concerning the ministry of Christ which any man can do
apart from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God. Not
one thing. Now, men don't understand this.
If men understood this, they wouldn't run out and say, well,
I'm a preacher. I got this feeling, I was in
my closet, and this feeling like warm honey going down my back,
and I just knew the Lord called me to preach. One of them told
me a year or so ago, he said, I was eight years old, and he
said, the Lord saved me. And then when I was eleven, he
called me to preach. And he went on to to give his
reasons and basis for that, which was just utter nonsense. But
if men would just stop and think about it, there's not one thing
that he describes in here as the result of preaching that
a man can accomplish without the presence and power of God.
So why would any man want to run out and start laying claim
to an office of which he has no power to fulfill. That's why
Henry used to tell us, he said, if you can do anything else,
go do it. Go do it. Conversion is not me or you convincing
anybody of anything. It's the Holy Spirit of God convincing. Anything I can convince you of,
somebody else can convince you otherwise. But if God the Holy
Ghost convinces you, Nobody's going to change you. Does God use that which a man
says? Does He use his arguments? Does
He use his reasoning? Certainly does. But He gives
us those arguments. And He gives us that reasoning.
And those arguments, He gives those to us. And He prepares
the hearts and minds of those who hear it. And apart from that,
there is no fulfilling the office of a preacher, of a pastor or
teacher. And what I'm saying to you is this, why would any
man take such a title to himself and attempt to find some confirmation
of it who've been not called of God? And I can say this, And I hope
you can understand what I'm telling you. But if I myself am indeed
a messenger of God, if Daniel Parks, who's sitting here this
morning, is a messenger of God, it's by the will of God. By the
will of God. And his will is going to be done. That's the confidence of the
man called of God. And then consider this. If Paul
was an apostle by the will of God, an evangelist, a messenger
of God by God's own will, then God will work in him and through
him to accomplish that will. Wherever he sends him, that will
is going to be accomplished. You see, the ministry is not
a shot in the dark. That's how religion views the
ministry. It's a shot in the dark. kind of snap shoot. If you've
ever hunted wood grouse, you know what I mean. You've got
about three seconds and that's all you've got. But the ministry
is not like that. We're not shooting in the dark.
We're not shooting in the blind. God has an elect people. And
He arranges His providence and sends His ministers and draws
His elect and He brings them together. God has a distinct purpose concerning
the gathering together of His elect. He says it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Paul
told the Thessalonians that they were from the beginning chosen
unto salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth. Where unto? You know what that word means?
For this reason, God called you through our Gospel. to the obtaining
of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, an apostle. What in the
world is an apostle? It's the highest office in the
Church of God. These men, every one of them
who were apostles, were personally taught of the Lord Jesus Christ. They all saw Him. They were all
witnesses of what He had done, witnesses of His person, witnesses
of His teaching, of His gospel. And these men were special men.
They were chosen of God, confirmed by miracles and wonders and signs. gifts of the Holy Ghost according
to the will of God. These men were eyewitnesses of
Christ and bore the testimony of what they saw and heard. And
they are the authors. They penned the Word of God. These apostles. Apostle John,
Apostle Peter, Apostle Paul. And they carried authority over
all the churches and were, so to speak, pastors of pastors. They carried authority over all
the pastors, over all the churches. These men were the writers of
Scripture, and as such, laid the foundation of our faith.
In Ephesians 2, verse 20, it says, His church is built upon
the foundation of the apostles. You know what that says? And
prophets. Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone. Now, I want you to listen to
me for just a minute. There are no longer apostles. The apostles' office, their purpose
for being called, has been fulfilled. The foundation of the New Testament
church has been ushered in and laid. The Word of God, the canon
of Scripture is totally complete. It's written. I don't need an
apostle. I don't need to see miracles
and wonders and signs done by some man. I don't need to see
him speak in some unknown language to give me evidence of his calling. There are no pastors, pastors. No pastors, pastors. There are
some men blessed. above many holding the same titles
as they have. And they can be a help to them
and a strong influence among them, but to have no authority
in these individual churches or over these pastors. Now, we're
to willingly submit ourselves to one another. And you'll learn
if you submit yourself. If you can take your place as
you are and not climb up on some pedestal, the Lord will teach
you. He'll give you wisdom. But the
days of the apostles are over. And if any man goes around and
begins to assume to himself this office of a pastor's pastor,
and he begins to unseat pastors and seat pastors and do this
to pastors and do that and try to usurp some kind of discipline
upon pastors, I've got a problem. I've got a problem with that.
Because there are no more apostles. And when somebody gets out of
line, we're just to go to them personally, humbly, sit down
with them, try to correct them, try to help them, try to do what
we can. But I have no authority to just
step in there and start usurping authority over these men. And then he says this, and Timothy,
our brother. Timothy was a young man Paul
had become acquainted with and recognized his gifts, knew something
of his background, knew his grandmother Lois and his mother. And he recognized
these things and ordained him as a preacher. And Timothy was
a faithful preacher. He was a wise preacher for his
age. And he was a friend to the Apostle
Paul and a great help to him in the ministry. You know, it's
a good thing and a helpful thing for pastors who are well-known
and well-received all over the world to promote those who are
younger and less known. To promote them and to recommend
them to these churches. And then Paul tells us to whom
his letter is directed. Unto the church of God which
is at Corinth with all the saints which are in Achaia. Now Corinth
was a city. It's not a country, it's a city. And it's in the southern tip
of Greece. And Achaia was the region of
southern Greece in which Corinth was a city. It was a province,
I suppose you would call it. And it included everything south
of Macedonia. And actually, Corinth, if the
historians are correct, it was the capital of the province of
Achaia. Now, I want you to notice the
wording of this carefully. Paul directs this letter to the
Church of God which is at Corinth. Its members were scattered all
over Achaia, and he was quick to follow up his introduction
here with all the saints which are in all of Achaia. But the
church was in Corinth. And now what does that say? When he wrote to the Galatians,
he wrote to the churches of Galatia. Evidently, there were several
in that area. But here, he mentions only one,
which is at Corinth. He does not rule out the saints
who lived outside the city proper. He does not call them rebels
or anything of the sort, and most likely these saints attended
worship at Corinth as often as they could. He recognizes them
as saints, but he states clearly that God's church was at Corinth. Verse 2, Grace be to you and
peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. What
a way to open a letter to the church. Grace be to you. God's free and sovereign grace. God's undeserved and unmerited
favor. God's free, boundless, effectual
grace. Without this grace, there is
not even a shadow of a hope of salvation. Without this grace,
you cannot know Christ or have faith in Him. For by grace are
you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Without
this grace, there could have been no regeneration. Regeneration
is not according to our works. But according to His mercy, Paul
said, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing
of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Savior. that being justified by His grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. No wonder old John Newton, surveying
his life, one day sat down at his desk and penned these words,
Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. I once was lost, and now I'm
found. was blind. Now I see. Amazing grace. This is what Paul
is saying. Grace to you. Grace be to you. And peace from God our Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace from God. He who for the
sin of one condemned the whole race. For the thought of sin,
just for the thought of sin, cast out a third of the heavenly
host. Who for the ungodly imaginations
of men destroyed mankind, all except for Noah and his house,
who found grace in his eyes. Peace from God, no glaring eyes,
no No thundering voice, no lightning or fearful presence, but peace
from God. Peace from God. Gracious, merciful,
loving peace. Peace. I like that old hymn, when peace
like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows
roll, Whatever my luck, thou hast taught me to say, it is
well, it is well with my soul. And peace arises through the
accomplished redemption of Christ. He is our peace, and to have
Him is to be at peace with God. We don't have peace and then
we come to Christ. We come to Christ because He
is our peace. And this peace is from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. God is our Father by divine purpose,
by eternal election, and by predestinated adoption by Jesus Christ to Himself
according to the good pleasure of His will. He is our Father. He is our Father as He is the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our Father as
He is the wellspring of all spiritual blessings. All these blessings upon His
children through an eternal and effectual union with His dear
Son, it is according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world. And all His children, when He
calls them, When the Holy Spirit of God takes up a boat in their
heart, all His children, you know what their first words are?
Abba!