The Spirit Qualifies You
2 Corinthians 3:1-6
July 14, 2013
Well this morning we are going to try and kill two birds with one stone.
(And that really isn’t all that difficult since the Holy Spirit
Is such a vital part to all parts of Christian life and ministry)
But this morning we are going to
Commission a group of missionaries to Africa
And at the same time continue on our study of the Holy Spirit.
I really am thankful to God for His impeccable timing.
I really had no idea where we would be in this study of the Holy Spirit at this point,
But I don’t think I could have picked better timing.
As you know we have already looked at both
The PROMISE and the PERSON of the Holy Spirit,
And we are now in a much longer section of this study
Which we are calling the PURPOSE of the Holy Spirit.
We are simply trying to find out what exactly He is here to do.
And having already seen His FINGERPRINTS in John 16,
We are now moving into more of a topical approach
By examining the different EMBLEMS that represent Him in Scripture.
When we looked at His person we said that in Scripture the Holy Spirit
Is represented by different emblems or analogies which help explain Him.
He is represented by WATER
Which we have learned represents life (spiritual life) and so it is not hard to rationalize that the Holy Spirit gives life.
Last week we saw that He is represented by FIRE
Which we learned is primarily a purifier and we learned that the Holy Spirit comes to sanctify believers.
Now one thing I want to remind you of as we continue on with this study Is that f these works that the Holy Spirit accomplishes are not optional.
THEY ARE ESSENTIAL.
Obviously SPIRITUAL LIFE is not an optional thing
To fail become alive spiritually is to remain spiritually dead, and the result of that is only hell since those who are spiritually dead are enemies of God.
Ephesians 2:3 “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
And SANCTIFICATION is also essential.
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
We even talked about the account of Jesus washing the disciples feet (a picture of sanctification) and when Peter didn’t want Jesus to wash his feet
Jesus said, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
So sanctification is also an essential quality.
God is a jealous God and He demands that we be wholly His.
We must be separated from the world and separated unto God.
So both life and sanctification are essential,
And as we saw the last couple of weeks,
Both are accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
• He is the One who produces life in the believer…
• He is the One who accomplishes sanctification in the believer…
So it should be becoming obvious to each one of us
As this study continues that the Holy Spirit is essential.
You cannot be a believer without Him.
You cannot please God without Him.
And this morning we are going to take that a step further
And add that YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD WITHOUT HIM.
This morning we are going to look at TWO EMBLEMS of the Holy Spirit
Because in my mind they work similarly and they work together.
We are going to examine the Holy Spirit both as OIL and as WIND
• He is pictured as OIL in the sense of Him being our anointing.
• And He is pictured as WIND in the sense of us having power.
As far as the anointing goes, we read:
1 John 2:20 “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.”
1 John 2:27 “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
It is obvious there that the anointing is the Holy Spirit
Since He “abides in you” and since He “teaches you about all things”
The Holy Spirit is represented by the OIL of anointing.
And by this we are referring to our being chosen or called by God.
He is also represented by WIND, and this equates to power.
John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The main characteristic of wind there being it’s power.
It “blows where it wishes”
It comes with great force and great strength.
It cannot be contained
It cannot be resisted
The Holy Spirit represents both of these in the life of the believer,
Both an ANNOINTING and POWER
And that is what I want us to see this morning.
And to do that, let’s look at our text in 2 Corinthians.
Now the book of 2 Corinthians is a book that
We have not studied together since I have been here in Spur.
(You may already have an understanding of it, but we have not looked at it together yet)
It is by far the most intimate letter that the apostle Paul ever wrote.
He is specifically answering some very outlandish charges
That have been made against him in the Corinthian church.
• Not only was there a member who had made some very serious and hurtful accusations against Paul,
• But there were also a group of false teachers were doing everything they could to destroy Paul’s gospel by destroying Paul.
So the letter he writes has a strong sense of self-vindication.
And it is not as though Paul is vindicating himself just to feel better,
He vindicates himself because he must protect the gospel he preached.
So as you read you understand that it is very important to Paul
That the Corinthians understand what makes a qualified minister.
Now we read chapter 3:1-6 to start this morning,
But to get the full idea we really need to begin in chapter 2.
Chapter 1 and most of chapter 2 are very depressing segments to read.
You find the apostle seemingly in the pit of despair.
However in chapter 2:14, Paul’s demeanor completely changes.
He instantly turns to a man of gratitude and great confidence.
AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE PAUL REALIZES THAT HE, AND NOT THE FALSE PROPHETS IS THE ONE WHO IS ACCEPTABLE TO GOD,
AND IS BEING USED BY GOD.
(VERSE 2:14) “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
Now to fully understand what Paul is talking about here,
You have to understand a certain concept of Paul’s day.
He is taking his victory in Christ and describing it
Through the backdrop of a ROMAN PARADE OF TRIUMPH.
William Barclay
“In [Paul’s] mind is the picture of Roman Triumph and of Christ as a universal conqueror. The highest honor which could be given to a victorious Roman general was a Triumph. To attain it he must satisfy certain conditions. He must have been the actual commander-in-chief in the field. The campaign must have been completely finished, the region pacified and the victorious troops brought home. Five thousand of the enemy at least must have fallen in one engagement. A positive extension of territory must have been gained, and not merely a disaster retrieved or an attack repelled. And the victory must have been won over a foreign foe and not in a civil war.
In a Triumph the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol in the following order. First came the state officials and the senate. Then came the trumpeters. Then were carried the spoils taken from the conquered land. For instance, when Titus conquered Jerusalem, the seven-branched candlestick, the golden table of the shew-bread and the golden trumpets were carried through the streets of Rome. Then came pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships. There followed the white bull for the sacrifice which would be made. Then there walked the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains, shortly to be flung into prison and in all probability almost immediately to be executed. Then came the lictors bearing their rods, followed by the musicians with their lyres; then the priests swinging their censers with the sweet-smelling incense burning in them. After that came the general himself. He stood in a chariot drawn by four horses. He was clad in a purple tunic embroidered with golden palm leaves, and over it a purple toga marked out with golden stars. In his hand he held an ivory scepter with the Roan eagle at its top and over his head a slave held the crown of Jupiter. After him rode his family; and finally came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting lo triumphe! Their cry of triumph. As the procession moved through the streets, all decorated and garlanded, amid the cheering crowds, it made a tremendous day which might happen only once in a lifetime.
That is the picture that is in Paul’s mind, He sees Christ marching in triumph throughout the world, and himself in that conquering train. It is a triumph which, Paul is certain, nothing can stop.”
(cited in MacArthurs commentary of 2 Corinthians, pg. 68-69)
So Paul says that Christ is leading him in triumph.
This is why he rejoices, even though he is presently
Persecuted and slandered among the Corinthians.
He then says:
(VERSES 15-16) “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?”
Again drawing on the imagery of the Triumph
Paul likens that the parade and the smell of the sweet burning incense meant something different to different people.
• If you were one of those captured prisoners being put on display the
fragrance of the incense was only a mockery of your defeat and reminder of
your coming execution.
• If you one of the victorious soldiers the fragrance was a token of victory and
a wonderful smell.
And so Paul says “Here I am in the victory train of Christ. Some hate me for it, some love me for it, but here I am none the less.”
And then he asks a very important question.
“And who is adequate for these things?”
“Who is qualified to march with Christ in His Triumph parade?”
It is a very important question that Paul poses to the Corinthians.
• On one hand they had Paul who had founded their church and preached there for 18 months.
• On the other hand they had their new preachers who were seeking to undermine Paul’s ministry.
And Paul asks the Corinthians, which one of us do you think
Is adequate or qualified to march with Christ in His victory Triumph.
He adds:
(17) “For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”
Paul says, “It’s me, not them”
They peddle the word of God,
We speak from sincerity, from God, in Christ, before God.
The noun form of the word “peddling”
Actually means “a huckster” or “a con-artist”.
On the other hand Paul says, that he speaks “from sincerity”
That word in the Greek is a compound word that means “to judge with sunlight”
It pictures someone holding something up to the light to examine it more carefully.
Now that should immediately get you and I to thinking,
Not only about Paul’s adequacy, but our own adequacy.
Certainly a group of people preparing to travel to Africa on mission should want to know about their own adequacy before God.
Well that takes us into chapter 3 where Paul explains why he is adequate.
Now we can’t spend a great deal of time here,
But let me give you the gist of Paul’s argument.
WHO IS ADEQUATE FOR SUCH THINGS?
(3:1) “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?”
What was Paul saying there?
He was saying, “You know us”
We don’t have to come in like a phony and produce all sorts of fake credentials
And letters of recommendation to prove to you I am real.
You know I am real.
I lived with you for 18 months, I preached to you, you know me.
And so obviously someone who is adequate to serve Christ
Is someone with a reputation for godliness
And one who has an obvious Christian character.
(3:2-3) “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”
Here Paul reveals that even if a letter was needed,
It wouldn’t be one written on paper.
The Corinthians were his letter.
All anyone had to do to measure the apostle was look at the work he left behind.
And so a second thing that makes one adequate to serve Christ
Is one who has genuine converts.
They produce genuine fruit among people.
They aren’t emotional manipulators or quick-talking deceivers.
The fruit they produce is genuine and it lasts.
So an adequate one is one who has an obvious Christian character
And one who produces genuine fruitful converts.
And Paul knows that this is him.
(4) “Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.”
So Paul knows that he is that type of adequate servant of Christ.
But here is the real point.
Here is why Paul is this type of adequate servant.
(5-6) “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
So Paul knows that he is adequate to serve God
And march in that triumph parade, but how did he get that way?
He clearly says in verse 5, “our adequacy is from God”
In verse 6, God “made us adequate as servants”
WHY?
Because we don’t serve according to the letter “but of the Spirit”
The only reason Paul was adequate to serve Christ is because God made him adequate, and God made him adequate by “the Spirit”
GOD MADE PAUL ADEQUATE
And he knew this, listen to these other statements:
Colossians 1:25 “Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,”
1 Timothy 1:12 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,”
1 Timothy 2:7 “For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”
2 Timothy 1:8,11 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel…for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”
We are talking here about God making someone adequate.
We are talking here about God putting someone into service.
And the picture is that of God selecting or calling that person.
In the Old Testament they were referred to as “God’s Anointed”
I wish we had time to look at them all, but throughout the Old Testament
It wasn’t a man’s ability or intelligence that qualified him to serve God,
It was the anointing of God’s Spirit upon him.
Consider Joshua:
Numbers 27:18 “So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;”
Consider the Judges of Israel:
• In Judges 3:10, The Spirit of the Lord comes on Othiel
• In Judges 6:34 The Spirit of the Lord comes on Gideon
• In Judges 11:29 The Spirit of the Lord comes on Jephthah
• In Judges 13:25 The Spirit of the Lord comes on Samson
And we see this continually with Samson.
Judges 14:5-6 “Then Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came as far as the vineyards of Timnah; and behold, a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.”
Judges 14:19 “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of them and took their spoil and gave the changes of clothes to those who told the riddle. And his anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.”
Judges 15:14-15 “When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily so that the ropes that were on his arms were as flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds dropped from his hands. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it.”
But it wasn’t just Joshua or the Judges
It was true of the Kings.
• In 1 Samuel 10:6 The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Saul
Then we see David:
1 Samuel 16:13-14 “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.”
That incident is why after David had the affair with Bathsheeba
And killed Uriah that he prayed:
Psalms 51:11 “Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”
David did not want to lose his right to serve God.
He had seen it in Saul, and he knew what made him adequate.
We also see it with the prophets:
2 Kings 2:15 “Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
Or even in the New Testament:
In selecting the first deacons:
Acts 6:3-5 “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.”
Or how about elders in the church?
Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
The point is that it is the Holy Spirit who makes us adequate.
WITHOUT HIM WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO SERVE GOD.
AND WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO FOLLOW CHRIST IN HIS TRIUMPH.
Without the Holy Spirit we are merely those “peddlers”
That Paul spoke about in 2 Corinthians 2:
2 Corinthians 2:17 “For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”
You don’t even have the right to serve Christ without the Holy Spirit.
Don’t assume that Christ is just desperate for you,
Regardless of whether you are saved or not.
God doesn’t ask non-believers to serve Him.
His message for them is always REPENT
The message to serve is reserved for those
Who are indwelled by His Holy Spirit.
You must have the Holy Spirit.
And here is why:
You can’t do it well enough to suit Him.
• You don’t have spiritual power or ability.
• You can’t talk to the dead
• You can’t read the heart
• You can’t touch the soul
• And thus, on your own, you can’t truly accomplish any spiritual work at all.
You will merely result to human gimmicks and tactics
That are the equivalent of those hucksters and peddlers.
WHY IS THAT?
Because apart from the Holy Spirit you also have no power.
You can’t accomplish anything of merit without the Holy Spirit,
And therefore apart from the Him you are not qualified to serve.
And that leads us to the second emblem of the Holy Spirit this morning, And that is WIND (which we said was POWER)
See, not only does the Holy Spirit makes us ADEQUATE,
But He also makes us COMPETENT.
He is our power.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Colossians 1:28-29 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
This is why Paul knew he was adequate.
This is why Paul knew his fruit would last.
This is also why he knew those “peddlers”
Couldn’t really mach up to him in a true comparison.
Paul had what they did not – The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit made him adequate and made him competent.
And he does you too.
HOW?
Let me give you a few passages to chew on:
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
Ephesians 4:7-9, 11-13 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”…And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
Romans 12:3-8 “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”
1 Peter 4:10-11 “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
WHAT DO WE CALL THOSE?
Spiritual gifts
Paul called them “manifestations of the Spirit”
In other words, while all believers have all of the Holy Spirit,
He chooses according to His own sovereign will,
To manifest Himself differently in different believers.
• In some He wishes to show His ability to preach…
• In some He wishes to show His ability to teach…
• In some He wishes to show His leadership ability…
• In some He wishes to show His great compassion…
• In some He wishes to show His generosity…
And we call them spiritual gifts.
They are not human talents, they are divine spiritual gifts.
Now God may use your talents, and we certainly offer them to Him,
But your talents can’t produce spiritual results.
You may be a great carpenter or plumber or speaker or mathematician
Or doctor, and God can use all those things.
But regardless of how good you are at those things,
You cannot by your own talent produce spiritual results.
However, the Holy Spirit has chosen to give you a spiritual gift
That can produce spiritual results.
He makes you adequate to serve, and He equips you to serve.
BEYOND GIFTS
We could talk about the boldness He gives believers:
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
We could talk about the understanding He gives believers:
1 Corinthians 2:10 “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.”
We could talk about the love He gives believers:
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The point is that the Holy Spirit provides the power and ability
For you to serve God.
What did Jesus say about our ability on our own?
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
We need the power of the Holy Spirit
To be able to do what God desires us to do.
He makes us adequate and competent
SO PICTURE IT LIKE PAUL DID.
• You want to march with Christ in His great victory Triumph.
• You want to smell that fragrance of the incense burning…
• You want to witness the greatness of the spoils…
• You want to be a part of His great victory…
WHY WOULD HE LET YOU?
The people who participated in that,
Were the soldiers who fought in His battle.
But His battle is not a physical battle, it is a spiritual one,
And apart from the Holy Spirit you can’t fight in a spiritual battle.
So without the Spirit you have no power,
In which case you aren’t adequate to serve in Christ’s army.
But with the Holy Spirit you now have power and ability,
Which in turn makes you adequate.
• DO YOU SEE WHY WE NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT?
• DO YOU SEE WHY WE CAN’T DISREGARD HIM?
He is WATER
You can’t be a believer without Him.
He is FIRE
You can’t please Christ without Him.
He is OIL and He is WIND
You can’t serve Christ without Him.
You may be willing, but you aren’t adequate.
It is the Holy Spirit who makes us adequate.
“Who is adequate for such things?”
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Now that is true for all believers,
But obviously this morning it takes a special urgency
To those about to go to Africa.
Christ is the general, about to embark on a great battle.
• In this battle He will defeat a foreign foe…
• In this battle He will take ground from the enemy…
• In this battle He will deliver captives…
And He will march victorious in His Triumph when He is finished.
WILL YOU BE ALLOWED TO MARCH WITH HIM?
Apart from the Holy Spirit you are not even qualified to go,
Let alone able to help.
But because the Holy Spirit dwells in you, God has made you adequate.
He has anointed you as His servant by the indwelling of His Spirit
And He has given you power to serve through that same Spirit.
My encouragement to you (and me) is that you SEEK His Spirit,
TRUST His Spirit and LET His Spirit work through you.
He is what you need to succeed in this mission
And thus march with Christ in the great victory Triumph.
