2 Corinthians 5:11-15 Study Guide: Motivations for Christian Ministry

Community Group Study Guide — Motives for Christian Ministry

2 Corinthians 5:11-15

Study Information:

Do we live for the gaze of God or the glory that comes from people? Many of us want to be approved of or liked. We can see this from an early age in small kids who want their parents admiration. Kids will often ask their parents to watch them do some of the simplest things in order to have their attention. Throughout 2 Corinthians Paul has contrasted true Christian ministry to the false teachers in Corinth and in this passage he highlighted the motives for Christian ministry while condemning the false teachers for how they served for outward appearances and selfish reasons. In this passage we see a contrast of living for God’s admiration compared to the admiration of others and we learn that true Christian ministry is founded on the Fear of God and the Love of Christ.

Throughout this study guide we will use the term “Christian ministry” to refer to serving others and sharing Christ. This kind of ministry happens inside and outside the walls of church and church programing and is consistent with living out one’s faith in Christ.

Fear of God

2 Corinthians 5:11-12

In light of all we discussed in the previous study guide, including the judgment seat of Christ, Paul said that he feared God and persuaded others. The foundation of Paul’s life and ministry was the fear of God that motivated his call to serve and share Christ. Fear of God is a reverence and awe that draws us close to God whereas being afraid of God drives us away. Paul was clear on his calling and ministry and the reality that people experienced either eternity with God or separated from God. All of that motivated him to persuade others about the need for repentance and faith in Jesus.

However, people in Corinth questioned his motives. Notice verse 11, Paul was certain that what he was doing in ministry was fully known to God. It is as if Paul said that he had nothing to hide whereas the false teachers put on a front, wanted to be celebrated and draw a crowd. Knowing God and having a right reverence and awe for him changes everything. You start to live more and more for God’s approval and admiration and that motivates our discipleship, evangelism and service. The words of critics can still hurt and the temptation for praise from the crowd is still real, but as we grow in our relationship with God the volume on those other voices gets turned down.

Outwards Appearances

2 Corinthians 5:12

A temptation when it comes to Christian ministry is to serve for outward appearances. There is a temptation to want to look nice, grow in fame, power or success. This critique is leveled specifically against the false teachers in Corinth who stirred up the church against Paul. These false teachers seemed to be flashy, powerful and successful in the eyes of the world and yet they were doing so to make their name great, not God’s. This criticism is similar to Jesus’s criticism of the Pharisees who looked great on the outside but were inwardly full of dead men’s bones. Rather Paul tells us to boast about what is in the heart as we serve. It is easy to measure success on numbers and appearance, but God says that is actually a poor way of seeing the world.

When we serve for the sake of outward appearances two things happen. First, we become unable to truly serve and help others. We cannot tell them where they need to grow for fear of risk of losing their praise. Likewise, we make them into an object to serve us instead of seeking their best. Second, we build an identity or a sense of value around what we do and how we look; maybe even using God to make ourselves look good. Whatever you make into a core piece of your identity becomes something that is now a requirement for your happiness and that will weigh you down. You must keep performing or you’ll be forgotten.

Selfishness

2 Corinthians 5:13, 15

An even more insidious temptation is to serve for the sake of selfishness or selfish ambition. Notice in verse 13 Paul wrote that if he was “out of his mind” it was for God, if he was in his right mind it was for them. Paul did not speak of his Christian ministry as being for himself and he strongly condemned selfishness in 2 Corinthians 5:15 saying that Christ died to liberate us from living for ourselves. Some times people get into positions of Christian ministry in order to abuse others, other times it is because they like the power or fame that comes with it. Sometimes it could be that we simply want people to be “about us.” Yet, the life of following Christ is to serve others and honestly, that will look crazy to the world. Paul’s words “I am beside myself” was a Greek expression for saying people thought he was crazy. If you live a life of following God and serving others some people may admire you but many will question you as being crazy. Why give up time during the week to attend worship and serve, why give financially and why show grace to complicated people?! That is all crazy. Our world pushes us towards me-time, doing things that have an immediate benefit on us and thinking of people around us as being there to serve us and Christ turns all that upside down.

The Love of Christ

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

What moved Paul to endure suffering and to sacrifice for others? The Love of Christ. Christ’s sacrificial death freed Paul and all followers of Christ from the penalty and power of sin. Paul said that this love of Christ “controlled” him, meaning it was the path forward for his life of service. Like many of us, Paul knew just how much he did not deserve this love and grace and yet God lavished it upon him (1 Tim 1:14). Notice that Christ’s love was expansive in that he “died for all” meaning that there is no one too far from God to be saved. Likewise, Christ’s death call us to die in that “therefore all have died.” This is a cal to die to sin and self and follow Christ. Finally, Christ died in order to free us from living for our own pleasure so that we can live for him. To live our life in such a way is worship.

What motivates your Christian ministry? As we grow to understand and know Christ’s love more and more, we will grow in our ability to live for his admiration and to truly love and serve those he has placed in our lives for their good and for the glory of God.

Our Earthly Life is Temporary

At your community group:

Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?

Discussion Questions:

2 Corinthians 5:11-15

What does it mean to fear the Lord and how does that compare to being afraid of God? Why did this fear of the Lord motivate Paul’s ministry?

Describe some ways people can serve for outward appearances and why does God want us to look at the heart?

Paul wrote that the “love of Christ controls us” as a way to say that it was what directed his path of ministry. What are some reasons knowing and believing the love of Christ truly help us to serve and share Christ with others?

2 Corinthians 5:15 is one of the best expressions of the gospel in the New Testament in a single verse. How has God freed you specifically from living for yourself?