God's Servants & Our Duty

God’s Precious Servants & Our Duty Toward Them

9. Introduction
    A. In 2Cor.8&9. Paul is admonishing the Corinthian believers to fulfill their part in the collection he is gathering for the famine-struck Christians in Judea. 
    B. As we’ve talked about 2Corinthians, we have largely referred to Paul and the Corinthians. But the fact is, there were other people involved as well: Titus most of all. 
    C. 2Corinthians 8:16–24 But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. 18 With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. 20 We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, 21 for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. 22 And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men.
    D. Here we are confronted with a theme in Scripture very rarely talked about. And we do not believe that these references are of no value to us. God has something important here for us. 
   II. But first, a few things to point out:
    A. Paul talks about three men here.
     1. Titus 
      a. Titus seems to have originated in Antioch, and probably met Paul there when Paul helped Barnabas to pastor that church (Acts 11:19-30).
      b. In Titus 1:4, Paul calls Titus his “true son in our common faith.” Paul typically uses this language to describe his converts (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tim 1:2; Phlm 1:10). 
      c. Now Paul calls Titus his brother (2Cor.2:13), partner and fellow worker (2Cor.8:23). 
      d. In 2Corinthians, Titus was sent by Paul to minister in Corinth during Paul’s third missionary journey, while Paul was serving across the water in Ephesus, and served as Paul’s representative to the church at Corinth.
      e. When problems arose, Titus traveled back to tell Paul what was happening in Corinth. And the two of them then worked together to address the problem, ending with Paul writing 2Corinthians and Titus carrying it back to Corinth. 
      f. Paul has already spoken very highly of Titus in this letter (2Cor.7:7-15).
      g. He defends him later in this letter (2Cor.12:18). 
      h. But nowhere does he speak so much or so glowingly about Titus than here in 2Cor.8:16-23. 
     2. But Paul refers to two other men as well:
      a. An unnamed brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel: v. 18
      b. Another unnamed brother whom Paul & the others often tested & found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in the Corinthians: v.22
     3. Paul goes out of his way to not mention their names. Why is this? I don’t know. I real a slew of ideas various people have proposed, but none of them seemed plausible. So, for me at least, it’s a mystery. But there’s obviously a reason their names are left out. 
    B. These all were helping Paul gather the collection and traveling with him to Judea to deliver it to the church there. 
     1. We have already seen that they are doing so as representatives of the Gentile churches, but there is another reason Paul mentions here.
     2. It is also for the sake of accountability, so that no one can charge Paul with pilfering the collection for his own purposes. This is what Paul means when he says in v.20-21, “We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.”
     3. Whenever money is involved, there is potential for corruption. We all know of cases where people have collected money for others and then used it for themselves. Paul wants to be completely above board. So he takes representatives of the sending churches with him to present the gifts to the church at Jerusalem. (By the time he finally gets to Jerusalem, he had a whole group with him, and a rumor about one of them being brought into the temple is what gets Paul arrested.)
      a. (This is what most churches do: there is a group which calculates the offering each week. No one person is trusted to handle it. And it’s not because no one can be trusted. It’s because if it’s done by one person, then you open yourselves up to suspicion.) 
    C. Who is the glory of Christ in v.23? Grammatically, either is possible. 
     1. In other words, it could mean that the three men are the glory of Christ, or it could mean that the churches are the glory of Christ. 
     2. My opinion is that the churches make more sense. 
     3. Many glorious things are spoken about the church in the NT. 
      a. In Rev.1:20, the churches are the seven glorious lampstands of Christ. 
      b. Jesus says that His people are the light of the world.
      c. Eph.3:21 refers to the glory of Christ as being in the church
      d. Eph.5:27 says that in the end, the church will be presented to Christ in splendor
      e. John 17:22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
     4. But notice that this doesn’t say the church is the glory of Christ, but the churches are the glory of Christ. 
     5. What does this say about churches today? 
      a. When these things were spoken, churches were local gatherings without buildings, congregations of Christ’s people, loving Him and one another.
      b. Are churches useless relics of former days? 
      c. Or are churches the glory of Christ?
    D. And so here we see Paul talk with great appreciation and admiration about these three men. 
   III. So why is all this here?
    A. We can see why it was in the letter for the sake of the Corinthians, but there must also be a reason why it’s here for us.
    B. Well, as we search for an answer to this question, the first thing we realize is that there are a number of passages similar to this in the NT epistles. 
     1. Philippians 2:25–30 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
     2. Romans 16:3-4 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.
     3. And many others
     4. This isn’t just tolerance or positive-thinking. Think about the way Paul spoke of the false apostles.
    C. But some of these passages give us instructions as well, which begins to help us understand why these passages are here for us.
     1. Colossians 4:10 Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him)...
     2. Romans 16:1-2 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
     3. 3John 5–8 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For these brothers have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
    D. “Welcome him, welcome her in the Lord in a worthy way, help her in whatever she may need from you, send them on their journey in a manner worthy  of God, support people like these. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are.”
    E. All of these passages are talking about basically the same thing. And there are two distinctives about these people.
     1. It is talking about people who are either representing the gospel or representing the church
      a. What’s special about these people is not who they are. It’s what they do. 
      b. They are “workers for the truth” – 3John8 
      c. How beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news – Is.52:7
      d. What makes the feet beautiful? The message that they bring! It’s because of the beautiful gospel.
     2. It’s talking about people who are traveling to do the work of the gospel/kingdom. 
      a. They’re strangers in another land – away from home.
      b. The Bible says a few things about how to relate to your church leaders, but this is different.
      c. This is talking about the way we relate to those who travel in order to bring the gospel to people.
      d. 3John7 they have gone out for the sake of the name
      e. 3John6 send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 
    F. And this is why men and women who travel to carry the gospel are to be treasured and welcomed and encouraged and taken care of and provided for. Remember what Jesus said to His disciples: 
     1. Matthew 10:40–42 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
     2. God has included passages like this in His word to draw our attention to a certain group of people, and understand the special responsibility we have to them as Christ’s representatives. 
    G. Those instructions are pretty clear. But how are we to fulfill them? Who are those people for us as a church? Well, our situation today in America is quite a bit different than it was in the first century Mediterranean, but I don’t think it takes much work to think about ways this applies to us today. 
     1. Retreat speakers: We have always received glowing reports from our retreat speakers about the welcome they experienced and the love they felt from our congregation when they came to speak. 
     2. Stephen Atkinson is coming to preach in May
     3. Having a representative of the gospel visit our church and not be invited to stay in one of our homes and welcomed with hospitality, is on a par with one of our grown children coming into town and not being invited to stay at our house.
      a. “strangers as they are!” (3John5)
     4. Missionaries
    H. How blessed we are for having Melanie and Michelle and Richard and Carol!!
     1. Last year I received a message from the PCA I didn’t know how to respond to: The 1% challenge.
     2. We live in a celebrity culture. And I suppose it is natural for people to lift people up and celebrate them for who they are or what they’ve done. 
      a. So many times our Christian celebrities are those who are cool or funny or impressive, 
     3. But if the gospel is what the Bible says it is, shouldn’t our heroes be the heroes of the gospel?  Shouldn’t our celebrities be those who leave all the comforts and securities of home and family in order to carry the gospel to people who are not their people in lands which are not their lands?
     4. It seems to me that this is thinking of others according to Christ instead of according to the flesh (2Cor.5:16). If we think of Christ correctly, it seems to me we will think of other people very differently than we do. 
    I. And I know that it’s hard for our little church with its modest little budget to support three missionaries. And I’m so grateful for those of you who regularly support one or more of them personally.
     1. But let’s not focus on how this stretches us thin, let’s focus on the privilege we have to support the work of Christ’s glorious gospel in lands which desperately need it. 
    J. And I know we support other missionaries as well. I don’t want to neglect them.
   IV. Conclusion
    A. If God wants to draw our attention to those who carry the gospel to other lands, what does this tell us about the gospel and how important it is? It is the power of God for salvation (Rom.1:16). It is the hope of mankind. 
    B. And what does it tell us about the importance of traveling to the far corners of the earth to spread the gospel? 
    C. And what does it tell us about Christ, who came from heaven to earth, not only to bring the gospel but to BE the gospel, the good news. 
    D. This is why attention is  drawn specifically to those who TRAVEL to bring the gospel? Certainly it is because of how much they have lost in order to carry the gospel (Mark 10:29–30 Jesus referred to the blessedness of  those who leave “house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel”). 
     1. But it is also because in doing so they are like Jesus, who left His Father’s home to come to us.