Paul is like a spiritual GP, who is able to diagnose disease in the Body of Christ. He has learnt Biblical physiology, and so he understands what a healthy Church looks like. A healthy Church is focussed on Christ, and as such, is filled with people who are being transformed – by the Spirit - into the likeness of the Jesus on whom their attention is fixed.
The Church at Corinth is not a healthy Body. Its attention has been distracted by leaders who have turned the Church into a show, a performance with the spotlight on themselves as having the leading role. Their eyes have been taken off Jesus, and as such the Spirit has stepped back and is no longer transforming them into the likeness of Jesus. That’s a problem, if for no other reason than that’s what Jesus died to achieve in and for them. But when He is not the focus, the whole project of making people actually like Jesus comes to a grinding halt... Paul pleads with the not receive God’s grace in vain (6:1), i.e. not to be Christians who aren’t living into the vision of spiritual experience and discipleship Jesus won for them at Calvary.
Everything that hinders this great Divine project of renovation must be stripped away. This is our glorious destiny, and the very purpose for which Christ died. We can so easily have a minimalist view of the work of Christ... as if all He sought to achieve was the forgiveness of sin. But the Gospel is so much richer than that! He seeks to re-forge in us the Image of Christ, so that like Him we might be the righteousness of God.
But that is only going to happen if our eyes are fixed on Jesus – the Author and Perfector of our faith – and the Spirit is bringing all His power as God to bear on our being transformed into His image. Pray for leaders and preachers who get out of the line of sight, so you can see Him without hindrance or interference.
Questions:
Have you ever been involved in a Church where it was more about the leader(s) that about Jesus? What was it like?
Read Is. 49 (which is cited by Paul in II Cor.6:1-2). What difference does it make to how you read II Cor.6 when you realise that Isaiah 49 is actually a conversation between the Father and the Son (and the Church, but only in Is.49:14)?
And still in Is.49, what is the Father promising to do for the Son? How does that affect our vision of Church? ...and our own experience of discipleship? ...and of (Global Mission)?
Why does Paul then re-assure the Church at Corinth that ‘now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation’?
How do you feel about Paul commending himself (v.4)? Isn’t he doing exactly what he is criticising the Super-Apostles for doing in pushing themselves forward as the centre of attention?
Why do you think Paul starts by reflecting on his experience of suffering (vv.4-5 & 9-10)? How does that strengthen the case that his (apostolic) Gospel is in fact truth and reality?
Do you think we can pick our way through all the different interpretations of the Gospel, and of the teaching of the Bible? Can we really be expected to know which one(s) are right and which wrong? How could we do that? Does it matter?
In what ways can you see Paul making the claim to have been transformed into the image of Christ by the Spirit through his Gospel (see vv.3-11)? How comfortable are you with the idea that our being transformed is ‘proof’ of the truth of the Gospel?
Is Paul being over-optimistic about the extent to which we can actually be changed through the Gospel?
What does Paul mean when he talks about the dangers of being ‘yoked’ together with unbelievers (vv.14-16)? What does Jesus mean when he tells us to take His yoke upon us (Matt.11:29)? How does being yoked with unbelievers undermine our ability to do that?
Is Paul being too extreme here? If we withdrew from everyone who didn’t agree with us, we’d end up in a ghetto – how would that help anyone?
Why does Paul stop to cite the Old Testament in the light of his exhortations?
Look up each of the passages Paul cites in vv.16-18. They are all passages to do with the return of the ancient Church from exile. How does that flavour your reading of II Cor.6?
Can you talk about New Testament Churches being ‘in exile’? What would that look like?
