November 16 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 6:4-7 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

Yesterday Paul wrote that his life proved the sincerity of his commitment to be an ambassador for Christ. In today's passage he spells out a number of areas where this is revealed. These characteristics are broken up into three groups. It should be noted that these are not just attributes that Paul had, but these are things that anyone who wants to effectively carry out the ministry of reconciliation will need to possess. The first group is found in verses 4-5 and deals with "negative" experiences. He opens this section in verse 4 by speaking about having "patience". That word means "to endure". It is not simply waiting for the trial to end, but it involves pressing forward and continuing to serve despite the problems that are being faced. Paul then lists nine areas where endurance was necessary. "Afflictions" means to be under intense pressure. "Necessities" refer to hardships, and is used for difficult circumstances that come on someone with "compelling force" . "Distresses" carries the idea of being caught in a very narrow space. "Stripes" speaks of having your body wounded by being beaten. "Imprisonment" is a word we are familiar with. "Tumults" refers to riots or mob violence. "Labors" speaks of hard, unremitting toil, and working to the point of exhaustion. "Watchings" means to go without sleep. "Fastings" in this context refers to not having enough to eat because of persecution or poverty. Paul faced all of these issues, and he spells them out even more clearly in II Corinthians 11:23-27. The bottom line of this section is that Paul proved who he was by what he went through, and if we are going to be the servants of God that we need to be then we are going to have to be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ as well. II Timothy 3:12 states,

"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution".

The second group of characteristics is found in verses 6-7, and also contains nine components. These are nine "positive" attributes that he and the rest of God's servants should exhibit. "Pureness" refers to abstaining from sin. It comes from the same root word as "holiness". "Knowledge" speaks of understanding the Scriptures and being focused on putting them into practice. "Longsuffering" refers to being patient under difficult circumstances. "Kindness" has been defined as "goodness in action". If I can skip ahead, Paul mentions "love unfeigned". "Love" here is the sacrificial "agape" love that God has for mankind. "Unfeigned" means that it is genuine and not hypocritical. Notice how this all fits together. I Corinthians 13:4 summarizes Biblical love this way:

"Charity suffereth long and is kind".

Paul concludes this group with three more positive characteristics. Paul lived his life according to the "Word of Truth". In John 17:17 Jesus prayed to the Father,

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

Tomorrow we will look at the third group of characteristics that revealed Paul's commitment to servicing the Lord.