2 Corinthians 5:12-16 – Constrained By The Love Of Christ
Paul said in verse 11 that the fear of the Lord motivated him. It’s a passage that describes a holy reverence for God that has motivated Paul to speak and to minister in the church. He now shows a second principle that motivates his ministry. It is the love of Christ. Since He died for me, I die to self and live for Christ. Paul wants to, not defend himself personally, but he wants to give answer to the Corinthian church so that they could give answer in turn to those false teachers that were coming behind and defaming Paul and more importantly defaming Christ by what they were proposing. The false teachers, Paul says in this passage, boasted in their outward appearance. They boasted in their Jewish descent or their circumcision, their outward obedience to the law. But Paul doesn’t boast in that. You can change everything on the outside and have nothing different on the inside. And Paul says, ‘That is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s not what I taught you. That’s not what I want you to hold to. Hold to Jesus Christ. Boast in Him. And if you need to give answer to those false teachers, turn them to Jesus Christ. Let them know the difference between what is on the outside and what is on the inside’. Verse 13 elaborates on that when Paul describes his actions among the Corinthians. It appears that the false teachers were saying, ‘He’s out of his mind’. Paul says if he is this way, that he is this way for Christ and for His church. The detractors were missing both Paul’s heart and they were missing what was on the inside, the message of Jesus Christ. They were focusing on the externals.
Paul says that he is constrained, compelled, controlled by the love of Christ. As we enter into a relationship with Christ, we do so recognizing that this relationship will define us forever. It will constrain us, it will compel us to live oriented towards Him in everything that we do. Since Christ has died for me, Paul can say, I die to myself and live to Him. Paul says the love of Christ constrains us because if one died for all, then all died. This is teaching that God has provided a substitute for sin, that by union with Christ, all that belong to Him receive the blessings of Christ, and die to self. We can think of that in terms of justification, that in Him our sins are covered over, and we can have great peace in His presence because of that. And we can also think of that in terms of sanctification, that since Christ has died for us, that we count ourselves as being dead to sin, and alive to Jesus Christ. Paul closes in verse 16 by saying that he is so gripped by the love of God that he judges all things by that relationship. He judges no longer by outward appearances. That’s the way the world judges. That’s the way he used to measure all things. But now he understands that the heart of the matter is that relationship to Christ.
Question
- What motivates Paul?
Prayer Points
- Pray that the love of Christ would control you in everything.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.