The Christian congregation in Corinth found Pauls weak presentation of the gospel
and his approach to ministry to be scandalous. Recently arrived apostles reinforced
and accentuated attitudes the congregation had already imbibed from contemporary
Corinthian culture. As a result many in the congregation were less than satisfied with
Pauls manner of speech, his apparent lack of charismatic qualities, his refusal to
accept money from them, his lack of commendatory letters, and his lifestyle that was
characterised by suffering, affliction, opposition and weakness.
However, Pauls criteria for evaluating ministry, and by implication Gods criteria,
were significantly different from those of the Corinthian congregation. Key verses
such as 2 Cor 1:9; 3:5; 4:7; 6:7; 12:9 and 13:4 indicate that Paul maintained that
Christian life and ministry generally, and apostolic ministry in particular, must be
carried out through divine power, not human power. His apostolic ministry was valid
because it was exercised as Gods representative, in Gods presence (2:17), with God
as judge (5:10) and as a result of Gods mercy (4:1), not as a result of his own power,
authority, eloquence or charismatic presence.
The theological underpinning for Pauls approach to ministry is found in 13:4 where
Christ who was crucified as a result of weakness, but lives as a result of Gods
power is the model for Paul who shares in his weakness, but in ministry to the
Corinthians, also lives as a result of Gods power. Pauls model for ministry was
one of dependence on God. This is most clearly demonstrated in the affliction he
experienced in Asia where he despaired of life itself, but in the process learned to rely
on God who raises the dead. Thus his suffering, weakness and affliction, far from
being disqualifiers for ministry, were in fact, demonstrations of his authenticity as a
minister whose competency came from God and not from himself (3:6).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217887 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Evelyn_Ashley@iinet.net.au, Evelyn Ashley |
| Publisher | Murdoch University |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.murdoch.edu.au/goto/CopyrightNotice, Copyright Evelyn Ashley |
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