The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 306

Ver. 15.-Self·111tpenditure. I. A Sl'LENDID ILLUSTRATION 61!' 0HBT8TIAN BERVICll!:, The apostle is carried beyond the thought of givin~ some time, or strength or propertv, for his beloved Corinthians; he expresses his perfect willingness to give himself. Ii:e· will not count it & grief, but &gladness, to expend himself for thetn. Whilst many find great difficulty in giving a little for others, the apostle seems to find none in giving ell. Here we have: 1. Wl,ole-souled devotion. Nothing can transcend the apostle's offer. And the voluntariness and the joy of the devotion place it in the first rank of ex.cellence. 2. .Earnest desire for welfare. The love of Paul for the Corinthians could not have been more forcibly expressed. Men gauge our love for them by what we &re willing to give up for them ; when we are willing to give up ourselves for them, they ce.nnot but be convinced of our sincerity. 3. Indication of the importance of Christian work~ For nothing else in the world would Paul have. willingly spent himself. But Christian servioe more than justified the self-sacrifice. In his judgment nothfog could compare with it for a moment. We may remember that in all departments of life we can render Christian service; spheres of labour become insignificant and mean only when Christian service is excluded from them. 4. .A striking imitation of ·Oh'rist.' Paul has caught his Master's spirit. His Lord laid down his life for him ; he wiU now lRy down his life for his Lord. Christ "gave himself." The Lord's servant is most fitted to do his Lord's work when he is most like his Lord. 5. .A secret of success. When we labour for Christ in such a spirt as this we are CeI'tain to prosper. • Failure is the child of half-heartedness and selfishness. Christ honours an entire consecration' to his service. IL SELF-EXPENDING CHRISTIAN SERVICE J'ROMPTED BY A mGH MOTIVE. The apostle· was willing to spend himself for fhe souls of the Corinthians-'-" and be spent for your souls" (New Version). In this labour he was seeking at the same time the highest glory of God and Christ, and the truest welfare of men. These objects unite in Christian service, which aims pre-eminently to do good to· the souls· of men.· The saving and perfecting of souls redounds supremely to the glory of 'the Divirie Being, whilst it secures the highest good for humanity. So dominated_ was the apostle by the desire to do good to the souls of men, that what is usually a very strong motive for action, viz. the love of others for us, was quite r.wept away. ·He declares that he will ex.pend himself for the Corinthia=, though this strongest indication of his love to them should produce a decreasing love for him on their part. The disinterested character ''of ttui, Christian service is here very strikingly displayed. It was by such self-expenditure as that of Paul's that early Christianity won its triumphs; it is for such self-expenditure that later Christianity pathetically calls. God is al ways thoroughly in earnest, but men are not. When men become so then "the arm of the Lord is revealed."-H. Ver. 2.-".A man in Christ." St. Paul spoke of himself. Once he had been. out of Christ, though in a legal fashion very religious. But he gave up his legality when. he found Christ. He looked to him for help, fled to him for defence, and thenceforward lived in him as a new creature. It is the best short description of every believer. ·' • I. CHoSEN IN CHRIST. (Epb. i. 4.) We put this first, because this must come first in the Divine order and in the very nature of things. But man does not begin with any k:nowledcre of this as affecting himself. He grounds his faith, not on the·secretpurpose, but on the revealed good will of God to all in the gospel. It is after he has believed that he learns gratefully to trace bill own calling and salvation, in common with that of ell his fellow-believers, to the graciolll! choice and purpose of God. Then, as the seven- teenth Article of the Church of England expresses it, "The godly consideration of preJ- destinaLion and our election in Christ is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ;'' II. FnEELY GRACED IN THE BELOVED. (Eph. i. 6.) The man in Christ is embraced in the favour with which God regards his beloved Son. He has redemption an\i recon- ciliation to God, unsearchable riches, spiritual blessings in heavenly places, e.nd contin'\1a.l freedom of acce&8 to the Father in heaven. III. CREATED ..uraw DT CBBIST JEB'US, (Eph. ii. 10.) God begins thi~ work, as of old. 011, xn. 1-21.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 307