Paul’s epistles to the church in Corinth give us a glimpse into his ministry, especially the book of 2 Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 1, we can glean a few teachings from Paul’s experiences and reflect on our own ministry.

1. To Receive Before We Can Give

To serve God is to serve His church, and that is to serve our brethren. Yet, to be able to effectively feed the flock, we ourselves first have to be fed by God. In other words, we ourselves must first have our own encounters and experiences with God before we can edify others and bring them to God.

We see this in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, where Paul describes how he has experienced the suffering and comfort of Christ. It is only because Paul has personally experienced firsthand the comfort of God, he is able to comfort others who are in affliction with the same comfort which he first received (2 Cor 1:4).

This is why prayer and our daily cultivation are so crucial. These quiet times with God are where we taste the goodness and power of God, enabling us to guide those among the flock of God who are in need.

2. Self-Denial And Faith

Secondly, we also see the great suffering that Paul went through in His ministry (2 Cor 1:8-11). He was greatly burdened and pushed beyond his limits, to the point where they despaired of life itself (2 Cor 1:8). However, though it felt like he had received the sentence of death, Paul still had faith in God and in His deliverance (2 Cor 1:9-10).

Serving God is not easy. Though we may not face death like Paul, all of us would have faced our fair share of discouragements, criticisms, or even attacks.

We hence need to be willing to deny ourselves and take up our cross, whatever our cross may be (Mt 16:24). As soldiers of Christ fighting in this spiritual battle, we definitely will need to endure hardships (2 Tim 2:3).

Just like Paul, we ought to have faith that just as God has delivered us in time past, He continues to deliver us through all our troubles today and will ultimately deliver us from the grave and into eternal life.

3. A Clear Conscience Before Man

Paul faced quite a few challenges when pastoring the church in Corinth. Yet, from both epistles we see how Paul always did his best to clarify any potential misunderstandings. He endeavoured to have a clear conscience not just before God (Acts 23:1), but also before men (Acts 24:16).

In 2 Corinthians 1:15-24, Paul clarifies why he was not able to visit them again even though he initially planned to. Crucially, Paul wanted to ensure his failings and shortcomings did not cause the members to be shaken in their faith. He reminded them of the certainty of God’s promises, guaranteed by the Holy Spirit’s abidance.

Apologising and clearing misunderstandings (be it great or small) might not come so naturally for all of us. It always seems easier to sweep things under the carpet. Even if on the surface we pretend everything is okay, we often end up gossiping and complaining about members and coworkers behind their backs. However, as members of the body of Christ, we ought to instead desire to be united and of the same mind.

Let us learn from Paul and proactively strive to have a clear conscience before man, doing our part to clarify and clear up misunderstandings. Only then can we have a clear conscience before God.

Conclusion

We all have a choice whether we want to be a Christian. However, if you choose to be a Christian, you must serve God. As Christians, serving God is not a choice. It is a command.

We all have received our ministry from the Lord. As we study the book of 2 Corinthians, let us learn from the example of Paul and take heed that we fulfil the ministry which we have received (Col 4:17).