In my pursuit of
understanding Paul’s theology of evangelism over the years, I have always
wondered whether 2 Corinthians 4:13 is a verse that has been neglected in the
discussion. The debate is around this question: did Paul want his converts and
churches to proactively seek to verbally share the gospel with unbelievers? Some
say, no, he saw that as the work of vocational evangelizers: apostles, evangelists,
co-workers, and ministers of the gospel. Others, myself included, have pushed back
against this view arguing that while Paul clearly wanted the vocational evangelizers
(those specifically gifted, called, and commissioned for the task) to do the
work, he envisaged all Christians as enabled to share Christ with unbelievers. Part
of the task of vocational evangelizers is to equip others for the task.
The debate revolves around complex
discussions of Paul’s theology of mission and a range of texts that are taken passively
or defensively (for want of better terms), as limited to vocational evangelizers
only, or whether they should be read actively in terms of the evangelistic engagement
of believers. Examples of the questions ask include whether Paul’s idea of
imitation included a passion for evangelization and the salvation of the lost. Are
all believers Christ’s ambassadors, or are just some? Is there evidence of
active evangelization in 1 Thess 1:8? Does Philippians 1:27–30 include an
appeal for evangelization? Does Romans 15:19 suggest churches were left to
complete the task of evangelism in their contexts? Should Phil 2:16a be read as
“hold fast to the word of life,” or “hold forth the word of life?” Is Col 4:5–6
about evangelism, general conversation inclusive of evangelism, or about how to
evangelize unbelievers? I could go on.
One passage that interests
me is 2 Corinthians 4:13. The verse is nestled in Paul’s apologia against
false teachers who are severely repudiating his
ministry. In the section 4:7–18, Paul speaks of the suffering the Pauline team
and other gospel proclaimers experience. While they are fully human creatures of
dust suffering immensely, they have God’s power swirling within them sustaining
them in their ministries of suffering (2 Cor 4:7–13).
Then in 2
Cor 4:13–15 he writes: “
Since we have the same
spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke”
(Ps 116:10) we also believe, and so
we also speak, knowing
that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us
with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace
extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of
God.
The logic of the passage is
thus. Paul believes. He believes as did the unknown writer of one of the 150
classic hits of Israel, the sacred scripture of Psalm 116. In the Psalm, the
Psalmist loves God who has heard his prayer (vv. 1–2). He was facing death (v.
3), he prayed for deliverance (v. 4) and was heard. He sings of God’s graciousness,
righteousness, and mercy (v. 5), his capacity to preserve and save his people
(v. 6). He can now summon his soul to rest because God has been good to him (v.
7) and has delivered his soul from death and grief (v. 8). He thus lives on (v.
9). This resonates with Paul’s situation as he writes from Macedonia to
Corinth.
Psalm 116:10 is the citation and Paul draws on the Greek version in Ps
115:1, the LXX. It reads: “I believed (episteusa); therefore (dio)
I spoke (elalēsa). In the LXX, it is found at the start of another Psalm
and is not connected to the previous passage of suffering as in the Hebrew
Bible which lies behind our English ones. Yet, while Paul uses the LXX, he
seems to be considering it in the context of suffering because this is the
setting he is in as he writes 2 Corinthians.
Here it speaks of his evangelistic ministry: “I believed, therefore (dio), I spoke.” Dio has the
inferential sense of “therefore, for this reason.” That is, his faith is the
basis for which he speaks. What does he speak? In context, he speaks the gospel
without guile so that through it, God’s light can shine into dark hearts and
bring salvation (2 Cor 4:1–6). He suffers immensely as he does so, yet he is sustained
by God’s power (2 Cor 4:7–12).
Because of the faith he has in common with the Psalmist, he cannot be
quiet, despite his suffering, he must speak. As he says in 1 Cor 9:16: “Woe
to me if I do not preach the gospel.”
Similarly, in Rom 1:14 he speaks of his divine obligation
to preach to all humankind.
He speaks because he knows that God raised Christ and will raise
him and other believers up when his and their times have come (2 Cor 4:13–14).
He speaks for the sake of the Corinthians so that the grace of God may extend
to more and more people. This will, in turn, bring praise and thanksgiving and
God’s greater glorification (2 Cor 4:15). Hence, despite the threat to life and
limb, he does not lose heart because he knows that glory awaits beside which his
suffering is nothing (vv. 16–18).
In my view, while the context speaks of Paul and his team’s speaking of
the gospel, there is an axiomatic connection between faith and speaking the gospel that rightfully noted, extends to all believers. That is this: when we truly
come to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and will raise us too into
a glorious inheritance that will blow our minds, we will then speak out, not
because someone is telling us we have to, but because we cannot help but speak
out. It will come out of us because we truly believe because we can’t hold it
in (cf. Jer 6:11).
This takes my mind to Acts 4:19–20 where Peter and John are told by the
Sanhedrin to stop sharing the gospel of Jesus in the Temple Courts. Peter and John
responded: “Whether
it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must
judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” They
were unable to stop because God had so gripped their souls that they had to
speak it.
When a person believes in Jesus; when they truly realize how astonishing
God, Father, Son, and Spirit; when they recognize the greatness of the salvation
we have received; when they come to understand the fullness of God’s plan for
the world; when they realize just what is waiting for them on the other side of
eternity; they cannot help sharing their faith. It simply explodes out of them.
The problem in the western church is not so much whether we should do evangelism
or not—if we truly believe as did Paul, Peter, John, and the Psalmist, we
wouldn’t be writing tomes defending whether or not we should or should not
preach Christ, we just would. So our problem is a lack of real faith in the
gospel. If we truly believed, it would come out of us because it is The Good
News! We couldn’t help telling others: There is a God. He created the world. He
placed us and you in it. You have a purpose! He has revealed himself in Jesus.
We now know who he is. He is coming back. We will rise to eternal life if we
believe. We will live forever with this sensational God swept up into the
wonders he has for us. He has chosen us! He loves us! This, despite all our crap!
Wow!
So, “we believe, therefore, we speak,” rightly understood moves beyond
context and becomes axiomatic. Who cares what the rhetorical intent of the
passage is and who the “we” is? The principle calls to us and draws us in.
My prayer as I write this is for God to ignite the faith he has placed
in me to such an extent that I can join in the Psalm and the word of Paul: “I
believe, therefore, I have spoken.” I pray this for you. It is amazing to be a
Christian and we simply have to tell the world.
In this way, more and more the grace of God will extend to the lost and more
deeply into the hearts of the found, and they too will respond and speak yet
more. As a result, as more and more people are swept up into the grace of God, gratitude
will flow from earth to heaven and God glorified as he should be.
The passage urges us that even if we are suffering immensely for sharing
the faith, we cannot stop allowing the gospel to burst out of us. Like a tire
inflated beyond its capacity to bursting point, the gospel bursts out of us so
that it cannot be stopped.
“God, build your church. Increase our faith so we are more and more like
the Thessalonians of whom Paul wrote: “your faith is growing abundantly” (2 Thess 1:3). If
it does, like the Thessalonians, the word of the Lord will sound forth from us to
others. Why? Because we can’t hold it in anymore; we believe, therefore, we
speak!
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