Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
Jimmy Breslin wrote a book about the 1962 Mets who won only 40 games. The rhetorical question says it all. “Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?” Paul’s question to the Corinthians, similarly, answers much more than it asks. Not only is the answer to who is sufficient to be a minister of the gospel, no one, but it is a disguised attack against the false teachers who crept into Corinth as “peddlers”, preaching for gain. Paul had a better idea of who is sufficient. No one is sufficient but we are called by God to do just that. More than a pleasing appearance and strong speaking voice, Paul valued sincerity and calling. In Christ, all of us can speak the Good News to those in our circle.
God does not call the equipped but he equips the called. That excludes no one, even though no one is sufficient in themselves to do what God calls them to do. But God does not call for a commanding presence and a baritone delivery. He calls for faithfulness and obedience. If we pray to God for the ability to tell others about Christ. He will show you the way and don’t be surprised if it is far easier than you originally thought. He calls and equips us for his good pleasure, not our fame and fortune. We are commissioned by the Great Commissioner!
Dear Lord, thank you for calling us to yourself for service to you. May we be faithful and obedient to be ministers to those in our circle. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church