1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
In chapter 6, Paul applied what he said in the previous section about ministry to the Corinthians. His team’s ministry to Corinth was the same as their ministry everywhere. This chapter continues the defense of their ministry to the Corinthian church. Paul gave the church reasons to justify his team’s ministry to them.
The first 10 verses set forth the cost of ministry.
1 We then,
Paul’s team were ambassadors of reconciliation (chapter 5).
as workers together with Him
The team worked together with God under adverse circumstances at Corinth. As Paul said in the previous chapter, they were “ambassadors of God.” They fulfilled God’s objectives, not their own. They responded to adversity by being faithful to the message of God’s grace as envoys of Christ.
PRINCIPLE:
It is not only essential to minister for the Lord but to work with Him.
APPLICATION:
There is ministry that only God can do. There is work whereby God involves Christians. Only God can save, but believers can deliver the message. Christians can attempt to minister without God, but that is equivalent to receiving the grace of God in vain. This attitude is to throw an insult at God by not appropriating His grace, His provisions for ministry. The question is “In what do we invest our time and energy?”
There is both an obligation and a dignity in serving the Lord. We not only minister for Him but with Him. This is a noble privilege, a ministry-linked service with God. It is not enough to minister for God; we must minister with Him. Many work for the President of the United States, but only a few work with him. Christians work for someone far higher than the President.
It is important to shoulder the burden of ministry together with other Christians. We are in this jointly with both God and fellow believers (Php 4:3). God expects us to do only what we can with what we have. We may be an eight-cylinder or a four-cylinder motor. He only expects us to minister with the tools He gave us. God’s game plan is particular to each individual.
