First Corinthians reveals the matter of living Christ for the church. If we read this Epistle in a thoughtful way, we may wonder if there is a pattern of living Christ for the church. We may say as we read this book, “Paul, show us a pattern. We have seen many things in our parents, relatives, neighbors, friends, and colleagues, but we have never seen a person living Christ for the church. We would like to see a pattern, for a pattern is much better than thousands of words.” Realizing the need for such a pattern, Paul presents this pattern in 2 Corinthians. Therefore, in this Epistle we see a living pattern.
Paul opens each of his Epistles in a different way. For example, the way he opens Romans is different from the way he begins Ephesians. The Epistle of 2 Corinthians also begins in a particular way. After the greetings and the word about grace and peace in 1:1 and 2, Paul goes on to speak, not in a doctrinal way or in the way of revelation, but in the way of giving a personal testimony. In 1:8 he says, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, as to our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were excessively burdened, beyond our power, so that we despaired even of living.” It seems as if Paul is saying, “Corinthian believers, I want to give you my testimony concerning how I live Christ for the church. When we were in Asia, we were excessively burdened, heavily pressed. We were pressed beyond our power, beyond our ability to withstand pressure, so that we despaired even of living. It was very clear to us that we were dying.” There is nothing doctrinal here. On the contrary, Paul is giving a testimony. This testimony is part of the pattern.
In 1:9 Paul continues, “But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not have confidence in ourselves, but in God, Who raises the dead.” Because they realized they were dying, the apostles did not have any confidence in themselves. Their confidence was in God.
The God in whom they were confident was not simply the One who created the heavens and the earth. Rather, their confidence was in the God of resurrection, in the God who raises the dead. Here Paul does not say, “I call upon the God who created heaven and earth to witness for me.” In verse 9 Paul refers not to the God of creation, but to the God of resurrection.
Paul’s confidence was not in himself; it was in the resurrecting God, the God who raises the dead. To have confidence in the God of resurrection and have no confidence in ourselves is to live Christ. If I have confidence in myself, then surely I am living myself. I am not living Christ. But here is an apostle who had no confidence in himself. His confidence was fully in the very God who raises the dead. In this matter he is a pattern of living Christ.
In verse 12 Paul goes on to say, “For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in singleness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.” This testimony is related to the pattern of living Christ for the church. Paul’s conscience testified that he lived in singleness; being political was not his manner of living. With Paul there was no politics. On the contrary, he was single. However, Paul did not live his own singleness and sincerity; he lived the singleness and sincerity of God.
The expression “the singleness of God” implies that God Himself is this singleness. Likewise, the phrase “the sincerity of God” actually means that this sincerity is God Himself. In 1:12 Paul does not speak of his human singleness or sincerity. His singleness and sincerity were God Himself.