-II Corinthians 13:7, 8
Here is Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians; that they do no wrong; not to make Paul look good, but rather that they would be faithful – because God has called us to faithfulness. Paul was more concerned for them than he was for himself and his reputation. He already had a reputation as being a troublemaker. He no longer cared what people thought about him. There were still those in Jerusalem who couldn’t believe that Paul would associate with common people. Those people didn’t keep the Law, they had no regard for dietary regulations, and here Paul was eating with them; scandalous! Recall one of the chief complaints of the Pharisees against Jesus; He was a friend to sinners (Matthew 9:11). How terrible! He was right out there among those who most needed to hear the Gospel message. And for that He was roundly criticized.
Paul points out here that he could do nothing with the truth except be in support of it. The truth is that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him. This is the truth, and all Paul could do was agree with it. This becomes extremely personal for you and me; what is God’s plan for sharing the Gospel with the world? The plan is that we do it. That is plan “A.” It always has been. When it comes to going therefore and teaching all nations, we are plan A, and there is no plan B.
The last thing Paul would worry about would be if the brethren at Corinth were more spiritual, were baptizing more people, or were growing in their faith more than him. If that happened he would rejoice and be glad. That is a wonderful attitude for us, isn’t it? If the Gospel is going out, then let us rejoice. If people are coming to faith in the Lord Jesus, then I will rejoice and rejoice some more, whether it’s happening here or somewhere else. This is the heart of the matter; if people come to faith in Christ, we will rejoice and be glad.
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