Paul assures his readers that he has nothing against them,
that the church is basically doing well.
He has written boldly to them because the gospel is so important, it is
so important that they get things right. The gospel is not to be taken lightly,
we need to understand it fully and properly.
Paul has written boldly “because of the grace of God given
to him”. Guilt can make us reluctant to be bold, or to act irrationally. In the
gospel we are set free from guilt, and grace enables us to do the tasks that
God has given to us with boldness. Note that boldness is not the same as
arrogance, and we need to be aware that it is oh so easy to slip from one to
the other. Paul’s desire was that the Gentile Christians would truly now God,
and so be an acceptable offering to the Lord.
Paul’s only concern about his life was what Christ has
accomplished through him. Paul did this by words and signs and wonders. A fully
functioning church will have sound teaching, powerful preaching, and
demonstrations of the Spirit’s power in signs and wonders.
In particular Paul’s aim was to see the gospel take new
ground, to go to places where it had not been before. We should pray to be filled with the same
zeal, even for our own country. For our nation is increasingly unchristian, so
there is much ground to be taken.
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