Please turn with me in the Word of God to the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians, taking up our reading at chapter 2, verse 12. The opening chapters of 2 Corinthians, Paul spends very much defending his own ministry, and in that way, clarifying for us the character of the ministry in a very helpful way. So, for that reason, we look to a section of the beginning of 2 Corinthians this morning as part of our installation service. 2 Corinthians chapter 2, taking up our reading at verse 12, let us hear God's own word. Now, when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death, to the other the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again, or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the Spirit kills, but the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now, if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness? So far the reading of God's Word. Paul in this text speaks of ministers as if they were part of the victorious procession of a conquering general. and a procession in which there is wonderful incense rising up to God and that they themselves partake of that fragrance so that wherever they go, like a strong aftershave lotion, they can be smelled in what they're doing, and that they are ministers of life unto life. And then Paul realizing what he said about the importance of the ministry, realizing what he said about the responsibility of the ministry, says in verse 16 of chapter 2, who is equal to such a task? Who is equal to such a task? It's amazing that the Apostle Paul himself, with all of his confidence in his calling, with all of the manifestations of blessing, both ordinary and miraculous, that had attended his ministry, still is struck with his own sense of insufficiency, with his own lack of a sense of competence for the work that he has to take up. Who is equal? Who is sufficient? Who is competent for such a task? Paul had perhaps particular reasons to address this question because it seems as if there were some in Corinth who had raised very serious criticisms of Paul and of his work. That's why Paul, I think, in chapter 3, verse 1 says, Do I need a letter of recommendation to you? There were some, you see, who had challenged his ministry. And it appears, if we read chapter 1 carefully, that the nature of the challenge was that Paul really wasn't reliable. That Paul said one thing and did another. And Paul addresses that in verses 15 and following of chapter 1, where he says, well, I had indeed planned to visit you. I told you that I was going to visit you. But then he didn't visit them. And there were some who had come and said, you see, this Paul who claims to be filled with the Spirit, this Paul who claims to be led by the Spirit, isn't a reliable fellow at all. And if he's not reliable, if he doesn't know what he's going to do, if he doesn't keep his word, why should we think he's a genuine apostle at all? It was a very, very serious challenge to the ministry of Paul. And so Paul has to pause and talk about his ministry and explain his decisions and his choices. And he explains this decision to change his mind in verse 23 of chapter 1, where he said, I had planned to come to you, but things were so disordered in Corinth that I was afraid if I came at that point, I would have to only grieve you and criticize you. And I didn't want to do that again. I'd already done that in a strong letter. And I didn't want to do it again, so I postponed my visit. And Paul is saying, it's not that my yes isn't yes and my no isn't no. I had a reason for a change of mind. I had intended to come and then needed to change. And that, you see, leads him to address this problem of the difficulty inherent in the work of the ministry. And to address this question, who is really competent? Who is really sufficient for this work? And let me assure you as the people of God that I don't know a minister anywhere who hasn't at some time in his ministry, maybe very often in his ministry, raised the question in his own mind and heart, is this really my calling? Am I really up to this? Can I really manage it? I remember very vividly one of my preaching professors when I was in seminary talking about a minister in Great Britain who preached in an old church with a high-raised pulpit. where he had to walk up almost a whole flight of steps to get up into the pulpit. And he would conduct most of the service from a lectern down below and then just before the sermon would mount the high pulpit. And from time to time, he would get to the point of the sermon in the service and he would look up those stairs and he would say, I cannot go into that awful place. And he'd walk out the door. Thankful to you, the elders had gotten so much used to this occasionally occurring. It didn't occur too often. But in its own way, it was a marvelous lesson to the congregation as to the seriousness of the call to preach, the seriousness of the responsibility of opening the Word of God. Who is equal to such a task? And Paul's answer is, none of us. None of us in ourselves. None of us in our own strength. None of us, according to our own abilities, would be equal to such a task. It is only as God makes us competent that we can have any hope of doing the work to which God has called us. You see that in chapter 3, verses 5 and 6. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant. Well, what is that competency that the Lord gives to us? Well, it's not sinless perfection, would that it were. It's not unvaryingly wise ideas, would that it were. But what is the competence that the Lord gives to us? I believe Paul offers one summary of that confidence very beautifully in verse 17 of chapter 2. What does it mean to be a competent minister, to be equipped by the Lord for the work? Paul says there, chapter 2, verse 17, Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity like men sent from God. Let's look at the elements of that verse as we think about what it means to be a competent minister and what it means we ought to expect in a minister and encourage him for doing. The first thing that Paul tells us here is that the competent minister is the minister who in Christ speaks. The first thing that is important in a minister is that he be a Christian. Now, that may be so obvious that it shouldn't need saying, but it does need saying, doesn't it? The tragedy of the church worldwide today is that there are ministers in pulpits who are not Christians. And so we cannot take that for granted. We have to be clear in our own minds, both as the people of God and as the minister, that the foundation of ministry must be in our own personal faith and relationship with Jesus Christ and resting in His gospel promise. Paul will later in chapter 4, quoting Psalm 116, Paul sang the Psalms and his mind was filled with them, and it's a wonderful thing to behold. Paul, quoting Psalm 116, says, I believed, therefore have I spoken. And that's the foundation of all ministry. We have to believe first, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, believe in His truth and in His gospel, and then out of the fullness of that faith, may we speak. Paul in chapter 1 will talk about how through Christ our comfort overflows. You see, the minister himself must have the comfort of the Lord Jesus Christ in his own heart so that out of that comfort that he knows and has experienced and has enjoyed, there might flow out to the people of God in his speaking comfort for them, comfort that he has known. You see, the competent minister who speaks in Christ then speaks for Christ in many ways. Paul helps us see that in these verses. In chapter 119, he talks about how he preached. And the word in Greek there is the official proclamation of the gospel done by a herald. One commissioned to office. That's part of what we're doing today. We are seeing the installation of Reverend Voss to the preaching ministry in this church so that he will stand in this pulpit and in an official way recognized by Christ in his church be the spokesman for God as he heralds forth the gospel. That's absolutely primary in his work. It has a priority among us. But in chapter 2, verse 12, Paul uses a different word. Now, when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, The verb he uses there might well be translated evangelizing. This is the work that is not the official work of the office, I believe, but is the more general responsibility of ministers and the people of God alike. We are all called to be evangelists. We are all called to be speaking the gospel out, to giving people some understanding of what it is we believe and why we hope in Christ. Paul, we know, also exercised his ministry of speaking for Christ in his writing. And so it's in almost every way and at every time that the minister is called to be speaking in Christ and for Christ. In his teaching, in his preaching, in his counseling, in his evangelizing, in his more informal visits with the congregation. He is to be speaking in Christ and for Christ and of Christ. Paul talks here in verse 14 of our text of the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ that is to arise from the minister. We're to make Christ known. People don't automatically know about Christ. They don't automatically know the truth of the gospel. They don't automatically know all of what Christ has done in his life and death and resurrection. People need to be told. And that's the function of the ministry. And particularly, Paul underscores here that the minister is to speak of Christ in the richness of his promises. Look at chapter 1, verse 20. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are all yes in Christ. And so through him the amen is spoken by us to the glory of God. We are amening Christ's promises when we preach. We are displaying them and expressing our conviction that they are true, our confidence in them, our hope in them, and calling everyone to share in that hope of what Jesus Christ has done for sinners in saving them by his death and resurrection. Those promises, you see, in a particular way are to be laid on the people of God. Yes, we must preach the law. We must preach God's holiness. We must preach our sinfulness. But especially and sweetly must we preach the promises that God is the life giver, God is the forgiver of the sins of his people in Jesus Christ. So the first point about a competent ministry is that he speaks in Christ in so many ways, but always focusing on the promises. Secondly, the competent minister speaks sincerely. He speaks out of a genuine conviction of what he has come to believe. It is not something that he's only read about and has not internalized that he preaches. It's not something that's written down and someone else insists that he has to preach. It's what he genuinely believes. And so there is a sincerity that must characterize the minister who is equipped by God for his work. And that's why ministry should be accompanied by a boldness that flows out of that sincerity. Now, Paul reflects on that several times in these verses. Chapter 3, verse 4, he talks about how he's confident through Christ. Chapter 3, verse 12, he talks about how he has a hope that makes him bold. Chapter 4, verse 1, he talks about a mercy that means we do not lose heart. You see, boldness, confidence, not losing heart, all come from Christ. From being connected to him and from the sincerity of our conviction of being related to him. So that what we have, we have through Christ, from his mercy, as a result of our hope in him. It's a wonderful thing to be able to speak with that kind of sincerity and conviction. And Paul says here in 2 Corinthians 2, 17, that in being sincere, we are not like many others. The sad truth is that in Paul's day, as well as in our day, there are those whom Paul labels peddlers of religion. Now, what's the character of a peddler? He goes around selling his wares for profit and will say most anything to close the deal. he doesn't really care how accurate his words are he's in it for the money and he knows that he has to say what people want to hear in order for them to respond and for him to get what he wants he's a hireling and the tragedy of churches in our day is that there are hirelings in churches who don't speak sincerely the word of God but are like those prophets that Jeremiah criticized prophesied, prophets who are pleasant prophets to have around, who will tell you what you want to hear, who will pat you on the back and encourage you in whatever you want to do, who will say, peace, peace, when there is no peace. And Paul says, such preachers are of no value. We need preachers who are sincere, who will tell the truth as it is in Jesus Christ, Who will tell us when we are sinning and need to change, even though it hurts. And then we'll come with the balm for hurt in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the kind of sincerity that we need. We don't need, as he says in chapter 4, verse 2, preachers who come with deception and distortion. Preachers who are manipulators. You know, that's so easy to do if you're very good as a speaker. To manipulate people. To get out of them the kind of emotional reaction you want out of them. To have them one moment in tears and in another moment laughing. And then when they go out, what do they say? They say, oh, wasn't the preacher marvelous? But you see, a godly preacher doesn't want you going out saying, isn't the preacher marvelous? He wants you to go out saying, isn't the Lord Jesus Christ marvelous? Isn't the gospel glorious? Isn't it wonderful that we have a Savior? And whether the preacher is eloquent or pedestrian, if he lays forth before us the law and the gospel, that is what we need as the people of God. And that's the kind of sincerity that we need to look for. So the competent minister is one who speaks in Christ. He speaks sincerely. He speaks as one sent from God. You know, we went through quite a process in calling Reverend Voss. We had a search committee and we had congregational meetings and the consistory met a number of times and there were discussions and there was a vote. And it can be very tempting for us to say, all right, now we as a church have called Reverend Voss. We as a church are installing Reverend Voss. And that's true up to a point. But at a much profounder level, Reverend Voss is sent to us by God. We are the means God used, we trust, as a church and as a consistory and through meetings and study and prayer and voting. But as he takes up this office, we have to remember that he's sent by God to us. Paul reminds us of that in the way he talks about the ministry. Our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers. Chapter 3, verse 8, He has given us the ministry of the Spirit, which is glorious. He's given His Spirit into the ministers of the new covenant that they might conduct that ministry in the power of the Spirit to make righteousness in Jesus Christ known. And that's glorious. And it's God's work. Paul said of himself, I was called by the will of God. I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. by the will of God. At the beginning of some of his letters, he goes on and says, not by the will of man. I'm not even sent, Paul is saying, by my own interior sense of call, as important as that is in the whole process of responding to a call. I'm not self-sent. I'm not church-sent in the deepest sense. I'm God-sent, is what Paul says about the ministry. And he talks about how God commissions and equips his ministers. Chapter 1, verse 21 and following, Paul wrote, Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. There are three blessings that are promised here. anointing, sealing, and the gift of the Spirit. Now, in a sense, every Christian shares in this, but I think Paul is particularly in this verse highlighting what God has done for him and the ministers who stand with him. And what a strong statement this is, that we are anointed. We have the oil of God placed upon us, the chrism of God. This word anointed is the same word from which we get the word Christ. Christ was anointed to be Messiah. We are anointed to be His ministers. And we are sealed. We belong to Him. We are marked by Him. And then we are given the power of the Holy Spirit to function for Him. And so we need to see the competent minister as sent from God. The minister needs to know himself as sent from God. But we need, as the people of God, to receive him as the one sent from God. That's our critical responsibility. And again, we know that he'll occasionally make mistakes. He is a sinner like the rest of us. But God, throughout the whole history of his church, has used ministers who are sinners. Only our Lord Jesus Christ himself was sinless in the conduct of his ministry. So the competent minister is the one who speaks in Christ, who is sincere, who is sent by God. And the fourth point, briefly, in this text we see is that he stands before God. The minister conducts his office in the first place not to please the congregation, not to please those outside the congregation, but to please God. He stands before God. And he stands before God with the knowledge that there is a special judgment reserved for ministers. James 3, verse 1 tells us that, doesn't it? You know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. And therefore, the minister must conduct his office with a profound sense that he stands constantly before God. He stands constantly under the scrutiny of God, and he will stand one day before the judgment of God to render account for how he conducted his office. And when he renders that account, God will not be interested in him saying, I made them happy. I entertained them. God will be interested only in the extent to which the minister was faithful in the proclamation of the word of Christ. Paul calls the ministers and all of us in chapter 4 verse 18 to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. We've been blessed with two long ministries here in this congregation. And I'm hoping Reverend Voss will beat them all in staying a long time. But Reverend Voss' ministry, in terms of its duration, is temporary. All of our memberships here are temporary. And we need to remember that what is eternal and what is lasting is what we are in Christ and what we'll be in Christ. And so we as the people of God need to be encouraging the minister to exercise the competencies that God has given him so that he will speak in Christ, so that he'll be sincere, so that he'll have that sense of coming from God and standing before God. And he can only do that as we support him. as we receive him, as we encourage him, as we give him time to study for his work. Who is sufficient for these things? No one in himself. Paul says, all this happens that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. The God who has the power to raise even the dead has the power to make even incompetent ministers competent. And there's our hope. And indeed, our very weakness, Paul says, as ministers, can have its value. As he says in 2 Corinthians 4-7, we have this treasure of the gospel in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. The function of the ministry is to give glory to God. The function of the ministry is to tell the truth about Jesus. And the function of the ministry is to bring people closer to Jesus through their work so that God might receive all the glory. May that be true among us in the ministry of Reverend Voss. Let us pray. Lord our God, we are so thankful for your good provision for us of a minister and a preacher of the gospel. We pray now that you will indeed give Reverend Voss the strength of your spirit to conduct his ministry in the spirit for Christ so that we as your people might be built up through his work, so that we as your people may encourage him in every godly thing, and that all together we might grow more and more in the image of Christ and in making him known. Hear us, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let us respond to the Word of God by turning to number 240.