How are You Speaking,
and Where are You
When You Speak?
By Jonathan Mitchell
In Paul's second letter to Corinth, he gave qualifications to them about how he and his companions were speaking, and where they were when then spoke. He contrasted these to "the majority" of folks who were "performing as hucksters in shameful traffic for unworthy gain… as peddlers, marketing God's message." Does this contrast sound familiar? Here is what Paul said, in 2 Cor. 2:17, along with comments about this verse:
The following is an excerpt from "Paul to Corinth, comments on 1 & 2 Corinthians" (Harper Brown Publishing, 2020 pp 296-297).17. You see, we are not - as the majority [are] - ones performing as hucksters in shameful traffic for unworthy gain, constantly peddling and marketing God's message (God's thought and idea; the Word of God; the Logos from God), but to the contrary, we are constantly and habitually speaking as from out of the midst of that which is decided about when viewing in clear sunlight - and further, as from out of the midst of God; down within, in union with, and in the place of, God - within Christ! (or: but in contrast, as out of clear integrity, we are progressively speaking in an Anointing - as [being] forth from God [and] in God's presence!).
This affirmation is the direct answer to the rhetorical question that ends vs. 16, "So who [is] adequate, sufficient or qualified [in facing or approaching] toward these matters?" In the Greek text there is no separation between the question and this response. Hucksters and peddlers are NOT "adequate, sufficient or qualified" with regard to the matters that Paul is discussing. Sadly, in Paul's day and also in ours, "the majority" are hucksters and peddlers. There is money to be made, in religion.
The qualification for presenting the Good News must be compared to people who "are constantly and habitually speaking as from out of the midst of that which is decided about when viewing in clear sunlight." Now what Light might this be? We think that Paul explains this in 2 Cor. 4:6,
"the God suddenly saying, 'Light will shine forth (give light as from a torch; gleam) from out of the midst of darkness (dimness and shadiness; gloom and the absence of daylight),' [is] the One who shines forth within the midst of our hearts, with a view to illumination of the intimate and experiential knowledge of God's glory - in a face of Christ."
It is the Light of the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). There must be no deceit or trickery; no subterfuge; no hidden motive of gain. We must be speaking as "from out of the midst of that which is decided about when viewing in clear sunlight," which is an expanded rendering of the Greek phrase. A common rendering of this preposition phrase is, "from (or: out of) sincerity," which is given in the lexicons. But the noun literally means, "that which is being judged or decided about from viewing it in sunshine," so I have offered this for the best picture of Paul's meaning. His speaking has no hidden agenda. They, and their message, can be clearly seen to be pure, and the Light of Christ is the standard of purity.
From this, one of the lexical meanings of the noun is "purity" (i.e., of substance - which means, "no mixture of other ingredients"). Their message is "the real deal." The parenthetical rendering offers, "as out of clear integrity." In our current culture, the word "sincerity" has been watered-down.
But more than this, Paul and his associates obtain their "adequacy" by speaking "as from out of the midst of God." So we see how Paul perceives the realm in which he and his companions live, and speak. They spoke 'ex cathedra': from out of the Temple, which they were; from out of being seated with Christ, in the heavenly realm of God's atmosphere (Eph. 2:6). They spoke from out of the holy of holies, i.e., from out of the presence of God, Who dwells among and within us (we are His temple, i.e., His home). They know the realm from which they minister: the realm of God's sovereign influence - the realm of the Spirit. The coordinating conjunction, "as," occurs three times in this verse. Each use introduces how people are functioning. The first is negative; the next two set Paul and his friends on solid ground - as being trustworthy and dependable.
He goes on to color-in the picture of the place where they stand, and the realm from which they speak, as being: "down within, in union with, and in the place of, God." This is a compound preposition for this phrase, and is from kata (down) + en (within/in union with/centered in) + anti (in the place of), modifying the noun, God. This phrase is parallel to being "within the midst of God" (cf Acts 17:28), and expands our understanding of what it means to be "joined to the Lord" (1 Cor. 6:17). The optional rendering is, "in God's presence." Paul is straining to have them get the picture of "being in Christ" - and so he adds-on the phrase: "within Christ!" What a picture he paints!
However, the syntax can be read in a different order, but saying essentially the same thing: "but in contrast, as out of clear integrity, we are progressively speaking in an Anointing - as [being] forth from God [and] in God's presence!" This is closer to the common renderings, but think about it: it is simply the other side of the same coin - a different view of the same existential situation. Being in God's presence was what Moses experienced when, in the holy of holies, he spoke with God "face-to-face" (Ex. 33:11).
Therefore, when sharing the Good News, or when speaking anything, let us be aware of how we are speaking, and be aware of our existential position of being within the midst of God, even "down within, in union with, and in the place of, God" - that is, within Christ! And let us not forget that,
"God is the One habitually operating with inward activity, repeatedly working within, constantly causing function and progressively producing effects within, among, and in union with, [us]" (Phil. 2:13).
And furthermore, there is no shameful trafficking here (cf Ezk. 28:5). No religion here. No Babylon here (Rev. 17-18). It is living in the set-apart (holy) realm of God. Just breathe-in His atmosphere; it is Life.
Jonathan
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