We all have our own gifts and callings that can be used, and if nothing else, we all live in a particular sphere of family and friends that no one else does. So the close relationships one person has with his own family members, his circles of friends, his workmates or classmates, etc, are largely unique to him or her, and that means God has put that person there as his immediate place of influence.

When I speak or write about some of the culture wars, spiritual flash points, and various battles Christians are involved in, I am asked quite often by concerned believers, ‘But what can I do?’ Sometimes the battles seem to be overwhelming, or sometimes a Christian may think he has nothing to offer in any of these areas. My usual reply goes something like this:

There are probably as many things that can be done as there are people. We all have our own gifts and callings that can be used, and if nothing else, we all live in a particular sphere of family and friends that no one else does. So the close relationships one person has with his own family members, his circles of friends, his workmates or classmates, etc, are largely unique to him or her, and that means God has put that person there as his immediate place of influence. I likely will never be able to reach this circle of people as easily as that person can. So that is your immediate mission field. That is your first port of call in terms of Christian service and outreach.

More on this can be found here.

I speak to this again because of my current reading in 2 Corinthians. This morning I was struck by what I found in chapter 10. Three times Paul speaks about the “area of influence” he and others found themselves in (verses 13, 15 and 16). Here is how 2 Cor. 10:13-18 reads in the ESV:

But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Let me briefly offer the context for this. This entire epistle is in many ways Paul’s defence of his apostolic ministry over against the false apostles. Sam Storms says this about Paul:

…[he] refused to take credit for the labors of others. He would only speak of his ministry in that arena of influence apportioned to him, which included Corinth. When converted and called to the apostolate, God gave Paul a distinct assignment. He was to be the apostle to the Gentiles…

This doesn’t mean he was prohibited from proclaiming the gospel to Jews. In fact we know from the book of Acts that he did precisely that. But his primary task was preaching the cross of Christ among the Gentiles, which included the Corinthians.

Or as D. A. Carson writes about these false apostles:

They made it a practice to boast of work done by others (2 Cor. 10:15). We have already discovered that Paul has no objection to people who build on the foundation he lays (1 Cor. 3:10); but these intruding apostles appear to have gone well beyond that point. They probably boasted that whatever spiritual vitality the Corinthians displayed was due to their ministry—even though they were latecomers to the scene….

These petty little men could not approach the high standards that characterized Paul’s ministry; yet somehow they gave themselves such airs that they managed to seduce much of the Corinthian church. Little men can be dangerous, especially when they position themselves in such a way as to capture some stolen glory from great men, and forge it into the bangles of self-interested leadership.

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