2 Corinthians 2:16

To the one. Christ is life or death to men as they accept or reject Him. This is inevitably so because He is the one and only source of life. Once confronted by truth as it is in Christ, no man can avoid making a decision. This contrast between the intended saving effect of the gospel and its opposite effect of condemnation is often alluded to in the NT (see John 3:19; 15:22; 1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 24). The sun, which imparts life to a tree that is planted in good soil, decomposes and destroys it if it is plucked up and exposed on the surface of the ground. Sunlight melts wax, but hardens clay. The difference is in the substances themselves. Even so with human hearts, some are melted, some hardened, depending on their individual response to the gospel.

Who is sufficient? The question is rhetorical. Paul senses the solemnity of the responsibility resting upon him for the salvation of men. This sense of responsibility was an important contributing factor to his success. It was this that had made him feel so deeply concerned over the state of affairs in Corinth (see on v. 13). This feeling of concern grows out of a deep sense of the importance of the task and of the value of souls. The minister who truly believes the truths of God’s Word, particularly those that have to do with the nearness of the end of time, cannot be indifferent toward lost men and women.

The minister of the gospel is responsible for how he lives, for what he preaches, and for the faithful delivery of his message. The responsibility of being an ambassador for God surpasses that of any other calling. Only as the ambassador for Christ is a living example of the message he proclaims, and as he lives in uninterrupted contact with the One whom he represents, can he expect to be “sufficient for these things.”