The Great Compulsion Text: 2 Corinthians 5:11-15
Introduction: The Right Kind of Crazy
We live in a world that is going mad, and it is a peculiar kind of madness. It is a madness that insists on its own sanity while labeling as insane anyone who dares to point out the obvious. Our culture celebrates men who pretend to be women, applauds the dismemberment of the unborn as healthcare, and calls the foundational truths of creation hate speech. In such a climate, the faithful Christian, who simply believes what the Bible says, will inevitably be considered out of his mind.
The Apostle Paul was no stranger to this accusation. His enemies in Corinth, the "super-apostles," were slick, polished, and respectable. They boasted in their résumés, their speaking abilities, their worldly credentials. And when they looked at Paul, they saw a man who was, frankly, a bit unhinged. He was too zealous, too passionate, too willing to suffer. He talked about visions and revelations. He gloried in his weaknesses. By the world's standards, and by the standards of the compromised churchmen in Corinth, Paul was crazy.
In our text today, Paul addresses this head-on. He acknowledges that from one point of view, his life might look like madness. But he explains the logic behind it. It is not an irrational madness, but a divine one. It is a holy compulsion, a glorious obsession that reorders every priority, redefines every relationship, and re-evaluates every motive. This compulsion has two poles: the fear of God and the love of Christ. These are the two great realities that gripped Paul's heart and drove his ministry. And if they grip us, we too will be set free from the fear of man, from the desire for worldly approval, and we will begin to live lives that are, to the world, inexplicably and gloriously insane.
We need to recover this sane insanity. We live in an age of tepid, respectable, domesticated Christianity that is terrified of offending anyone but God. Paul shows us a different way. He shows us a ministry that is not driven by marketing strategies or public opinion polls, but by the awesome reality of the judgment seat of Christ and the overwhelming force of the love of the one who sat there for us.
The Text
So then, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we have been made manifest to God; and I hope that we have been made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an opportunity to boast of us, so that you will have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. For if we are out of our mind, it is for God, or if we are of right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
(2 Corinthians 5:11-15 LSB)
The Holy Fear That Persuades (v. 11)
Paul begins by grounding his entire ministry in a profound and motivating reality.
"So then, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we have been made manifest to God; and I hope that we have been made manifest also in your consciences." (2 Corinthians 5:11)
The phrase "the fear of the Lord" is not, as our modern sentimentalism would have it, a mere "reverential awe." It is a deep and abiding awareness of the terror of standing before the holy Judge of all the earth. Paul has just spoken of the judgment seat of Christ, where every person will give an account for the deeds done in the body (v. 10). This is not a game. Eternity hangs in the balance. Paul knows this. He lives in light of this. This is the beginning of all wisdom, and it is the beginning of all faithful ministry. If you do not fear God, you will fear men. But if you fear God rightly, the fear of men evaporates like mist in the morning sun.
Notice the result of this fear: "we persuade men." Because Paul fears God, he is not content to let men drift into a Christless eternity. This fear does not paralyze him; it energizes him. It makes him an evangelist. It drives him to reason, to argue, to plead, to persuade. This is not manipulative coercion. It is the logical outflow of knowing the stakes. If you saw a man's house on fire, you would not politely suggest he consider exiting. You would yell. You would persuade. Paul's persuasion is born from this holy terror. He knows what is coming, and he loves men enough to warn them.
But Paul's motives are not hidden. He says, "we have been made manifest to God." God knows his heart. God knows he is not a charlatan. And he hopes that this integrity is also "manifest...in your consciences." He is appealing to the Corinthians' own God-given sense of right and wrong. He is saying, "You know, deep down, that we are the real deal. You know our ministry has been transparent before God and before you." This is the confidence of a man who lives his life coram Deo, before the face of God.
A Platform for Boasting (v. 12)
Paul anticipates the charge that he is simply engaging in self-promotion, a charge his opponents were likely leveling against him.
"We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an opportunity to boast of us, so that you will have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart." (2 Corinthians 5:12)
Paul's defense of his ministry is not for his own ego. It is for the sake of the Corinthians. He is equipping them. He is giving them ammunition against the false teachers. These opponents were all about "appearance." They had the right pedigree, the right rhetoric, the right look. They were impressive on the outside. They boasted in the flesh. But their hearts were far from God. They were peddlers of God's word, in it for the money and the prestige.
Paul's boast was entirely different. He boasted in his weakness, his sufferings, his persecutions, because in those things, the power of Christ was made manifest. He is telling the Corinthians, "When these slick talkers come around, you can point to us. You can boast in our authenticity, our scars, our love for you. You have an answer for them, and that answer is a ministry that looks like Jesus, not like a celebrity." Paul is turning the world's value system on its head. The true measure of a ministry is not its outward polish, but its inward, God-manifested reality.
For God and For You (v. 13)
Here Paul directly addresses the charge of insanity.
"For if we are out of our mind, it is for God, or if we are of right mind, it is for you." (2 Corinthians 5:13)
This is a brilliant, Spirit-inspired piece of rhetoric. He says, in effect, "You think we're crazy? Fine. Let's grant the premise for a moment. If our ecstatic states, our visions, our relentless zeal for the gospel seems like madness, then that madness is directed God-ward. It is between us and Him. It is our God-intoxicated worship." This is the vertical dimension of his life. His passion was ultimately for the glory of God.
But then he addresses the horizontal. "Or if we are of right mind, it is for you." When he is sober, rational, clear-headed, and practical, that is all for their benefit. His sane moments are spent serving them, teaching them, building them up. So either way, whether he is 'crazy' or 'sane,' his life is not his own. It is lived entirely for God and for the church. It is a complete renunciation of self-interest. He is saying, "Analyze my life from any angle you wish. You will not find a shred of self-serving ambition. It is all for God, and it is all for you." What a devastating rebuke to the self-promoting super-apostles.
The Controlling Love of Christ (v. 14-15)
Now Paul reveals the ultimate source of this holy compulsion, this divine madness. It is not just the fear of God, but the love of Christ.
"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
The word for "controls" here means to constrain, to compel, to hold together. It is a powerful, irresistible force. Paul is saying that the love Christ has for him, demonstrated on the cross, has so completely captured him that it dictates his every move. It is the central organizing principle of his entire existence. And this compulsion is not based on a feeling, but on a conclusion. It is a theological reality that he has reasoned to and now lives by: "having concluded this."
What is the conclusion? "That one died for all, therefore all died." This is the heart of substitutionary atonement. When Christ, our representative head, died on the cross, all of us who are in Him died with Him. Our old life of sin and rebellion and self-ownership was crucified with Christ. The penalty was paid. The old man is dead. This is a settled, historical, objective fact for the believer. The "all," in this context, refers to all of the elect, all for whom Christ effectively died, all who are in Him.
And this leads to the radical implication in verse 15:
"And He died for all, so that they who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (2 Corinthians 5:15)
The death of Christ was not just to forgive our past; it was to define our future. Because we died with Him, we were also raised with Him to a new kind of life. And the purpose of this new life is explicit: that we would no longer live for ourselves. The default setting of the fallen human heart is autonomy. We want to be our own gods, to live for our own glory, our own comfort, our own agenda. But the cross demolishes that. The cross declares that you are not your own; you were bought with a price.
We now live for one person: "for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." Our lives are no longer our own little projects. We are instruments in His hands. Our time, our money, our talents, our ambitions, our families, our very breath, it all belongs to Him. This is the logic of the gospel. He died for you, so you must live for Him. This is not a grim duty; it is a glorious liberty. To live for oneself is the ultimate bondage, a cramped little prison. To live for Christ is to be swept up into the grandest story in the universe, the cosmic purpose of God to glorify His Son.
Conclusion: A New Center of Gravity
This passage gives us the blueprint for a truly Christian life. It is a life reoriented around a new center of gravity. The world revolves around the self. The Christian revolves around Christ.
This reorientation is driven by two great truths. First, the fear of the Lord. We know that we will stand before our Maker and give an account. This gives our lives weight, sobriety, and a holy urgency to persuade others of the truth. It frees us from the trivial fear of what others think of us.
Second, the love of Christ. We have concluded, as a matter of settled fact, that He died our death so that we could live His life. This love controls us. It is an all-consuming fire that burns away the dross of self-interest and self-pity. It makes us willing to be thought fools for His sake. It compels us to no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose for us.
Does your life make sense to the world? Or does it seem a little bit crazy? Is it driven by the fear of God or the fear of man? Is it controlled by the love of Christ or the love of self? If we truly grasp the logic of the cross, we will find ourselves wonderfully constrained. We will find our lives are no longer our own. And in losing our lives for His sake, we will, for the first time, truly find them.