"Letting God be God over his church, seeing him as its center and glory, its source and his life, is a truly liberating experience. It liberates us from thinking that we have to do, in ourselves, what we are entirely incapable of doing. That is, growing the church.
"We cannot do what only God can do. We can work in the church, preach and teach, spread the gospel, encourage and urge each other on, but we cannot impart new life. Nor can we ever sanctify the church. Indeed we cannot even feed the church. It is God who supplies the food; we are simply called upon to serve it (1 Cor.3:5).
"This, however, is precisely what Paul says, a little later, that 'we do not lose heart' (2 Cor.4:1,16) but are 'confident' (3:4; cf. 5:6)."
-- David Wells, "The Courage to Be Protestant" p. 247 (Eerdmans 2007)
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