2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
The verse draws a sharp contrast between the many who corrupt the word of God and those who speak in sincerity, as from God, in the sight of God, in Christ. Faithful ministers belong to the second company, speaking sincerely as people sent by God, united with Christ, and standing under God's sight. They do not handle the truth lightly because ministry is a solemn responsibility for which a person must be properly qualified. To corrupt the word means to mix it with false teaching and to oppose God's commandments. It also means to distort its meaning rather than explaining the word of truth rightly.
To speak with sincerity means to speak as sent by God and united with Christ, under God's sight and accountable to Him for how the truth is handled. Each worker must therefore stand individually in God, answering for service to the souls for whom Christ died. Paul exemplified this sincerity, and his confidence in proclaiming the gospel came from knowing Christ and knowing the truth he was called to confirm. That confidence rested also on his call as God's ambassador, and it was not spiritual pride but the assurance of a sanctified conscience. Faithful witness of this kind triumphs in Christ and makes the knowledge of Christ manifest in every place. It becomes a sweet savor of Christ, a savor of life unto life to those who are saved and of death unto death to those who perish.
God's workers do a peculiar work that the world cannot appreciate because it does not understand it. Believers must therefore discern between what is true and what is false, distinguishing sincere speakers of God's word from those who corrupt it. Gospel teachers are called to let words, conduct, and life reflect Christ's meekness rather than pretension or self-deception as they care for the church and seek souls. Experienced ministers are to instruct young men desiring the ministry by taking them along and showing them how to win souls. Bible study and work in the canvassing field prepare such workers in trust toward God, because sufficiency is not of self but of God, and the canvasser is to open the Word of Truth and explain it rightly to people seeking light and religious truth.