-So, what is an open door exactly? What does one look like? Paul is asking prayers for God to open a door, which once opened will give him an opportunity to talk about Jesus, right? Wrong. He uses the same phrase in 1Corinthians 16.9 and 2Corinthians 2.12 - note that it does not mean what we Americans think it means. An open door describes not an evangelistic opportunity but rather an evangelistic response. It describes people responding to the Message by believing it, by putting their trust in Jesus. There is no comma in the Greek. We insert the comma because we think Paul needed some kind of sign in order for him to speak up about Jesus. But there was no question of Paul talking about Jesus. There was no chance that he would NOT be sharing this better-than-good News of news with others. He did not need to wait for some ideal opportunity or some open door of permission, someone asking him about Jesus or some other such sign that it was ok to speak about his faith. You could fairly say that he was in fact in chains to this obligation - woe to him if in fact he DOESN’T speak, he says (1Corinthians 9.16). So, he was GOING to be speaking (How ‘bout me? How ‘bout you?). What he wants is people to RESPOND to the speaking. He wants God to open their hearts to believe and grant them repentance. God opening a door would look like numbers of people responding to the Message. So he is asking people to pray for this, and for one other thing (since we are talking about a mystery...).
-What utter foolishness, this! (at least in the eyes of the world). Paul is in chains because of speaking about Christ, and he is exhorting people in their praying to ask God to give greater responsiveness to the Word cuz he plans to keep right on speaking. Thank you, sir, may I have another! Is he out of his mind? Actually, yes. Yes he is. He is out of his mind for Christ, a bonafide Jesus-freak. He says so himself (2Corinthians 5.13-14, 2Corinthians 12.11). He is a fool in the eyes of the world. Would that I might be so foolish...
-Note how the language here reflects Paul’s confidence that if God’s people ask Him to open a door of response to the Word, He WILL do it. God is faithful. He does what He says, He is reliable, and He comes thru for His people. He does exacly what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Knock, and the door will be opened, Jesus promised (Matthew 7.7) - do you believe this? I wonder tho - would He call me faithful (cf Matthew 24.45)? Do I do what He needs me to do when it needs to be done? When is the last time the Lord opened a door of response to me when I spoke a word about Christ to another? When was the last time I even spoke to somebody else about Jesus? Am I open to speaking about Christ? Am I ready to embrace open doors of response? Remember, we’re not talking about opportunity - our days are full of chances to give others a word about Jesus - we’re just not taking advantage of them. Our faithfulness in this as in any area is an indicator of our faithfulness in all areas (Luke 16.10), yet when I am faithful in small things I will surely be entrusted with more (cf Matthew 25.23, 1Timothy 1.12). Can the Lord trust me with souls, with responses to the Good News? Can He even trust me with this precious message, to faithfully communicate it to others regardless of what it may cost me? That’s what we’re talking about. No doubt one reason I do not see God open a door of response is because I am not asking Him to do so (but is it not also because I am unfaithful with the Word?). If I am not faithful even in this one area, how can he entrust true riches to me (Luke 16.11)? Paul had been faithful, he made the most of the open doors fo response God gave him - this is part of the reason he was confident that God would give him more.
-Part of my hesitancy vis a vis speaking about Christ to others is the threat of prison, is it not? Maybe not your typical prison with bars and locks and chains - Paul of course endured these (nor was he at all hesitant). Christ-followers throughout the centuries and throughout the world today endure these, and worse. Prison for us consists of bonds of comfort and image, of labels and stereotypes and cold-shoulders. And compromise. We have so much and have so much to lose, so much stuff to be concerned about - and all this stuff pwns us. The truth is I am way too concerned about what other people think about me and not enough about what God thinks of me. May God Himself give us the grace to aspire to please Him above else, to be found by Him faithful to Him in all things. Including this area of speaking the Word.
-And when Paul is talking about speaking the Word, he is not talking about giftedness. Yes, it is true generally speaking that there are speaking gifts and there are serving gifts (1Pet 4.11). Some folks are indeed more wired naturally or spiritually for engaging with others verbally. But the call to speak about the mystery of Christ is given to all who follow Christ, regardless of their spiritual gifts. I do not need to be an evangelist to be able to share the Evangel (Good News) with others. The fact is that all those who trust in the Good News receive the same gift - the gift of eternal life - and it is meant to be shared rather than hoarded. More about this in the next couple of verses...
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