Several years ago, when the boys were playing competitve soccer we ventured down near Atlanta to weekend long tournament. The boys were pretty excited, as were the parents, this had a 'big time' feel to it. But the boys became silent when we arrived at the soccer complex; there seemed to be soccer fields as far was we could see. There were teams everywhere. We suddenly felt like very small fish in a very large sea. The tension built even greater when we saw teams with the own busses; matching uniforms and expensive warmups. They all wore the same shoes, socks, shorts, everything! They looked the part in every way. They even had equipment managers that carried everything for them. They appeared older, taller, faster and more skilled; all before they set foot on the field.
We arrived, a ragtag team, piling out of cars and minivans, wearing a simple T-shirt as a uniform; arguing about who would carry the equipment. Our team had a hodgepodge of different colors and types of shoes, shorts and socks. One question hung in the air, so obvious to everyone but unspoken, "What are we doing here?" We felt like soccers version of Bad News Bears. The question that day was not who looked best. The question came down to what was on the inside. We weren't much to look at, but our boys knew how to play the game well.
In this passage, Paul speaks of his life in a similar way. The critics tried to disqualify Paul by his appearance and presentation. He admitted he wasn't much to look at and he wasn't a salesman in any way. Paul condisered himself a fragile jar of clay. But there was something very special inside of this jar of clay. Paul had trusted Christ, was being transformed and subsequently been given this ministrty of sharing that gospel with others. The treasure on the inside was automatic victory regardless of the way the world might score things.
"Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust; your injustice is the proof that we are innocent.… The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed." (Tertullian)
2 Corinthians 4:1
This verse and chapter begin with a 'therefore' that links this tightly to chapter3. What ministry is Paul talking about? It was the ministry from glory to glory. From the glory of the law that led to condemnation to the glory of righteousness by the Spirit. It's this unveiled glory of Jesus Christ in the New Covenant. It is the ministry of the Spirit in us and through us. We are remade in that glory, defined by that glory and reflecting that glory. 'We' have this ministry; this isn't just about Apostles, preachers or teachers; this is for each one of us.
Since we have this ministry of a true gospel message, we shouldn't lose heart. Now remember where Paul was in his life when he said this. We sometimes lose heart over the most mundane things. Paul is saying don't lose heart while wandering all over these foreign lands preaching a message that most didn't want to hear. And they didn't just ignore the message, they responded to it with hatred and they despised him. They plotted to arrest, beat or kill him.
The language used for 'losing heart' in verse 1 is to whither, grow weary, cowardly and timid. It's cowardice with a step towards evil conduct or bad behavior. That cowardice takes the form of changing the gospel message so it isn't offensive. It's backing off from the truth because you don't have the courage to speak it boldly. And you can hear those kinds of messages all over the world on Sunday mornings. They are the messages of cowards afraid to speak the truth and stand by it. Many men who stand in the pulpit are afraid to speak a truth that unsaved men find offensive. They are losing heart.
Spurgeon said this clear back in the 1800's.
"Certain divines tell us that they must adapt truth to the advance of the age, which means that they must murder it and fling its dead body to the dogs . . . which simply means that a popular lie shall take the place of an offensive truth."
For being written in the 1800's that's profound for our age. The world we live in is the master at replacing the offensive truth with a popular lie. Satan has got the world believing that we can each have our own truth - and what's true for me doesn't have to be true for you. It's all very warm and fuzzy. It's called tolerance. In reality it is cowardly and unloving because people are lost and no one will tell them. It's cowardice and losing heart to speak the one and only truth.
The cross is an affront to sinful nature of the unregenerate man. When the cross is put away, the world becomes a comfortable place from which we can practice our sins. It is warm, friendly and tolerant of whatever abomination or perversity man can dream up. It's humanism, finding the answers within ourselves and our own proclivity towards sin.
While Paul was determined not to lose heart, he recognized his insufficiency while he humbly acknowledged his calling to preach this message to others. It was his life; it wasn't just something done in his spare time. He was completely sold out to Christ. There was no backing up or backing out. No matter what happened, Paul said, we should not lose heart. The ministry he received was approached humbly but with zeal and commitment. It was received as they received mercy, undeserved but also thankfully.
2 Corinthians 4:2
This may well be an answer to a slanderous accusation made by one of these false teachers. The 'hidden things of shame' are those sins hidden deep within our lives. They are the secret immoralities or hypocrisies of our past. These are the shameful, ugly and disgraceful things that we each have. If these teachers accused Paul of leading the life of an apostle on the surface and then having a life filled with the things of shame, he makes it clear that he had renounced those things. This 'renounce' is to turn away. It is repentance. Every person, when they are saved has these things that they must renounce. Those things are different for each of us.
Paul had those things also and he had long since renounced them. He wasn't walking in craftiness, leading a sort of double life, on one hand, acting like an apostle on the surface, but on the other, deep inside harboring these shameful hypocrisies. The gospel message Paul preached was consistent with what was in his heart.
When Paul delivered the message before men it wasn't done with deceit. The NASB says 'not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word.' The Greek word used for 'deceit' there implies being watered down or diluted. Paul didn't adulterate or pollute the gospel message. It wasn't' tampered with so as to fit some character flaw in his life. He wasn't hiding anything.
Can you imagine someone accusing Paul of watering down or diluting the gospel message? That's crazy, surely no one believed that. Paul said when he spoke the gospel as a manifestation of the truth, he put it before every man's conscience to see if what he was saying was truth. The gospel was preached as if he was standing in the sight of God.
And with this proclamation Paul makes it's almost a challenge to these false teachers to put up or shut up. Paul wasn't going away. These guys attacked Paul, his integrity, they implied he was hiding something and so on. Paul attacked their message by speaking the truth of the true gospel message and even when Paul wasn't there, the truth would still be the truth.
Anyone who claims to be a Christian must use caution to stay away from deception, shameful ways and distorting God's word. We should be careful never to add or take anything away from the gospel message to make it easier for someone to swallow, or to build a following, or fill seats in the church. When we speak it, we should speak it as if we stand in His presence. The gospel should be set forth plainly in the sight of all.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
The fact that the gospel message wasn't always received with great eagerness didn't make it any less of a gospel message. The good news is veiled to some people. They are still in darkness and can't see that glory of the New Covenant. These people live in darkness and ignore the fact that Jesus says He is the light. John 3:19 says Light has come into the world but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Those who remain in the dark are perishing.
How does Satan blind the minds of men? Maybe by getting them to stop thinking. What if Satan could get men to stop thinking and still feel good about themselves? Isn't that what this self esteem movement is? No grades, no scores, everyone is special, everyone plays. We don't want to bruise anyone's ego.
What if man quit reading; stopped educating himself. What if he could just sit in front of a box mindlessly watching as he was told what to think, how to think and when to think? And give him a remote and the deal is cinched.
How about if Satan could get people to stop reading the bible. The word of God is a light and a lamp. Yet, we've seen unprecedented attacks on the bible in the last ten years. Many churches don't use the bible at all any more., it is too offensive, out of date, not politically correct and therefore not relevant to us. People believe these things. They have bought into this darkness.
The god of this age uses many things to blind the minds of men. The things of this world seem very appealing at times. True Christianity doesn't promise you wealth and health and your best life now. True Christianity promises persecution and affliction but it also promises it will only be for a time.
The things of this world blind the minds of humankind; money, fame, glory, drugs, sex, alcohol, vanity and the list goes on and on. These things are the devices of Satan to keep men in darkness. They keep men from thinking and seeking the answers to the questions that lie deep in the heart of every man.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of many men. For just a little longer he is allowed to spread his dark ways. God is still sovereign over the entire world. Satan is allowed freedom for a time. Why is this allowed to happen? Maybe it's to provide contrast. If we saw no evil would we truly appreciate holiness? If we never experienced spiritual darkness, could we truly appreciate the light of Jesus Christ? We really don't have all the answers but we know God allows men a choice. They don't have to love Him and serve him.
These men in the darkness do not believe. They don't use their minds because they are blinded. If they were to use their mind and if they believed, the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ would shine on them. Their minds will be opened and they see the truth.
2 Corinthians 4:5-6
Paul wasn't promoting himself but many of these false apostles were doing just that. This gospel preached was Jesus Christ, not Paul. What this gospel said about Paul was that he was a bondservant for Jesus' sake. He was a humble servant of the master. And that's a proper response to the God who commanded all light to shine in the darkness.
He had allowed that light to shine in Paul's heart and mind. That light of knowledge came to Paul when he was physically blinded by the light on the road to Damascus. Paul said he could not see because of the glory of that light. After 3 days of being blind, Paul's vision was healed and the light of the truth of the gospel was revealed to Him. He saw clearly for the first time in his life. His vision was different, as if scales had dropped from his eyes.
2 Corinthians 4:7
We have a great treasure. That treasure is this gospel message. It's the light and glory of Christ put in us when we believed. It's an incredible treasure that has been put in earthen vessels. The earthen vessels of that day were everyday clay jars that could be found in every home. They were common and of no real value; thrown away when damaged or broken in some way. They were imperfect but capable. They were nothing fancy, but they had purpose. We are those earthen vessels. This is not to devalue our bodies or lives in any way. We were created in the image of God. But in Contrast, the excellence of the power and the glory in us is quite evidently not from us, but from God. We are common, imperfect and nothing fancy, carrying around a great treasure.
You and I are so ordinary and unexceptional that the extraordinary and exceptional thing in us can be nothing but the work of an awesome God. It's displayed in us and by us, out in the open for all to see. Nothing was hidden or veiled, as the teachings of these false apostles were teaching.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10
Paul said he was attacked, beat up, abandoned but he continued on. This was his life, he wasn't hiding that from anyone. The 'hard pressed' means he was hunted down; but even then, they were no hopelessly crushed. He was perplexed; this means to be confused; at a loss to find meaning; however, they were not despaired to the point of losing their composure. They were persecuted but not forsaken, meaning left behind or abandoned. They were struck down, meaning felled like a tree or brought low; yet, they were not irreparably damaged or found useless. In this suffering Paul identified with the suffering of Christ. That's not a popular teaching and it's definitely not a sales pitch. The word for 'carrying about the body' was a word used of a pall bearer. The dying was the corruption, decay and stench of death. They carried this body of death; the flesh as though dead and decayed, through persecution and suffering so that the life of Jesus might be evident. We tend to believe that the Christian life is always victorious but there are many examples of sufferings and persecutions in the name of Christ. Paul was just one of them.
2 Corinthians 4:11-12
Paul saw this life as making perfect sense. He was brought near death for Jesus' sake. Everything that happened to him had purpose and could be used for the glory of God. Paul trusted the Lord with that and why shouldn't he, why shouldn't we all? Paul was redeemed, he was bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. If Jesus wanted to spend Paul's life in persecution for His glory, then why not.
Paul saw death working in his life so those in Corinth could have life. We noted this before. It seems the Corinthians were very quickly critical of Paul. Yet they weren't suffering themselves. Paul gave his life for the church and for the sake of the gospel message. He very specifically gave much of his life to the church of Corinth. It seems many there seemed to have forgotten that.
2 Corinthians 4:13-15
Paul said his spirit of faith was like that of the Psalmist when Psalm 116:10 was written. He believed and that's why he spoke, in spite of any circumstances. Because he had faith, he knew it was all happening for God's purpose. If he didn't have that faith, if he truly didn't believe, he would have and should have kept his mouth shut. I almost see this as veiled suggestion from Paul that these false apostles keep their mouths shut since they didn't really believe what they were teaching. Paul couldn't keep his mouth shut. He couldn't keep the good news to himself. He wanted everyone to know and we can know, as Paul did in verse 14, that God raised up Jesus Christ and in the same way he will raise us up. We can be presented with Paul and with these saints of Corinth.
For Paul, everything he was doing when he wrote this letter was for the sakes of those in Corinth. That's saying a lot. Everything that he suffered and all that he endured was for their sake. So, that in the end, this message of grace would pass through the masses and bring thanksgiving and glory to God. Paul carried the death of Christ so that the life Christ offers might be revealed. He had faith, he spoke of this resurrection life. It was for the sakes of those people in Corinth Paul did this. It wasn't for Paul's sake. And in the end, all who received by faith the resurrection life gave thanks to God the father and brought glory to His name.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
There are many people who don't know the Lord. There are atheists; there are those who follow other religions and other gods; and then there are those who believe they are Christians that really don't know the Lord. I don't know how these people keep from losing heart. I don't care if you have all the money in the world; if you have the greatest marriage, perfect kids and everything else the world offers. At the end of the day, something in this life will let you down today, everything in this life will let you down eventually. Without knowledge of your creator and fellowship with Him, you will never find satisfaction, peace and contentment.
Each man or woman lays their head on the pillow at night and closes their eyes. Deep down inside they know that there is a day coming when their eyes won't open again. Men and women can try to outrun the aging process. They can have surgeries and take pills, diet, exercise and much more but your body is still dying everyday. Men and women try to forget we will all be part of the ultimate statistic: 100% of all people die. You can immerse yourself in career, family or education. You can get stoned out of your mind every day on painkillers, booze or other drugs. You can spend your whole life running, hiding, and trying to forget. But in the end, no amount of running and no hiding place will help us avoid the fact. None will mask the truth that lies in each of us.
The things that haunt the dreams of lost men and women; the things that keep them awake at night are the eternal things. We know we are passing away. We know the tiniest little virus or cancer cell could be the beginning of our end. We are one heartbeat from the end over 120,000 times a day. That's about how many times your heart beats a day. You have no guarantee of the next heartbeat. Without a savior, man is without hope. All our days are numbered. Those whose days' end without that hope carry that hopelessness into eternity. That's sad.
Paul's faith and hope rise up in him as he conveys it to the Corinthians. If you are in Christ, you have no reason to lose heart. Yes, our bodies are failing; yes, we are breaking down and feeling pain but day by day, in Christ, the inner man is being renewed, regenerated and transformed. All of these things are getting you ready for the next life. Each day in this life is an opportunity to grow and mature in the Lord; as we strive toward personal holiness and the knowledge the holy.
There stood the legalists; the Judaizers, with the law; trusting it and all the time having their minds veiled to the gospel that the law pointed to. They had commendations of men; they traveled around and collected honors; they let the church honor them and in response they put a heavy burden on those that believed their message. These men defended their position by defaming Paul.
There stood Paul with the gospel. He defended his position by showing the gospel he taught was the fulfillment of what they taught. What they taught had glory but the gospel of Christ had greater glory. There was a cost to bringing this word to Corinth but he brought it because God had redeemed him out of death. God had called him to preach it. He couldn't hold it in and because the glory of the message was so great, the cost was really not even a factor.
You can almost visualize the contrast. The Judaizers were religious, well educated, clothed in the finest with a message that sounded right to men. They were polished, shiny and marketable in every way. They seemed extraordinary and exceptional, yet on the inside they were cold and dead.
Then there was Paul, he used to be one of them. They accused him of still secretly being one of them but Paul said he repented of that. He had turned away. He turned toward the gospel. He was now a weak, broken and imperfect vessel. He had no worldly possessions, he had no career, no money and barely had clothes to wear. There was nothing extraordinary and exceptional about him.
Everyone has made, or will make that choice. And thinking men will look behind the shiny exterior. They will have to ask why would these Christian men give all they have. Why do they continue on in persecution just to deliver this message? What keeps them from losing heart? The answer lies in the extraordinary and exceptional glory within each and every born-again believer. It's not about the here and now. This is just light affliction before the coming incredible, awesome, extraordinary and exceptional glory of eternity with Jesus Christ.
©2006, 2010, 2016, 2022 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
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