Morning everyone, I’m guessing some of you all got more sleep than others by the looks of things but regardless I hope you're ready to receive the word of God. Additionally, I hope these past days for you all have been full of spiritual growth, solidifying friendships, and finding a place of rest. I also want to thank Stephen, Annie and Mariee for taking time to prepare that classy remix of a song for me. Thanks for taking the time to sit down and practice guys.
Now, what you’ve all been looking forward to -- the message. Today we’ll be taking a closer look at 2 Corinthians, Chapter 4, Verses 1-18. My Key Verse is verse 14, “Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ” Before writing the message I was a bit confused on how to approach it, there really are a variety of ways, but I created three questions that would help break up the passage. By no means do you have to memorize the questions, but keep them in the back of your minds as the message continues. The first of these questions goes, What does it means to be a Christian?, The second, What are some of the challenges we will face? and lastly, What is our living hope? Three relatively simple questions yet Paul’s writing somehow encapsulates all of this. I’m certain that nearly everyone in this room has heard at least one of these questions before, I had, but it was only through this passage that the resounding answers were able to sink in. To conclude, I don’t think it takes a doctorate, any form of degree, having lived 40+ years, or fitting any sort of criteria to understand what Paul is writing to the Corinthians back then and how its significant to us nowadays.
A Little Bit Of History: Why did Paul Write 2 Corinthians?
To completely understand why this book of the bible exists we need to know some history. How fun, I know, I’ll try to not bore you, no sad faces though :(. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth because he is concerned for their well being. The church had faced problems with sexual immorality, and Paul feared the infiltration of false teachers in the church proclaiming false god’s. Primarily, Paul wrote to encourage, give strength, and dispel any sense of doubt that the Corinthians would’ve had during the time of struggle and strife.
Analysis: Question 1
Understandably, Paul begins Chapter 4 writing to the church about how they should feel towards the ministry and the the work they do, even in times of trouble. Hence the title of chapter 4 including the phrase, ‘Present Weakness’. In verses 1-7 Paul does an excellent job dispeling any sense of insecurity within the Corinthians about their place church and its ministry in general. If we can read the first verse altogether, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart”. The first verse established the idea of have nothing to fear because God was on their side. And to not be discouraged from all the troubles that were in pursuit of them, because with God any challenge was bearable. Paul goes onto the next verses to reinforce the idea that any common doubts had no place within the ministry. Verse 2 can be interpreted as Paul giving the Corinthians a reason to lift up their heads, “We have renounced secret and shameful ways” since the use of “deception” or lies is not practiced then the ministry has nothing to fear. On the contrary they are held in higher regard because God sees them speaking truthfully. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but looking at verse 5, if we can all read it together,“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” The corinthians even though they were commended for speaking plainly they were not bound to doing it for themselves but rather for God’s glory. Going back to verses 3 and 4 they offered yet another reason to not lose heart. Verse 3 states even if the Corinthians were to persecuted or unable to preach, they shouldn’t fret because those in their way are in fact they are “perishing”. Verse 4 couples nicely with 3 as the Corinthians were to gain more insight into why they would be persecuted. The ‘god’ of this age, the word ‘god’ not being capitalized means that it is not our father in heaven but rather a false god, an idol perhaps. If the minds of unbelievers were blinded then they would not allow or accept the Corinthians to preach. While verse 5 helps to give the Corinthians a directive and purpose. Preaching Jesus Christ as the bridge between them and the father. They are only servants. Lastly comes Verse 7, can we read verse 7 all together. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Paul is telling the Corinthians that they have been given a gift, that being eternal life, and this gift of ‘living even though they have died’ does not boast their own power but rather God’s power over death.
What did we learn:
But how does Paul’s writing connect to us all right now? And What did we learn about what it means to be a Christian? In accordance to verse 2, setting forth the truth plainly, I think we can find joy in this act of setting forth the word the way it is. The act is done in front of people but really it is done in the sight of God as he watches us do so. Verse 3 teaches us to not passion or drive from anyone that stands in our way as they, unlike us might cease to exist after their earthly body has decayed. In response to verses 5 and 7 of serving God, we learn that we are servants, however a testament to God’s divine power. Remembering who we are in relation to God the father is what allows us just like the Corinthians to get a true sense of what it means to be a Christian. We should live out our lives as Christians in accordance to the knowledge of the resurrection, through these bodies we are able to glorify the lord since we’ve been given this treasure.
Real World: Story
To put this into a real perspective, when I was younger, no more than about 8 years old I remember my mom telling me that she would come back home soon because she would be out ‘fishing’, to my surprise she didn’t have any fishing gear. Naturally I asked her “How are you gonna go fishing without a fishing pole?” in my mind it wasn’t fair that she got to go fishing while I had to stay at home, besides it was late at night, how would she see? Laughingly my mom responded by saying ‘we aren’t actually going fishing, we’re trying to recruit students to study the bible’. I’m glad she didn’t say she was trying to tend to the lord's sheep that night. Up until studying this passage was the story of my mom going out to ‘fish’ a cute moment shared between us, but looking back I now see that my mom was going out to fish because of that treasure that was bestowed within her. She was trying to preach the gospel of the resurrection to others. And it is that treasure that we have all been given by God, that physical death is not the end of the road for us. The jars of clay which holds this treasure as described in verse 7 is an adequate analogy because our bodies just like jars of clay are nothing special. In those times you didn’t keep your best wine in the a jar made out of mud or soil. In the same respect why would God put the greatest gift into us? -- If only it was really to display his own glory through us, it’s not by our own power that we are able to be raised to life once again but by God’s “all surpassing”. That’s why living out our lives with respect to being vessels for God’s gracious gift of eternal life is what really constitutes as a Christians, we should live for God.
How to live for God: : Answer
I know this point is hard to come to grasp with, but I think we can all look to our parents, missionaries if you will, who act and live out their lives in accordance to the gospel. I used to ask myself why do any of the elders of the church emphasize fishing? Why do my parents care so much about losing or gaining students? Now I realize that it’s because they’ve been blessed with unconditional love known as resurrection life that they put so much attention to sharing the good news with others. For us on the other hand that may be inviting your friends to HBF, writing testimony, doing sports, going to school are only some of the ways in which we can live in relation to God’s gift of eternal life.
Of course things such as: prayer, reading your bible, being in fellowship, having 1 to 1, studying the word are essential parts of your walk of faith that keep you grounded in the word, but I think there is one step further and its’ having the right attitude to serve. to have the greatest impact is to have a sound heart and right attitude when coming to church or participating within our ministry. Proverbs 4:23 states “ Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” If someone were to attempt passing under the guise of being a christian they would fall short because even in the acts of attending church, praying habitually, and having the perfect outward appearance they would never constitute as being a truthful Christian because it wasn’t done with earnest passion for the church or for God.
In the end, we learn that being a Christian is not losing hope because we have the creator of the heavens on our side, not following false gods, serving the lord, and living first and foremost for God’s glory above all else.”
Second Question: What are some of the challenges we will face?
Knowing what it means to be a Christian, now comes the part dedicated to answering the question ‘What we will face, with the lives that we will lead? If we can read verses 8 and 9 altogether? Lets begin, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. The following verses are short and their abrupt nature is why the verses are so impactful. Reading each rendition of the trails that we will face such as ‘Hard pressed but not crushed’ ‘Perplexed, but not in despair’ ‘Persecuted, but not abandoned’ ‘Struck down, but not destroyed’ are almost echos of what it feels like living a Christian life now a days. Yet the main thing I took away from this point in the passage were the endings of each statement that are anteceded with the word ‘but’. We may come across and encounter these various problems, but Paul reminds the Corinthians that God never leaves them at the point of absolute solitude nor an inability to overcome.
As the passage continues, we run into yet another harsh reality presented to us, through verses 11 and 12, as “we who are alive are always being given over to death” and So then, death is at work in us” however, though these bodies of clay are decaying away it is not without purpose. On the other hand, as verse 10 tells us “ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” We, once again as children of God, servants, are the greatest tools to glorify God through our bodies. The idea of something beautiful being shown that has come from nothing feels like what God is doing with us all. Even if we are being given over to death each day its ‘for Jesus’ sake.’ As an even greater reminder for our significance within the church, and why death has no hold on us comes at the end of verse 12 as it tells us that ‘life is at work in jesus’ even if death is waiting for us later on. We may not be able to surpass the power of death or escape its grips but it is all for the glory of God in the end. Us being revived with Jesus in the latter of our lives will prove that just Jesus was resurrected, so will we be resurrected by the same power. If Christ was given the ability to come over death and if we overcome death then it goes on to prove God’s tremendous power.
Personally, I felt this this year in specific was one where I was constantly being challenged academically and I wanted to give up. When verse 8 states “perplexed but not in despair” I wouldn't have believed you a couple weeks ago. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was trying to pass school with my own wits and effort and not looking to glorify God in any way. These past weeks I realized my mistake gravely. When I remember now, the times that I sincerely sat down and prayed I felt as though I could not only accomplish my goals, but felt as though my participation volleyball and the IB program was more than just doing well for my future and about having God’s mercy shown through my successes whether big or small. My mom always told me we amass nearly to nothing without God in our lives, and that it is only because we’ve been shown mercy that we are able to accomplish all our feats. Verse 11 helps coincide with this thought as well because through me I can glorify God because I am made in his perfect image. I can be an example for my classmates demonstrating God’s glory and not my own. Just like in the case of Lazarus, my body can be used to show God’s sovereignty. I learned that in this time of feeling like I was being completely crushed with academic studies, time dedicated to sports, and friends all I needed to remember that this wasn’t necessarily about me, but letting God’s glory come amist my trial. For all of us in this room I think many a time do we all feel overwhelmed, but just as Paul reminded the Corinthians do I remind you now that we are never rendered completely helpless because we have Christ with us. It’s hard understanding why God would allow this, for us to be hard pressed, persecuted, or struck down. However, they are opportunities to reveal ‘Jesus’ life ’that is at work in us.
Third Question: What is our living hope?
In the last parts of the passage in verses 14 and 15 does Paul reassure the Corinthians, and us. Let’s read verse 14 “because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus (God) from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you (Jesus) to himself (God).” This verse is a little confusing so allow me to explain it. Paul reassures us that we will be raised from death alongside Jesus by God, and because Jesus is part of the trinity, really Jesus is being presented with us to himself, through the form of God. I know confusing. However, this is the answer to our third question. Our living hope is Jesus, since we know that we will be resurrected just as Jesus did we can be assured that death will not be the end for us. For this reason I chose to make this my key verse. Additionally, verse 15 tells us that all of this will help in our ministry. This will cause overflowing of good news, reaching more and more people thus making our ministry grow even bigger. Lastly come verses 16,17, and 18. Verse 16 helps to reinforce our identity and trust in the lord. Once again to the jars of clay, we are wasting away but are being rejuvenated and given life through Jesus each day, even if the outside may say differently. 18 stresses the importance of focusing on eternal life, even though it remains unseens it is what is truly eternal and serves as another reminder that we do not live for the luxuries of earth. Finally, backtracking a little do we find ourselves with verse 17. And I think it’s the most suitable place to leave off for Paul in accordance to the Corinthians and for me to leave off for you all. Can we all read verse 17? “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” All of this to comprehend was left to the Corinthians to interpret and I’m sure that Paul foresaw persecution of the church in corinth to ensue but Paul reminds us all that these issues and problems are comparable to little blimps of lights within an entire spectrum. These problems that we face no don’t compare to what you will be blessed with much more up head. Having this mentality is hard if I’m being frank, but it does help knowing that what awaits you really is eternal and everlasting. That what we all look forward to is eternal life not something temporary or momentary.
Conclusion:
I want to conclude this message by telling you all, my peers, some that I’ve known since you were young, others that I’ve barely gotten to know that what awaits us all is eternal life and something far bigger than we can fathom. Jesus is our living hope that there is a quality of life that awaits us in the long run, these sufferings hurt, isn’t that why Jesus wept even if Lazarus was going to be resurrected? but like Paul tells us, the eternal glory outweighs all these troubles in the long run because we will be presented alongside Jesus. Whether or not you’ll fit into being the mold of a perfect “Christian” or whether I’m even right in my classification of what it means to be a Christian, it seems that one thing is certain, and that is we live for God’s glory and not our own. Life is treacherous and difficult, we may not understand why certain things happen, but know that God has a plan. Even if we are jars of clay or ‘dust we are’ and ‘to dust we will return’ we have been given the gift of eternal life. If you desire to read a little more about why sharing the gospel brings joy or why being a servant exist or comes to be then I advise you to read Psalm 116, its great. With all of this in mind let's remember that the potential trials that we will face, just like the Corinthians, are only light and momentary. Let’s approach each conflict knowing that we can glorify God in them and show Jesus life in us, even if the do trouble us. Remember that we don’t live for this world rather we live for the eternal by having a perspective that Jesus is our living hope, a sign that we are able to be with God the father for all eternity.
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