Grace, to the Saints

2 Corinthians 4 In one of the richest passages
on husband and wife relationships,
Paul seized upon an illustration that really is beyond all others. If you would, keeping your finger
in 2 Corinthians, I wanted to have you turn to Ephesians 5. In Ephesians 5, Paul seizes upon
it, and he wasn’t the first to use this illustration, but he
expands upon it in such a rich way that I wanted to bring it
to our attention this morning and for good reason. Paul in writing, and this is
always, you know, this is the wedding text that usually the
bride sits me down and says, you know what? Look, of all the
passages that you’re going to read, do not read this passage,
which, you know, is like saying, sick him to a dog. Anyway, it
is often a used as a wedding text. Ephesians 5, verse 22,
wives be subject to your own husband. And you’ve heard me
talk about it before. The verb isn’t even there. Be subject.
It is used in the previous verse, verse 21, of all of us in a very
real way. We are all to be subject to one
another in the fear of Christ. Wives to your husband. That’s
how the passage reads in the original. Nevertheless, he does
say it, and he intends to say it, that there is a structure
there. But moving on past that, I want to get to the illustration
that Paul uses so richly. Wives, be subject to your own
husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the
wife, as Christ is also the head of the church, he himself being
the savior of the body. But as Christ is subject As the
church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be
to their husbands and everything. Husbands, love your wives, just
as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her so
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of
water with the word. that he might present to himself
the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love
their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife
loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes
and cherishes it just as Christ also does the church. Because
we are members of his body. For this reason, a man shall
leave his father and mother and should be joined to his wife
and the two should become one flesh. This mystery is great,
but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual
among you is to love his own wife, even as himself. And the
wife must see to it that she respects her husband, the illustration
there. that Paul is using is the church
as the bride of Christ. And what beautiful imagery. And
what imagery doesn’t provoke each one of us men as we think
of our own wives there in that wonderful day, in that beautiful
dress, pressed and perfect, radiant even, as we prepare to take them
to ourselves. That’s the image that Paul wanted
to impart to the people that the church is as a precious bride
in Christ’s eyes. How unthinkable it would be to
think that Paul, talking about the ministry now for more than
two chapters, talking about the glory of the ministry, talking
about the blessings of the ministry, talking about the nature of the
ministry and the source of ministry, how unthinkable it would be to
think that Paul would talk about all these things and not talk
about the blessings that go to his precious bride, the church. We’ve talked about the individual
blessings. We’ve talked about what we reap.
What we gain as believers because of the ministry. But what about
the church? I want to take you back to chapter
one, not to chapter one. I know you panicked when you
thought we’re going to read from chapter one, verse one, chapter
four, verse one. I want to take again a running
start as we look at this great section. And we discover what
are the blessings enjoyed by the church because of the ministry
of the gospel. Paul wrote, and if you’ll notice
in this first section, it’s not in a self-serving way, but it’s
the great subject matter is about Paul and those who minister the
gospel. It’s about and listen to how
many times you hear the word we. and us an hour. But as Paul transitions into
this later section, you will see that he turns and he looks
to the great church of Christ and he says, you. The focus turns
to them. Verse one, if you would. Therefore,
since we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we do
not lose heart. But we have renounced the things
hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating
the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves
to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if
our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In
whose case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not
preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as
your bondservants for Jesus sake. For God, who said, light shall
shine out of darkness is the one who has shown in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ. But we have this treasure in
earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be
of God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted in every way,
but not crushed, perplexed, but not despairing. Persecuted, but
not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying about in the
body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be
manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly
being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake. So that the
life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So, death
works in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of
faith, according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we also believe, therefore we also speak. Knowing that He who
raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present
us with you. For all things are for your sakes. So that the grace which is spreading
to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound
to the glory of God. Paul had just talked about the
great struggles of the ministry. Paul had talked about the frustrations
that are there in ministry, the perplexity of ministry, even
the despair of ministry. And what he intends to do as
this passage goes on is to tell the church that everything that
he endures, everything that a minister of Christ endures is for the
sake of the church. It’s for the building up of the
church. It’s for the advancement, the glory of Christ in the church. What are the blessings that are
enjoyed by the church because of the ministry of the gospel?
Look back, if you would, at verse 12. Through all of the trials
that Paul and others faced, not only then, but throughout all
time in the church through the ministry, through all those trials
attending the gospel ministry, the church enjoys blessings. And first and foremost, the church
enjoys the blessing of spiritual life, spiritual life. Look at verse 12, where Paul
says, so death works in us, but life in you. Paul introduces,
as we have seen yet another in a long series of paradoxes in
this section, The verse here essentially is a conclusion. Or the results of the preceding
discussion that he had been engaged in talking about the difficulties
of the ministry. Talking about the gospel being
veiled, and if it’s veiled, it’s veiled to those who are perishing. Back in verse five, he said,
we do not preach ourselves with Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves
as your bond servants. And the conclusion that Paul
draws is death works in us. That’s essentially what he had
just expounded upon. That that great overarching illustration
that he uses in verses 10 and 11, that we are always caring
about in the body the dying of Jesus, wasn’t talking about literal
martyrdom. Although Paul would face that,
as would many of the apostles and many of the servants of Christ
throughout time. But he uses that as an illustration,
that dying as an illustration of ministry itself and all that
we face in it. As I said, it’s an umbrella illustration
that encompasses everything from verse eight forward. That we
are afflicted. That they are actual afflictions.
We are actually in pain, sometimes physically, sometimes just emotionally. But we are absolutely under those
pains, he says. We are not only afflicted, we
are perplexed, absolutely frustrated. We don’t even know what God’s
doing sometimes. We are persecuted, chased, pursued
mercilessly. Sometimes this has very real
ramifications and sometimes it is just so subtle, just like
it is in our own society. And we’ve all faced it, haven’t
we? Just being treated as if we’re irrelevant. We are not only crushed, we are
not only afflicted and perplexed and persecuted, but Paul uses
this word struck down. We are leveled. absolutely hammered
by some of the things that we face. It means to be laid low. And I don’t take this to mean
physically speaking. Paul had many times been laid
low by the difficulties that he faced. And what shepherd,
what pastor, what elder, what servant of Christ in whatever
capacity doesn’t know that kind of destruction? Paul knew it. No wonder he said
that we’re always… From the time that I set forth
in ministry and I was literally laid low on the road to Damascus, I have been always carrying about
in the body, in my physical body, the dying of Jesus. It’s real.
And Paul just seizes upon that and says quite simply, death
works in us. Death is at work within us. One
commentator, prominent commentator, wrongly, I must add, supposes
Paul to be using irony here. He’s almost like he’s being sarcastic. Oh, you know, it’s as if he’s
saying, well, we’re dying here in ministry. You Corinthians
are living it up. Paul, I mean, he does use this
kind of irony elsewhere. Listen to 1 Corinthians 4. You
are already filled. You have become already rich.
You have become kings without us. And indeed, I wish that you
had become kings so that we might also reign with you. For I think
God has exhibited us apostles, last of all, as men condemned
to death because we have become a spectacle to the world, both
to angels and men. We are fools for Christ’s sake.
But you are prudent in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we
are without honor.” Is that Paul’s intention here? to be sarcastic
again to the Corinthian people, and to say that death works in
us, but life in you. I don’t believe so. I don’t think that’s at all what
Paul is saying. I think Paul is drawing a conclusion
to everything that he said before, from verse 1 to verse 11. And he says essentially, in summary,
death works in us, but life in you. I suffer and you benefit. I am constantly with the other
apostles, with all the other servants of Christ. I am constantly
dying. But the life of Jesus Christ
manifested in and through me is to your benefit. The death
that he talks about is largely physical, ultimately so. But
the life that he talks about here for the most part, spiritual. Certainly, we have benefits in
the here and now. We enjoy life. We enjoy richness
of life. We enjoy life as it was meant
to be lived. But what he’s talking about here
is spiritual life, eternal life, real life. I remember reading
one time as a young student, I was driving And I saw a billboard
that said, life is better with Christ. And I paused and I said,
no, that’s not it at all. It isn’t that life is better
with Christ. Life is Christ. There is no real
life outside of Christ. It is all various stages of ultimate
death. As one said, of these ministers
of Christ was a daily death. And yet from this proceeded the
very life of their hearers. The apostle here enunciates a
principle common to the material and the spiritual world that
from death comes life. From decay comes new life. I’m
a gardener. I know one of the most important
things to do for my soil is to continually put stuff into it. Dead stuff. Dying stuff. Leaves and chopped up grass and
peat moss and all things that are slowly breaking down in decay
for the purpose of bringing life. The death of Christ meant life
to the world and life to the church. And the daily dying of
His disciples was the means by which that life was spreading
to more and more people, as we’ll see in a moment. Death was working
in Christ’s servants. All their visible sorrows, all
of their agony, all of their anxieties, their frustrations,
their difficulties, their persecutions. All of those meant life to the
converts, meant life to the church, spiritual life, rich life. Paul
had said it before. twice before to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 4-9, Paul said, I think, that God has exhibited
us apostles last of all as men to be condemned to death because
we have become a spectacle to the world both to angels and
to men, as we said. But it meant life to the Corinthians. It is so typical of Paul to turn
the light from himself And to point it to the glory
of the church and to the glory of Christ in the church for this conclusion that he draws
essentially is a compliment or a blessing to the Corinthians
themselves. It’s as if Paul said, how great
it is that you should have this enormous blessing of being on
the path of life, life itself, Because of such an insignificant,
depressed guy like me, Paul. What a blessing. But if Paul
had it to do all over again, he’d go right back through the
same path that God took him. Paul’s suffering wasn’t for himself. He wasn’t trying to gain any
credit from it. He wasn’t trying to gain any
eternal reward. All of the suffering that he
endured was for the sake of the church. Philippians 2.17, he
echoes the same thought here. Remember, I think we titled this
message Pawned. P-A-W-N-E-D Pawned. Paul said there, even if I’m
being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service
of your faith, I rejoice and I share my joy with you all. To the Colossians, he wrote,
Chapter 1, verse 24, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. And in my flesh, I do share on
behalf of his body, which is the church in filling up what
is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. To Timothy, young Timothy in
the ministry, perhaps some of the last words that Paul ever
wrote. For this reason, I endure all
things for the sake of those who are chosen so that they also
may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it,
eternal glory.” Death works in us, but life in you. These Corinthian believers, Paul
points out, that they were an assurance to Paul, an encouragement
in a very unique way that his sufferings weren’t for naught.
His constant dying wasn’t without fruit. The endurance for the
sake of the gospel had its blessings. And the first
and foremost blessing was that through all the sufferings and
all the difficulties Through the proclamation of the Word
and their faith in it, they have come to know eternal life. They have passed from death to
life. Death works in us, but life in
you. There’s a second blessing that
Paul points out to the church. There is grace to the saints
and through the trials attending the gospel ministry, the church
enjoys the blessing not only of spiritual life, but of eternal
hope, eternal hope. Look at verse 13. But having
the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed,
therefore I spoke. We also believe, therefore, we
also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise
us also with Christ and will present us with you. The imagery here is so astounding. And it’s it’s humbling. Because
if we were somehow summoned. If we were summoned as a baseball
team to go get an award, I would lead the way. Follow me, team. And we would lead the way, right?
If we were somehow summoned suddenly as a church by trumpet or by
call, wouldn’t the most natural thing
in the world be for Trey and I, at the very minimum, to walk
out leading the church on the way to Christ? Here is the church
we present to you. And that is exactly the opposite.
of the imagery that Paul lays out here. It is so humbling and
so beautiful because it’s not Paul that’s in focus. It’s not
the servants of Christ. It’s the church. It’s the bride. He will raise us also with Jesus
and will present us with you. We will fade to the back of the
fold. We will be part of the great flock. We will be part
of the church, not the leaders of it. We will not be in the
forefront. Look at the passage once again,
having the same spirit of faith. This contrast just stands over
against the previous statement that death works in them. Death is actively working in
the servants of Christ at all times, nevertheless, but having. There’s no doubt that death is
working, but in the meantime, there’s going to be ministry. And having the same spirit of
faith is the means for conducting that ministry. That same spirit
of faith faced those difficulties that Paul was in, as one pastor
said, the afflictions, the dangers to which the apostle was exposed
were designed to discourage and even drive him to quit. He was
indeed troubled or stressed, as I said last week. He was perplexed
or frustrated, as we pointed out. He was persecuted or, as
I said, harassed, struck down or even, as I would say, devastated. but having the same faith, as
we’ll see in a moment, which animated the psalmist. He also, Paul, just as David
did, proclaimed his great confidence in God. It’s as if Paul says,
since we have the same spirit of faith, not if. There was no
doubt in Paul’s mind. It is an absolute truth. Paul
is speaking from the heart and saying that with everything in
me, I have the same confidence that the Spirit-filled psalmist
had. And we too, just like him, speak
what we believe. Paul did it in order to impart
Christ. When he says we have the same
Spirit, there were many who veered off course in this regard. Some
said that Paul had the same spirit as the Corinthians, that there
was some kind of church ecclesiastical empathy that went on. A fellow
feeling, if you will. Nor even is Paul talking about
the same spirit that was active among the servants of Christ.
We have the same spirit. What Paul is pointing to is the
same spirit of the one who wrote those words. The psalmist, as
we’ll see in just a second. But it’s the spirit that inspired
the Old Testament that Paul is speaking about, the spirit that
indwelled David, the spirit that prompted the writing of the New
Testament. Paul said we have that same spirit. Not just talking
about a feeling that Paul had, an attitude of heart, as some
suggested, It’s thoroughly biblical and
scriptural, especially when you consider the way Paul uses this
word to make spirit refer to the Holy Spirit. That He is the Spirit of faith. So often, the Spirit is recognized
by the effect that He produces in the life of the believers,
And so, he’s spoken of as the spirit of adoption, the spirit
of wisdom, the spirit of grace, the spirit of glory. And here, likewise, he speaks of the spirit
of faith. It is the spirit that engenders
faith. It is the spirit who gives us faith to exercise, not only
for salvation’s sake, but for the conduct of ministry. I have
the spirit of faith, Paul says. And I have that same spirit that
was operative in the great one who wrote these words. Faith
was the source from which Paul was speaking. Faith was the source
for his ministry. Faith was constantly the motivating
factor in Paul placing one foot in front of the other and continuing
to minister for the sake of Christ. looking again at the passage,
if you would, having the same spirit of faith according to
what is written. And he calls people to look to
the Word. Look to the Scriptures is essentially what he says. According to what is written,
I believed, therefore I spoke. Now, Paul alludes in just very
fragmented fashion, like we often will do. God so loved the world
that immediately, you know exactly what passage I’m thinking of.
Paul alludes to Psalm 116, verse 10, which reads and the translation
is a little bit difficult and it leaves us wondering what maybe
Paul was exactly thinking. The translation reads, I believed
when I said I am greatly afflicted. But really, Paul seems to have
the entire psalm in mind. And for that reason, I would
have you turn to Psalm 116. Psalm 116. I’ll be there with
you momentarily. But here’s how one explained
it. Typically, with the New Testament use of the Old Testament, not
only the quotation, but also its context is appropriate. Appropriate? It’s absolutely crucial. This
indicates an important principle of biblical exposition. A text
is not to be isolated without respect to its context. For the
whole is more important than the parts, and the parts take
on their proper significance from the whole. It is particularly
fitting at this point that Paul should quote from Psalm 116 precisely
because it is a hymn of thanksgiving for deliverance from death. Read
along with me, if you would, at Psalm 116. I love the Lord
because He hears my voice and my supplications, because He
has inclined His ear to me. Therefore, I shall call upon
Him as long as I live. The cords of death encompassed
me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me. I found distress and
sorrow. Then I called upon the name of
the Lord. O Lord, I beseech You, save my
life. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yes, our God is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple.
I was brought low and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my
soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you
have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from
stumbling. I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living. I believed when I said I am greatly
afflicted. I said in my alarm, all men are
liars. What shall I render to the Lord
for all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation
and shall call upon the name of the Lord. I shall pay my vows
to the Lord. Oh, may it be in the presence
of all His people. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His godly ones. O Lord, surely I am Your
servant. I am Your servant, the son of
Your handmaid. You have loosed my bonds. To
you I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon
the name of the Lord. I shall pay my vows to the Lord.
Oh, may it be in the presence of all his people in the courts
of the house of the Lord in the midst of you. Oh, Jerusalem,
praise the Lord. That’s the context. The context
is exactly the same as what Paul is sharing with the Corinthians. Death works in us, but life in
you and this privilege to proclaim Christ in the midst of it. What
a glory. What a privilege. What a blessing
to Paul. And he says it, he summarizes
it, that just like the psalmist, we believe, we also believe,
therefore also we speak. There is nothing more fitting
than for the person of faith to proclaim. Faith, as one person
said, cannot be silent. As even our contemporary song
says, how can I keep from singing your praise? We cannot. If we
are people of faith, we cannot keep from proclaiming Christ.
In fact, it’s one of the most rebuked shortcomings of believers
in all the New Testament. denying Christ and keeping a
closed mouth at an opportune time. As one said, believing
and speaking or open confession are, in fact, two essential aspects
of salvation. Paul said it. Belief in the heart
that God has raised Jesus from the dead must be accompanied
by confession with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. Paul never wavered. Paul didn’t
waver from preaching. It would have been convenient
for him, even safer if he just stopped preaching. But his faith,
his faith in Christ propelled him to preach. He couldn’t stop
preaching. We believe, therefore we speak. And that’s all built upon the
knowledge that he had. Look at verse 14, knowing that
he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus
and will present us with you. Paul knew that one day he was
going to stand before the Lord. Paul knew that that was a great
privilege. It is eternal life that we enjoy. And because of that, Paul said,
the Lord has asked me to speak. How can I not? The knowledge
is what gave him the courage, the motivation to speak that
in spite of all the dangers and the difficulties and frustrations
to which Paul was exposed. And even if he actually died
in the midst of it, as he would. He would be raised again. Just
like Christ. The gospel gives us as believers
one of the most glorious and Crucial realities in any religion. The hope of resurrection, the
hope of renewed life after physical death. Paul, again, writing in
those final moments of his life to Timothy, said it this way,
I am already being poured out as a drink offering. The time
of my departure has come. I have fought a good fight. I
finished the course. I’ve kept the faith in the future. There is laid up for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award
to me on that day. And not only to me, but to all
who have loved is appearing. We are to have the same kind
of confidence. We are to have the same kind
of ministry, a ministry where we open our mouths and proclaim
Christ. As Paul said to the Corinthians in the
first epistle, God not only raised the Lord, but will also raise
us through his power. We have the fact, the great proof
of the resurrection. For which we look forward in
our own lives. Do you not know, Paul continues,
that your bodies are members of Christ? He says, look, your
resurrection is directly tied to Christ. You are his bride. Shall I then take away the members
of Christ?” Paul said, look, we believe, therefore we speak
because we know. We know with certitude in our
hearts that just as Christ has already been raised from the
dead, God’s going to raise us as well.
God’s going to raise the church God’s going to bestow the great
promise on the church of this eternal hope that now we just
look forward to off in the distance. Is that your great hope? There’s
a third promise as we close. Through all of the trials attending
the ministry of the gospel, the church enjoys the blessing of
spiritual life, eternal hope, and the glorification of God.
Look at verse 15. The Corinthians are still in
view. Paul has put them in view on purpose. He said, look, you
are already going to inherit spiritual life. He’s already
told them that you’re going to enjoy an eternal hope. And he
says that in the midst of this, glorify God and God will be glorified
in and through you. All things are for your sakes.
So that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause
the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Those all
things are those things that we’ve talked about all morning
long, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. All of those things
that Paul was enduring were for a set and specific purpose. All
things are for your sake so that the grace which is spreading
to more and more people. Because the giving of thanks
to abound to the glory of God, the more people that come to
know the grace of God through the gospel, the more numerous
will the thanksgivings be that go to God and his glory. It was that primarily that Encouraged
me, prompted me to pray for this ministry, this outreach that
we purpose to do over the next several weeks. And I would encourage
every saint in our body to do likewise. We’re not going just
to sing. We’re not going to entertain.
I don’t doubt that some will be pleased by what they hear.
We’re not going because some of our children get to read the
cute verses of Scripture and aren’t they cute as they dress
up. We’re going to proclaim Christ. And what Paul says here, wouldn’t
it be to God’s glory? Wouldn’t God gain more glory? The more people that came to
Christ. Look at how many empty seats in our own sanctuary. Wouldn’t
it be to God’s glory? Paul says it absolutely would. Paul says that he looks and sees
that his work, all of this work that he’s putting in, leads to
the salvation of others and their abundant thanksgivings all kind
of well up and swell and all go to the ever-expanding glory
of God. Paul’s goal wasn’t his own comfort. Paul’s concern wasn’t his reputation. Paul’s fear wasn’t for his own
popularity. Paul’s ultimate goal wasn’t even
the salvation of others. Paul’s goal was the glorification
of Almighty God. And Paul says here, that’s a
blessing that the church enjoys. We have the privilege to enjoy
participating in the glorification of none other than God Himself.
We are Christ’s bride. Let’s pray. Father God, indeed You did love Your church
and give Yourself up for it. And Lord, how natural it is to
look and to see in the midst of a discussion on ministry that
you have such rich blessings to pour out upon your bride,
the church. Not only the blessing of spiritual
life, but of eternal hope, that of resurrection. And Father,
as more and more swell the ranks of the saints on earth, we know
that ultimately that just adds to the great heavenly chorus
of praise to your glorious name. Father, may it all be to your
glory. Grant us your grace as we go.
It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.