Grace OPC Sewickley PA

Sermon Series: 2 Corinthians

  • An Apostolic Benediction

    An Apostolic Benediction

    About this sermon

    Paul prepares for his third visit to Corinth and warns that he will not spare those who continue in sin, for Christ, crucified in weakness, lives by the power of God. He urges the church to examine themselves, to aim for restoration, and to live in peace. The letter closes with the blessing of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which builds the church up in unity as it waits for Christ.

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    Sermon transcript

    We come now to the reading of God’s inspired word. I invite you to open your Bibles with me to 2nd Corinthians chapter 13. There we’ll read the whole chapter verses 1 through 14. Give your attention for this is the word of God. The Apostle Paul writes, This is the third time I am coming to you.

    Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absence, I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone.

    Since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. For indeed, he was crucified because of weakness. Yet he lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in him, yet we will live with him because of the power of God directed toward you.

    Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail the test? But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.

    Now we pray to God that you do no wrong. not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak, but you are strong. This we also pray for, that you be made complete. For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

    Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like minded, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Thus far, the reading of God’s inspired word. Let’s pray together.

    Our Father, we do ask that these words written in time by an apostle appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that these words would now be used of you, O Father, for our good, for our growth in grace, for our preparation for the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we should be made complete in Him Bless now the one who brings the word as your servant. And we pray for each person gathered to receive the word that together we might be built up in faith and love and hope, and that you would be glorified in all that we do and say here. May you grant that power which comes down from above, that power according to the working of Christ raised from the dead, seated in glory, his spirit resting upon us. Hear our prayers of supplication. the preaching and the hearing of your word today, Grace Church.

    We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. Paul’s greatest desire in this letter of 2 Corinthians is that all shall be well on his forthcoming third visit to Corinth. What does he mean when he says, Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

    As he opens this chapter, this is an obvious quotation from Deuteronomy, in particular chapter 17, verse six. We might cross reference also Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 15, where those same words appear. In chapter 17, there is a significant context there. And so I’ll read Deuteronomy 17 verses one through seven.

    Listen for the words. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Moses writes, You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God. If there is found in your midst in any of your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God by transgressing his covenant and has gone and served other gods and worship them or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded. And if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, Then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

    He who is to die shall be put to death. He shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death. and afterward the hand of all the people, so you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

    Significantly, this same text from Deuteronomy is cited by Jesus in Matthew 18, verse 16. where he teaches his disciples how to address sin, brother against brother, in the church. Again, cross-referencing Deuteronomy 17, verse 6, with Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 15. In chapter 19, verse 15, we read, a single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed on the evidence of two or three witnesses. A matter shall be confirmed. As we read second Corinthians. Paul is now coming to Corinth. The opening words of chapter 13 sound like he is expecting some kind of a court hearing when he arrives.

    At the end of chapter 12, you may notice he expressed two fears in firstly in verse 20 and then secondly in verse 21. First, in verse 20. For I am afraid, he says, that perhaps when I come, I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish. That perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances. That’s his first fear, that he would find those things. The second is in verse 21. I am afraid, he says, that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.

    Paul has concluded this epistle with a strong and very impassioned defense of his apostolic integrity his apostolic authority. He has fearlessly taken on the false apostles, men who have crept into Corinth and who have maliciously turned the church against Paul. And Paul writes, not only having taken them on, but he sternly warns those here who have not yet repented in Corinth in accordance with his previous visits and letters.

    What will he find when he comes to Corinth? The correlation between Paul’s coming to Corinth and Jesus’ final coming to judge the living and the dead, we would judge this morning as both intentional and instructional. In our last sermon, you might recall from 2 Corinthians, we cited indeed Jesus’ question in Luke chapter 18, verse 8, which is given at the conclusion of the parable of the persistent widow A parable meant to show the disciples that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart. The question at the end of that parable is simply, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Similarly, we ask, what will Paul find when he comes to Corinth? Will the people’s faith there be found complete? And again we ask, what will Jesus find when he comes again? In writing this epistle, the apostle has openly identified himself, along with Timothy his brother, as servant ministers of a new covenant. A new covenant not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

    That’s a citation from chapter 3, verse 6. His ministry was not, he says, the ministry of condemnation, chapter three, verse nine, engraved on stones, three, verse seven, but the surpassing glory of the ministry of righteousness. Again, chapter three, verse nine, the ministry of the spirit, he says, chapter three, verse eight. He, as a minister, as an apostle, having renounced the things hidden because of shame.

    Chapter 4, verse 2. 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. Again, chapter 4, verse 2. In chapter 12 of the 2nd Corinthians, Paul tells the Corinthians that he does not want to boast. He boasts only of his weaknesses. For example, the thorn he bears in his flesh. A messenger of Satan, he calls it. The Corinthians should have commended Paul. But here he has to remind them of the signs of his apostleship.

    He says in chapter 12, verse 14, that he is willing to go to them, visit, the third time, which he reaffirms here in chapter 13, verse 1. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he did not take advantage of them, he did not burden them, If he visits them, he has to point out their sins, some of which he even lists here in the final two verses of chapter 12, verses 20 and 21, which we read. And the charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses. From chapter 13, verse 2 of our text this morning, it would seem to suggest that the two or three witnesses were Paul’s own visits to the Corinthians. during which he had had to warn them repeatedly.

    The seriousness of this ought to be measured in reference to Paul’s ministry and service as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Remember that Paul was Christ’s own appointed apostle to the Gentiles. And we remember clearly what Jesus said to His disciples as He prepared them to be His witnesses in the world. He told them, He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives him who sent Me. Citation from Matthew 10, verse 40. In that sense then, a visit from Paul is like a visit from Jesus. A message from Paul was like a message from Jesus.

    Do you understand the importance of this? We who are so slow to hear, so slow to obey, how many witnesses, how many messengers has Christ sent to us to bring us to conviction? Paul’s point is to urge his readers toward holiness in their lives. Such holiness is important because they and we will all stand before Jesus when he comes. Before him to give an account of everything we have done.

    The impostors, the false apostles that had shown up in Corinth, have disparaged Paul time and again as weak and have undercut his message, claiming that Christ was not speaking through him. See verse 3 of our text and cross-reference with that chapter 10 and verse 7. Paul, however, will come to Corinth in the spiritual and moral power of the living Christ. Christ indeed was weak in His death, and Paul has shared in that weakness in his life and ministry. We see that again cited in verse 4. A fact which he has been acknowledging in the past couple of chapters, even boasting in the fact that he shares in the weakness of Christ. But now, Christ is not weak. Christ lives in God’s resurrection power.

    And He is powerful in dealing with the Corinthians. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. And Paul will come to the Corinthians. And Paul will be powerful in dealing with them. Because of the power of God directed toward the Corinthians. Paul will not come in the supposed power of visions or ecstasy, but in the power of a godly man in Christ.

    And he will exhort, he will judge, and he will grieve over the unrepentant when he comes. Let the Corinthian church at that time, churches today, and church people, Many churches today and church people are subject to great moral temptation to which they sometimes succumb. Like Paul the Apostle, the pastors and teachers and other ministers of the word today must be prepared to exhort, to reprove and to discipline those who have fallen into sin, as well as to patiently restore the penitent. In verse 5, Paul says, as I also as your pastor say to you today, test yourselves to see if you are in the faith.

    Examine yourselves. Or do you not recognize this about yourselves? That Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed you fail the test. But I trust that you will realize, says Paul, that we ourselves do not fail the test. Now we pray to God that you do no wrong, not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we, Paul and fellow ministers, may appear unapproved. For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak, but you are strong. This we pray for, that you be made complete. For this reason I am writing these things, says Paul, while absent, so that when present I need not use severity in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

    Beloved, receive this today as a letter from your Savior written by an apostle on Christ’s behalf. Indeed, Paul was coming to Corinth, and he wanted to find the church as he hoped and prayed she would be, those ready for his appearing. How much more so, then, does your Savior, Jesus Christ, desire you to be ready, made complete in the spirit for his appearing in the clouds of glory when he comes to receive his church unto himself? that church to be made without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.

    Now we know that Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead. In 2 Corinthians 5 verses 10 and 11, we have the apostle Paul’s own testimony concerning the coming of Christ. He says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God. And I hope that we are also made manifest also in your conscience.

    Paul viewed his ministry as an apostle, as a stewardship given to him by Christ himself. His task was nothing less than preparing men, women, and children for the coming of Jesus Christ in power and glory. Having offered his apostolic instructions and warnings on behalf of his Savior Christ, Paul now concludes his letter on a most kind and a most sympathetic note, take note, for the church’s encouragement. So our Savior provides for our encouragement.

    Rather than seek proof that Christ speaks through Paul, verse 3, let the Corinthians be reminded that in fact Jesus Christ is in them, verse 5. The proof of Paul’s ministry to the Corinthians is related to the proof that they are in fact Christians, even then, as he writes to them. Thus Paul, in verse 6, expects them to discover that he has not failed. While this is not unimportant to Paul, what he prays is that the Corinthians may do, may not do anything wrong, but that they may do what is right. Verse seven, let them, let us repent of their impurities and immoralities. Chapter 12, verse 21. And let the Corinthians also see the false apostles in their true light.

    Our prayer, he tells them in verse 9, is that you be made complete. Paul’s primary concern was their mending. That’s a literal translation of this, being made complete. You might think it’s the same word that is used in reference to the disciples mending their nets. He is praying that you be made, mended, that you be made complete.

    What will encourage Paul is the knowledge that the Corinthians are strong in Christ Jesus. The authority which the Lord gave Paul as an apostle was for building up and not for tearing down, he says, the body of Christ. Therefore, in the period which remains before he comes, let them, the Corinthian Christians, aim for perfection. Let them listen to his apostolic appeal and let them hear his appeal to rejoice, to be made complete, to be comforted, to be like-minded, to live together with one another in peace, and to greet one another with a holy kiss, he says. In their obedience to this, he says, he assures them that the God of love and peace will be with them. Look at verse 11.

    Consider the life history of the Corinthian church, a church marked by division, marked by tumult. And think of her resting in love and tranquility, the love and tranquility of Christ himself, praising the Lord for his goodness and grace, living in peace and harmony and harmony and unity, one with another. if they heard and responded to the word of the apostle.

    We might be curious to know what the Corinthians did in response to Paul’s letter. Did they continue as they were, allowing the spurious teachers to continue there to exert their influence? Or did they heed the apostle? The fact that this letter of 2 Corinthians was not torn up when the Corinthians received it, and that it has come down to us, suggests that they deterred to Paul. When Paul arrived in Corinth, he stayed there three months, and from there he wrote his letter to the Romans, where there are only faint echoes of the present difficulties he addresses there in Corinth.

    Indeed, the epistle to the Romans may well be considered the high watermark of Paul’s apostolic ministry and writing. Be reminded, it was written in Corinth after second Corinthians. We conclude that the Corinthians and the apostle were indeed reconciled and that to the glory of God. Paul concludes his letter of 2 Corinthians with a beautiful prayer, a most profound apostolic benediction.

    Let us not stumble over its familiarity to us. Take note in the apostolic benediction that the three persons of the Trinity are mentioned, each one in the order which reflects our own Christian experience. First, there is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is encountered in the gospel in the message of reconciliation accomplished in the cross of Christ and through which we were made rich through the poverty of Jesus. Then, as a consequence, we come to know the love of God from the one Paul has described as the God of love. Look at verse 11. Finally, also as a consequence, we experience the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which refers to the Spirit’s fellowship with our spirits, wherein we are fellow heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ, sons and children of God. But also the Spirit brings that fellowship which exists between those in whom the Spirit of God dwells.

    By this prayer and meditation, Paul is reminding the Christian, the Corinthian Christians, and all of us, that our being made complete does not lie within ourselves, but it lies with the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s doing, after all. This is God’s gift to you, beloved, in Christ Jesus. Praise be to God. To Him will be the glory, both now and forevermore. Amen. Let us pray together.

    Our Father, we are reminded that our being made complete. We are not complete yet, but we will be made complete. That that one who began a good work in us will bring it to its glorious completion. Is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How we do rejoice in the benediction pronounced upon the church by our Savior through his apostle in this particular epistle. Bless us in that knowledge as well today, Father.

    Build us up. Do not tear us down, but build us up as we wait and prepare for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in glory. Fill us with that spirit of fellowship and joy that we would be like minded, that we would be devoted to one another, that we would walk in the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. and that we would be that church Christ intended us and wants us even now to be. Fill us to the full, we pray in Jesus’ name, giving thanks. Amen. I’m going to ask now that you stand with me and sing together hymn number 601.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Some Foolish Boasting

    Some Foolish Boasting

    About this sermon

    Faced with false apostles who boasted of their credentials, Paul answers with a list of his own sufferings: imprisonments, beatings, shipwrecks, dangers, sleepless nights, hunger, and daily anxiety for all the churches. He even boasts of escaping Damascus in a basket let down through a window, the opposite of a soldier’s glory as first over the wall. True ministry follows Christ in service and suffering, and the church stands firm in the faith when the world’s messengers oppose it.

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    Sermon transcript

    We turn now to the reading of God’s inspired word in the reading of Holy Scripture, we turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, 2nd Corinthians chapter 11, please. I’m going to back up the reading and begin at verse 10, 2nd Corinthians 11, verse 10, reading through verse 33. Give your attention, for this is the word of God. Second Corinthians 11 verse 10. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you. God knows I do. But what I am doing, I will continue to do so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.

    For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

    Again, I say, let no one think me foolish, but if you do, Receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in the confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also. For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, Anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame, I must say that we have been weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else is bold, I speak in foolishness. I am just as bold myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ?

    I speak as if insane. I more so, in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

    The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus, the ethnarch under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me. And I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and so escaped his hands. There ends the reading of God’s inspired and infallible word. Amen.

    Let’s pray together. Father, we would ask for the grace of your spirit to guide us to a right understanding of these words this morning. As the Apostle Paul writes in a manner in which he himself describes as foolishness, asking that the Corinthians would bear with him in that foolish boasting that he is about, we ask, Lord, that we would hear it rightly ourselves, that we would understand it, that you would encourage us by it, and that we would be built up in the most holy faith. We ask God your spirit’s blessing upon the one who reads and preaches today. but also upon those who hear that each of us in our respective places would desire and hunger and thirst after righteousness, that we would be truly satisfied today, built up in Christ Jesus, in whose holy and precious name we pray these things together now, giving thanks. Amen. The fundamental reason the Apostle Paul is moved to extraordinary action is the extraordinary situation before him in Corinth.

    According to verse 13 of our text, Corinth has been infiltrated by false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. They are demonic, more Satan-like than they are Christ-like, serving themselves only rather than serving Christ. They pretend to be enthusiasts for Christ’s cause, but they are only acting a part.

    Satan is generally depicted in scripture as the great adversary and deceiver. As the theologian Charles Hodge reminds us, Satan does not come to us as Satan. Neither does sin present itself to us as sin, but in the guise of virtue. And the teachers of error set themselves forth as the special advocates of truth. Christ has his ministers to be sure.

    And so Satan has his also. Christ, who has ascended on high to sit at the father’s right hand, gave gifts to men. And he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” I’m quoting from Ephesians 4, verses 11 through 13. So Christ sends forth his ministry of the word.

    Meanwhile, Satan sends forth his legions who exhibit the nature and methods of him who sent them, by whom they are diabolically inspired and whose kingdom of darkness they are engaged in extending. Appearing as they do as the ministers of righteousness, that is, as eloquent advocates of the Pharisaic doctrine that men can put themselves right with God by their own misguided and unaided efforts, they are in fact deceivers of others because they are themselves deceived. Evil does not become good by being called good, and ministers of Satan do not cease to be such by parading as advocates of righteousness. For the moment such men, such deceivers, may seem to be successful, but in the end they will be shown up in their true colors, and they will receive such just punishment as their deeds deserve. After all, God is not mocked, for the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

    These false apostles in Corinth put themselves forward, commending themselves and undermining the authority and the ministry of the apostle Paul. Much to the chagrin of many critics of Paul, Paul does not mince words as he speaks of those wicked imposters.

    He calls them what they are, messengers of Satan, deceivers. As we know from scripture, Jesus himself again and again denounced the Pharisees, calling them, as he does, hypocrites. And he boldly told the disbelieving Jews at Jerusalem that they were, in fact, of their father, the devil, and that they were exhibiting the murderous characteristics of their father. So it is throughout the New Testament.

    False religious teachers are everywhere stated to be what, in fact, they really are. And perversions of Christianity are never presented as though they were partial understandings of truth. But such misunderstandings, such lies are denounced as destructive of truth. We are plainly taught in scripture to avoid those holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power.

    2 Timothy 3 verses 5 and 6. So let us not be embarrassed by Paul’s strong language here in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Rather, we ought to learn to call evil by its proper name and never to compromise with those who present it to us as something different from what it really is.

    So after painting his opponents in their true colors, Paul takes up again his intention to engage in what he calls some foolish boasting of his own. See verse 16 and following. To put this foolish boasting into its proper context, commentator Paul Barnett makes the following observation. Through Christian influence on Western values, boasting is regarded as brash and impolite. Humility and self-effacement have traditionally been regarded as virtues.

    In Paul’s day, however, it was quite otherwise. People in Greco-Roman antiquity possessed no hope of glory in an afterlife. A detached immortality was the most they could expect or hope for. Therefore, it was customary in those days to achieve glory here and now in this life and to boast of one’s achievements. Thus the Greco-Roman citizens and soldiers without embarrassment and as a socially accepted convention would outdo one another in boasting of their military and their political achievements. Such achievements were listed on monuments or on public buildings They were depicted in household murals and set forth in epic narratives literature written to glorify these earthly heroes. Thus, it seems likely that Paul’s opponents in Corinth made their claims over the people and their superiority over Paul in terms of the conventional list of achievements about which they could boast.

    Perhaps such things they would boast about would be their education, their life experiences, their eloquence perhaps, their speaking skills, and perhaps their ethnic identity. Perhaps, as seems likely, that they were pressing the Judaizers’ version of Christianity, they would have been touting even their Hebrew origin. their experience in the synagogue, and their acquaintance with the writings of Moses. As Paul begins his boast, we notice that it is at only one point that Paul seeks to match his critics, and that in their Jewishness.

    Verse 22. Are they Hebrews? So is he. Are they Israelites by race? So is he. Do they trace their lineage back to Abraham? So does he. In these matters, he is equal with these newcomers, these so-called apostles. Yes, the Messiah and salvation originated among the Jews.

    In everything else, however, apart from that one element of their common identity, in everything else, Paul highlights matters of difficulty and hardship He boasts of hard work, of imprisonment, of floggings, of threats to his life. He boasts of his weakness and his suffering. Paul takes the literary convention of boasting and inverts it. He turns it upside down. His boast is in folly, in weakness. His boast is in disappointment and in defeat.

    One of the Roman soldiers’ most glorious achievements in battle, known as the Corona Moralis, was awarded for being the first soldier over the wall of a city that was under siege. As Christ’s fool, Paul boasts of being lowered down a wall, fleeing for his life as a fugitive.

    We see this in verses 32 and 33. Paul’s opponents boast of superiority, of being, as it were, super apostles. Yet the effect of their ministry, according to Paul, is to enslave and to manipulate. Those who succumb to them, verse 20, Paul, to enslave and manipulate those who succumb to them, verse 20. Paul, however, is the servant of Christ in his ministry to the churches. As opposed to the triumphalism of these newcomers, an essential characteristic of Christ is the meekness and gentleness of a crucified slave. Christ’s glory is his divinely humble service to others. This is the message of the cross, the message which Paul seeks to embody and to express in his ministry of evangelism. Paul’s list of accomplishments includes far more labors In far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.

    Five times I received, he says, from the Jews 39 lashes, one less than the 40 maximum according to the law. Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, dangers from countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers in the sea, dangers among false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst often without food, in cold and exposure.

    Apart from such external things, There is the daily pressure, Paul says, of concern or anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? If I have to boast, says Paul, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. We remember what Jesus said when he set Paul apart as an apostle back in Acts chapter 9.

    You remember Ananias was apprehensive there in Damascus, having heard about this man Saul, how much harm he did to the saints at Jerusalem, and that he had authority even from the chief priest to bind all those who called on the name of the Lord. But the Lord Jesus told Ananias in that context, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine. to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. For I wish I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake. After regaining his sight, we read that Saul immediately began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogue, saying he is the son of God.

    And we recall the apostles own recollection of his original ministry among the Corinthians. recorded in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 1, where he says, And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power.

    From the beginning, Paul was set apart as a messenger of Christ, one who would suffer much for the sake of the name of Jesus. Paul’s own ministry would be conformed to the cross of his savior, and that has become his boast, as he writes here to the Corinthians. This second inspired epistle, this amazing record of his afflictions as an apostle of Christ seems almost incredible. The apostle, therefore, in verse 31 now calls God himself to witness that everything that he had said bears the hallmark of truth. He does not lie. There has been no inaccuracy and no overstatement from Paul. the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever knows that I am not lying. Can these other so-called apostles match this list of sufferings incurred in the course of Paul’s ministry and from which God did not shield him at all? Whose ministry, therefore, would the Corinthians embrace? Whose ministry would they follow?

    The word of the cross, beloved, yes, is foolishness. It is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For since in the wisdom of God, the world, through its wisdom, did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached, the message of the cross, to save those who believe. For indeed, Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. To Jews, a stumbling block, and to Gentiles, foolishness. But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Yes, Paul is defending his gospel. against those who would offer a different Jesus, a different gospel altogether than the one that had already been preached among them. And so it is that we preach the cross and we will not back away from it, even as others in the world would seek to turn us aside to cause us to follow another Jesus, a Jesus whom we have not known.

    Let us love the true and faithful Christ, Christ crucified, power of God unto salvation to them who believe. Amen. Let us pray together. Our Father, we do embrace that gospel once for all delivered to the saints, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who through the bloody cross secured a people for himself forever. And as many as will receive him to them, he gave the power to become the children of God. And we would pray for his ministers then in the world. We would pray that their ministry would be patterned after and conformed to That same ministry of service, obedience, a ministry of suffering for the sake of the gospel, suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, who is indeed the Son of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

    Grant us grace then to embrace the message and to persevere in hope, even when the world and its messengers stand over against us. May we resist and stand firm in the faith. We pray it now in Jesus’ name, giving thanks. Amen. I would invite you to respond to the Word of God by standing and joining in singing hymn number 576, please.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • Betrothed to Christ

    Betrothed to Christ

    About this sermon

    Paul tells the Corinthians that he feels a divine jealousy for them, for he betrothed them to one husband, to present them as a pure virgin to Christ. He fears that, as the serpent deceived Eve, their minds will be led astray from sincere devotion to Christ by those who preach another Jesus and a different gospel. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to sanctify her, and pastors and husbands follow that pattern, spending themselves for those in their care.

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    Sermon transcript

    2 Corinthians 10, beginning with verse 17. But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends. And continuing into chapter 11. I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you are bearing with me.

    For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I betrothed you to one husband so that to Christ I may present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

    For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge.

    In fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you. And when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone.

    For when the brethren came from Macedonia, they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you and will continue to do so. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you. God knows I do.

    But what I am doing, I will continue to do so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. Again, I say, let no one think me foolish, but if you do receive me even as foolish so that I may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but in as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Thus far, the reading of God’s word.

    Let’s pray together, shall we? We ask, Lord, that you would grant us the spirit of grace, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding that we might rightly be illumined in the right interpretation and understanding of this particular portion of the inspired word of God.

    We’re thankful for the Apostle Paul. We’re thankful for his ministry and service as it stands in history, in the church, in the scriptures. And we pray that we would receive it even tonight through the word we have read. May you bless the one who preaches and those who hear and receive the preaching.

    Now, God, to your glory, build us up in faith that we would be reminded of our true identity as members of Christ, as member of Christ Church. Here are prayers of supplication. May you go before us tonight. Make yourself known in power, in the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

    At the end of second Corinthians chapter 10, the apostle Paul has pointed us to the prophet Jeremiah chapter nine and verse 24 from the prophet to make the case that those among the Christian church who boast should boast only in the Lord. After all, as Paul would say elsewhere, I’m thinking particularly of Romans chapter three, verses 10 through 18, both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. Quoting from the text in Romans three, as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one.

    There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside together. They have become useless. There is none who does good. There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave with their tongues. They keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Again, that’s a quote from Romans 3, verses 10 through 18. Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.

    Salvation then is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, not by works, lest any man should boast. The sons of Old Testament Israel were reminded by the prophet Jeremiah to boast only in Yahweh, their Lord, not in themselves. And then like manner, the Christians of the New Testament era are instructed here by the apostle not to boast. Where then is boasting, Paul would ask in Romans 3, 27, and he answers his own question there, In 327 of Romans, he says, boasting is excluded. And here in second Corinthians 10, he says, for it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

    Verse 18 of chapter 10, we’ve read tonight. I would draw your attention to a comment made by Matthew Henry and his commentary, which a very incisive comment here in reference to the matter at hand. He says, quote, as much against the grain as it is with the proud man to acknowledge his infirmities. So much is it against the grain with a humble man to speak in his own praise. End of quote. So we might ask then, given that being the case, how then is it that the apostle Paul is about to launch into his own boasting Paul calls it calls himself and calls what he is about to do foolishness. After all, Paul is very conscious that it is no business of an apostle, or indeed of any Christian, to praise himself.

    Yet here is the Apostle Paul as he opens chapter 11, expressing his wish. I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, he says. Or perhaps we might read that as a prayer, as we find that text, 2 Corinthians 11, 1, in the King James Version, which begins with the word, would to God you could bear with me in a little in my folly. As he prepares to offer his defense of his ministry and of his relationship with the Corinthian church, we must remember the context into which Paul writes this epistle. After all, false apostles had intruded themselves into the church there, recommending themselves and undermining Paul’s own ministry and apostolic authority among the Corinthians.

    Therefore, Paul feels constrained to respond as he does here, being moved by what he calls a godly jealousy, his folly or foolishness, as he speaks of it, is prompted by the kind of jealousy, jealousy, which a lover feels for his beloved. We shall see that the passage before us today stands actually as an extended prologue to the foolish boasting proper that will begin with chapter 11, verse 21B, which we’ll take up next time in our next sermon. Such jealousy that moves Paul to this so-called foolishness he describes as godly, because it is the kind of jealousy expressed by God himself towards his covenant people. Particularly when his people, so often described in the Old Testament as standing towards him in a relationship of that of a wife to her husband, God becomes jealous when she gives her allegiance to other gods, that is, to lovers other than Yahweh. The Apostle Paul now feels this jealousy himself for the Corinthians, because it was through his ministry that they ceased to be the heathen idolaters that they had been, and became instead the people of God in Christ Jesus.

    Paul had not brought them into such a relationship with himself that they could say that they belonged to Paul. Everything that he had done had been with the sole object of enabling them to say that they belong to Jesus Christ. Paul’s godly jealousy, then, we might say, gives verbal, visible expression to Christ’s own divine jealousy for his church. After all, the Corinthian Christians were Paul’s work, quote, in the Lord, unquote. See 1 Corinthians 9.

    His aim was to bring them securely to Jesus Christ. So far from glorifying in himself, Paul had found in Christ Jesus, as he says in Romans 15, 17 to 19, he found his reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. There, in Romans 15, Paul says, I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit. Romans 15, verses 17 to 19. The Corinthians were Paul’s spiritual children.

    But just as a father is not only responsible for having brought his daughter into the world, but also in due time as her father, he, quote, gives her away to her husband. So Paul sees himself in his ministry as having betrothed the Corinthians, as he says, to one husband so that to Christ I might present you, he says, as a pure virgin. By adding that singular word, one, one husband, Paul stresses the truth that just as the marriage relationship is exclusive, so believers in Christ owe an exclusive loyalty to Jesus Christ alone. Here then lay the danger of the false apostles. Paul says to the Corinthians, I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. Verse three of our text. Paul made it his ultimate aim in ministry, in conformity with the ultimate purposes of God in Christ Jesus, to present his converts, the church of God at Corinth among those converts, as a pure virgin, as it were, to Christ, the heavenly bridegroom.

    This mystery of the church as bride and Christ as the bridegroom, Paul would say, refers to Christ and his church. He takes up that imagery, of course, in the book of Ephesians, particularly in Ephesians 1, 22, and 23. where the church is defined as Christ’s body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. And again, in Ephesians chapter 5, where Christ is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body. Indeed, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so 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. This New Testament imagery of Christ as bridegroom and the church’s bride is not confined to the Apostle Paul, indeed, by no means.

    In Revelation 21, verse 2, John the Apostle saw the vision of the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride, adorned for her husband. Truly history awaits and the church longs for the wedding feast of the lamb. Revelation 19, 7 and 8 says, let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Truly blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

    And then scripture ends in Revelation 22 with the Holy Spirit and the bride saying to the eschatological bridegroom, Come. And the Lord Jesus replying to the spirit and the bride saying, Yes, I am coming quickly. To which we say, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

    A final word then this evening, particularly to the husbands among us, where Paul writes in Ephesians 5, 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. Ephesians 5, 25 and 26. And I’ll combine that with this word also from first Peter chapter three and verse seven. You husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman, and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

    As Paul longed for the sanctification of the church in preparation for the coming of Christ, that he might present the church to Christ as a pure virgin without spot or blemish, So, too, let husbands, husbands among us today, those preparing to be husbands among us, let husbands long and pray for the sanctification of their wives until together we are joined in eternity with our heavenly bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, and with his church in glory. Amen. Let us pray together.

    Our Father, we thank you for the ministry of the Apostle Paul. We thank you for the ministry of Christ. which is the example of Paul, Christ giving himself up for his church, that she would be sanctified and made holy and ready for glory. So to the apostle expended himself in ministry for the sake of that church, that she might be brought safely to Jesus, made ready for that one who is coming at the end of the age to receive his church unto himself in glory. Our father, may we as pastors, may we as Husbands, long for the sanctification of those in our charge, that we would be found faithful ourselves, and that we would indeed be willing to be spent on behalf of those whom Christ has loved and for whom he gave and shed his blood.

    Hear our prayers of thanksgiving. Bless us as we contemplate these things together tonight. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. I invite you to join with me in singing hymn number 125 as we respond to the Word of God here tonight. Hymn number 125. Let’s stand together as we sing, please.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • God Loves a Cheerful Giver

    God Loves a Cheerful Giver

    About this sermon

    Paul urges the Corinthians to complete the collection for the saints in Jerusalem that they had begun a year earlier. Whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully, so each one gives as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. The grace of Christ, who became poor so that his people might become rich, moves believers to give joyfully and to show kindness and hospitality to one another.

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    Sermon transcript

    Hear the word of the Lord. Proverbs 22 and verse 9. He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. This is the New American Standard Version. He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. An alternative reading is in the margin of our Bibles. Which is, he who has a good eye, he who has a beautiful eye, will be blessed. For he gives some of his food to the poor.

    Proverbs 22, verse 9. The latter translation is coming to us from the Greek Septuagint version of the scriptures. A Septuagint version that is at work in Paul’s writing, the New Testament epistle that we read this morning. Turn with me now to 2 Corinthians. We’ll read there chapter 9, 2 Corinthians chapter 9. We continue the reading of God’s inspired word as we take up at 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 1. We’ll read the whole of this chapter.

    For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints. For I know your readiness of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely that Achaia has been prepared since last year and your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I have sent the brethren or in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared. Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to speak of you, will be put to shame by this confidence. So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

    Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed as it is written. He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. Now, he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

    Thus far, the reading of God’s inspired word. Amen. Let us pray together. Father, once again, we come to you asking for the grace of your spirit that he would instruct us that those things that were written of old by the prophet and the apostle would be now made illumined for us to understand and believe that same spirit working grace in our hearts to understand the word of God. We ask God that the Spirit would rest mightily upon the one who preaches and those who hear the preaching together today, that we would be built up in the most holy faith and that with much joy, with much thanksgiving, with much cheerfulness of God in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray even now. Amen.

    What Paul was administering was indeed a sizable offering for the relief of the poor saints in Jerusalem. Judging from his epistles to the Corinthians, we see that he made every effort to complete this task in an honorable way. Commentator Paul Barnett observes that, quote, no one knew better than Paul that his initiative instituting the collection would lay him open to the accusation that the money was desolate for his own pocket. And we would say, indeed, to this very day, few things are so destructive as of the credibility of the ministry as the implication of covetousness and dishonesty on the part of those who administer such things. Therefore, Paul, to preserve his own credibility, took every precaution to disassociate himself from any direct contact with the money.

    In First Corinthians chapter 16 and verse three, he wrote, quote, When I arrived, Whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem. And then as we begin Second Corinthians chapter nine, Paul states, it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints. For I know your readiness of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely. that a cave, that is the location of Corinth, has been prepared since last year and your zeal has stirred up most of them in Macedonia.

    The Apostle Paul was no doubt aware of the problem that had arisen in Jerusalem. namely a great famine and intensive poverty. And he was zealous then that the members of the churches which he founded through his gospel ministry would systematically lay up offerings to care for their own needs in each congregation, but also to be mindful of others, of the spiritual debt in particular that they owed as Gentiles to the church and the saints found in Jerusalem. After all, salvation had come to the Gentile world through the Jews, namely through Christ Jesus, son of God, son of David, seed of Abraham. We see in scripture how the church at Antioch had originally done this when the Great Famine, which swept across the world during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, brought additional distress upon the church in Jerusalem. Already poor, Jerusalem Christians. Paul himself had been one of the delegates of the church of Antioch on that occasion to deliver the contribution to the needs of the saints in Jerusalem for the relief of the brethren there living in Judea.

    We read of those events in Acts chapter 11 verses 27 to 30. In First Corinthians, where we find the first mention of the expression, quote, the collection for the saints, unquote, Paul reiterates instructions for systematic giving, which he says he has already laid before the Galatian church. Each Sunday, he says, that is the first day of the week.

    Every member of the church was being asked to put aside something for the fund so that a substantial sum might be ready when the apostle himself came to collect the contributions of the various churches and to make arrangements for their dispatch then to Jerusalem and that by the hands of authorized representatives of the various churches. See again, first Corinthians 16 verses one to four, a year or even less had elapsed since the Corinthians had received those instructions about the offerings. And during the interval, much had happened, which had not made it easy for the Corinthians to respond in any effective way to the apostles appeal. They had indeed made a noble start, but that was about all a start.

    But now that Paul’s so-called painful letter had achieved its purpose of repentance and reconciliation, and the Corinthians were, for the most part now, reconciled to Paul, the time was right, he thought, for calling their attention once more to the great project of this collection. Again, we affirm that the Apostle had long been aware of the readiness of the Corinthians to act upon this matter. And during his stay in Macedonia, in the region of Philippi and Thessalonica, Paul had been speaking the Corinthians praise. He says of The Corinthians. Achaia was ready a year ago. They had not completed the collection. In fact, they had only begun to make preparation.

    But here in this epistle, Paul commends the Corinthians for their willingness to participate in such an offering. That willingness was the reason for sending Titus and the brothers now to Corinth. Would the Corinthians live up to Paul’s boasting about them, that boasting which he had done before the Macedonians? Paul sends some delegates to Corinth to ensure their readiness, that the Corinthians would follow through with the offering that they had pledged that they would be so participant in, so that neither Paul nor the Corinthians would be ashamed in the confidence which he had placed in them and toward them in his conversation even with others.

    For each one must make must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. Chapter nine, verses six and seven. Note that text in particular. In nine, verse eight, Paul reminds the Corinthians that God provides for them abundantly so that they can give to others in abundance. The idea is strengthened by a quotation from Psalm 112, verse nine, And that cited in chapter nine, verse nine of second Corinthians, as it is written that he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. Speaking of the righteous man who fears the Lord, the generous giver Paul proceeds to assure the Corinthians need not fear destitution.

    For there is a real sense in which the generous man receives in return gifts out of all proportion, even to his own. This truth is emphasized in various proverbial statements found in the book of Proverbs. For example, Proverbs 11 verses 24 and 25. There is one who scatters and yet increases all the more. And there is one who withholds what is justly due. And yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. And also Proverbs chapter 19 verse 17, I quote, One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his good deed.

    Paul’s language in verse six of our text this morning clearly echoes these sentiments. And he was probably quite familiar also with the saying of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke chapter six and verse 38. where Jesus says, give and it shall be given unto you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.

    The unselfishness of Christian charity is not marred, remember, by remembering that such giving is actually in the best and in the highest interest of the donor himself. As Charles Hodge truly says, it is right to present to man the divinely ordained consequences of their actions as motives to control their conduct.

    To be sure, in recent times there has arisen a theology of prosperity, we might call it, which teaches that God will bless with health and riches those who give generously in support of Christian ministry. In the Old Testament, surely it is clear that the multiplication of resources was viewed as the blessing of God, whether that be crops or animals or any such thing. In the last chapter of Job, remember, God gave the faithful sufferer twice the prosperity he enjoyed before the onset of all his troubles. In the New Testament, however, this enrichment, this enrichment that God adds to those who give generously and live faithfully is reinterpreted as a spiritual fruitfulness and as caring support among the family of Christians as we bear each other’s burdens.

    That’s a blessing given unto us as a consequence of Christian charity and love. What Paul promises to the generous giver is not wealth in return, but a promise of all that you need and also what is sufficient for every good work. Look at verse 8. Giving, true giving, pleasing to the Lord, must be free and it must be deliberate, not compulsory or casual.

    Notice then how gently, how tenderly Paul encourages the Christians to give themselves to the offering that is now being collected for the saints. He commends their previous willingness and their positive example. They have already proven to be to the Macedonian Christians. Paul rejoices in their generosity, even as he prods them on to even greater generosity.

    Let this be an example to us in our dealings with others, even with our children and grandchildren. In other words, not simply discouraging, but encouraging with previous acts of kindness and grace, building up as that would be an example and a help to others around them. Let us encourage and build up those who are under us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse seven.

    Each one must do just as he is purposed in his own heart, not grudgingly, not under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver, not reluctant that he has to part with so much or of necessity. That is. One not having as his main motive the consideration of what others will think about him if he refrains from giving. Both of these are unworthy thoughts that rob charity of its true loveliness and joy. They are, moreover, contrary to the revealed will of God in Proverbs chapter 22 and verse eight, where we in verse nine, as we read this morning, where we read that it is a generous and cheerful giver that God loves and blesses.

    Literally in the Hebrew, the one who has a good or a beautiful eye is the one whom the Lord loves and blesses. When Paul says God loves the cheerful giver, he is reflecting upon Proverbs 22 verse 8, particularly as it is found in the Septuagint version where it speaks of God loving the cheerful giver. The Hebrew text actually points to one who has a beautiful eye. And I’ll comment on that. In the Hebrew, the one giving who has a good or a beautiful eye, is considered this way. The eye was regarded in Hebrew thought as a window to the soul through which a man’s real motives were being revealed. God loves the cheerful giver, then is literally God loves the giver with the beautiful eye. That is, God loves the one who gives from a sincere motive of loving and honoring God by loving my poor and needy neighbor.

    Generous giving for those who have little in the world to give might seem hazardous, but the risk tends to be forgotten when the greatness of God’s power is steadily kept in mind. Be reminded, beloved, that all our resources, great or small, come ultimately from God. And God is able, Paul insists, to increase those resources. Where the generous spirit exists, God will provide the means by which that generous spirit can be expressed. Look at verse 8. God is able to make all grace abound to you. Believe it. so that the charitable man will always have all sufficiency in everything, that you may have an abundance for every good deed.

    Now, in verse 9, Paul produces scripture proof for that truth, that the giver shall be provided with the means of giving. In verse 9 of our text this morning, the Apostle Saul cites Psalm 112. He says, as it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever. Looking back to Psalm 112 in verse 3, we read that wealth and riches are in the house of the man who fears the Lord. In other words, the righteous man or woman who desires to express his or her righteousness in benevolent giving to the poor, beneficence, In the giving of gifts and the doing the acts of kindness, such persons will never lack the means of doing so. Be sure of that. In the remainder of chapter 9 of our text, The apostle actually alludes to Isaiah chapter 55, speaking of God as the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food.

    And in the rest of the chapter, Paul seeks to motivate the Corinthians giving by pointing out that there will be even spiritual riches accumulated as a consequence of their generosity, expressions of thanksgiving flowing out of the Corinthians generosity. In the fear of God, then, let us remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said in Luke 12, verse 48, From everyone who has been given much, much will be required. And also remember Jesus’ words quoted by Paul in Acts chapter 20 and verse 35, where Jesus says, It is more blessed to give than to receive. The final verse of our chapter this morning rounds out the theme of this particular collection. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

    Combine that text very closely with 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9, and then we get to the root and to the sum of charitable giving. Look at second Corinthians eight, nine, for, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich. Significantly, Paul never deviates from the truth that God saves us by his free grace and not through good work, such as giving even. Giving is not a means of salvation. Giving is a proof, verse 13, or an acknowledgment of the gospel of Christ. Such good that this this is the summation. This is the confirmation of our salvation as saved believers who have received much.

    It is our joy, our cheerful joy to give much for the sake of others, not as the basis of our salvation, but as a response to that salvation which has come to us in and through Christ Jesus. who loved us and gave himself for us.

    Let it be said in closing this morning that while the apostle is referring specifically to generosity in gifts of money and in material things, we may most certainly apply his principles also to the exercise of all of God’s good gifts. Whatever gift, whatever gift you may have received from the Lord, let us learn in Christ to promptly, generously, cheerfully seek to exercise such gifts in service to one another for mutual edification and for growth in grace. doing so as a grateful expression of God’s saving grace toward us in Christ Jesus, that together we may give thanks to the glory and praise of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It will be our certain experience that the faithful Lord of the harvest will enrich us. He who gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater is the one who will give us all spiritual graces and gifts needed that we might be generous one toward another for the mutual building up of the body of Christ to the glory and to the praise of his holy name. And remember that he who sows little will also reap little, but he who sows much will reap much. And so let us be generous and cheerful, exercising the gifts that God has given us and showing kindnesses and love one to another, bearing for the needs of the poor, that the faithful Lord of the harvest will enrich us. He will enrich us beyond all our expectations, both in this age and in the age to come.

    Amen. Let us pray together. Almighty God, we have received much, and we know that as those who have received much, we are responsible to do much, that we might share your love with others, show kindnesses to those who have needs and concerns among us. And we pray that we would joyfully do so, cheerfully do so, not under compulsion, not begrudgingly, but joyfully, cheerfully showing the love of Christ one to another, bearing the burdens of others, and that to the glory and praise of your holy name. May you apply your spirit to us that we may accomplish these things in acts of kindness and acts of hospitality, acts of graciousness one to another. Hear our prayers. Apply these things to us, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Now, let us join in singing hymn number 368.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • The Groanings of the Spirit

    The Groanings of the Spirit

    About this sermon

    Paul knows that if the earthly tent of this body is torn down, believers have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. In this tent they groan, longing to be clothed with their heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life, and God has given the Spirit as a guarantee. Though his sufferings wore him down, Paul did not lose heart, and believers hear their own groanings as a cry for the age to come and the resurrection in Christ.

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    Sermon transcript

    We come now to the reading of God’s Holy Word as we open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 5. Beginning with verse 1, I remind you that this is the inspired Word of God written for our instruction that we might be made wise unto salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord. 2 Corinthians 5.

    For we know that if the earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. And as much as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed, while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now, he who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the spirit as a pledge.

    Therefore, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, I say. and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God.

    And I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are of sound mind, it is for you.

    For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died. And he died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore, from now on, we recognize no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him in this way no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come.

    Now, all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

    Beloved, the word of the Lord. Amen. Let’s pray together. Father, we thank you for this very precious portion of holy scripture. We’re thankful for the writings of the apostle Paul and the spirit that moved the apostle to write such things as he does. May that same spirit now be at work among us in the, not only in the reading, but in the preaching of your word and the hearing of that word tonight among this, your people here gathered. that we might apply ourselves heart and mind and soul and strength to know you of God and to love you and to serve you as we would appear before the judgment seat of Christ in due time. May we have been found faithful, good and faithful servants to the true and the living God, having been made a new creation in Christ Jesus. Bless us now. Pour out your spirit upon us. We pray this all together in Jesus name. Amen.

    In view of God’s gracious power, which has so often sustained him and with the prospect of a glorious resurrection ever before him, the Apostle Paul does not lose heart. He does not think through weariness of spirit, but continues to give his apostolic witness to the church and does so with courage and with great determination.

    Nevertheless, his sufferings Though they have not yet proved fatal, though his life is in danger oftentimes, his sufferings are inevitably exhausting his physical strength. He writes that his outer man is decaying, that is, it is wasting away. But at the same time, this is chapter four, his inner man is being renewed day by day. the earthen vessel, that is, the pot of clay, which is his human flesh and body, in which he carries about the dying of Jesus, and does so as Christ’s chosen instrument to convey the glorious message of salvation. This very weak body, that is Paul’s, is meant to demonstrate Christ’s strength through Paul’s weakness. The life which is hid with Christ in God is such that the things of the Holy Spirit are becoming more and more real to Paul. From its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

    For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, Paul writes, but hope that is seen is not hope for who hopes for what he already sees. But if we hope for what we do not see with perseverance, we wait eagerly for it. In the same way, the spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

    Death surely is a somber reality. Paul’s description of death at the end of 2 Corinthians chapter 4 is quite realistic and quite sober. Just as the process of wasting away is a harsh reality of our fallen humanity, so too is the very end of that process, death itself, which Paul describes as the destruction of the, quote, early earthly tent, unquote.

    The effect of Paul’s life His writing about the dark realism about dying and death, however, is not meant to discourage and to depress his readers, but to highlight the contrasting brightness of the all-surpassing power of God. For just as the power of God is at work within dying men, so too the power of God is present in its fullness at man’s death.

    As Paul turns to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, He continues to speak of that hope which sustains him in his life and ministry toward the Corinthians and others. Underlying his exposition here is the subdivision of history into the present and future ages. Although Paul quickly moves from one image to another, the two ages form a frame of reference to what he writes, and that is implicit throughout. The present evil age must give way to the age to come.

    For the believer, death is swallowed up in victory, as Paul writes to the Corinthians in the first epistle. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, we will all be changed. The sting of death is taken away. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    In a word, the Apostle Paul views his own afflictions in light of his union with Jesus and with his that is with Jesus death and resurrection. It is significant that Paul expects the life of Jesus to be manifested in our bodies, his human body, And he is becoming more and more conscious that it is a temporary structure, that is, his body is a temporary structure adequate to shelter him during the few brief years of his earthly pilgrimage. adequate, but still quite vulnerable to the wear and the tear of everyday life. Much like a tabernacle or a tent, Paul says, for we know that if the earthly tent, which is our house, is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Paul is convinced that this earthly house will most surely be dissolved in death. unless he survives till the Lord’s return, in which case his present body will be transformed into the spiritual or resurrection body in the twinkling of an eye. As he writes the letter that he does here in the first century, that the return of Christ seemed quite remote, yet the prospect of his death seems very close at hand, but it does not fill him with alarm, nor is he despondent, as he writes to the Corinthians. On the contrary, his is a very joyful expectation, for he is convinced that the shelter that awaits him after death is as far superior to that provided by the present body as the protection of a solid, well-built house is superior to that of a tent.

    That better shelter of the house that God has built already exists. We have it, he writes, in the heavens. The sole architect of that house is God. No human hands have constructed it. nor has any human hand played any part in its maintenance. It is a building of God, a house not made with hands, and it has been fashioned to last forever. It was this eternal shelter, described by Jesus in the Gospel of John chapter 14 as mansions or as dwelling places, that Jesus told his disciples he was going on ahead to make ready for them, that he would return to take them where he is.

    See John 14 and verse 2. Without interruption in the text, Paul now changes the metaphor from a tent to clothing, though his thought remains quite the same. The shelter that awaits the Christian after death is now pictured as a garment, a garment which can be put on over another garment.

    For indeed, in this house, he says, we groan, longing to be clothed, to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed, while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed. so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

    Now, he who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the spirit as a pledge. Therefore, Paul writes, being always of good courage and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God. And I hope that we are made manifest to you also. in your consciences.

    Notice the double use of Paul here in this text of the verb groan. Compare verse 2 and verse 4 of our text this evening. Paul’s groaning, it appears, is bound up with his present suffering. Suffering in conjunction with his longing, his yearning, his desire for the consummation in the age to come. It will be the mortal giving way to the eternal. It is a longing to be forever with the Lord.

    That glorious inheritance has already begun, in that the Holy Spirit has already been given to us, Paul writes, as a pledge, that is, as a down payment or as a guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire full possession of it. Although the coming age is present with us already now, in the down payment of the Spirit, look at verse 5 of our text, that spirit given to us as a down payment, given to us by God.

    Our life in the present is to be marked by faith, not by sight, he says. Verse seven. In the new age, we shall see and we shall be with the Lord. But in the present age, we relate to him by faith exercised in response to the gospel message. This is a sober corrective To enthusiastic Christians like the Corinthians who, in desiring spectacular and miraculous signs, were demanding from God in the present time what really belongs to the future. A firm, well-balanced hope for the future is clearly encouraged in scripture, whereas a heightened eschatology with its unrealistic expectations for signs and wonders in the present is not clearly encouraged in Scripture. In writing of the great prospect of being, quote, with the Lord, Paul does not allow us to lose touch with our present existence at home in the body, verse 6. In regard to which he twice affirms, we are of good courage, he says. Compare verses 6 and 8. We are of good courage. waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

    In the same way, the spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should. But the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. As Paul speaks of groaning here in second Corinthians chapter five, we are reminded of the groaning of which Paul speaks in Romans chapter eight, verses 23 and 26. Whereas the Spirit groans within us with groanings too deep even for words, as the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

    And we know that even though we groan now, We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. And so we look to the apostle Paul as he writes these things, speaking of his strength in weakness as he anticipates the consummation, the coming age and the glorious house building that God has prepared for his own.

    So we too. In the present, though we see our outer man perhaps wasting away, we know that our inner man is being renewed according to the grace of the Holy Spirit which has been given to us already as a pledge, as a down payment of that which is sure to come in the age of the Spirit yet to appear in the consummation when Christ comes again. And so we do not lose heart. We are not overcome. We press on even in the midst of tribulation, even in the midst of our groanings, for it is of the spirit himself who is bearing us up before the throne of grace as we await the consummation and those good things which are yet to come.

    Amen. Let us pray together. Our father, we are reminded here tonight that ours is a longing a longing for the completion of the new creation. If any man is in Christ, he is indeed a new creation already. And so the apostle Paul, though he suffers many afflictions, does not lose heart. He does not grow weary. He does not give up. He overcomes as he continues to preach the good news.

    May we hear that good news tonight, and may that be written upon our hearts and minds, that even in the midst of our groanings, may we recognize those groanings as a crying out for the age to come, crying out for the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, that we would be clothed with that clothing which is to be ours in the resurrection in Christ Jesus. Hear our prayers of supplication and intercession one for another. We pray this together tonight in Jesus’ name. Amen.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God

    The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God

    About this sermon

    Having received this ministry by mercy, Paul does not lose heart, and he renounces craftiness and sets forth the truth plainly. The god of this world blinds unbelievers, but God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in believers’ hearts to give the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ. This treasure is held in jars of clay, and momentary affliction prepares an eternal weight of glory for those who look to the things unseen.

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    Sermon transcript

    Let us prepare together this evening to receive the Word of God as we open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians 4, there we’ll read verses 1-18. I do remind you that this is the inspired Word of the living God. 2 Corinthians 4, beginning with verse 1. Let’s hear it together.

    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. Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

    Thus far, the reading of God’s inspired word. Let’s pray together. Father, we do ask your blessing upon the reading of this portion of your inspired word. We ask, Lord, that you would imprint it deeply upon our minds, our hearts, our spirits, that we would not lose heart, that we would not grow weary, that we would press on. to attain that eternal weight of glory that has been laid up for us in Christ Jesus. May you bless now, Father, the hearing of your word among this people, and we pray that you would give the power of your Holy Spirit now, that the word of God as it goes forth would do so for the conversion and the upbuilding of your elect people. that together we might grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. May his name forever and ever be praised. We pray in that name now. Amen.

    Quite distinctly and quite self-consciously, Paul views himself as a servant minister of a new covenant The fulfillment of the Lord’s Old Testament prophecy where God said He would make a new and better covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. That prophecy found in Jeremiah 31 verses 31 to 33.

    Paul’s very own apostolic ministry which he received as a gift of mercy is of one piece with the outworking of that new covenant. In other words, the new covenant provides for the apostolic ministry that Paul presents and offers even in himself. What Paul has from God as a gift from the exalted Christ, he pointedly tells the Corinthians in verse 1 of our text, is this ministry, underscore that word, this ministry, This new covenant ministry is the very gift of God to his church for her upbuilding and growth.

    His political opponents, by implication, have that other ministry. He has this ministry which has been given to him, but those who would oppose him have that other ministry. A continuation of the ministry of Moses we read in the earlier chapter. A ministry which issues in condemnation and in death the old covenant, Paul calls it, whose temporal and fading glory is now clearly outshined by the eternal and the unfading glory of the ministry of the Holy Spirit according to the new covenant blessing which has now come.

    This ministry then, this ministry of Paul, is a ministry of righteousness, chapter 3, verse 9. A ministry of reconciliation, chapter 5, verse 18. A ministry of liberty, chapter 3, and verse 17. By means of the ministry of this new covenant, the people now have boldness in the presence of God. Look at chapter 3 and verse 12.

    And having such a hope, Paul himself uses great boldness in his speech. He writes in verse one, we do not lose heart having this ministry. We have renounced the hidden things because of shame. In other words, we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word 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 the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the very image of God.

    In these words, the apostle appears to be answering his critics. Paul knew from bitter experience how few Jews accepted his message. The veiled mind which hindered their apprehension of the gospel, their apprehension of the glory, to which the old covenant had pointed, also prevented their receiving the apostles’ proclamation. They are still under the condemnation and death of the old covenant. They cannot see the light of the gospel. The apostles’ proclamation of the fulfillment of the new covenant blessing in this very Son of God, Jesus Christ.

    As we read these things, it is clear that Paul is not losing heart. He has not given up. He is not undone by those who oppose him. Despite his many trials, his many discouragements, his many afflictions, this present epistle of 2 Corinthians is evidence that he has not given up. He is not undone. It is not that he persevered because of some natural what we might call true grit. He just hangs in there in spite of everything.

    It’s not a natural true grit on his part, but rather he perseveres and he does not lose heart because of this ministry. This very ministry which has been given to him is the encouragement that sustains him and presses him on. this ministry which imparts forgiveness, this ministry which is a ministry of the Holy Spirit, a ministry of the glory of God. The effects of this ministry are reason enough for him to continue on with it.

    The need for perseverance in ministry and in service is not confined, beloved, to gospel ministries, to be sure. The New Testament is very clear that every believer, you included, is given gifts by God with a view towards service, service for the building up of the body of Christ. And certainly for every believer, every servant, times of discouragement will come to everyone. All those who are engaged in service have temptations to give up, the temptation to grow weary and stop serving, stop giving, stop serving the other, stop thinking about the body of Christ and think only of oneself. Whatever our service, whatever your service may be, we would do well to say with Paul, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. After all, we serve a risen Savior, who is Christ the Lord, and we serve Him with a clear conscience.

    Paul here makes no claim to an innate goodness in and of himself, no personal adequacy in and of himself. His answer to those who criticize him is that the Word of God is the basis of his life, so that all that he does expresses and seeks to manifest that word of God. In other words, despite all of his personal problems and disappointments, which he does not hide in his writings or in his life, he is living sincerely as a Christian and commends himself as such to the consciences of those around him, those to whom he writes even this letter. Moreover, he does this in the sight of God.

    Look at verse 2. Paul has the deep, deep conviction that God witnesses all his motives and all his actions. Chapter 1, verse 23. And everything that he has done will be made apparent on the day of judgment. Chapter 5 and verse 10. These two facts, that the Word of God is the basis of his life, and that God is the witness and judge of all that we do and all that we think, have the potential powerfully to affect the behavior, not only of Paul, but of all other Christians as well, you and me included. We act on the basis of the Word of God in the face of God, in the presence of God, who sees all, who knows all, and will judge all. and that God is witness and judge of all that we do and all that we think, have the powerful potential to affect our behavior also, not just of Paul, but of all Christians everywhere. Paul is adamant that he did not distort the word of God. Look again at verse 2.

    It is obvious that both Paul and the Judaizers, those other teachers, regarded the gospel as having a very specific content. The problem was that they had sharply differing opinions of what that content actually is, so that both accused the other, both Paul and the Judaizers, accused the other of adding extra elements to the gospel, and therefore of diluting the truth of the message of the word of God. What were the elements in Paul’s gospel which his critics regarded as extraneous? We may reasonably suppose that the doctrines which are so prominent in this letter and for which he argues may well have been in dispute with his critics there in Corinth. In essence, the word of God is that Jesus Christ, God’s son, is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Not Caesar is Lord. Jesus is Lord. And he is the source of the power of that word.

    The elements in Paul’s gospel which would have caused acute difficulties for the Jews, including many Jewish Christians, were those which emphasized that the covenant of God with Israel was now fulfilled, even ended, chapter 3, verse 13. In particular, this proclamation of Paul that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God The yes to all of the promises of God must have created grave problems for the Jews, for the members of that race. Similarly, his insistence that the new covenant had superseded a de-glorified old covenant, an old covenant which issued only in condemnation and death, chapter 3, verses 7 to 9, could not have failed to have provoked strong reaction among those who remained loyal to Moses and to the old covenant law. The focus of these assertions of Paul, which so gravely affected the Jews, of course, was that Jesus Christ, over against a merely human Jesus, Paul emphasized The heavenly Lord, the heavenly Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, that One who had been crucified, raised victorious from the dead, the very Son of God, the Lord, the image of God, the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. The One who died for all, the One who Paul teaches was made to be sin. That was an affront to the Jews. How could Messiah be made to be a curse, to be sin. It was not merely a case of one set of theological opinions in conflict with another.

    It was, for Paul, the Damascus Road event, which had so dramatically transformed his utter way of thinking about Jesus, and therefore his thinking also about Judaism. He now saw the cross of Jesus not as a stumbling block, as the Jews did, But he saw the cross, as he teaches, as the wisdom of God revealed. He is determined to know nothing among the Corinthians and others except Christ and Him crucified.

    Paul now understood that Jesus was actually sent by God, sent by God to bear the curse of God on sin as an atonement for mankind, Jew and Greek alike. Chapter 5, verses 14 to 16. So many of the distinctive references to Jesus in this letter, which spelled the end of the old covenant, are directly traceable to Paul’s Damascus Road event. Jesus, the son of God, revealed to Paul on the road to Damascus, Jesus as Lord, the Damascus Road experience. Jesus, as the light of the glory of God. Remember the light that shined to Paul on Damascus Road as he met the risen Jesus there on the road to Damascus.

    The ministry of the Holy Spirit. Again, the Spirit directs Paul to his ministry and service that is now his. All of these were the historical outworking of his meeting with Christ on the road to Damascus. And that’s the gospel that sets him apart from the old covenant Pharisee that he once was to the new covenant minister that he now is. The contents of Paul’s gospel, therefore, were not different from these other so-called these other so-called apostles. It was not simply a matter of opinion only, but it was a matter of history, a matter of God’s revelation in history of his son to Saul of Tarsus near Damascus on the road to Damascus in the year circa AD 34. It was a real historical revelation that transformed Paul’s ministry, transformed Paul and set him over against the Old Covenant and the Old Covenant way of doing and ministry. Christ made himself known to Paul and set him apart there on the road to Damascus as his chosen instrument, that one who would bear his name before the Gentiles and kings, and before the sons of Israel also.

    Acts chapter 9, especially verse 15. How did Paul exercise, quote, this ministry, unquote, that was given to him This ministry is expressed by gospel preaching. Look at verse 5 of our text. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

    Paul saw himself as a herald. a person who brought important announcements from the king to the king’s people, a king’s people scattered throughout his kingdom. For God, who said, light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who has shown in our hearts, says Paul, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

    Under the new covenant, and this new covenant ministry, the shattered image of God is now being restored in those who behold Christ as the revelation of the glory of God, the very firstborn from the dead, the very image of the living God. Paul’s discourse naturally raises a question. If Paul is the minister of such a glorious new covenant, Why is his ministry so characterized by so much suffering and affliction and sorrow? Paul will argue that his apostolic sufferings on behalf of the Corinthians paradoxically reveal the eschatological power of Christ’s resurrection life, that at work in his mortal body. Already his inner nature is being renewed. And he trusts that he will also receive a resurrection body in the future. The God who raises the dead is transforming Paul and will transform him more and more.

    Paul writes to the Corinthians, but we have this treasure. in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God, and not of ourselves, not from ourselves, chapter 4, verse 7. This term, earthen vessels, literally jars of clay, designates that which the Corinthians see, namely Paul’s weakness and his very inglorious appearance.

    He continues saying, 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 mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.

    Paul views his afflictions in light of his union with Jesus Christ in his death and in his resurrection, Romans 6 and verse 5. It is significant, then, that Paul expects the life of Jesus to be manifested, quote, in our bodies. There is no denigration of the physical body here, in Paul’s thought. This jar of clay will be resurrected and wonderfully transformed not cast aside, to know the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and to be called to spread this knowledge of that one is the most treasured, Paul says, of all possessions.

    But the wonder of the divine dispensation is that while an earthly treasure, an earthly treasure is usually preserved in a precious container, a container of fitting dignity and beauty, The treasure of the gospel has been entrusted to men, men who are subject to infirmities, men who are subject to limitations, the instability and the insecurity of their finite condition. It is as though a most costly jewel were encased in nothing but a clay pot, and Paul sees in this a supreme manifestation of the divine law that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness, in human weakness.

    This striking paradox makes it clear that the gospel, the good news, is no product of human ingenuity. It is no clever discovery of the human intellect. It’s no bright idea of some outstanding genius. But the gospel of the new covenant is a revelation, a revelation of the power of the sovereign God.

    He may choose, that is, God may choose learned men or He may choose unlearned men to be His ministers, ministers of the gospel. But though they are chosen vessels, they are all earthen vessels. They are all clay pots in which another’s jewel is kept and preserved and passed on. We recognize that it is to the glory of God that His glory is made perfect in our weakness. And so God’s chosen vessels are earthen vessels, pots of clay, And may to God be the glory.

    And let him who boasts, whether it be Paul or me or you or anyone else, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord and in the Lord alone. Amen. Let’s pray together. Our Father, we recognize in our weakness that you are strong. Your gospel is great. There is no greater treasure than to know the glory of God revealed in the face of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater privilege than to preach the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the very glorious Son of God crucified, dead and buried, that one who became a curse for us, that we might be blessed and blessed forever. May we not be ashamed to bear about in our body then the dying of Jesus. Even as we suffer at the hands of the opponents of the gospel, we would not be ashamed. We would confess Jesus before men faithfully. that the treasure that we bear would be made known to all.

    And we pray then for those who preach the good news. We pray for the servants and ministers of this new covenant blessing, that such men would be bold, bold to proclaim the good things which have been revealed. The wonder of that revelation made to Paul on the road to Damascus when the light shined from heaven and the very son of God revealed himself in resurrection body to that one who was a persecutor of the church, a hater of the Christian church, and loyal to the old covenant in every way. that one became the minister of the new covenant blessings of which we read and preach here tonight. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear a readiness and a willingness to embrace these things and to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

    We pray these things together tonight in Jesus name. Amen. I invite you to join with me in singing from our hymnal number 24, please. Hymn number 24. Let’s stand together as we sing, please, number 24. The Rock of Ages evermore has been. What? Lacey, ring before thy first creation. Lord, the same as now, to end this generation, the everlasting vow. Our years are like the shadows, sunny hills that fly, or grasses in the meadow that blossom but to die. A sleep, a dream, a story by strangers quickly told, An unremaining glory of things that soon are old. O thou who cannot slumber, whose light grows never pale,

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • A Fragrance of Christ to God

    A Fragrance of Christ to God

    About this sermon

    Paul wrote the Corinthians out of much affliction and anguish of heart, and he urges them to forgive and comfort the repentant brother so that Satan gains no advantage. God leads his servants in triumph in Christ and through them spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. The apostle’s sufferings are a pleasing aroma to God because they smell like Christ’s own offering, and the church bears its trials together, loving and forgiving one another.

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    Sermon transcript

    We come now to the reading of God’s holy and inspired word as we open our Bibles to the scripture reading this morning, which is 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 1 through 17. Let’s turn there together, shall we? 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 1 to 17. Give your attention, for this is the word of God. Second Corinthians two one.

    But I determined this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again. For if I cause you sorrow, who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful? This is the very thing I wrote you so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice. Having confidence in you all that my joy would be the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

    But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree, in order not to say too much, to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority. so that on the contrary, you should rather forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also.

    For indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. Now, when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when the door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus, my brother. But taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia.

    But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

    For we are not like many peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. Thus far, the reading of God’s inspired word. Amen. Let’s pray together. Father, we do ask that you would take this very portion of scripture, apply it to our hearts and our minds today with understanding as the spirit who moved the apostle of Paul of old to write these words would be that same spirit now illumining the hearts and minds of your people, your faithful here gathered. We ask, Lord, that you would bless the preaching of your word, that it would go forth with clarity, conviction, and power, and that you would transform our hearts, that we would be more and more made over in the likeness of our Savior Christ, and that we should be found faithful in him. May you, O God, pour out the spirit with power as an unction that comes down from above, and that to the glory and praise of your holy name. Hear us as we seek your face and your favor today. We ask it in Jesus. Amen.

    During his recent emergency visit to Corinth, The Apostle Paul had told the Corinthians that he would pay them a return visit in the near future. As it turned out, however, he had decided to write them a letter instead, the so-called sorrowful letter, not first Corinthians, as some suppose, but another letter, a letter subsequently lost in history.

    He determined that he would now visit them at the end, not at the beginning, of his travel itinerary that would eventually take him to Jerusalem. From the perspective of the Corinthians, apparently, this change of plans certainly looked bad to them. But Paul’s reasons for delaying his return to Corinth were, in his mind, to put it briefly, to avoid further pain and sorrow in his relationship with them, the Corinthian church. At some point back in the city of Ephesus, Paul had made up his mind. We see this spoken of in verse one, not to make another painful visit to Corinth.

    The verb he uses indicates that this was a carefully considered decision. He must have known when he decided not to return as he had said he would, that his failure to return to them would invoke serious criticism. and that of his character, why would he change his mind? Why would he not do what he said? Why then did Paul decide not to come back immediately to Corinth?

    It was, he writes, chapter 1, verse 23, to spare them, to spare them further sorrow, according to chapter 2, verse 2. To write the letter he had written to them previously, the letter that became lost, had been no easy task nor way out for the apostle. On the contrary, he had not been able to bring himself to the task of writing that letter without much mental anguish and much distress. And he was constantly in tears when he wrote that letter, for he knew that his words would hurt. But he forthrightly denies that his primary object in writing was merely to wound his readers. He was not trying vindictively to pay off old hurts, no. Rather, he was concerned that Painful though the letter had to be, as he saw it, the spirit in which the letter was written should speak to them of his heartfelt affection, love for them.

    In verse four, by its very position in the Greek text, the word used there, love, the word love is given the strongest possible emphasis. All of Paul’s converts were the objects of his affection. But as the expression in chapter 2 verse 4 says, which I have especially for you, that expression clearly shows that he had a very special love for the Corinthian church, for the Corinthian Christians. Such wounds, as his words most certainly would inflict upon those Corinthians, were, as the Proverbs indicate, the faithful wounds not of an enemy but of a friend, words wisely intended for good, for the good of the people in Corinth.

    From verse 5, we deduce that the trouble at Corinth that had given rise to this painful letter Paul had written was caused by a particular offender. It is apparent that the culprit is known even though he is not named here. It seems probable that it was Paul himself who had been insulted by this one, either in his absence or perhaps on his last visit time in Corinth. Older commentators here tended to identify the offender spoken of as the man guilty of incestuous marriage mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 1. But the person in question here is charged not with immoral behavior, but with rude and disagreeable conduct. The matter, whatever it was, had been the cause of spiritual suffering for the whole Corinthian congregation. And that was also for Paul himself, though in part here he denies it. And the cause of all those sufferings had been just one man.

    What is the apostolic method of dealing with the difficult member or the openly immoral man? So often, oftentimes in actuality, the responsibility falls on the local pastor so that it becomes a two-way power struggle between the offender and the pastor.

    Here, however, in Corinth, the majority convey to that person what was probably the verdict of withdrawal from fellowship with him. It was a very painful act, but it was what they accomplished, withdrawing fellowship from this particular offender. Paul calls it, in verse 6, a punishment. His policy, his recommendation has borne fruit as a result of his letter, that painful letter that he wrote to the Corinthian church.

    As a whole, The congregation has dealt with the matter. The members together have apparently come to realize that the offender had hurt not only Paul, but he has hurt the whole church. Such is the church’s corporate nature. Look at verse 5. The sorrowful letter that Paul wrote has achieved what the painful visit which preceded it had failed to achieve. A clear-cut, unified response among the Corinthian Christians. Chapter 7, verse 11, we see this.

    The corporate nature of Christianity comes out very clearly in this context and in the passage itself. Paul’s words are addressed not only to individuals, but also to the church collective or corporate. The church whose members minister to one another by their variety of gifts. Let it be known, let it be said, that lively and open relationships within the Church provide the best context for the Word of God to work out its holy purposes among us. This is why the local congregation is so highly regarded in the Scriptures and referred here even in this letter to as the Church of God, chapter 1, verse 1. Therefore, Paul, having seen how the corporate body has taken action against this offending brother, he therefore now exhorts them to restore the now penitent man.

    They are to forgive him and comfort him, verse 7, and express their love for him, verse 8. Further, they are to reassure him that Paul himself also forgives him, which he is able to do, he says, as he conducts his own ministry, in union with Christ, literally, in the presence of Christ, or another way of putting it, before the face of Christ. This unusual expression used by Paul, I believe it’s verse 10, the ability to forgive someone, This unusual expression might mean the ability that we have to forgive someone is only through one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. In other words, it is Christ who enables, who empowers us to forgive one another. And Paul says he is able to forgive as he lives his life in the presence of Christ. There he is able to forgive even this one who has so wronged him from afar. Now that the matter has been resolved, it is important that this penitent man should be restored in his relationships with the body of Christ.

    Paul’s forgiveness of the man was, he states in verse 10, for their sake, that is, for the Corinthians’ sake. Paul himself expresses forgiveness toward the man as a blessing and an encouragement to the congregation in Corinth. He did so for their sake.

    That is, so that no advantage would be taken of all of us by Satan. That is, that Satan might not outwit us. In other words, Paul is fending off Satan when he offers forgiveness and encourages the church to forgive this brother who has come to repentance also. Be reminded, Satan, who is ever ready to destroy churches, will, in the absence of love and forgiveness, quickly bring about bitterness and division.

    So love and forgiveness is essential to the life and well-being of the body of Christ, the church. Now that the man has turned from his evil ways, it is important that he and the group who support him be reconciled through forgiveness with the main body of the congregation. Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 5, verse 6, do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?

    To which Paul writes and adds himself in Ephesians 4, verse 27. Do not give the devil an opportunity. Likewise, the Apostle James would write, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Chapter 4 of James, verse 7. And then Galatians chapter 6, 1. Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself so that you too will not be tempted. Again, Galatians 6, 1.

    As 2 Corinthians makes clear, The real-life historical struggles of the church in Corinth were going on while the ministry of the Apostle Paul was still unfolding. We recall from Acts chapter 18 that Paul, on his second missionary journey, had ministered in Corinth.

    He settled there, in fact, for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them while working part-time among them as a tentmaker. It was during this time that Paul was instrumental in founding the church there in Corinth. There is a general consensus among scholars that this period of time that Paul was there can be dated quite accurately from March of A.D. 50 to late September of A.D. 51, a year and a half. After leaving Corinth, Paul stopped briefly in Ephesus before he made his way back to his base church in Antioch.

    We read of this in Acts 18, verses 18 to 22. In his third missionary journey, Paul worked his way westward through Galatia before coming once again to the city of Ephesus. We see this outlined in Acts 18, 23 to chapter 19, verse 1. He remained in Ephesus for two years recorded in Acts 19 verses 8 to 10.

    Paul wrote the first epistle to the Corinthians during this stay in Ephesus, what we know as 1 Corinthians. The historical circumstances behind the writing now of 2 Corinthians are somewhat difficult to reconstruct. But we do know from 1 Corinthians that Paul intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, as he had left Corinth, as he came to Ephesus, where he wrote 1 Corinthians, he was there and he intended to stay there in Ephesus until Pentecost.

    And then he traveled from there to Macedonia and on to Corinth. In the meantime, Paul sent Timothy to Corinth to assist the church. This historical event is recorded in 1 Corinthians 16, verses 10 and 11. But Paul soon learned that a serious situation had arisen in Corinth, the one addressed here in chapter 2, due to a particular individual who was verbally attacking Paul. Now, we do not know whether Timothy reported the situation back to Paul or whether Paul found out about it some other way. But as soon as he heard of the situation, Paul immediately set sail and went to Corinth.

    That was the painful visit, as we call it. His personal confrontation with the Corinthians on that occasion was not successful. He refers to it then as his painful visit, chapter 2, verse 1. After this visit, Paul returned to Ephesus and sent yet another letter, a letter which is now lost to us, as we see in chapter 2, verse 4.

    Paul apparently had Titus deliver what we call this severe letter that went to Corinth, the severe letter that had good effect among the Corinthian saints. He had sent Titus to deliver this letter, and he arranged to meet Titus later in the city of Troas. Look in verse 12, you see mention of Troas. So Titus went on to Corinth with the intention of going to Troas to meet Paul there. To make matters worse, in the meantime, at some point during all of this, a group of self-appointed self-proclaimed apostles arrived in Corinth, stirring up even more trouble in the church and trouble for Paul. We read of them in 2 Corinthians 11, 13 to 15. The evidence from 2 Corinthians is that these men may have been Judaizers who were encouraging the Gentiles in Corinth to adhere to the Mosaic covenant.

    Paul eventually left Ephesus for Troas, expecting to meet Titus there Titus, who has visited Corinth. But Titus was not there. So Paul soon left for Macedonia. While he was ministering there in Macedonia, Titus did eventually arrive also and brought with him an encouraging report from Corinth.

    It was as a result of this report from Titus that Paul wrote the letter that we have now before us, which we know as 2 Corinthians. So the historical context is that Titus brings word there has been repentance on the part of this man that you were seeking to address. So that word comes to Paul in Macedonia, and it sets Paul to writing what we know as 2 Corinthians, writing that letter sometime in AD 56, quite accurately dated these days. In this epistle of 2 Corinthians, Paul reveals just how dejected he had been.

    Painfully dejected. Look at this with me if you would. Look at chapter 1, verse 8. He speaks of how dejected he was when he was in Ephesus. He was burdened excessively, he says, despairing even of life itself. And so it was a very painful time for Paul as he heard of the events going on in Corinth. the suffering that he himself endured in Ephesus. A riot broke out in Ephesus, you might recall. He was burdened excessively, despairing even of life. But it wasn’t just in Ephesus.

    Look at chapter 2, verse 13. Also, when he reached Troas and didn’t find Titus there, he says he had no rest for his spirit when he did not find his beloved Titus there. So here is Paul, Burdened excessively, despairing of life in Ephesus, having no rest in Troas. And then again in chapter 7, verse 5, he writes of his anguish and troubles in Macedonia. Again in Macedonia, chapter 7, verse 5, Paul writes, having no rest, afflicted on every side, conflicts without and fears within. But God brought him comfort, first through his brother and friend, Titus, and through him, the report that Titus brought from Corinth.

    So when Paul writes this letter, is he complaining about all of these sufferings that he endured, the tears that he shed? Is he complaining? No. Look with me at verse 14. Paul is not complaining. Rather, he bursts forth in thanksgiving and doxology, offering praise and thanksgiving to God. He writes, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him that is of Christ in every place. Look at this text closely with me. The imagery is quite rich and graphic.

    The Apostle Paul sees himself, I tell you, as the captive of Christ, the spoils of war. He views Christ in this image. He views Christ as the conquering warrior who leads his victory parade with his captives on parade in tow behind him. In merely human terms, as Paul speaks of himself in this way, as a prisoner in tow in a parade of a conquering king. In merely human terms, this would be abject humiliation. But Paul instead glories in his weakness. He views his own sufferings, look closely, as a manifestation of the sufferings of Christ, a sharing in the cross of Christ.

    This, for Paul, is cause for thanksgiving. He speaks of these things as the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place. Even Paul, in the midst of his sufferings, as he is led on his missionary journeys and as he conducts his ministry, He speaks of the spreading of the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place. Why would he say this? Well, he answers in verse 15. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God, a fragrance of Christ to God, among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who, he asked, is adequate for these things?

    The apostles’ sufferings, notice carefully, are a fragrant offering to God, a pleasing aroma, because it smells like Christ’s own offering to God. Whether Paul is suffering at the hands of those who reject the gospel and are perishing, the phrase he uses from death to death, or if Paul is suffering on behalf of the elect, those who are being saved, the phrase from life to life, Paul is not ashamed of his sufferings, rather he rejoices in them. As he would write elsewhere to the Romans, he doesn’t complain about his sufferings.

    He says in Romans 5, we exalt in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, we also exalt in our, listen, tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. and perseverance, proven character, and proven character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And we know, further, Romans chapter 8, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8, 28. Paul’s life and service with all of its suffering and sorrow is offered as a fragrance of Christ to God. And so too, beloved, your life and your service offered up to God is not a cause for shame.

    God knows. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your personal sufferings. He knows your personal sorrows better than you know them yourself. He knows your sorrows. But he also knows the afflictions of this congregation, Grace Church, Grace OPC. Your sufferings, however, are not in vain.

    But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us, too, the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Amen. Let’s pray together. Our Father, we are reminded here, as the Apostle speaks of his own life and ministry, as an offering poured out unto God, a sweet aroma before the true and the living God.

    So whether he suffered for the sake of the elect or whether he suffered for the sake of those who suffered at the hands of those who would be condemned, he knew that his sufferings were not in vain. God’s purposes will surely stand. And God would indeed bless his own servants who suffer and serve in the likeness of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is eternal life. May we then be able to embrace our own sufferings, our own times of trial and tribulation as members of Christ, members of his body, joined together. joined together as one body, loving and forgiving one another, fending off the devil time and again, standing firm for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

    Fill us with that spirit, that spirit that moved the apostle in his ministry, that spirit that moved the apostle to write the very epistle we read together this morning. Fill us with that grace that overcomes the world. We pray it in Jesus’ name, giving thanks. Amen. I would ask you now to turn in your hymn books to number 586. I know that my Redeemer lives, hymn number 586.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.

  • In Holiness and Godly Sincerity

    In Holiness and Godly Sincerity

    About this sermon

    Some in Corinth accused Paul of fickleness because he changed his travel plans. Paul answers that he conducted himself in holiness and godly sincerity by the grace of God, and that his word was faithful as God is faithful, for all God’s promises find their Yes in Christ. God establishes his people in Christ, anoints them, and seals them with his Spirit as a guarantee.

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    Sermon transcript

    Once again, we turn to the reading of God’s inspired and infallible word as we open our Bibles to 2nd Corinthians, chapter one, where we’ll read verses 12 through 24. Give your attention, for this is the word of God, beloved. 2nd Corinthians, chapter two, chapter one, verse 12.

    For our proud confidence is this. the testimony of our conscience that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially toward you. For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand.

    And I hope you will understand until the end, just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours in the day of our Lord Jesus. In this confidence, I intended at first to come to you so that you might twice receive a blessing, that is to pass your way into Macedonia and again from Macedonia to come to you and by you to be helped on my journey to Judea. Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes, and no, no at the same time. But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yes and no, but is yes in him.

    For as many as are the promises of God in him, they are yes. Therefore, also through him is our amen to the glory of God through us. Now, he who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the spirit in our hearts as a pledge. But I call God as witness to my soul that to spare you, I did not come again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but our workers with you for your joy. For in your faith, you are standing firm.

    Thus far, the reading of God’s inspired word. Amen. Let’s pray together. Father, once again, do we ask that this word of truth, this word of divine inspiration would be a word that you would grant to our understanding. May the spirit who moved the apostle Paul to write and speak these words Now be that same spirit that illumines our hearts and minds to understand, to believe, and embrace the inspired Word of God. Guide us now in the preaching of that Word. Grant power and boldness from above. May you give clarity and conviction in that by the grace of the Spirit working in each of our hearts. We pray these things together most earnestly now in Jesus’ name. Amen.

    Not unlike his Savior, not everyone thought well of the Apostle Paul. Like Jesus, Paul was at times sorely criticized. As we set out in 2 Corinthians, we quickly find the Apostle responding to his critics. The defensive nature of his words reveals that Paul was under strong criticism from the Corinthian church itself, or at least a section of that church. They felt that he had conducted himself badly, both in the world and also in his relations with them.

    We read that in verse 12. Specifically in question were his sincerity and wisdom. Again, look closely at verse 12. And they who criticized alleged that what he had written to them was difficult to understand. We see that in verse 13. No less serious was their belief that Paul was a vacillating worldly man, ready to say yes and no, even in the same breath. We see that accusation in verse 17 being answered.

    What had Paul done to provoke this hostility in Corinth? Their complaints particularly arose from the changes that Paul had made to his plans and travel, plans that he had to come and see them first before he finally withdrew from the region in proximity to the Aegean Sea where he was in Ephesus. Originally, when the churches of Corinth and Ephesus were reasonably and relatively stable, he had written that his withdrawal plan would be for him to depart from Asia, that is Ephesus, and go to Macedonia, north of Corinth. And from Macedonia, he would go to Achaia, the Grecian peninsula. And from there, from Corinth, he would go on in his journey to Judea.

    But then Paul changes his mind. After writing 1 Corinthians, it became necessary for Paul to make an emergency, unscheduled, what he calls a painful visit to Corinth, during which he said that he would return to them before going on to Macedonia. Reference verses 15 and 16. However, instead of coming back to them immediately, he wrote them a letter. a letter that is not recorded in scripture and a letter that has been lost in history. And he wrote that letter as a way of encouragement and help. And in so doing, he reverted to his original plan, that is to go first on to Macedonia, then to Achaia, and then from Achaia to go on to Judea.

    But looking at these things from the Corinthians standpoint, Paul had made major changes to his plans. and could be seen in their eyes as a vacillating man whose behavior reflected a worldly rather than a godly wisdom. But is this fair to Paul, we ask? While there is no claim that the apostles were other than sinful, fallible human beings, there were a number of factors about Paul’s circumstances which explain and justify his behavior.

    First, it became apparent by the time he left Corinth that the problem which had occasioned his visit there was still yet unresolved. And if one visit had failed, would another visit hard on the heels of that first visit achieve anything further? Back in Ephesus, he may well have reasoned that a letter to the Corinthians and a time for them to reflect and think things over might be a better approach than to return immediately to visit among them again.

    As it happened, that last letter to the Corinthians did bring about a resolution to the problem through godly sorrow and repentance. Paul will speak of that in chapter 7, verses 5 through 16. You remember in 1 Corinthians how there had been a very blatant case of sexual immorality, and Paul addresses that, and apparently there was sorrow and repentance on the part of the Corinthians. So that was the first thing, his letter had had some good effect. But secondly, a crisis had occurred for him in Ephesus, a crisis which put his life at risk and which necessitated his speedy withdrawal from Ephesus. He refers to that in chapter 1, verse 9.

    Although Paul refrains from saying so, it may have been that the Corinthians who were the ones who were in the wrong in this matter, falsely accusing Paul, of wavering or being fickle or unpredictable. Instead of showing loving concern for Paul in his grave difficulties and dire distresses, they had written him off as unspiritual and vacillating, not to be trusted, his ministry to be questioned.

    We would do well ourselves to avoid such ill-informed and unkind opinions as shown by the Corinthians toward the Apostle Paul. Indeed, let the facts first be gathered. Let explanations be provided before firm opinions are reached about someone, particularly a minister of the gospel. Then, if something bad has occurred, let our response be tempered with the meekness and the gentleness of Christ. which Paul said in chapter 10 verse 1 was the mark of his own ministry. But what does Paul say in response to the criticisms coming against him?

    Look at verse 12. He says this, For our proud confidence, literally, our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially towards you, Corinthians. Basically, Paul is saying that he has examined his own conscience in prospect of the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is approaching, verse 14, That awesome day when Christ, the Lord of glory, will expose the motives and the hidden things of men’s hearts. First Corinthians chapter four, verse five. And Paul writes here in second Corinthians that the testimony of his own conscience is that on that day he will be shown to have behaved himself both in the world at large and particularly toward the Corinthians with holiness and with godly sincerity.

    How could he have such a confidence as he reflects upon his own conscience? Elsewhere, Paul has said, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Is Paul boasting in himself here when he writes these things? Are he boast in having examined his conscience? Far from revealing arrogance on Paul’s part, we shall see that Paul is not boasting of himself, but he is boasting of God’s strength, even in the face of his own, Paul’s own weaknesses. He is boasting of the Lord in terms of God’s unmerited favor and grace. He is boasting of Christ’s own holiness and God, Christ’s own godly sincerity, claiming those to be his own.

    We know that in the larger context of Second Corinthians, that a group of ministers had arrived in Corinth, claiming to be apostles, persons whom Paul neither names nor identifies here in his letter, but these were persons who had actively opposed his teaching and influence among the Corinthians. These opponents of Paul appeared to have boasted of their credentials, of their experiences, to legitimize their mission. That is, they are boasting in the way the world does, and over again such worldly wisdom. Paul, instead, in this second Corinthian letter, will boast in his weakness. He will boast of his sufferings. He will boast of his afflictions, all for the cause of Christ. His defense to those who criticize him, therefore, is rooted in the faithfulness of God.

    But as God is faithful, he says, our word to you is not yes and no. Verse 18 for the son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us, by me and Sylvanus and Timothy was not yes and no, but is yes in him. Paul is affirming then in his boasting his confidence in God. His confidence in the numerous promises of God, those promises given through the mouths of many prophets at different times and in many places and in many ways, those promises all converge like so many lines at one particular point in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom Paul and his companions now proclaim. the Christ Jesus they preach. There is no ambiguity in Paul, no yes and no about the Son of God. It is as if God is saying, Jesus Christ, my son, is my yes to every promise. Every promise I have ever made, he fulfills everything I have ever said. From God’s side, as well as from our own, everything is focused upon Jesus Christ. Because God’s promises come true in Christ, we are able to say the Amen through Christ, and that to the glory of God, verse 20.

    Christ is the go-between, the mediator. God speaks to us in Christ, and we who have received the message speak back to God through Christ. The apostle is teaching us this, that we may approach God, that we may approach God boldly, that we may approach God by no other path and be glorified by no other means than by the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom his word is yes and amen, yes and amen without contradiction without wavering sin. It is sin that prevents us from approaching God in our own right. But we may draw near beloved.

    We may draw near how through Christ, since Christ is the fulfillment to all of God’s numerous promises. It follows that the Old Testament, where the promises are made, really makes sense only when we read with Christ in view. Christ is the end of the Old Testament, the end to which the Old Testament is pointed from beginning to end, the goal towards which scripture itself moves. To read the Old Testament then without reference to Christ is like reading a mystery novel and leaving out the last chapter.

    The Lord our God in Christ gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge, says Paul. That pledge is permanent. What Paul looks forward to, even in the day of his appearing before the seat of Christ, what Paul looks forward to is in the times when God will bring us into the physical presence of Jesus through the resurrection of all believers. Chapter four, verse 14. The faithful God who is ensuring that we will remain Christians even until then gives us gives us as he gave to Paul. In the meantime, the Holy Spirit, which is described here in verse 22 as a seal, as a guarantee of the promise, even unto the very end.

    In the end, then, Paul’s ministry is not fickle and double-minded, because God is not fickle and double-minded. No, God is faithful, and his purposes shall surely stand. God is holy and he is most certainly sincere. All of his promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus, in Christ Jesus, whose life, death and resurrection is the surety of your salvation. This was the surety of Paul’s ministry. He believed he was a new covenant apostle, according to the working of Christ and the fullness of time. And it is in keeping with the surety of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that our salvation is made sure that we will have no cause for shame in the day of our appearing before the judgment seat of Christ, that with clear conscience we can testify it is Christ alone who has saved us, not of ourselves, not what we have done, but what Christ has done for us by his life, his death, his resurrection. There is the surety of Paul’s ministry.

    There is the surety of your life as a Christian. What Christ has done for you. And I remind you that even today it is Christ’s table that is set before us, that is set before us as a sign and seal of that glorious hope, which is ours through him who loved us and gave himself for us even unto the cross.

    That one who loved us, though many criticized him, he did not waver. He set his mind, his heart towards Jerusalem and the cross. And he accomplished the redemption that we so desperately needed. He does not waver. All of his promises are sure. You can believe him. I do pray that you do believe him. Amen.

    Let’s pray together, shall we? Our father, we do pray that we would receive the ministry of the gospel as it is intended by the grace of the spirit to not be a wavering message, Yes and no at the same time. It is a message which is yes, according to the power of the working of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we receive that message. May we receive the messengers that whom you send unto us, Father, as those who would bear the truth before us. We ask God for wisdom and grace to receive that word, even as we pray, thanking you for the grace of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us already as a pledge, as a token and guarantee of that salvation. For the day is coming when we, too, shall appear before the judgment seat of our Savior, unashamed, For what Christ has done for us, he is our yes and our amen. We ask that you would apply these things dearly to our hearts today.

    We pray together in Jesus’ name, giving thanks. Amen. As we approach the table of the Lord, I would ask that we turn in our hymnals to number 360 this morning. 360 as we come to the Lord. Let’s stand together as we sing, please. according to the gracious Word in meek humility.

    This will I do, my dying Lord, I will remember Thee. Thy body broken for my sake, my bread from heaven shall be. Thy testamental cup I take, and thus remember thee. my body sweat and not remember thee. When to the cross I turn my eye and rest on Calvary, I shall sacrifice my life for Thee. Remember thee, and all thy pains, and all thy love to me. Where thy child, in thy kingdom come, Jesus, remember thee.

    You may be seated, please. As we approach the table of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, let us hear the words of institution of the supper as they are recorded for us by the Apostle Paul. This is 1 Corinthians 11, verses 23-34. Here are the words of God. Paul writes, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread.

    And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body. which is for you, do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, he took also the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

    For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick in a number of sleep.

    But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come. I swore to be in God’s inspired Word. Amen. Now we will offer these words of instruction regarding the meaning and nature of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance, an ordinance to be observed by His Church until He comes again.

    It is not a re-sacrificing of Christ, but it is a remembrance of the once-for-all sacrifice of Himself in His death for our sins. Nor is it a mere memorial to Christ’s sacrifice. It is indeed a means of grace by which God feeds us with the crucified, resurrected, and exalted Christ.

    He does so by His Holy Spirit and through faith. Thus He strengthens us in our warfare against sin and in our endeavors to serve Him in holiness. The sacrament further signifies and seals the forgiveness of our sin and of our nourishment and growth in Christ. The bread and wine represent the crucified body and the shed blood of the Savior, which He gave for His people. In this sacrament, God confirms that He is indeed faithful and true to fulfill the promises of His covenant, and He calls us to greater and deeper gratitude for our salvation. He calls us to renewed consecration and to more faithful obedience.

    The supper is also a bond and a pledge of the communion that believers have with Him and with each other as members of His mystical body, the Church. As Scripture says, for we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 17.

    The supper anticipates the consummation of the ages when Christ returns to gather all the redeemed people at the glorious wedding feast of the Lamb. As we come to the Lord’s table then, we humbly resolve to deny ourselves, to crucify the sin that is within us, to resist the devil, and to follow Christ as we come to those who fear his holy name. It is my privilege and responsibility as a minister of the gospel of Christ to invite all who are right with God and with his church, and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to come now to his table. If you have received Christ and are resting upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to you in the gospel, if you are a baptized and professing communicant member in good standing, in a church that professes the gospel of God’s free grace in Jesus Christ, and if you live penitently and seek to walk in godliness before the Lord, then this supper is for you, and I invite you to come in Christ’s name to eat the bread and drink the cup.

    At the same time, God’s word says, whoever shall eat the bread and drink the cup unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment and condemnation for himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

    1 Corinthians 11, 27-29. If you are not trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you are not a member of a faithful Christian church, if you are not living penitently and seeking to walk in godliness before the Lord, then I must warn you in the name of Christ not to approach the holy table of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would remind you, however, that this warning is not aimed to keep the humble and the contrite from the table of the Lord, as if the table were for those only who were free from sin.

    In fact, this table is set for sinners, that God gives this supper as a means of grace. Through the elements of bread and wine, our Lord graciously gives himself and all his benefits to everyone who eats and drinks in a worthy manner, discerning the body of the Lord. It is one thing to eat and drink in a worthy manner. It is very different, however, to imagine that we are worthy to eat and to drink. We dare not come to the Lord’s table as if we were worthy and righteous in and of ourselves. We come in a worthy manner if we recognize that we are indeed unworthy sinners who need our Savior, if we are consciously discerning His body that has been given for our sins, if we hunger and thirst after righteousness after Christ, giving thanks for His grace and His grace alone, trusting alone in His merits feeding on Him by faith, renewing our covenant with Him and with His people. Let us then, in light of these things, examine our own hearts and minds to determine whether such discernment belongs to us, to the end that we may partake of the glory of God and to our growth in grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Come then with joy and thankfulness to the Lord’s table. The Lord’s Supper is good medicine for poor, sick souls. Come to Jesus and find rest, restracking, and nourishment for your weak and weary soul. And I would offer this word of encouragement and exhortation. Dear congregation of the Lord Jesus, lift up your hearts from these visible elements even to heaven itself, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. from where we look for him to return and to perfect our redemption. All the promises of God are indeed yes and amen in him. Every spiritual blessing is found in him.

    With joyful hearts there may Christian love let us partake of his table, giving thanks for the love that he has shown to us in his death for us. And so we come now to the table of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had broke it, gave it to his disciples, as I, ministering in his name, give this bread unto you. And so we come to the table. Let us pray together before we partake of it. Father, we thank you for your goodness and grace. We would come from the Spirit of Christ to the table to receive of the Spirit of Christ.

    That we would grow in grace and the knowledge of our Savior, more and more desiring to be for Him and like Him, in thought, in word, and in deed. knowing that all of the promises of God find their rest and end in Jesus. May those promises be fulfilled in us, your people. As we’ve been brought to faith, shall we be brought to glory as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So let us now partake of this supper as food and drink, real food and drink for the soul that we would be built up by.

    May you take these very common elements and set them apart to a very sacred and holy use. as signs and seals of the covenant of grace, that covenant fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, giving thanks. Amen. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, take me, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. As to the essence of the element, I read to you from 1 Corinthians chapter 10. All right. Therefore, my beloved, flee from my knowledge. I speak as to wise men. You judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

    Amen. Take, eat, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, our Savior also took the cup, and having given thanks that it had been done in His name, He gave it to His disciples, as I, ministering in His name, give this cup unto you, saying, This cup is a new covenant in my blood. It is not the cup of blessing which we bless, but sharing in the blood of Christ. Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Amen. Jesus said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Drink ye all of it. Once again, let us pray together.

    Father, we give thanks. We give thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. that one who is utterly sincere and true, that one who is the fulfillment of every good and perfect promise from above, that we might be filled ourselves with Christ, as the Apostle spoke of his confidence, his boast in the day of the Lord Jesus, his boast is Jesus, his boast is the one who died for him and rose again victorious, that one who appointed an apostolic ministry, that one who is now at work in the Church, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who has been given to each of us also to will and to do of your good pleasure, dear God. We thank you, and we’re thankful for the sign and seal of the supper that points us to that perfect redemption which we have in Christ, and the surety of that redemption even unto eternal life, that we should have no cause for fear, perfect love, pass out fear. May we call upon Christ today. Fill us with His Spirit. This we do ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. And now, as is our custom, beloved, we receive our customary deacon’s offering for the relief and health of the needy. We ask that you come forward to receive that offering.

    The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.