BIG IDEA:
THE GOSPEL MINISTRY (PROCLAIMING THE GLORY OF CHRIST) IS TOO PRECIOUS TO GIVE IN TO DISCOURAGEMENT
PREPARATION SKIT:
Here is a simple skit to introduce today’s topic — with apologies to C.S. Lewis – The Screwtape Letters –
The Setting: Satan’s war room – He is discussing his battle plans with his top advisors –
The Topic: How to stop the rapid growth of the first century church
The Strategy: Get the Apostolic Leaders … especially the Apostle Paul who has proven really effective … to quit the ministry
Satan: I think we have the right strategy … Jesus might have made a huge blunder … all that time He spent in ministry and He only developed 11 key leaders to kick off his church … It’s easy to see where we need to attack … it was good we got our mitts on Judas and had an inside mole … at least we could track what was being planned
Demon1: Yeah, boss … but what about that Saul guy …. He came out of the blue … really surprised us … and look at how effective he’s been … I thought he was going to be a big time player for us … He had that persecution thing down real good … the disciples were so shook up they had a hard time believing he had flipped!
Satan: That WAS a shocker … but if he quit on us maybe we can make him quit on Jesus, too … maybe he just doesn’t have the perseverance to hang in there when things get tough … We have to figure out how to discourage him and make him back off his ministry .. We could just let him burn out on his own … a lot of people start off a ball of fire and just fizzle out after awhile .. but he’s too strategic a leader for us to leave alone … we need to go after him aggressively
Demon2: I don’t know if that’s going to work … we’ve already shot a lot of our best ammunition at him … Remember what we’ve tried already??
– The prison deal is usually a good tactic for educated folks like Paul … they don’t usually like being locked up with the riff raff of society … but he keeps turning it into another episode of “Unshackled” … preaching the gospel and sending out missionaries like prison is their home church .. plus all that singing and worship time … we were losing some of our best people . . . That Prison Fellowship Ministries has been a real pain in our side
Demon3: That’s why we decided to get physical with him
– The Jews didn’t need much encouragement to haul him into the synagogue and administer their Friday night special = 39 lashes .. but it didn’t seem to phase him … I thought we finally had him with that stoning incident … but somehow he lived through it
Satan: What are his weak points … What scares him the most … We need to do some more research and discover his Achilles heel
Demon4: We had a source that told us he was deathly afraid of the water … so we had him shipwrecked three times … but it turns out he was an undercover lifeguard … no problems there … we ditched that source …
Demon5: We found somebody else who had heard that he was terrified of snakes … but that didn’t seem to bother him either. . . he just shook it off . . . the natives ended up thinking he was a god … I don’t know what to try??
Satan: We’ve been going about this all wrong … He just gets stronger when he faces obvious evil … We need a more subtle approach … one that will sneak up on him and hurt him from the inside … Let’s plant some false disciples and attack him from inside the church… We will use some real leader types … guys with a lot of charisma and speaking ability … guys that are very persuasive … maybe some lawyers that we have sitting around just trying to get those Christians to sue one another and divorce one another
Demon1: But how can they say anything against Paul that the church would believe?? He’s beyond reproach … his character is well known …
Satan: Let’s infiltrate that Corinthian group … they have a lot of immature believers … it seems they argue among themselves about everything … For a lot of them, Paul’s not even their favorite speaker …
Here’s our plan
1) First, We will attack Paul’s character by saying that he is trying to profit by building up a kingdom for himself – at least the city government workers should understand what we’re saying
2) Secondly, we will attack his message – you know he keeps talking about that grace stuff like you don’t have to follow Moses and the law and you can live however you please …. We can really go after him there – We’ll call our legalistic message the gospel as well and use a lot of the same terminology … that should confuse them
3) Thirdly, we will accuse him of not being very productive or effective – I know some specific examples where he preached for an hour and no converts at all … that doesn’t look good for him
4) Finally, let’s question his fitness to be an apostle – we’ll have our guys claim to be apostles as well and muddy the waters – how can you tell the true from the false .. it will be just as easy as our campaign last year to pass off counterfeit denarii .. we made a mint off that scheme
That should finally discourage him … imagine all that sacrifice he’s made and now he has his own people turning against him and questioning his authority … Why wouldn’t he just throw in the towel and give up the fight???
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
INTRODUCTION:
Easy for ministers of the gospel to get discouraged and lose heart. Look at all that Paul was facing:
– attacks against his character
– attacks against the legitimacy of his apostleship
– attacks against the effectiveness of his ministry
In some sense all believers are ministers (small “m”) of the gospel – not just isolating some special paid clergy class; so these instructions apply to all of us
Anthony Thiselton: The practical lessons of this short section are many: avoiding faintheartedness, bearing unjust criticism, witnessing to those who have been blinded, preaching Christ and not ourselves, bringing light from God who created light, conveying a great treasure even though we are like fragile earthenware vessels, and much else.
George Shillington: The present text reaffirms Paul’s confidence as a minister of Christ, denies charges of cunning or deceit, and presents Paul and his fellow leaders as slaves to the Corinthians for the sake of Christ. Stated otherwise, the thoughts that open the series of arguments on Paul’s worthiness as a minister are recast in these verses to bring closure to the line of argument. . .
However, these verses are more than a summary statement of earlier points. They form a transition to the next major movement in the second variation on the theme of ministry. If the new ministry in the light of Christ operates in terms of the Spirit of God (rather than any human spirit), what does the new ministry hold out to human existence? Paul’s answer begins in part already in these verses. Christ, the image of God (4:4), the illuminating presence of God (4:6a), enters human hearts (4:6b) so as to renew them (4:16) and prepare them for life in the age to come (5:1-10).
Frank Matera: To summarize, Paul is not discouraged, because he received his new covenant ministry by God’s mercy when God shone into his heart so that he might reveal the knowledge of God’s glory in Christ. This gospel is veiled only to those whom Satan has blinded lest they see the light of the gospel.
Eric Mason: Main Idea: We must be able to discern true gospel ministry.
- True Gospel Ministry Can Be a Heartbreaking Journey (4:1).
- True Gospel Ministry Is Not Above Healthy Gospel Evaluation (4:2-4).
- True Gospel Ministry Exalts Jesus above the Preacher (4:5-6).
I. (:1-2) MINISTRY INTEGRITY PROTECTS AGAINST DISCOURAGEMENT
A. (:1) Giving Up is Not an Option in the Ministry
- Stewardship of Precious Ministry
“Therefore, since we have this ministry”
Look back at chapter 3 to see the nature of this New Covenant Ministry – one of life, one of the Spirit, one of hope, one of confidence, one of boldness, one of glory
Concept of being a stakeholder – having some ministry niche that you own and are passionate about; not being pressured by others to meet needs in areas where you have not been called to minister.
John MacArthur: Therefore points back to Paul’s discussion of the new covenant in 3:6–18. Strength to endure trials comes from the unveiled look into the face of Christ made possible under the new covenant. That look was also the source of strength for Paul’s new covenant ministry. The apostle used the plural we as a humbler way of referring to himself. By so doing, he softened the personal nature of his defense of himself and his ministry. The phrase we have this ministry emphasizes Paul’s humble acknowledgment that God had graciously granted him the privilege of being a new covenant minister (cf. 5:18; Acts 20:24; 26:16; Rom. 15:15–16; 1 Cor. 4:1–3; Eph. 3:7–8; Col. 1:23, 25; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11).
2. Safeguarded by Divine Mercy (against opposition to our ministry)
“as we received mercy” – Mercy both for salvation and service
Paul served in deep humility; not with a big ego
John MacArthur: Paul’s call to the ministry was based solely on God’s mercy. God’s mercy is His withholding of the judgment that sinners deserve, temporarily in the case of the unsaved to give opportunity for repentance and faith, and permanently in the case of the redeemed. In this context God’s mercy means that instead of condemning Paul because he was a “blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor” (1 Tim. 1:13), God showed him mercy by “putting [him] into service” (v. 12).
Scott Hafemann: The very existence of his ministry is evidence of God’s reality in his life, from which he derives great encouragement. The mercy granted to Paul in the past undergirds his confidence for the future.
3. Staying the Course (when faced with discouragement)
“we do not lose heart”
Willmouth: Tenacity of Ministry — The way we view our ministries will often help determine how we will fulfill it. If it becomes a burden instead of a privilege, then it becomes easy to quit when things don’t go our way. Paul was overwhelmed by God’s grace and mercy, which grave him the tenacity to keep on serving Christ regardless of his circumstances, regardless of what others said about him, regardless if anyone responded the way he wanted them too.
David Garland: In 4:1, therefore, Paul says more than that he does not lose heart or give up. Because he has such a ministry and such a hope (3:6–18), “he does not draw in his horns” despite the pressures to become fainthearted. Plummer comments: “Such faintheartedness takes refuge in silence and inactivity, in order to escape criticism, and therefore is the opposite of παρρησία [parrēsia].” The Spirit enables Paul to preach an unveiled gospel and use raw candor in trying to effect moral transformation in teaching his charges.
George Shillington: He does not shrink back from a ministry graciously granted by God. On the human side, he has every reason to withdraw. His afflictions are reason enough. His humiliation in receiving the thirty-nine lashes five times could easily make him lose heart in the ministry. Vilification by opponents is hard to take. But he does not lose heart. Paul knows God’s mercy and sees God’s plan for the world unfolding in the Gentile mission in which he is engaged. For this reason he does not lose heart.
R. Kent Hughes: C. H. Spurgeon, in his classic Lectures to My Students, in the chapter properly titled “The Minister’s Fainting Fits,” describes the pressures upon the Christian minister to lose heart.
“Our work, when earnestly undertaken, lays us open to attacks in the direction of depression. Who can bear the weight of souls without sometimes sinking to the dust? Passionate longings after men’s conversion, if not fully satisfied (and when are they?), consume the soul with anxiety and disappointment. To see the hopeful turn aside, waxing more bold in sin — are not these sights enough to crush us to the earth? The kingdom comes not as we would, the reverend name is not hallowed as we desire, and for this we must weep. How can we be otherwise than sorrowful, while men believe not our report, and the divine arm is not revealed? All mental work tends to weary and to depress, for much study is a weariness of the flesh; but ours is more than mental work — it is heart work, the labour of our inmost soul. . . . Such soul-travail as that of a faithful minister will bring on occasional seasons of exhaustion, when heart and flesh will fail.”
Such pressures were not unique to the Victorian ministry because weary hearts have been common to the ministerial calling from the beginning. Spurgeon’s words will find sympathetic resonance in any heart acquainted with ministry.
B. (:2) Standing Up with Transparent Integrity is the Ultimate Safeguard
Or Personal Purity as well?? Which is in view??
You’ve heard the expression: “He’s a stand-up type of guy” = willing to shoulder responsibility; not trying to sluff the blame off on someone else
- Aggressive Opposition to Deceit and Marketing Manipulation
“but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame”
Integrity is the best safeguard against discouragement.
Paul’s ministry and his life were an open book
Mark Seifrid: Paul’s renunciation of “the hidden things of shame” implies the undoing of the fall and the presence of the new creation. It implies confidence in the coming judgment, at which the legitimacy of the apostle will be truly tested.
Richard Pratt: Paul described the inappropriate practices that he resisted with three phrases. First, he said he would not resort to secret and shameful ways. Paul did not use underhanded tactics or methods in his ministry. Paul did not suggest there was nothing shameful in his life. He was not perfect (Gal. 5:17). Instead, he spoke of his goals and strategies in ministry. In this respect, Paul had nothing to hide. If the most secret aspects of his service to Christ were revealed, he would still have nothing of which to be ashamed. He had always ministered in holiness and sincerity, according to God’s grace, and had even sworn with God as his witness that his motivations had always been pure. Paul had no skeletons in his closet.
Second, Paul insisted that he did not use deception. Often in the New Testament, the term translated here as “deception” (panourgia ) denotes deplorable action or speech that tricks others. But Paul was so confident of the glory of ministering in the new covenant that he never resorted to this means of persuasion.
Third, Paul rejected the accusation that he would distort the word of God in his preaching and teaching. Paul’s opponents could have considered any number of Paul’s teachings to be distortions. For example, he rejected a legalistic outlook on the role of Old Testament law in the Christian church. In his earlier Corinthian epistle, Paul had also attacked those who relied too heavily on human wisdom. He had taught that Christians could eat meat that had been offered to idols, but also insisted that the weaknesses of others should take precedence. The natural response of Paul’s opponents on these issues would have been to accuse him of distorting the Scriptures. But Paul rejected this accusation as unthinkable.
Instead, Paul took a different approach in his teaching and preaching. He presented the truth plainly.
- Authentic Consistency with the Truth of God’s Word
a. Negatively
1) “not walking in craftiness”
– Gospel Charlatans – deceivers = pretending to be other than what they are
– Gospel Politicians = men-pleasers; hidden agendas; No convictions
– Gospel Manipulators = playing on emotions
David Garland: He repudiates all deception. The noun “deception” translates a Greek word that literally means “the readiness to do anything” (panourgia). When used in a negative sense, it applies to someone who is sly, crafty, deceitful, and tricky. Such persons will stoop to any ruse to accomplish their dishonorable purposes, and they usually resort to secret plots and intrigues. In 11:3 Paul connects such cunning to Satan, who beguiled Eve. The word also occurs in 1 Cor 3:19, where he cites Job 5:13, “He traps the wise in their craftiness,” to denounce the foolish wisdom of this world that thinks it can outfox God. Worldly shrewdness offers only fleeting success and will eventually ensnare the clever in their own tangled web of deceit. The deceiver is the opposite of someone who is candid and forthright.
2) “or adulterating the word of God” – handling deceitfully …
– Using same terminology but changing the meaning
– Twisting the meaning; taking it out of context
– Adding to the Scriptures
– Subtracting from the Scriptures – this does not apply today; caving to cultural pressure (divorce, role of men and women, etc.)
Charles Swindoll: Unlike many popular preachers and teachers today, Paul refused to rely on cleverness, wit, and charm to woo people into the kingdom. He had no place for gimmicks and tricks in order to get results. He refused to play on people’s emotions. He knew that when you appeal to emotion to draw people in, you need to keep giving them an emotional fix to keep them coming. Rather, Paul relied upon the unadulterated word of God to do its work (4:2). Paul’s strategy might appear quaint compared to that of the glitz and glamour preachers we have today. He simply presented the plain, unvarnished truth of the gospel, depending on the Spirit of God to do His work through His word. . .
How do you know when you have let pride creep into your ministry? When you frequently talk about yourself and your accomplishments. When you expect special treatment and flaunt your privileges. When you pursue promotion, bigger job titles, and higher pay. When you convince yourself that you must have a private jet to travel here and there. When you expect others to submit to your every word while allowing nobody to hold you accountable. When these attitudes and actions crop up in your life, you are headed for trouble. You need to step down until the Lord regains firm authority. Also, when you see these attitudes in other leaders, it is time to distance yourself from them. Those are the makings of a cult of personality, not a Christ-exalting church.
Scott Hafemann: Hence, both the content of Paul’s message (he preaches Jesus as Lord) and the manner of his ministry (his change of plans and practice of self-support, both resulting from his love for the Corinthians as their “slave”) have already demonstrated the genuineness and divine origin of his calling. In contrast, Paul’s opponents have made the Corinthians their slaves (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4–20). Moreover, his opponents’ refusal to take up their cross on behalf of the Corinthians clearly reveals that they preach another Jesus (11:4, 18–20). Indeed, they water down the gospel for the sake of their own financial gain (4:1–2 in view of 2:17).
b. Positively
“but by the manifestation of the truth” (John 3:19-21)
John MacArthur: The false apostles were, in effect, first-century marketing experts. They viewed the gospel as a product and themselves as salesmen. Part of selling the product (the gospel) was veiling its truth and sprucing it up by adding some mystery and magic. By tweaking the message, repackaging it to make it more popular and trendy, they hoped to better appeal to first-century consumers. They would then succeed in making converts (and money). Paul’s straightforward, powerful presentation of the pure unadulterated gospel (cf. Rom. 1:16) frustrated and threatened them. It also exposed their secret lives of shame. It is no wonder, then, that they bitterly opposed Paul.
- Accountable Conduct before the Supreme Authority
“commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”
Ritchie: Men intuitively recognize the truth. They do not need to be convinced of it. God has so constituted our consciences that we know truth when we hear it. When it is declared a sympathetic vibration is set up in side us. Truth does not really need to be proved to us. The reason people reject the truth is not that they do not sense it is true but because they choose to disbelieve. They would rather go their own way than respond to the truth.
William Barclay: His enemies had leveled three charges against him. They had said that he used underhand methods, that he exercised an unscrupulous cleverness to get his own way, and that he adulterated the message of the gospel.
Frank Metera: And whereas earlier he called upon the witness of his own conscience (1:12), now he commends himself to the conscience of others. Thus, if they allow their moral consciousness to bear witness, it will acknowledge his apostolic integrity.
R. Kent Hughes: Thus, by forthright openness of his ministry Paul solicited the approval of all, because he was convinced that when people were true to their consciences, they would be compelled to acknowledge that his ministry was one of integrity. The further fact that he conducted his straight-on ministry “in the sight of God” means that his ultimate concern in everything was God’s approval (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:3, 4; 2 Corinthians 5:10). God was his primary audience; thus Paul preached the undiluted Word of God with bold simplicity and clarity.
II. (:3-4) LACK OF RESULTS DO NOT DETRACT FROM THE PRECIOUSNESS OR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE GOSPEL
A. (:3) The Light of the Gospel Will Never Penetrate the Non Elect
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.”
No human way to reach this target group successfully; takes the pressure off us;
No reason to get discouraged by a lack of response to the gospel;
Still we are responsible to make the offer available to all men
B. (:4a) Spiritual Blindness Is a Powerful Reality
“in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving,
that they might not see”
Reality of the spiritual warfare behind the scenes
John MacArthur: Underlying much of modern evangelism is the heretical idea that anyone can and will respond to the gospel if it is presented in an ingenious enough way. That view sees unbelievers as consumers, for whom the gospel must be cleverly packaged in order to make the sale. Roy Clements writes perceptively of this trend:
“A preacher … is a herald, and a herald is precisely a one-way communicator; he does not dialogue, he announces a message he has received. But if our communication experts are correct, announcements do not change anybody. Where is the flaw in their reasoning? … It lies in the theology. For people who argue like this are assuming that Christian preaching is analogous to a marketing exercise. You have your product: the gospel. You have your consumers: the congregation. And the preacher is the salesman. It is his job to overcome consumer resistance and persuade people to buy.
According to Paul, there is one very simple but overwhelming reason why that analogy is not a good one. The preacher does not overcome consumer resistance. He cannot. Consumer resistance is far too large for any preacher to overcome. All the preacher does, Paul says, is to expose that resistance in its formidable impenetrability. If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded their minds and ‘they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.’ … The preacher does not save anybody. He is an instrument whereby people who are being saved become aware of the fact.
Evangelism has to be proclamation because preaching is a sacrament of the divine sovereignty.”
(The Strength of Weakness [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995], 75–76)
Salvation is never the result of human persuasion; it is a sovereign act of God. In John 6:44 Jesus declared, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” Acts 11:18 affirms that “God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” Lydia was saved when “the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14). Paul counseled Timothy,
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Tim. 2:24–26)
The apostle reminded Titus that “[God] saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
The issue is not the skill of the one proclaiming the message, the packaging of the message, or the technique used in proclaiming it. The issue is the condition of the hearer. Jesus illustrated that principle in the parable of the sower. The same message (the seed) is proclaimed by the same individual (the sower); the only variable is the condition of the four soils. What is essential for messengers of the gospel is not cleverness but clarity. Only God can open the sin-blinded eyes of those who are “dead in [their] trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1; cf. v. 5; Matt. 8:22; Eph. 4:18).
C. (:4b) No Fault Lies With The Gospel Itself — Which Remains Precious and Glorious
“the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Ray Stedman: So what hope is there that anybody who has been blinded by the devil will ever believe the good news? It looks hopeless, doesn’t it? If a veil lies over their minds, and if, as we have already seen in the previous passage, only when someone turns to the Lord is the veil removed — yet, in order to turn, men must see the glory of Christ that the veil obscures — what hope is there? It is very evident from this that men cannot remove the veil themselves. Only Christ can take it away. How then can men be saved? That is the question Paul is facing.
III. (:5) IT IS NOT ABOUT US — THE FOCUS OF GOSPEL MINISTRY IS THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST
A. (:5a) The Focus Should Never Be On Ourselves
“For we do not preach ourselves”
We are not capable of saving anyone; we are not looking for praise and attention
Anthony Thiselton: The more that we understand about the “false” apostles in Corinth, the clearer it becomes that they were intoxicated with themselves. Thrall comments, “He is criticizing by implication the behaviour of rival missionaries whose activity (as he sees it) is nothing other than self-promotion.” This is also a timely reminder for today when “truth through personality” is used to draw more attention to the self than to Christ. Everyone knows about self-centered ministry where the preacher becomes the sole focus. By contrast, Paul reverses the role to that of “ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake,” while Jesus alone is proclaimed as Lord (cf. 1 Cor 12:3).
David Garland: To preach oneself is to vaunt one’s superior qualifications, to put on airs, and to turn the throne of Christ into a soapbox from which to spout one’s own pet themes and biases. No one is immune from the temptation to manipulate the ministerial role to build a following rather than to build up a congregation or to exploit the gospel’s “drama, pathos, solemnity, and majesty, for the display of one’s own powers, one’s ability, eloquence, humor, learning, gifts of popular exposition.” Some ministers may do this in blatant and crude ways. Others may do it in more subtle and refined ways. Cranfield observes, “How often is that which is hailed as a successful ministry little more than success in winning a personal following!” The temptation to preach ourselves is fed by congregants who are “prone to like to be entertained and to enjoy a minister’s self-exhibition” and are inclined “to indulge in a personality cult.” Corinth appears to have been such a congregation. They rallied around and exaggerated the importance of their ministerial heroes and used their worship to show off their own individual gifts (1 Cor 14:26). They may have expected Paul to display more dramatically his apostolic prowess.
Paul Barnett: The “ministry” is expressed by preaching (5). It is regrettable that the distinctive activity of the apostle has such negative associations today. The very word evokes images of religious buildings, strangely dressed clergy and long, dull sermons. “Preaching” certainly sounds off-putting to modern people. But what did Paul mean by preach? In his day the word we translate as “preach” was not primarily a religious but a secular word. The verb kēryssein comes from the noun kēryx, meaning a “herald”, a person who brought important announcements from a king or emperor to his people, scattered throughout his kingdom. An approximate modern equivalent to the ancient kēryx is the radio or television newsreader who announces the news to the listening world. Like the modern news broadcaster the ancient “herald” had to possess a good speaking voice and the self-discipline not to embellish or alter the message. It is unfortunate that the profound and good news of God about Jesus Christ has been made to appear trivial and narrowly religious by associations with the word “preaching”.
B. (:5b) The Focus Must Always Be On the Lordship of Christ
“but Christ Jesus as Lord”
What type of false gospel is it that presents Christ as less than Lord?
We are all accountable to our Creator
c. (:5c) But We Do Play a Critical Supporting Role
“and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.”
Robert Gromacki: Paul served others; he did not expect others to serve him. He used his apostolic prerogatives as greater opportunities for ministry, not for selfish gratification.
Tasker: All the service Paul (and every true Christian missionary and pastor) renders to his converts is not done primarily for their sakes. He has a more compelling love and a more overriding loyalty. He is their servant, because first and foremost he is the servant of Jesus Christ, by whose love he is constrained, and the promotion of whose glory is his passionate desire.
Ray Stedman: If you want to know where we fit in, here it is: we are your servants for Jesus’ sake. We are not your masters; we do not own you; we are not your bosses; we do not come to tell you everything to do and give you orders and be a little pope in every church we come into. No, we are your servants. We have come to help you. We have come to minister to you, to labor among you, to teach and instruct you, but we are not here to boss you.” The apostle is careful to make that plain.
Raymond Collins: In and of itself, the title Lord (kyrios) suggests the designation of others as servants and slaves. So, using the title Lord, Paul is able to say that he (and his fellow evangelists) are “slaves.” But in an unusual turn of phrase, Paul says he is a slave of the Corinthians, with respect to whom he does not exalt himself. Only here in the extant correspondence does Paul describe himself as a slave of the community (cf. 1 Cor. 9:19; 2 Cor. 6:4; 11:8). He functions as a servant for Jesus’s sake. His service of the Corinthians takes place in his ministry of evangelization; he serves them as a minister of the new covenant.
IV. (:6) GOD CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN IN A BIG WAY ANY TIME HE WANTS — THE PRECIOUS STEWARDSHIP OF THE GOSPEL DEPENDS ON SOVEREIGN ENLIGHTENMENT
– Our testimony of conversion is one of Sovereign Enlightenment
– Our confidence in presenting the gospel to others is that God can also perform such a Sovereign work of Enlightenment in others
A. (:6a) Example of God’s Sovereign Activity in Creation
“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’”
Some Christians argue that it is no big deal whether you believe in evolution or creationism; well it is a big deal to God. He has based many important doctrines on the foundation of His role in creation.
Mark Seifrid: “Darkness” and “light” do not merely represent “ignorance” and “knowledge,” although these are obviously included in the figure. “Darkness” also signifies “evil” (whether physical or moral), just as “light” is a symbol for “blessing” and “good” (again, whether physical or moral). It is “out of darkness” that God causes light to shine: out of evil, God creates good; out of nothingness and death, God brings forth life.
Robert Hughes: The clear reference to Genesis 1:3 in “light shall shine out of darkness” (4:6) has several implications for Paul’s argument:
(1) It shows the divinely potent commission behind his preaching;
(2) it shows the consistency of God, who has dispelled darkness and sin from the dawn of creation up to the present; and
(3) it shows the truth of the “new creature” (5:17), which operates throughout Paul’s thought—the new humanity in the glory of the new Adam (1 Cor. 15:45).
But where was all this new glory? Paul appeared to be weak.
B. (:6b) Testimony of God’s Sovereign Enlightenment in Conversion
“is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Jeffries: Consider for just one moment how differently you might approach every single “people” occasion — even the most hum-drum routine occasions — if you remained constantly aware that God desires that “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” should shine through you so that it can be observed by whomever He has brought into your life at that moment.
David Garland: The image of light shining reminds most interpreters of the account of Paul’s own conversion experience recorded in Acts. Acts describes a light from heaven flashing around him (Acts 9:3; 22:6, 11; 26:13). In Acts 22:11 the light is connected to “glory” (doxa, translated as “brilliance”). Acts does not portray this event as some internal awakening but as an external reality. Paul describes an external reality becoming an internal reality — “has shone in our hearts.” This glorious divine light illuminated the darkness that was in him but also revealed to him that he was not defined by his sins.
Richard Pratt: The illumination of the hearts of individuals is not just a mental state of enlightenment. From Paul’s perspective, it is an act of re-creation. Christ’s coming into the world, and the illumination of individuals to see his light, is a gracious divine act by which believers receive the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. When Paul came to know Christ personally on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3), this act of God surpassed the original act of creation in its ability to reveal the glory of God.
Scott Hafemann: Paul’s gospel declares the light of the new creation by showing forth how Christ himself manifests the glory of God’s image, that is, his righteous and merciful character (4:4). When in conjunction with this gospel God shines his presence into the lives of those whom he is now re-creating in Christ, he makes it clear how Christ himself embodies in his death and resurrection on behalf of those who were living in the darkness of sin the very glory of God (4:6). Because of the reality of this mercy, both in Paul’s own life and in the lives of those to whom he is sent, Paul does not lose heart (4:1). Those who reject Paul do so because they remain blind to the reality of God in Christ. For the very glory of God himself is now being revealed through Paul’s ministry.
CONCLUSION:
(:7) THE DANGER SHOULD NEVER BE DISCOURAGEMENT …
IT SHOULD BE AVOIDING CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH
leads into rest of chapter 4
Jars of Clay – good name for a Christian vocal group
What are our expectations of God?? Here Paul makes reference not just to His power … but to the surpassing greatness of His power …
This glorious ministry performed through vessels of weakness …. Great Paradox!
Outer man decaying … inner man being renewed
Read vv. 16-18 – same theme of Not losing heart!
Never forget that just as God has a plan for your life … so does Satan … We made fun of things in our little play … but make no mistake … Satan is the god of this world and is actively at work scheming how he might discourage each of us from fulfilling the personal mission that our Lord has laid before each of us
But remember today’s message:
THE GOSPEL MINISTRY (PROCLAIMING THE GLORY OF CHRIST) IS TOO PRECIOUS TO GIVE IN TO DISCOURAGEMENT
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PREACHING CHRIST:
1) The message of the gospel focuses on the glory of Christ.
2) Christ supremely reveals God as the image of God.
3) Any gospel that does not preach Christ Jesus as Lord is a false gospel.
4) We need to be gazing intently into the face of Christ.