Rend Collective - Boldly I Approach (The Art of Celebration) [Live]

Rend Collective - You Will Never Run

Calvary - Hillsong Worship

Matt Redman - No One Like Our God (Live)

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The Ministry of Proclaimation, 2 Corinthians 4 ESV(UK) The Indepth Series

 

2 Corinthians 4English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,[a] we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practise cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants[b] for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness”, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke”, we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[c] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Setting Forth the Truth Plainly (4:1-6)

There is a constant temptation in the ministry to preach what people want to hear rather than what they need to hear. Sermons that confront a congregation with their spiritual shortcomings do not usually result in a pat on the back. Instead, they quite often yield criticism and hostility. David Wells argues that the pastoral task of brokering the truth of God to God's people has, for this very reason, largely fallen by the wayside in evangelicalism today (1993:1-14). To preach in a way that serves Christ and not people's egos takes courage. But it is easy to become disheartened when people turn a deaf ear to preaching that tells it like it is.

Paul repeatedly had to deal with discouragement in his ministry. There were plenty of preachers whose motives were less than pious and who would do whatever they had to to gain a following (v. 2). There were also churches who were readily seduced by flattering speech and winsome ways. It would have been all too easy for someone who remained faithful in preaching Christ and not themselves (v. 5) to grow weary of the downside of human nature (v. 1).

Paul, however, did not give in to discouragement. What heartened him were two things: the character of his ministry and the mercy of God. Since through God's mercy we have this ministry, he says, we do not lose heart (v. 1). Through God's mercy is literally "as we have been shown mercy." Paul looked on his ministry as something he received not because of any personal merit but on account of God's favour. Nor was this a matter of theoretical knowledge. Paul experienced God's mercy first hand when he was stopped dead in his tracks while pursuing Jewish Christians who had fled Jerusalem for the safer haven of Damascus (Acts 9:1-9). Then there was the surpassing splendour of the new covenant (this ministry). The privilege of being a minister of such a covenant more than compensated for the trials and tribulations that he experienced as an itinerant preacher.

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God's Power Is Made Known Through Ministerial Hardships (4:7-12)

Virtually every archaeological dig in the Middle East has unearthed innumerable pieces of pottery from earliest civilization forward. Pottery seems to have been a favorite material for fashioning a wide variety of utensils. It was not a costly material. The well-to-do turned to materials such as ivory, glass, marble, brass and costly wood. Pottery, on the other hand, was the material of the common person. It was used to make everything from pitchers, oil jars and bowls to griddles, washbasins and pots. Coarse clay was preferred for utilitarian ware. For more expensive vessels, the potter first refined the clay by treading it out in water. Clay pots found many uses. Items of value could be kept in them, and clay jars were especially popular for storing liquids because the pottery hindered evaporation and kept the contents cool at the same time. Even broken pieces of pottery, or "shards," found a use as writing material for notes, receipts and messages.

In verses 7-15 Paul compares the gospel minister to a piece of Palestinian pottery. We have this treasure in jars of clay (v. 7). This treasure is the glorious good news about Christ (vv. 1-6). Jars of clay is actually "earthenware vessels" (ostrakinois skeuesin). The noun skeuos refers to a vessel serving a specific purpose (such as a jug, cup, pan or pot). When used of people it often carries the sense of "implement" or "instrument" (Maurer 1971:358-67). So to be God's "vessel" is to be his instrument in carrying out a specific service—in this case, the gospel ministry.

The marvel of Paul's statement is not to be overlooked. The gospel minister is a vessel made of common, run-of-the-mill clay—fragile and easily broken. And yet God has entrusted the treasure of the gospel to such a vessel, just as Palestinians stored their valuables in common clay pots. Why does God do this? According to Paul, he does it to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. God uses what is fragile and yet serviceable so that there might be no mistaking the origin of the gospel minister's power. The adjective all-surpassing (hyperbolh) stresses the extraordinary quality or extent of something (Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich 1979). The "something" here is power. The Greek dynamis is the term from which we derive our English word "dynamite." The gospel is not merely a message that confronts the mind but an explosive power that turns a person's life upside down. On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens in the Cascade Range of Washington exploded with a stunning demonstration of nature's power. The explosion ripped thirteen hundred feet off the mountain and leveled 150-foot Douglas firs even seventeen miles away. We stand in awe of such force and yet forget the equally awesome power that is unleashed in the preaching of the gospel.

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A Faith That Prompts Outspokenness (4:13-18)

Paul is not alone in his opinion. He finds the same spirit of faith in the psalmist's exclamation, I believed; therefore I have spoken (Ps 116:10). The Greek term pneuma can refer either to the divine Spirit or to a human attitude. The broader context of the psalm suggests that it is a commonality of attitude between himself and the psalmist that prompts Paul to cite this text. The genitive of faith is most likely subjective. Paul and the psalmist had in common a "faith that prompts outspokenness." The Old Testament quote is actually from the LXX rather than the Masoretic Text. In the LXX, the psalmist recounts how his faith gave him the courage to speak out despite opposition and how he was greatly afflicted because of his outspokenness. It is not clear whether the psalmist is speaking of a crippling illness, a mortal wound or a false accusation. Nevertheless, he, like Paul, felt crushed (Ps 116:10), dismayed (v. 11) and disillusioned (v. 11). And he, like Paul, possessed a faith that prompted him to speak out.

What motivates a person to speak out regardless of the personal consequences? This is a question that Paul raises toice in the space of too chapters. It is also one that we all ask from time to time. Why preach the gospel if it leads to ridicule, personal deprivation and hostility? For Paul it was not a matter of feeling that he was the best qualified or had superior credentials. It was, rather, a question of conviction—a conviction that constrained him to speak out, even when it was not to his advantage to do so. What was this conviction? It was not the belief that Jesus is the Christ—as we would expect of a Jew—but rather the certainty that he who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus (v. 14). Raise us points to a corporate event. With Jesus is best rendered "in the company of." Paul is thinking of the parousia, when "God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him" (1 Thess 4:14). Paul could be saying that he speaks out despite the consequences because he knows that if death takes him, God can and will raise him up. But in light of verse 15 (all this is for your benefit), it is more likely a recognition on his part of what hearers will miss out on if he fails to speak out.

Not only will God raise us, Paul says, but he will also present us with you in his presence. The Greek verb for present means "to cause to stand" or "to place beside." In his presence is not found in the Greek text. It answers the question: "Stand where?" It is Paul's conviction that God will raise and place before himself those who have heard and responded to the gospel—another reason to speak out. All this (ta panta), he reminds the Corinthians, is for your benefit (v. 15). What he undergoes as an itinerant preacher he undergoes not for his own sake but for theirs. As Paul's spiritual children, the Corinthians have been the direct beneficiaries of his willingness to preach the gospel regardless of personal cost.

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The Bible Panorama

2 Corinthians 4

V 1: ENCOURAGED God’s mercy and commissioning for service encourage Paul not to lose heart.

 V 2–6: ENLIGHTENED Unlike unbelievers, Christians renounce the hidden and dark paths of shame because gospel light has shined in their hearts to give them a personal knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Accordingly, they preach the Lordship of Jesus Christ to blind and lost sinners.

V 7–12: ENABLED Despite crushing pressures from every side and persecution, Paul’s willingness to die to self and to live for Christ means that God’s resurrection life is at work in Paul to the glory of God. All Christians know the same truth when they trust the risen Christ.

 V 13–15: EMBOLDENED The Christian knows that Jesus is risen from the dead and that he, too, will be raised one day to be present with his risen Lord. This encourages his faith and emboldens him to speak for Christ.

 V 16–18: ENERGISED Despite the temptation to be discouraged within, and the physical weakness of their bodies, God’s servants know God’s daily renewal and are motivated by the prospect of glory to come. They do not lose heart. Their current trials are light in comparison with the weight of that glory that will be theirs.

Dictionary of Bible Themes

7944 ministry, qualifications for

God, who calls his people to minister, also equips his people. The chief qualifications are a response to God’s call, faithfulness, godliness and Christlikeness.

God calls people to minister

Qualification is by call, not gifting or achievement Dt 7:7-8 See also Dt 9:4-5

God calls those who the world regards as weak or foolish 1Co 1:27-29

Feelings of inadequacy to God’s call are common Ex 3:11 Moses; Jdg 6:15 Gideon; 1Sa 9:21 Saul; 1Sa 18:18 David; 1Ki 3:7 Solomon; Isa 6:5 Isaiah; Jer 1:6 Jeremiah

Responding to God’s call to minister

Readiness and availability 1Sa 3:10; Isa 6:8

Faith, rather than natural talent or moral perfection, is required Heb 11:1-2 See also Ge 27:19-24 Jacob was a deceiver; Nu 27:12-14 Moses and Aaron disobeyed God. David committed adultery and murder: 2Sa 11:4,14-15

1Ki 11:9-13 Solomon disobeyed God’s command.

NT ministers are recognised by call rather than their achievement

The Twelve Mt 10:1-4 pp Mk 3:14-19 pp Lk 6:12-16 The Twelve, including Peter and Judas, failed Jesus Christ at critical times.

Paul Ac 9:15; Ac 26:6; 2Co 4:7-12; 2Co 12:7 Though greatly gifted, Paul was kept humble by his sense of unworthiness, difficulties and disappointments and his “thorn in the flesh”; 1Ti 1:16

Ministry in the NT is described as service

Serving God Ro 1:9; Jas 1:1

Serving Jesus Christ Ro 1:1; Jude 1; Rev 1:1

Serving the gospel Eph 3:7; Col 1:23

Serving the church Ro 15:31; Ro 16:1; 1Co 16:15; 2Co 9:1; Eph 6:21; Col 1:7,25

Ministry is described in terms of its source, content or nature

Its source It is of the Spirit: 2Co 3:6,8

2Co 4:1 It is from God.

Its content Ac 6:2-4 the word of God; 2Co 5:18 reconciliation

Its nature Apostolic: Ac 1:25; Gal 2:8

Ro 15:16 priestly

Various ministries are equally linked by qualifications of character

Ac 1:21 the replacement for Judas; Ac 6:3 the Seven Overseers: 1Ti 3:2-7; Tit 1:7-9

1Ti 3:8-13 deacons; 1Ti 6:11 Timothy

The personal qualifications for ministry

Faithfulness 1Ti 6:11-14 Timothy; 2Ti 4:7 Paul’s claim for his own ministry “faithful” is the sole description of the ministries of Epaphras and Tychicus: Col 1:7; Col 4:7

Godliness Ac 8:21 Simon was not right with God. Timothy: 1Ti 6:11,20-21

Christlikeness Ac 1:21-22 The replacement apostle for Judas had to have been with Jesus Christ from the beginning.

Be Blessed today

Yours by His Grace, for the sake of His Gospel and His Church

Blair Humphreys

Southport, Merseyside, England

22^nd August 2015