2 Corinthians - Lesson 4B

• This morning, we return to our journey through 2 Corinthians. When we last left off, we did so by breaking down and studying 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, and since we took a week off for Mother’s Day, I want to back up and re-read and re-study these verses just a little more in-depth.

  • The last time we were together I just lightly brushed over what were some controversial verses. Therefore, I want to dig in a little deeper on them this morning, so let’s get going on these verses right out of the gate.

  • Here’s what Paul wrote:

2 Cor. 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,
2 Cor. 4:2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.
2 Cor. 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2 Cor. 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Cor. 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants on account of Jesus.
2 Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” 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.

• Last time we were together I finished our teaching by focusing specifically on verses 3-6. As I said earlier, those verses have been considered controversial verses throughout the years. I will point out, however, that these verses are just a few verses in a long line of verses that highlight and say the exact same thing throughout many other places in scripture.

• In other words, this is not the only place in scripture where this type of language is used. In fact, verses 3 & 6 highlight what is an overarching theme of scripture, and that is, God is totally Sovereign and in control of all things. Meaning, God is the creator, and as the creator He is in control of His creation.

  • He either A) allows things to happen, or He B) causes things to happen. And it all happens according to His Will and Sovereign Decree. And all for one reason and one reason alone. For His Reasons - For His Plans - For His Purposes, which is ultimately for ‘His Glory’.

  • And mixed up in the middle of what God is doing is a twin truth or reality that lives within God’s creation, and that is, God is Sovereign, and man has responsibility for all that. Meaning, God is in control. He’s either allowing things to happen or He’s causing things to happen.

    • And yet, man still has culpability or is responsible in all things as well. And I get this can be confusing, and I don’t want to upset anyone here today, but the reality is The Sovereign Creator of the Universe doesn’t owe us any explanation for anything He does.

    • Remember, we are doulos (slaves) (bondservants). Paul just called he and the other disciples this very thing in verse 5, when he said:

2 Cor. 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants on account of Jesus.

• I think it’s interesting how he said, ‘we are your bondservants on account of Jesus Christ’. Remember, he is writing this letter to the Church at Corinth, which means he is writing to the people in this church.

  • So essentially, what he is saying is, we serve you because we are slaves of Jesus Christ, and obviously as bondservants/slaves, we are not offered the luxury of opinions. If you think about it, that makes sense, because are we so arrogant to think that if God explained to us why He does what He does, that we would even understand it?

  • Think about it. There are things that happen in this world, things that we can see with our own eyes, and we can’t explain it. Such as, we can’t explain how a hummingbird flies. According to the laws of flight, or aeronautics, a hummingbird shouldn’t be able to fly, much less be able to navigate backwards and forwards in mid-air.

    • Nevertheless, that is exactly what happens, and there are many other things in life we can’t explain. But instead of walking around in a state of confusion, we just accept them as a truth, and the same holds true with God. God is Sovereign, and even though He is totally in control of all things, man is still held accountable for his actions.

• Now guys, let me say this before moving forward this morning. Inside this understanding of God and His creation, lies one of the most (if not the most) liberating testimonies in all of scripture, and when you understand or fully grasp this concept of God’s Sovereignty, which gives you deep insight into the character and full nature of God, nothing will confuse you and nothing can discourage you.

  • And not only that. Nothing will ever hold you back in your walk with Him.

  • Having said that, this concept is a tough concept to grasp. But regardless of whether we grasp it or not, it’s still the truth. And one of the ways I can best help you come to agreement with it is for you to remember, at the core of this understanding lies a basic truth, a reality of God, of our creator. An actual truth of any creator.

    • And that is, the creator is never surprised by His creation. That is the truth. At no point has someone like a painter, a carver, a sculptor, a builder; at no time has a person who has created something been shocked by what he created. He or she may have been shocked at how well it turned out, but never shocked at what he or she created.

    • And that makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, obviously it does. You see, when that sets in as it relates to God, it’s (as I said) the most liberating and powerful change that can happen in the life of a Christian. And it will influence you. It will begin to control how you think and react to the world around you. Even though you may not understand it, you will accept it, and why?

  • Because it simply is what it is. As I said, this reality and truth is so powerful when it sinks in. God allowed it or caused it to happen, and He is never surprised by what takes place. Paul says it this way in Colossians 1:16-17:

Colossians 1:16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 

• Just remember that, especially in moments of doubt. God is totally in control, and He’s never surprised. Maybe another way to say it is, we never surprise Him because He already knows. But, what about man’s responsibility? If God is Sovereign does man truly have responsibility? The answer is yes, but just exactly how does that work?

  • Now, before delving too deep into this topic this morning, let me say this. There is absolutely no way to harmonize these two truths of scripture. Yet, having said that, they both remain true. And if you try to harmonize them, you will end up destroying one or the other. Meaning, you will end up giving too much credit to one side or the other.

  • In effort to explain this further, I want to use an excerpt from John McArthur’s message entitled, ‘Gods Sovereignty versus Man’s Responsibility’. I could spend a lot of time recrafting this narrative, but honestly, Dr. McArthur has done such a good job that I will just quote His message.

• And we will do this by turning to the Book of Isaiah and then Matthew, which will give us what are probably some of the best examples of these parallel truths in all the scriptures. In the 10th Chapter of Isaiah, God introduces a nation known as Assyria. The Assyria Nation as they are called. He also introduces us to the people of Assyria.

  • And without going into all the details about these people, just know they were a warring people, a brutal people, very barbaric. And as you can imagine, they were pagan (non-God believing), they were also an idolatrous nation, and they are introduced to us in Isaiah 10 in a very interesting way. Let’s read it.

Isaiah 10:5 Woe to Assyria

• Woe to Assyria. This is important because it tells us something. The word ‘woe’ means a judgement is coming on Assyria. But not just any judgement, it’s a judgement from God. ‘Woe’ is an onomatopoetic Hebrew term. We say, ‘woe’ in English, but it doesn’t carry the weight that it does in the Hebrew. The Hebrew meaning is ‘oyeeyaa’. It’s kind of a groan.

  • That’s why I say onomatopoetic is a word that sounds exactly like its meaning. It’s a word that denotes terrible distress and it signifies destruction and judgement. And so, from God’s own words of distress, it’s clear God is going to destroy Assyria. He’s going to bring divine judgement on this nation.

• Next, it says this in the second half of verse 5:

Isaiah 10:5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,

• God says He is going to judge Assyria, and then He identifies Assyria as the “rod of His anger and the staff of His indignation”. In other words, Assyria is a weapon in the hands of God. Meaning, God is picking up Assyria like a weapon and He is using them to unleash His wrath on somebody.

  • The question is, who is the somebody he is using to unleash his wrath on? Well, verse 6 says,

Isaiah 10:6 I send it against a godless nation, And commission it against the people of My fury.

• I’ll pause here for just a moment. Whomever this nation is, they are evidently a Godless nation. But who is it? Well, upon further research, as we read on in Isaiah, we discover the nation God is unleashing His wrath on is none other than His own people - the Nation of Israel. He’s talking about Israel. 

  • Which tells us - that God in His Sovereignty picked up Assyria and sent Assyria as a destroyer against His own people.

    • Against what is now an apostate idolatrous Israel. A nation that has abandoned God. That’s what it means when God says, “I am going to pick up Assyria, the rod of My anger, the staff of My wrath, My indignation, and I’m going to send it against a godless nation, against Israel.”

• And that’s exactly what He did. Assyria was the tool God used to punish His own people, Israel. And by the way, this is a historical fact, the story of the Assyrian invasion of the northern kingdom of Israel took place in 722.

• Assyria took the Northern Kingdom of Israel captive, massacred them, and they never returned from captivity. The northern part of the kingdom was divided and disappeared forever, never to be heard from again. Assyria was the weapon God used. But then He goes on to say in the second half of verse 6 He did this “To capture booty, to seize plunder, to trample them down like mud in the streets,” and once again, this is a historical recorded fact, this is exactly what happened. Next, we move into verse 7, where we read something interesting about this whole event. Listen to what it says,

Isaiah 10:7 Yet it does not so intend,
Nor does it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is its purpose to destroy
And to eliminate many nations.

• “Yet, it does not so intend, nor does it plan so in its heart.” So, God is saying, I’m going to use Assyria as a weapon against my own people, even though this was not and is not what Assyria was choosing to do. Rather, God says He was choosing for them to do. 

  • Simply put, Assyria had no intention of doing this to the Nation of Israel, but it did have as its purpose to destroy and cut off many other nations. We know this to be the case because in verse 9 many of these other nations are listed.

    • Remember, as I previously stated, the nation of Assyria is a warring nation. They love to conquer and war against other nations. But, having said that, Assyria has no plan (at this point) to war against Israel. But God has different plans, and without them even planning or intending to do it, God says I’m going to pick them up and use them as My weapon.

• Now, before breezing right past this morning, we need to realize just how amazing this is. Assyria has no intention of doing this, but God, literally and sovereignly, picks them up and drives them at Israel. And he does so for what reason? To accomplish His will, which is what? To discipline them and bring them back into a right relationship with Him.

  • But there’s a problem, or an irony if you will, and it began back in Verse 5, where He says. “Woe to Assyria.” Woe to Assyria. Why Woe to Assyria, what did they do wrong?

  • Shouldn’t it say woe to Israel? Assyria is the nation that will be destroyed for doing something they didn’t choose to do, doing something they didn’t plan to do, doing something that was not their intention to do. And yet, God is going to destroy them for doing it.

    • Assyria had its own plans, which had nothing to do with Israel, but God had different plans. And yet, Assyria will be destroyed for it. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Not from our perspective, but we aren’t God, and we aren’t the Creator. We are simply the created, and the creator does not say to the created, why did you make me this way?

• Better yet, the created doesn’t say to the Creator, why did you do anything? Proverbs 16:4 says,

Proverbs 16:4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

• These are just a few verses that confirm what I am saying. God is God and we are not. He does what He wants. Moses tells us this in Exodus 33:19, when he says:

Exodus 33:19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.”

• This is the overarching testimony of scripture, and it makes no difference whether we like it or not. And why? Because God is doing something and we have no clue what it is, and we will see that confirmed in Verse 12 of Isaiah 10. Listen to what he says:

Isaiah 10:12 “It will be when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion, (representing Israel and Jerusalem), He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.’” 

• And then He goes on to quote what the king of Assyria says about this very thing, which was that he had become proud and arrogant as he launched an attack against Israel. And God says, paraphrasing here, ‘for this reason I’m going to destroy him.’

• Then, skipping forward to verse 16, Isaiah tells us further, the following:

Isaiah 10:16 “I’m going to send wasting disease. 
Under His glory a fire of kindle is like a burning flame. 
Isaiah 10:17 The light of Israel will become a fire, his Holy One a flame
and it will burn and devour his thorns and briars in a single day. 
Isaiah 10:18 He will destroy the glory of his forest and fruitful garden,
soul, and body as when a sick man wastes away.”

• What an amazing dichotomy of God’s Sovereignty. God punishing a nation for what God picked them up and made them do, and then holding them responsible for doing it. And, for us, there’s simply no explanation and no way to harmonize these two truths. But they are still both true.

  • Full responsibility of pride fell on the King of Assyria, along with the full responsibility for the evil intention and massacre of Israel falling on the Assyrian Nation as well.

  • Even though they were acting by divine decree, they bore full responsibility for what they did. 

    • This again is an illustration of those parallel realities: human responsibility and divine sovereignty. These two will always run parallel, and they will always have to be understood that way. 

    • Sinners bear the full weight of responsibility for their acts of defiance against God, even when God is using them to accomplish His purposes. And yet all things are decreed and determined by God as to their end.

• Now, I don’t want you to leave here today and think to yourself well, maybe that’s just the only place that scripture paints a picture of God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility. If you think that I assure you that isn’t the case. It is all over the pages of scripture.

• And if you’re interested I can give you many more verses that testify to these two truths, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, but today’s question is, what does all this have to do with 2 Corinthians 4:1-6? Well, let’s read it one more time as we close. The only difference this time is, when we read it, we will read it with what I just taught you from Isaiah fresh on your mind.

2 Cor. 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,
2 Cor. 4:2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.
2 Cor. 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2 Cor. 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Cor. 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants on account of Jesus.
2 Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” 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.

• It is simple. God is in control of all things, and He is doing what He is doing ‘All for His Glory’ to an appointed end. Which means, He is bringing humanity to a final close. Which means, this creation started on time and will end on time.

  • It also means your life and my life are on a timer, a countdown, and one day it will all be over. I will leave you with this final word, regardless of how you feel about God, and regardless of what you think is fair or not fair.

  • If you can ever harness the understanding of the Creator versus the Creation mentality. Specifically, that the creation does not know what the creator is doing, or that the creation (you and I), can’t even begin to understand this whole creation thing. But we can know for sure that there is a God.

    • Because we see there is a creation, and that the Creator (Our God) has a plan, but we are simply His created, which means He has us in the Palm of His Hand. You see, when that understanding becomes who you are, meaning, when it gets inside of your very being, it will give you a Peace like you have never had before.

• Paul speaks about this peace in Philippians. It’s a Peace that Passes all understanding. It’s a Peace that only God can give, and He has reserved it for Himself. The only way you can get that kind of peace is to first trust Him as your Lord and Savior, and then begin to intimately know Him, which comes by way of studying and ingesting His word.

  • And so, with all that said, if you are sitting here today and you don’t know him, meaning, you have never made a profession of faith. Put your trust in Him. I want to encourage you to do that, and to see me after the service.

• On the other hand, if you have trusted Him, meaning you are saved, but you don’t really have that Peace that Passes all understanding, then there are two things you need to know.

  • First, God’s Peace is real, and second, it can only come by way of studying, praying and spending time in His word. And by the way, there is no shortcut to this process. Which means, once again, you must take responsibility in your own walk and spiritual growth.

  • You do that by making the commitment to give God your First Fruits of the Day. And you must be consistent with it. If you do that, if you study every day, and spend time in prayer, I promise, eventually you will begin to feel it. I assure you it’s available.