2 Corinthians - Lesson 4D

• Last week I did something I have never done before. I left you guys with a challenge. I challenged you to pray, study, and meditate on this week’s verses. Basically, to prepare for this week’s lesson.

  • I wanted you to do a deep dive into just exactly what Paul was trying to convey to the church at Corinth, and then of course, by extension, what he was trying to convey to us as well. So, you were supposed to study this week’s verses in-depth for yourself first, start out with prayer, ingest them, meditate on them, let them soak in, make notes, and then and only then, pick up a commentary for reference if you felt led.

  • This was a test of sorts. A test to see if today’s teaching might take on a different meaning in your life. If it might have a different spiritual impact on your life. So, before moving forward this morning, I am going to start on the left side of the room and ask you to stand up and tell us how you did with the challenge.

    • Not really. Just kidding. Having said that, if you didn’t do it that’s okay. We are going to try it again this week. Give you another opportunity, because I promise you, if you begin to do what I am telling you to do you won’t believe the impact it will have when you come here and hear me teach it, because it’s a really simple concept.

    • If you prepare before I teach you will experience Maximum Spiritual Impact. It’s just that simple, there’s no way around it.

• So, we open this morning back in 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, where we pick back up with Paul once again where he is in the middle of writing this letter to the church of Corinth.

  • He continues making a defense of who he is, which is an Apostle of Jesus Christ. But more specifically, he is making a defense of his ministry. And so, without further ado, let’s read what he wrote:

2 Cor. 4:13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: “I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,
2 Cor. 4:14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us with you.
2 Cor. 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Cor. 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day.
2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
2 Cor. 4:18 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.

• As I previously stated, Chapter 4 ends with Paul essentially in the same mode he has been in for the last several verses and several chapters. He is continuing his defense as a Christian and an Apostle along with a defense of his ministry, and he starts out verse 13 by quoting from Psalms 116:10.

  • This quote comes from the Greek Septuagint, which is a simply the Hebrew Bible translated into the Greek. Paul says (paraphrasing here), just like the Psalmist, I concur and have believed, and therefore ‘I’ and ‘we’ have spoken.

  • Now, immediately when we read verses 13 & 14, we come across at least two words that give us some special insight into the state of mind of Paul and the other Apostles. And those words (if we understand them correctly), will also give us guidance and understanding and wisdom into what should be our own state of mind when it comes to God/Jesus and his position in our lives.

    • Those 2 words are believed and knowing. Beginning with the word believed, first, before we begin, let me say this belief isn’t just any ‘ole’ belief. Rather it’s a supernatural belief, a belief that finds its origin in God. It’s a word that is derived from the Hebrew word pisteuo, and it’s a verb, an action.

    • The word combines the word pistis, or faith, and peitho, or persuade, or be persuaded. The sense is your belief as a Christian comes because of your faith, which as we know is a gift from God. It’s nothing you have earned or even sought after, which means your belief in Jesus Christ has been influenced or persuaded by the Lord.

    • So, the context of the word is, because God has given them faith, they now believe. And the inverse of that is, without God bestowing His faith on them or us, we will never believe. As previously stated, this belief is an action, and it moves you, directs you, and causes you to act and react differently in your thought process.

  • Next, we have the word knowing or knowledge. It is a Greek word oioa, and it too is a verb. Its definition is to be aware, behold, consider, perceive. The usage of this word is, I know, remember, or appreciate. It’s a grasp of the truth. A comprehension of, or the gateway of, grasping a spiritual truth. A connection or bridging of your spiritual mind to a physical reality. I like to call it the ah-ha moment.

    • It’s when something becomes a true reality, so much so that it moves you in both thought and action. In other words, it’s when a truth becomes a reality. So much so that you believe it, like anything you can see or physically touch.

    • And once again, as I said earlier, it’s a verb, which means it’s active and it influences you in everything you do, including your responses to the tragedies of life. Now, these words are very important because they are repeated many times throughout scripture. Paul himself, among others, mentions them repeatedly as well. For example, in Colossians 1:9-10 he says,

Colossians 1:9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard about it, have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 
Colossians 1:10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

• Then in Ephesians 1:15-19:

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,
Ephesians 1:16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;
Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:19 and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe.

• I want you to notice something about these prayers. Notice how these prayers are centered around knowledge and wisdom, not fixing a particular problem. In other words, he doesn’t ask for the sick to be healed or for God to fix some specific problem, he simply prays for them to receive knowledge and wisdom.

  • But like belief, it’s not just any ole knowledge, it’s for their knowledge of God to increase. Which tells us something. Number 1, it tells us that knowledge is truly power, especially as it relates to solving a problem or preventing a problem or causing you to make the correct choices in life (as it relates to God). And why?

    • Because wisdom and knowledge are what gives you the ability to solve a problem, to resolve issues. Which makes my second statement even more important.

  • Number 2, from the testimony of scripture (and in Paul’s own words), we know that our knowledge can increase, which means, ultimately our ability to garner more power and strength through our understanding can grow.

    • Which (once again) causes our ability to make better choices and decisions as it relates to God, grow stronger. And even more than that, when our knowledge and understanding of God increases, so does something else, ‘Our Peace and Comfort’ and our ‘Contentment’.

    • Which is all a result of reducing the ‘noise’ in our life, which comes when we reduce the confusion in our lives. And that makes sense, doesn’t it? When your knowledge and understanding of God increases and becomes stronger, then our confusion about life’s obstacles becomes less, which then reduces our stress and noise. The result of which is ‘Great Comfort and Peace’.

  • And so, the only question is, if knowledge and understanding of God were on a scale of 1-10, how high up the scale do you want to be? And maybe a better question is, how high up the scale are you now?

    • And if you are not where you want to be, then how do you move forward on that scale? The answer is, you must study and ingest God’s word in its purest form, because that’s what increases your knowledge and wisdom relating to who God is.

• And just exactly how does this spiritual process work? I’m glad you asked. The answer is intimacy with God, which only happens when, once again, you study His Word.

  • Intimacy with God comes from a clear understanding of who He is. It doesn’t come from some emotion or feeling of who we think He might be. Because God never operates contrary to what He has already put in His Word.

• Now, before moving on this morning, there’s something else I want you to understand about what Paul is saying. He’s saying that because of their level of wisdom and understanding of who God is (their knowledge), they have obtained or garnered the ability to endure tremendous persecution.

  • In other words, because they know what they know, and they believe it as strong as they believe anything that they can physically see and touch, it has caused them to endure, because ultimately they know (with God) the best is yet to come and that their lives (even though hardship and persecution are a tool), that God is using to testify to the world that He is who He is.

  • These men’s lives are a living testimony, which highlights one more time the fact that our testimony is not what we say, but it is who we are. Our lives are a living testimony, and that’s what Paul has been trying to convey to this church throughout this letter, that because of the Faith that God has so graciously bestowed on he and the other Apostles, which has only grown and increased over time as they gained more and more wisdom of who God is. Because of this fact, they can be who God wants them to be.

    • Another way to say it is, because the reality of who God is has become such a rock-solid truth in their hearts and minds, it directs everything they do, even unto death. Which is why I say this isn’t any Ole Belief, it’s a belief that moves you supernaturally.

    • And let me say, the level of belief they possess is a level of belief we too can possess. It’s no different. The only difference in their level of belief and our level of belief is their level of knowledge and wisdom of who God is versus our level of knowledge and wisdom of who God is. It’s all directly proportional.

• But I have a question for you. What specifically (knowledge wise), is it that they have a higher level of wisdom and understanding about, or what is it that they know better than we know? Paul clues us in verse 14. Listen to it one more time.

2 Cor. 4:14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us with you. 

• Their level of belief and knowledge and wisdom was directly tied to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. More specifically, that the God who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead would also raise them.

  • This concept and understanding is simple, because Paul and the other disciples knew that the same God that raised Jesus from the dead, would do the same for them. That fact and that reality propelled them forward with zero hesitation or reservation.

    • Think about it. If you knew you were about to die, but you also knew that no matter what, that God was going to raise you to newness of life, and you knew this, or believed this so much that it became a part of who you were (a rock-solid reality in your life). If that were the case, then obviously you would not fear death.

    • As a matter of fact, not only would you not fear it, but you would also embrace it, and that is the ‘state of mind’, or mental place or position that Paul and the other Apostles were in. And that is the ‘state of mind” or mental place or position we too must strive to achieve.

  • And it’s unfortunate, but for most Christian men and women they will never taste even a small sample of what this is like. And why? Because they do not spend time with God in prayer or in His Word. And that’s the only way it’s achieved. There is no other method God has given us to achieve this type of spiritual result.

• Now moving back to the text, re-reading it one more time but highlighting verses 15:

2 Cor. 4:13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: “I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,
2 Cor. 4:14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us with you.
2 Cor. 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

• Going back to what I said last week, verse 15 highlights what is the purpose of our existence as believers, and that is, it’s all about God all the time.

2 Cor. 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

• To the Glory of God. I won’t belabor this point, except to say when you understand (I mean truly understand) this concept, it will forever change your life as a believer. And what’s the concept? It’s that in everything you do, everything you achieve, and in all that you endure (the hard things you go through), they are all for the ‘Glory of God’.

  • And just an FYI to you, this concept can never fully be realized in your life until you begin to deeply understand that ‘we are not our own’, meaning that God owns us and that we’ve been bought with a price! Our existence, our very being (If we are a Christian), belongs to God. It is all about God. It’s all about Him and His Glory all the time.

  • This is the overarching testimony of scripture, that our purpose and destiny as believers is to bring glory to God. It’s that simple, and this is why I say that when we grasp this concept, I mean really grasp it, it will change our life.

    • And why? Because when that reality resonates and becomes real inside your existence, it then will move you, guide you, and direct you in how you think, as well as how you act and react. And why? Because you know that no matter what happens to you on this earth, it’s of no real consequence because it’s ‘all for God’s Glory’.

• We know this to be the case, because this is what Paul proceeds to tell us in Verses 16-18:

2 Cor. 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day.
2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
2 Cor. 4:18 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.

• Paul’s words here are so powerful.

  • He says that he and the other Apostles keep going, pressing on, and do not lose heart, even though their outer person is decaying, because they know their inner person is being renewed day by day.

  • Another way to say it is, even though they feel themselves physically getting worse and essentially dying, they are gaining strength inside themselves, specifically in their ‘State of Mind’, because of some daily renewing process. The question is, what renewing process are they talking about? For further insight into this topic, let’s look at what Paul said in Romans 12:1-2, two verses that obviously reference the same topic:

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

• Now let me say, this renewing concept has at least two aspects to it. First of all (and I’ll short cut it for you), the renewing of your mind comes by spending time with God, both in the study of His Word accompanied by prayer.

  • But second, you do have a choice in the matter, meaning you can choose to do it or not to do it. Which means if you want to grow with God and begin to know Him more intimately, you must discipline yourself and set aside time every day to spend with Him. That is the only way you can be renewed.

  • And (as you hear me say over and over again) there is no short cut to this process. You can’t outsource it to someone else like your mother or grandmother or wife or husband. If you want more of God, and you want to gain a deeper understanding of your purpose on this planet, then it is up to you.

    • You must engage in prayer and study every day, and if you do, then something supernatural will happen. Paul gives us a glimpse into this supernatural thing in verse 17 when he says:

2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 

• So, what is this supernatural thing that we receive when we renew our minds daily? It’s perspective. And, once again, not just any ole perspective. It’s spiritual perspective. We gain eyes for eternity. Look at what Paul is saying – Because they renew their minds daily, they are able to put all of life’s troubles into perspective. Look at what he says: 

2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 

• This may be one of might top 10 favorite verses in all of scripture.

2 Cor. 4:17 For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 

• First, to understand the weightiness of what Paul is trying to convey, you must understand just how bad things were for Paul and the other Apostles. These men have been stripped naked, beaten, and thrown into prison on several occasions.

  • And honestly, just me telling you that doesn’t really give you the true sense of what they endured on a daily basis. They are truly living a life of extreme hardship, something that most of us here today can’t even begin to imagine and something that most of us will never experience.

  • And yet, Paul says it’s momentary. But more than that he says it’s light. It’s a light affliction. I don’t know about you, but when I think of something being light, I don’t think of beatings falling into that category. But Paul does. And why? Because of what he says in the rest of the verse.

    • Which is what? It’s light because of the result of all that they are enduring. In other words, their pain and suffering are doing something, producing something. And what is it that it’s producing? An eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.

  • Wow. Just imagine if you could look at life’s afflictions in this way. And I’m not talking about beatings and imprisonment here, I’m talking about the simple hardships of life. What if you could look at your afflictions as light? Well, you can if you understand what Paul is saying, and that is, in all that you endure it’s doing something, which means it has purpose.

• John Piper spoke about this this topic in one of his sermons several years ago. He said, and I quote, “Not only is all your affliction momentary, not only is all your affliction light in comparison to eternity and the glory there, but all of it is totally meaningful.”

  • He goes on to say, “Every time something horrific happens, an interviewer will say, ‘Meaningless’. And that is what it looks like at least from our perspective. They look at it and they say, “this is meaningless.” But it wasn’t meaningless. I don’t care if it was cancer or criticism. I don’t care if it was slander or sickness; it wasn’t meaningless. Every millisecond of your misery is producing a glory you will get because of that suffering.”

  • And we know this to be true because of what we read here in 2 Corinthians 4:17 - that my light, momentary, lifelong, total affliction is doing something. It’s doing something. And it’s not meaningless.

• But how do we reconcile this in our finite minds? How do we keep this perspective on life? We do it by doing what Paul does. Look at verse 18 as we close:

2 Cor. 4:18 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.

• Focus – Focus. If you want to gain an eternal perspective on this life, it’s all about what you focus on. Paul and the other Apostles and disciples were able to garner the perspective they had because of their focus. They understood the things you can see are temporary, but the things unseen are eternal.

  • And that is where they put their focus, and that’s how they were able to look at their afflictions as light. Because they knew what they were experiencing here on earth was producing an eternal weight of Glory. One that they would one day realize in Heaven.

    • Focus. It’s all about your perspective. According to Paul, if you can see it and touch it, it carries no spiritual value because it’s temporary. But if you can’t see it, those are the things that are eternal and those are the things you should focus on.

• Next week we move into Chapter 5, where Paul continues with this concept of the temporal/temporary verses the eternal. And so, our focus verses next week will be 2 Corinthians 5:1-10. And this is what he says: The Temporal and Eternal

2 Cor. 5:1 For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 Cor. 5:2 For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
2 Cor. 5:3 since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked.
2 Cor. 5:4 For indeed, we who are in this tent 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.
2 Cor. 5:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.
2 Cor. 5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—
2 Cor. 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight—
2 Cor. 5:8 but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
2 Cor. 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.

• This week, take these verses, pray over them, study them, meditate on them, and come back next week and let’s see what God might do in your life as a result of your preparation!