Sermon
#47[1] Through The Bible Series
Title: 2 Corinthians
For the Glory of Christ
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:21
Introduction:
Background
Pastor Roger Ellsworth gives
an excellent introduction to 2 Corinthians in his very helpful book, The
Guide – The Bible Book by Book.
“In the conclusion of 1 Corinthians we
find Paul anticipating Timothy making a visit to
After returning to
Key
Verse
That which is central in 2nd
Corinthians is the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ as our great Substitute.
We cannot understand the message of this Book until we understand the message
of its key verse (
What profound truth, what stupendous grace, what
wondrous mystery those words contain! ― “He,” God the Father, “hath,” in holy justice and infinite mercy, “made,” by divine imputation, “him,”
the Lord Jesus Christ, his infinite, well-beloved, only begotten, immaculate
Son, “to be sin,” an awful mass of
iniquity, “for us,” God’s elect,
helpless, condemned, sinful rebels!
Now, as the result of
Christ being made sin for us and suffering all the horrid wrath of God as our
Substitute to the full satisfaction of divine justice, all for whom he died are
made to be the very righteousness of God in him by that same divine imputation!
Substitution
2
Corinthians
“The heart of the gospel,” wrote C. H. Spurgeon, “is
redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of
Christ.”
The great substitutionary work of Christ, the mighty
transfer of sin from the sinner to the sinner’s Surety, the punishment of the
Surety in the sinner’s place, the pouring out of the infinite, indescribable
wrath of God, which was due to us upon our Substitute ― This is the greatest transaction that ever
took place upon the earth, the most marvelous sight that men ever beheld, and
the most stupendous wonder that heaven ever executed. Jesus Christ was made to
be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jesus Christ, the spotless Son of God, was made to be sin; and every sinner who
trusts him is made the righteousness of God in him!
Personal
Letter
2nd Corinthians
is clearly the most personal and emotional of all his letters. These thirteen
chapters are filled with passion. They contain far more personal information
about Paul and his labors for the gospel than any of his other Epistles. But it
is a great mistake to imagine that Paul wrote this Epistle merely to defend himself
or to give us an account of what he did and suffered for Christ. Paul was far
too concerned for the glory of God, the souls of men, and the gospel of Christ
than that. His defense of himself and his ministry was not a personal defense.
Rather it was the defense of Christ and the gospel of his grace that Paul
preached.
Christ
Crucified
Jesus Christ and him crucified is the message of 2 Corinthians. The theme
throughout these thirteen chapters is, as in all his Epistles, the glory of
Christ in redemption and grace. 2nd Corinthians is filled with
Christ and the glory of God's free grace in him. Every argument for obedience,
every promise of grace, every hope set before us in
these chapters, and every motivation by which Paul inspires us to live in this
world for the glory of God is built upon the mercy, grace, and love of God in
our all-glorious Christ. Let me show you.
·
When Paul speaks of grace and peace from God the Father,
he tells us that it is “from the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2).
·
When he speaks of the blessedness of God, “the Father
of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our
tribulations,” he tells us that our mercies and consolations come to us and
abound from our Lord Jesus Christ and his sufferings for us (1:3-5) and that as
surely as he was raised from the dead our God will deliver us from all our woes
by his grace (1:8-10). What blessed titles Paul here gives
to our God: ― “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.”
The Tenses
In the 10th verse of chapter 1 Paul
speaks of God’s gracious deliverance in three tenses. He is telling us how the
Lord continually delivered him from death. Though he had the sentence of death
in himself and was so troubled that he “despaired even of life,” he
learned not to trust in himself, but “in God which raiseth the dead.”
Then he tells us how the Lord had delivered him, was delivering him, and would
deliver him.
(2
Cor
In these things we have a magnificent picture of
every believer’s experience of grace. Though we once despaired of life, living
under the sentence of death in ourselves, the Lord God graciously saved us. But
it is a great mistake to think of salvation only as something we experienced in
the past. “Salvation” is a very big word. It includes all the
work of God in bringing his elect from the ruins of fallen humanity into “the
glorious liberty of the sons of God” in heaven. Salvation includes God’s
past works of grace, his present works of grace, and his future works of grace.
·
The Lord our God has saved us.
There is a very real sense in which it must be said that
every believer’s salvation is a completed work in the past. Our God saved his
elect in his eternal purpose of grace in Christ, the Lamb of God slain from the
foundation of the world (Rom.
He saved us by the sin-atoning sacrifice of Christ
at
And, at the appointed time of love, the Lord God
saved us in regeneration, by the effectual, irresistible work of his Holy
Spirit in omnipotent grace, giving us life and faith in Christ (Eph. 2:1-5).
·
The Lord is saving us now, ever supplying us with grace, preserving and
keeping us, because he has declared that we “shall never perish” (John
10:28).
·
There is also a sense in which it must be said that our salvation is
future,
“for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed” (Rom.
All who have been saved are being saved, and shall yet be saved. He who has kept us will keep us unto the end. And, at the last day, he will raise us up into heaven, in the perfection of resurrection glory.
The Promises of God
When Paul declares his own veracity as
the servant of God, he turns our attention immediately away from himself to the
veracity of God our Savior and all the promises of God in him (1:18-22). He
declares, “all the promises of God in Christ
are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Then, he tells
us of four great works of grace, by which all the promises of God are verified
to us (vv. 21-22). — (1.) He has established us in
Christ. — (2.) He has anointed us with his Spirit. — (3.) He has sealed us in his grace. — And (4.) he has “given
us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.”
Always Triumphant
In chapter 2, when Paul asserts the certain
and constant acceptance and triumph of gospel preachers and their
message, he says, “For we are unto God a sweet savor Christ” (vv.
14-16).
(2
Cor
(2
Cor 3:4-5) “And such trust
have we through Christ to God-ward: (5) Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency
is of God;"
When he declares that unbelieving men and women read
the Scriptures with a blindfold over their eyes, and therefore
cannot see the things of God, he asserts that that “veil is done away in
Christ.” Once God gives faith in Christ, the blindfold is taken away, and
we are able to see and enter into the
(2
Cor
A Trusted Treasure
Paul looked upon the ministry God had given him as a
heavenly treasure trusted to his care, to which he was determined to be
faithful. In chapter 4 he declares that the message he preached,
the message we must preach, is “the glorious gospel of Christ,” that by
which God gives light and grace to chosen sinners (4:3-7).
(2
Cor 4:3-7) “But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them. (5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord;
and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (6) For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (7) But
we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency
of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
Trouble
Everywhere
Beginning with verse 8
(chap. 4), Paul tells us the he had trouble everywhere, all the time. For him
heartache and woe were relentless. He was “always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus” (
(2
Cor
(2
Cor 5:1) "For we know that if our
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of
God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens."
Persuasions
In chapter 5, knowing the terror of the Lord
awaiting sinners at the judgment seat of Christ, the apostle seeks to persuade
all who read this Epistle to be reconciled to God. How does the inspired
writer persuade sinners to trust Christ? By declaring to them the
finished work of and redemption accomplished by the crucified Son of God (
(2
Cor
(2
Cor 6:1-2) “We then, as workers
together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace
of God in vain. (2) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,
and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”
Unequal Yoke
Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 have been
terribly misapplied by many to teach that believers are to separate themselves
from unbelievers in their daily lives and normal earthly connections. But that
is not the meaning of this passage.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, Paul is calling for all
who trust Christ to come out of Babylon, to make a clean break with all false
religion. Here, the apostle Paul promises, by divine inspiration, that God
will receive all who abandon the religion of the world (all freewill,
works religion), trusting Christ alone as Savior and Lord. He promises that all
who trust Christ shall be received by God as his own sons and daughters (
(2
Cor
(2 Cor 7:1) “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
As we relentlessly separate
ourselves from the filth of
Christian Giving
When Paul instructs the saints at
(2
Cor 8:7-9) “Therefore, as ye abound in
every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all
diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this
grace also. (8) I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the
forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. (9) For
ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for
your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
(2
Cor
There is an abundance of instruction in the New
Testament about Christian giving. All of 1st Corinthians 9 and 2nd
Corinthians 8 and 9 are taken up with this subject. But there are no commands
to the people of God anywhere in the New Testament about how much we are to
give. Tithing and all systems like it are things altogether foreign to the New
Testament. Like all other acts of worship, giving is an act of grace. It must
be free and voluntary. But there are some plain, simple guidelines laid down in
1st and 2nd Corinthians for us to follow.
1. Christian giving must be motivated
by love and gratitude towards Christ (2 Cor. 8:8-9). Love needs no law.
It is a law unto itself. It is the most powerful and most generous of all
motives.
2. Our gifts must arise
from willing hearts (2 Cor.
3. We should give to the work
of the gospel in proportion to our blessings from the Lord (1
Cor. 16:2). We are expected to give generously in accordance with our own
ability.
4. All of God’s people should give (“everyone,”
1 Cor. 16:2; — “every man,” 2 Cor. 9:7). Men and women, rich and poor,
old and young - all who are saved by the grace of God are expected to give for
the support of God’s church and kingdom.
5. We should be both liberal
and sacrificial in our giving (2 Cor. 9:5-6). We have not really given
anything until we have taken that which we need, want and have use for and
given it to the Lord (Mark 12:41-44).
6. Our gifts must be voluntary
(2 Cor. 9:7).
7. Our gifts must be purposed.
— “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give” (2
Cor. 9:7).
8. We are to give as unto
the Lord (Matt. 6:1-5). We give, not to be seen of men, but for the
honor of Christ, hoping for nothing in return.
9. This kind of giving is
well-pleasing to God. — “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7; Phil.
Our
Warfare
In the 10th chapter Paul tells us that the
weapons of our warfare (prayer, faith, and gospel preaching), by which
we bring rebels to the obedience of faith are not carnal, but spiritual
(10:3-5).
(2
Cor 10:3-5) “For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (4) (For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;) (5) Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
God’s church is an army at
war in hostile, enemy territory. Our battle is not political, or social, or
even moral, but spiritual. We are engaged in a war for the souls of men and the glory of God. In
this great army there are five ranks of soldiers the foolish,
the weak, the base, the despised, and the things which are not (1Cor. 1:26-29).
And the weapon by which the
Paul’s Fear
In chapter 11 the apostle Paul shows great concern,
lest anyone be “corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ,”
by those who preach another Jesus, another, spirit, another gospel, and another
righteousness (11:2-5, 13-15). He was fearful that the influence of false
apostles (men who claimed to speak as God’s messengers, but were really Satan’s
messengers) might turn some away from the singular hope of faith ―
Christ.
(2
Cor 11:2-5) “For I am jealous over you
with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (3) But
I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (4) For
if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye
receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye
have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (5) For I suppose I was
not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.”
(2
Cor
It is very important that we see how Paul
describes these messengers of hell, by whom the souls of men are deceived with a false
gospel and preaching “another Jesus” and “another spirit.” They
are not described as promoters of licentiousness, immorality and open
blasphemy. They are far more subtle than that. These men are wicked men who, as
“Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light,” present
themselves as “the ministers of righteousness.” They promote
righteousness, devotion, morality, and religious works. But the righteousness they
preach and promote is self-righteousness, righteousness produced by men, not
the righteousness of God in Christ.
Abundant Revelations
When Paul describes his temporary translation
into heaven, he says very little about that and focuses our attention
instead upon the lessons he had learned about the all-sufficient grace of God
in Christ (12:2-10).
(2
Cor 12:2-10) “I knew a man in Christ
above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out
of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one
caught up to the third heaven. (3) And I knew such a man, (whether in
the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
(4) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words,
which it is not lawful for a man to utter. (5) Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in
mine infirmities. (6) For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be
a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should
think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he
heareth of me. (7) And lest I should be exalted above measure through
the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
(8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from
me. (9) And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in
reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
The things he saw and heard in
Prayer
Though he did not look upon it as such at the
time, Paul tells us that this thorn in the flesh was God’s gift to him (Phil.
We must not miss the lesson here given about prayer.
None of us knows what is best for the glory of God, the good of our own
souls, or the accomplishment of God’s purpose of grace in Christ (v.
8). Because we do not know what is best, we do not know how to pray for
anything as we ought. It is written, “We
know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Rom.
Our Lord Jesus taught us ever to surrender
our will to the Father’s will. When the will of God appears to contradict that
which might appear to be most pleasing to our flesh, we ought always to follow
our Masters example, saying, “Not
my will, thy will be done.” (See John 12:27-28.)
(John 12:27-28) "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall
I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this
hour. (28) Father, glorify thy name.
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying,
I have both glorified it, and
will glorify it again."
In this passage Paul tells us plainly that
though the Lord graciously refused give him what he
asked for, he graciously granted him what he really wanted and needed.
John Gill wrote, “The Lord always
hears and answers his people sooner or later, in one form or another, though
not always in the way and manner they desire; but yet in such a way as is most
for his glory and their good. The apostle had not his request granted, that
Satan might immediately depart from him, only he is assured of a sufficiency of
grace to support him under the exercise, so long as it should last.”
All-sufficient Grace
The Lord graciously
assured Paul of his all-sufficient grace. ― “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness” (v. 9). Here God’s elect are assured of his grace in Christ and the
absolute sufficiency of it always and in all things. One of the names of our
great God is El-Shaddai, which means God All-sufficient! The grace of God
in Christ and that alone is our sufficiency. Nothing but the grace of
God in Christ is sufficient grace; and that is sufficient for all his elect all
the time and in all circumstance.
Look at verse nine again. In the second part of the
verse our Savior declares that his strength is made perfect in our
weakness. Obviously, our
weakness contributes nothing to the perfection of Christ’s strength. He is the
omnipotent God. The meaning of this statement is that the strength of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ appears to be or is manifestly perfect through the
weakness of those sinners who are saved by his grace. Paul writes in
another place, “When we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the
ungodly.”
Read the last sentence of verse nine one more
time. ― “Most gladly therefore will
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” It is only when we are
brought to acknowledge our weakness, infirmity, frailty, nothingness, and
insufficiency that the power of Christ and his all sufficient grace rests upon
us. The moment we flex our muscles, straighten our backs, lift our chins and
say, “I can do this,” we are in trouble.
Pleasure in
Infirmity
In
2nd Corinthians
Self-examination
When he calls for us to examine ourselves
(13:5), the one thing to be determined is whether or not we are in the faith,
whether or not we trust Christ.
(2
Cor 13:5-6) “Examine yourselves, whether
ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
(6) But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.”
We are not to examine one another. And we are not to subject ourselves to
the examination of others. If you examine others, you will become hardened in
self-righteousness, harsh and judgmental, arrogantly making yourself the
standard by which you judge others. If you subject yourself to the examinations
of others, you will have nothing but the words and opinions of men as the basis
of your faith. Your assurance, if you get any, will be nothing but a temporary,
self-righteous confidence, varying with the opinions of the preacher to whom
you are listening.
The point of examination is this one thing — "Whether ye be
in the faith." It does not matter when, where, or how you came to be
in the faith, or even who was preaching when you believed. It only matters that
"ye be in the faith." For most of God's people, conversion is
not a climatic experience, but a gradual process. Some, like Saul of Tarsus,
have great, climatic experiences. But most are brought to Christ one faltering
step at a time. And even those who have
"Prove your own selves." —
The only way to know "whether ye be in the faith" is to bring
your faith to the Word of God, crying with David, "Search me, O God,
and know my heart: try (prove) me, and know my thoughts: and see if
there be any wicked way in me (see if I am in the way of the wicked), and lead
me in the way everlasting" (Psa. 139:23-24).
If God will "say unto my soul, I am thy salvation"
(Psa. 35:3), I want no other proof. Does the Lord God give such a word to
believing sinners by which we may be assured of his grace? Indeed, he does (1
John 5:1-13).
(1 John 5:1-3) “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
(1
John 5:10-13) “He that believeth on the
Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him
a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this
is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you
that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal
life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
[1] Date:
Tape # Y-11a