2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Written ~ 08-29-2024

Read 2 Corinthians Chapter Four

2 Corinthians 4

We have quite a bit to cover today, so without delay, let’s get started!

2 Corinthians 4:1-6…

¹ “Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. ² We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

³ If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. ⁴ Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

⁵ You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”

When I look at what Paul is trying to convey in the first two verses, it has me thinking about how you and I approach the Scriptures. As believers we know the Scriptures to be the truth, straight from the heart of our All-Powerful Living God. We have the Holy Spirit living within us, to teach us, guide us and bring understanding. In verses one and two, Paul is bringing up the fact that some non-believers think that by listening to the preaching and teaching of the Gospel Message is somehow a trick, a coercion to get people to believe in something too incredible to fathom. But I absolutely love Paul’s stance, “…we never give up… we tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this…”

Look at 2 Corinthians 3:14 (paraphrase is mine),

“…the people’s minds were hardened… a veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ…”

Think about a “veil” for a moment… when do you most commonly see a veil being used today? A couple of ways come to my mind, one being a bride walking down the aisle to greet her groom, a veil covers her face. She can still hear and see what is going on, but there is something blocking the full vision. Another way is when someone is grieving, you might see a woman wearing a veil over her face to hide her grief. This veil keeps her oppressed, she can’t look past her heartbreak. But what if we think about a spiritual veil, this isn’t just covering the face, it is a full covering, an obscurity over the heart, mind and soul. Look again at 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, ³ “If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. ⁴ Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Paul knows he is preaching the truth through the Gospel message, but he also knows that some cannot hear the message because they have been blinded by the god of this world.

“…they are perishing …they are blinded… they are unable to see… they don’t understand…”

The next time you are bowing your heart before the Lord and presenting your request of Salvation for your loved ones who are caught behind this veil, ask the Savior to remove the veil that blocks their understanding. Christ has conquered Satan, He has full and complete authority over those who are blinded. When Christ was on that cross, dying for our sins, when He cried out, “It is Finished,” and breathed His last breath, then He yielded His spirit back to the Father, this is what happened…

Matthew 27:50-51a (WEB),

⁵⁰ “Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

⁵¹ Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom…”

The veil of the temple, the veil placed before the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:31-33), was torn in two. So even though Satan tries to veil the hearts and minds of non-believers, Christ has already torn that veil in two. Everyone has access to the throne of God by what Christ Jesus did on that cross. The non-believer is unable to see the Glorious Light of the Good News! They can’t understand that the Glorious Light is Jesus Christ the Son of God. That’s why the Gospel Message is preached. As Christians we are excited about this Good News, it has brought new life to our very souls, and we can’t help but want everyone to share in this Good News.

2 Corinthians 4:5-6,

⁵ You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁶ For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

God has made this Light shine in our hearts… it isn’t a trick or coercion as some may try to think, we genuinely love the Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our strength and with all our soul. Once, long ago, the only way to the Father was through the “old way.” 2 Corinthians 3:7a, “The old way, with laws etched in stone…” But now we have a “new way” and it’s through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 3:8-9, “Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!”

2 Corinthians 4:7…

⁷ “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”

Have you ever felt like a fragile clay jar? I know I have. To step out in faith to preach and teach the Good News of Jesus Christ doesn’t come easy to many of us. Maybe our personalities are a little more introverted and the thought of talking to a stranger or to a small group of people about Christ terrifies us. Maybe a sense of inadequacy overwhelms us, and we start stammering and nervously begin stuttering. Our hands get clammy, the heat rises up our necks and creates a flush to our faces, you think to yourself, “There is no way I can do this.” Well, you are absolutely right! When we are having a moment of great weakness and fear, God steps in, His Power through the Holy Spirit calms your spirit and then a supernatural confidence comes out of nowhere and you are able to speak the truth with boldness. So, if we ever feel like this “fragile clay jar” would never be capable of shining the Light of Jesus through speaking the Gospel message, let’s look at what the Lord said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

Boy, I can identify with Paul so much! I admire his transparency and through his proclaimed weakness he was used mightily by the Lord! His words fill the pages of the New Testament with such confidence and boldness, and still today his words bring encouragement and instruction and through his written word you can feel his urgency as he speaks about Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10…

⁸ “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

Being a Christian is wonderful, by following Jesus there is a peace and comfort beyond our understanding. But that doesn’t mean perfection. It doesn’t mean troubling things aren’t going to happen. We live in a world that is evil, even as believers, sin and death is still a part of being human. The difference is we have a Heavenly Father who cares for us and is with us every step of the way and we have the hope of eternity in Heaven. Because of what Christ did on the cross and the fact that He rose again from the dead, by being a Born-Again believer and standing up for that truth, it will bring troubles from those who are vehemently against the truth found in God’s Word.

Look at what verses 4:8-9 say about our troubles, “…we are pressed on every side by troubles… we are perplexed… we are hunted down… we get knocked down…”

B U T…

WE ARE NOT CRUSHED!

WE ARE NOT DRIVEN TO DESPAIR!

WE ARE NOT ABADONED!

WE ARE NOT DESTROYED!

So as you can see, it’s not a matter of “if” you will go through trials, but “when.” And when you are feeling pressed, or pressured on every side, perplexed (unsure of a way out), hunted down and knocked down, you have a Savior that is right there ready to lift you up, His hand is outstretched to lend you a hand. You don’t ever have to go through your earthly suffering alone! Jesus has already experienced all that we would ever have to go through, so we need to have full confidence in Him that He has everything under control.

Paul was very familiar with the constant threat to his life because of his boldness in preaching the Word of God. In verses 4:11-15 Paul makes it clear that even though troubles crush us on every side we cannot give up. We know the Gospel message is true and through the Holy Spirit’s help we can stand firm in that truth and speak boldly. In verse 4:13 Paul quotes David, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” So, if we believe in God, if we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, then we can tap into that boldness and reach more people for Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18…

¹⁶ “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

We Fix Our Gaze…

What is it that you are choosing to focus on during your day? The things that seem to be going all wrong? Have you ever noticed that if you start your day with the focus on negativity, that your day will seem endless, with all sorts of distractions and inconveniences? What if we push past all of that and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts, minds and spirits first thing in the morning, every day, then all throughout the day!

It’s interesting to me that verse 4:17 says that “our present troubles are small.” Doesn’t it seem like our present troubles are gigantic sometimes? Some days, when everything seems to come crashing down on us, does that feel small to us? Let’s be reassured and refreshed in those moments… it says in verse 4:17, that “our present troubles are small and they won’t last very long.” Paul is trying to divert our attention off of those “things,” those “troubles” and help us see that what we have to look forward to is glorious! Those things of glory, those heavenly things are what we need to focus our gaze upon. We need to fix our gaze upon Jesus.

No matter what I face throughout my day… I will never give up and give into the day’s pressure – I need to see Jesus in everything I do! I may fail sometimes, but I am so relieved that the Holy Spirit renews my heart, mind and spirit every single day!

2 Corinthians 4:18…

¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Let’s compare the things we “can see” with what we “cannot see:”

• Bodies that are dying = Spirit’s Renewed
• Small Troubles = Glory Forever
• Troubles we see = Focus our gaze on the unseen
• What we can see is gone = What we cannot see is FOREVER

~AMEN~