‘Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we do not faint.' Having such a ministry which results in the unveiling of men and women (2 Corinthians 3:18) so that they can behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6), or in unveiling Jesus Christ so... [ Continue Reading ]
SUCH A MINISTRY AS HAS BEEN DEPICTED MAKES CLEAR THAT ITS MINISTERS ARE NOT CORRUPT BECAUSE IT IS CONDUCTED IN GOD'S GLORIOUS LIGHT AND REVEALS THE UNMATCHABLE GLORY OF GOD IN JESUS CHRIST EVEN THOUGH THE BEARERS OF THE MESSAGE ARE BUT EARTHEN VESSELS (2 CORINTHIANS 4:1). Paul will now argue that no... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.' He stresses again the honesty with which they preach. They have turned th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.' For the purpose of Paul and his fellow-workers is not to preach themselves. They are not concerned to be ostentatious or make much of themselves as though they had spiritual importance. Rather t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Seeing it is God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness”, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' And what has brought them to such ‘slavery'? Why should they delight in being slaves to God? It is because of the fact that... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.' However, although God has shined in their hearts and they therefore carry within their inner selves something of the glory of God, they do not thereby boast. For they rec... [ Continue Reading ]
‘We are pressed on every side, yet not pressed in; perplexed, yet not to despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.' As earthen vessels that bear the message of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.' There is now a swift movement from ‘dying' to spiritual ‘dying' (compare 2 Corinthians 1:9 with 2 Corinthians 1:10). Through their experiences ‘we who live', that is... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So then death works in us, but life in you.' A further contrast is given, that the death that works in them, crucifying their flesh with its worldly hopes, affections and desires (Galatians 5:24), results in life working in the Corinthians. The picture of the faithful servant of Christ ministering... [ Continue Reading ]
CONSIDERATION OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DIFFERENCE IN THE TWO COVENANTS (2 CORINTHIANS 4:12) Having been described as earthen vessels, the practical application of this is now made. As earthen vessels which bear the message of the Glory of Christ they can expect nothing but trouble from the god of... [ Continue Reading ]
But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak.' But, he points out, these things do not defeat them, for they have the same spirit as the Psalmist who said, “I believed and therefore did I... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Knowing that he that raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and shall present us with you.' For their certainty finally lies in their faith in the resurrection. It is that that makes all else explicable. They know that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus, will also raise them up w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.' For, he points out, all that he has described as being what he and his fellow-workers are going through is for the benefit of the Corinthian Christians.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For this reason we faint not. But though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things whi... [ Continue Reading ]