II Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 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.
The Christian life is a life that is founded in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Christ, there is no salvation. Without Jesus there is no salvation. Without the Lord, there is no success in life. We need the Author and Finisher of our faith to guide us. We cannot make wise decisions on our own.
There are billionaires in the world like Elon Musk. He has fathered 14 children. He has a 20 year old daughter who claims he was never there for her as a child. She has rejected God, just like her father, and she has turned to sodomy for answers. Mr. Musk is a complete failure. Those 14 children have never had the privilege of knowing what a stable family looks like. Yes, he can impregnate a woman. Yes he can support that child financially. However, he cannot be what that child needs. He has rejected God and thus he does not know how to make wise decisions. He talks of how there is no electric car on the market that can compete with his Tesla. Who cares. There will be no Teslas in heaven or hell. When a person chooses to advance his own self-worth at the expense of what is real, that person is a fool.
The apostle Paul began as a curious person. He chose to pursue the religion of the Pharisees. He chose the best teachers available. He ignored his God-given conscience to do that. He worked his way up the ranks. He was a powerful man. He could stand by and consent to the murder of Stephen. He did not need to pick up a stone to throw at him. He could stand by and watch and approve the murder. He later received letters to go to Damascus to arrest Christians. He had the letters, but he did not need to do the actual dirty work. He was an important man, or so he thought.
On that road to Damascus, he met the Lord. The Lord cared about those poor sheep in Damascus who were slated to be further persecuted by Saul and his goons. Jesus said NO, not this time. He stopped Saul on the road to Damascus and humiliated him. He was knocked to the ground and blinded. The soldiers witnessed him speaking to someone they could not see. Had he gone off the deep end? They guided him into Damascus as a blind man. He was a broken man. He no longer cared about those letters that he had in his possession.
Saul/Paul was a changed man. He would be given back his physical sight, and he also received spiritual sight. He was given a ministry by God. He did not deserve that ministry, but God gave it to him. He had received mercy from God. He had been a persecuter and a murderer, but he did it ignorantly. The Roman government did not care, but God did.
Paul was not a quitter. He had been called to be an apostle. He was sent by God to Corinth to address the spiritual mess the saints there were in. Now he was called to write this letter to help the repentant saints to grow.
In verse 2 we read that he renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. It would be good if the N.E. frauds would do that. However, they are hardened in their unbelief and they have no intention of changing. God stopped me a number of years ago. He showed me the right way. I had to make a choice. Thankfully, I made the right choice. Paul was not walking in craftiness. He was not trying to trick anyone. He did not use the word of God deceitfully. That is what the N.E. crowd is doing.
Paul/Saul had been there prior to his salvation. Now he was not going to do that anymore. He would proclaim the truth. It was the truth that would show the saints that what he was saying was true. He did not need letters from some human “authority”. He needed letters from God. He had that. The Holy Spirit worked in him and through him. The saints he ministered to also had the same Holy Spirit in them. They could identify truth from error. They knew he was speaking the truth.
Today we have access to the Word of God. You can download a KJV Bible onto your phone or computer for free. You can read it. You can follow the preacher with the Word of God. If the man does not have the decency to use the Word of God, get out of there! You don’t need to be lied to. You need the Truth.
In verse 3 Paul stated that if his message was hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Lost people do not appreciate the truth. They are offended by the Truth. They despise the things of God. They like their ego stroked.
In verse 4 we see how it is that the Gospel is hid to the lost. The lost are under the influence of the god of this world. That is the devil. The lost are not possessed. They are not hopelessly trapped. They have chosen to listen to the devil, rather than the truth.
Their minds are blinded. The devil does not want them to believe the truth. So there are “Bible book stores” that have a variety of perversions for sale. Their sales people are trained to help the shopper to look at anyone of those perversions rather than the KJV. After all the KJV is ‘outdated and it has mistakes too’, so they say. It is interesting how gullible people think they are so smart that they can tell what God said and what He did not say. They will not listen to someone who is saved and has done some study on the matter. They will not listen to the Holy Spirit Who is showing them they are going the wrong way. They blindly choose to pursue a lie.
If the lost person would sit down with a God-fearing person and listen to the truth, they would come under conviction. They would become uncomfortable as they heard the truth and as they were shown the error of their choices.
However, they don’t want that. The devil does not want that either. The devil cannot defend his lies against the truth. That is why he wants to keep the lost away from the truth.
When you listen to politicians, you can get a good picture of the devil. Politicians cannot tell the truth. They have learned a lie and they like to spin that lie. If they get questions that pick apart their lies, they do not like that. That is why there are bills being debated now to shut down any thought other than what they want you to think.
Years ago I pastored a church in a strong Catholic area. The priest in that area forbad his people from coming to our church. However, he had several areas that he visited and when he would be out of town some of his people would attend our church. There was one younger girl who had questions. She would ask him questions when he got back into town. He could not answer them and did not like that her mother was allowing her to come to our church. The Truth is powerful. It penetrates to the heart of the listener. It is important for the listener to respond humbly to the Truth. Those who insist on fighting against the Truth will regret that soon. Not a good plan.
In verse 5 Paul reminded the saints that he was not trying to make a name for himself. He was not inventing a message. His message came from God. The saints needed to build their lives on Christ Jesus the Lord. The lost also needed to understand they were fighting against Christ Jesus the Lord.
Paul was a servant of the people, but he was not subject to them. He was their servant for Jesus’ sake. Jesus was the Master. He would serve them with the Truth.
In verse 6 Paul reminded them that God had commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Paul referred back to Genesis 1. In Creation week it was God who said “let there be light”. That same God Who caused the light to shine out of darkness, had shined into their hearts. We already noted how He did that for Saul on the road to Damascus. Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. He opens the understanding of those who truly get saved.
If you are fighting against the truth, it is because you are listening to the god of this world. You need to listen to the God of Creation. You need to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. If you do, you will be pleasantly surprised. If you continue to fight, you will be miserable as you already are. Sure you can find superficial joy as long as you stay away from the Truth. As soon as you hear the Truth, your spirit gets stirred up. Stop fighting, and repent toward God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will never regret it.
Pastor Bartel