II Corinthians 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
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.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Philippians 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
True Scriptural baptism, which is always by immersion, is a picture of the fact that the born again Christian has died to self and has been given life in Christ.
The apostle Paul reminded the saints in Corinth of who they were. They had lost sight of that. That is why they had tolerated schisms and the fornication in their midst. They needed to be reminded of who they were.
Had they not been saved, they would have thrown Paul out on his ears and ignored what he told them. Since they were saved, they were broken by the Word of God which Paul spoke unto them. They humbled themselves, repented and sought God’s forgiveness. That also meant they dealt appropriately with the sin.
As we have mentioned many times before, and more importantly, as God’s Word consistently declares, the true child of God is changed. The true child of God can and will sin; however, the true child of God cannot remain in sin.
Every day as Paul got out of bed, he knew he could face death. He knew he would face persecution. He knew what it was like to be stoned, imprisoned, hungry, whipped, for the sake of Christ. He had enemies who would rather see him dead. However, he had a God Who had work for him to do and He would not allow him to be murdered at that time.
The apostle Paul made a conscious choice to live his life in such a way that those watching, whether friend or foe, would see Christ in him.
In verse 12 Paul reminded them that physical death was a constant threat to him. However, because he was willing to surrender his will to God, he could be a blessing to them. They did not face the brunt of the people’s wrath.
In verse 13 Paul reminded them that there is a unity among those who are truly born again. Today we see somewhat of a unity among the many who are deceived. The New Evangelical crowd is somewhat unified. They all love the CCM music. They love the immodesty. They love the multiplicity of perversions. They have a fair bit in common. They also have the same god, and that is the god of this world. There might be the odd person in that crowd that is saved. However, those who are saved in there will be like Lot who sat in the gate of Sodom and his soul was vexed from day to day by the wickedness that he witnessed and refused to separate from. The difference is that God “winked” at Lot’s foolishness. Now He demands obedience because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us if we are saved.
Again, it is important for us to “rightly divide the word of truth”. In verse 14 Paul had confidence in the resurrection. He had confidence in that because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Read I Corinthians 15 and notice the further justification for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul was also confident that the saints in Corinth would be raised by the same God. There is only one true God. There is only one true Saviour. Those who are truly born again, need to draw together under the Authority of the one true God and Saviour.
The world needs to see the unity of the Spirit in those who are truly born again. We have an enemy and that enemy is not the born again Christian. True saints will disagree on doctrines at times. The resolution to that is to humbly submit to the study of God’s Word and ask Him to bring about the unity that He says must be the trademark of true saints.
In verse 17 we see that the reason why true spiritual leaders do not grow weary in the battle is because they are fully convinced that their Saviour and Lord is alive. Some years back a well known defender of Biblical Creation, found himself in trouble with the law. He had misunderstood the Word of God and assumed he could avoid paying taxes to “Caesar”. Eventually the government caught up with him and he lost the properties that many people had helped him to purchase. He ended up in prison as did his wife.
While he was in prison he chose to receive counsel from a religious heretic. The result of that was that he flipped on some key doctrines that he claimed to have believed prior to going to jail. Since his release from prison, he lost his wife through divorce, and has had several adulterous relationships, none of which have lasted. He has found more gullible people to support a new venture which has been in the news for the wrong reasons. He always acted as if he was better than most others, and he still assumes he is above God’s law.
The apostle Paul was not like that. He was willing to truly identify with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was willing to be used by God to help others like those in Corinth to see the need to submit to the truth. He gave his life in service for the King of kings. He finished his life with a clear testimony.
In verse 17 he spoke of his “light affliction”. Many professing saints would not say that. God does not expect us to boast of what we think we might do for Christ. He expects us to submit to God today and as we do that He will prepare us for whatever lies ahead. He knows what that will be. We do not and we do not need to know that now. We just need to walk obediently with God today.
True saints can see the prize set before us. We recognize the world has nothing to offer that even comes close to what God has given us and for what is still awaiting us in glory.
In verse 18 we are reminded that we do not need a gold watch or some other fancy materialistic reward waved before our eyes. Those who live for that will bow to the whims of the world. There are far too many religions that operate that way. True saints look at the true rewards which cannot be seen with the naked eye. However, we know they are real. We can see the temporal things. Paul needed a place to sleep. He needed food and clothing. He needed funds to travel. However, his purpose in life was not a life of leisure. His purpose was to glorify God. He was chosen as an apostle. He was one of twelve men chosen for that task.
Today there are men chosen to be evangelists, pastors and teachers. Those who are chosen for that work need to be mindful of their calling and they need to humbly serve God whether men applaud them or not. We are not in it to get rich. We are not looking to get our names in some special place on earth. It is good to have our names written in the Lamb’s book of life and to hear His well done when this life is over.
Pastor Bartel