When I read the second letter to the church in Corinth, I noticed that Paul speaks several times about having courage or 'good courage'. There are plenty of reasons today why you as a Christian might lose heart. But God has given us so much that we can continue to be of good cheer.
We follow the outline of chapters 4 and 5 of the 2th letter to Corinth to see why we can always be of good cheer in imitation of Paul. Read through the chapters…
The Glory of the Lord
In chapter 3 Paul makes clear the special nature of the Christian faith. It is the result of the work of God's Spirit in the hearts of the believers. The great feature of that faith is the glory of Christ, which we cannot see until a man turns to God; then the covering over the letter of Scripture is removed (3:14-16). Then you may behold the glory of the Lord and then God's Spirit will change us into His image (3:18).
Paul is commissioned by the Lord to serve for Him in this gospel. This gospel is of such great, unknown, and divine glory that it is the reason for Paul to say:that's why we don't lose heart' (4:1).
In his ministry, including in Corinth, Paul faced much opposition. There were those to whom God's Word was negotiable (2:17) and those who falsified it (4:2). They made it difficult for Paul in every way and he might get to lose heart and give up. But luckily he knew about it'gospel of the glory of Christ' (4:4) that had shone upon him also'to enlightenment with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ' (4:6). That is the essence of the Christian life: to know God, to know Who He is, to know of His glory seen above all in His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is the things that are revealed to us in the Word of God, and that is why Paul clings to that Word despite the opposition it brings. That opposition ultimately comes from Satan,'the god of this century' which the minds of the unbelievers'blinded, that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine upon them' (4:4).
Blinding the mind
When you are on the road in the dark and an oncoming traffic dazzles you, it is difficult not to keep looking into the oncoming traffic's light. You really have to make an effort to look very consciously into the dark, away from the blinding light, to see where is the road you must follow.
The god of this age is doing something similar in the hearts of the unbelievers. Satan lets his 'light' shine in the mind of man on how wonderful you really are as a human being. Of course, everyone makes mistakes, that's not the point. But other than that you're actually doing pretty well, you've got your life on track. You feel like a god and are good to others; God – if He exists at all – will have little to criticize you and may be quite pleased with you.
That has actually been his story in the heart of man from the beginning, hasn't it? It is a success story if you consider how many people are convinced; they believe in themselves and do not need God.
But how different is the Gospel that says I am a sinful and incorrigible God-enemy creature damned for eternity. There is no single human solution to it; not on an individual level, but also not collectively. The only solution, the only salvation from this hopeless situation must then come from God Himself!
How incredibly glorious, then, that God provides it in a way that really shows Who He is. He sends His own. only Son to become man here on earth and die on Calvary's cross as a propitiation. Reconciliation with God on the basis of the death of His Son!
To prevent the Gospel from being accepted, Satan will try to blind or even harden the mind of man (4:4) or even harden it (3:14). As long as a man thinks that he can still save himself and does not need God, the gospel of God cannot enter his heart. It is an absolute condition that man see that he is lost without God and Christ.
It suddenly reminds me of the conversation I once had with someone at Bible stand. She turned out to be a domina and thought I didn't have to tell her anything, because she already knew 'the stories'. She told them herself every week from the pulpit. But she didn't believe in it herself, she said. When asked what the point of those stories was and why she still proclaimed them from the pulpit, the answer was that 'it helps people to take a lighter look at life'.
Then your thoughts are really blinded; and indeed, the gospel she did not want to hear. As a result, 'the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who [it] image of God, would not irradiate her' (4:4).
What a grace from God, when a man will set aside his own ideas about himself and about God and is willing to hear God's thoughts and let them into his mind and heart. Then it is that God Himself'shone in our hearts for enlightenment with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ' (4:6). Then we will see who the Lord Jesus is and what He has accomplished and in Him we also see Who God is, the Invisible One (Colossians 1:15).
And we're going to see who we are.
We don't lose heart
Paul knew of the great difference between a life with or without Christ. The darkness in which he himself used to live and the bright light of 'the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ' he knew from personal experience.
It was God's mercy that he could also serve in this gospel. It was not a service without opposition, we have already seen that. In fact, the opposition was so great that you could easily lose heart. But because Paul knew who he was serving and how great the glory of God and of Christ is, that has led him to hold on to it and never-never-never lose heart and give up in the service of God. . It was also the reason that he did not compromise when it came to the gospel, he did not compromise, but simply proclaimed the truth (4:2) that he presented to the conscience of the audience.
The glory of God and of Christ constituted the glory of Paul's ministry (3:8,9) and that has continually inspired him to carry on with courage and full force in the service he had been given.
Of course, we have not had an encounter with Christ like Paul (Acts 9:3), nor have we been given the "surpassing revelations" as they came to Paul (2 Corinthians 12:4,7).
But in a sense, the same applies to us. It is easy to say that in our lives we are "inspired by the gospel" or words to that effect, but if it is not about the glory of God and Christ, then in the end it will not last. Then we lose heart and we lose the gospel. Our spiritual life revolves around Christ the Crucified, in Him we see God's glory. Then we also have courage when the darkness increases around us.
A treasure in earthen jars
When the glory of God and of Christ are known in our hearts, it does not mean that our life here on earth is 'glory all over'. You get that impression from many Christians today. They lead a wonderful, supernatural, victorious life with 'glory all'; at least, so it seems.
But the reality that Paul presents to us in this chapter is different. The spiritual treasure we have is in an earthen vessel (4:7) and that has its consequences. There are many things in life that you wouldn't exactly call "glory": tribulation, doubt, and persecution (4:8), things like that. Ultimately, it is also things that have to do with death (4:11), things that determine you in the mortality and finiteness of earthly life. A little further on, he says that we'have a hard time' (5:4).
When someone has Christ as the object for the heart, but in the meantime has a difficult and hard life, so to speak, the question is how it is that he still perseveres. It is not of its own strength, but it is the 'superlative power of Godwho accomplishes this (4:1). Then it becomes clear that this is not from man himself, but worked by God. Paul also calls thatthe life of Jesus is revealed in our mortal flesh' (4:11). We can see that we are different people, whose lives sometimes resemble the life of the Lord Jesus.
The fact that we constantly face death, as it were, aims to make the life of Jesus visible in us. Paul puts it this way:we . . . are continually delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (4:11).
The death of the Lord Jesus
Then there's something else that goes with 'the life of Jesus' is connected and that is His death. Paul puts it in a somewhat enigmatic way when he says:We always carry in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (4:10).
What's: 'always carry the death of the Lord Jesus in our body'? Physically you can't imagine anything with it; it's not something that you can physically feel in your body or anything.
I almost think it can mean nothing more than that the dying of the Lord Jesus in our minds is something we think about every day. In that way, 'the inner man renewed day by day' (4:16) and there will be 'thanksgiving… abounding to the glorification of God' (4:15).
It cannot be otherwise: if we daily think of the cross-work of our Lord Jesus Christ, then we are concerned with that which is our greatest blessing. Why not think daily with wonder and gratitude: 'Lord Jesus, You died for me'. We've talked about it before (see here) talked about that Christ the Crucified should be the center of our personal Christian life. In other words, Paul is saying the same thing here: the cross of Christ, the death of the Lord, must be something that we carry within us into this world.
Recently I spoke to a brother who at 4:10 has a reference in his bible to Genesis 50:24 and 25. There Joseph asks his brothers that when they leave Egypt, they will take his dead body with them to the promised land . It would constantly remind them along the way how much suffering it cost Joseph before he could save them from starvation. That's a nice picture ofcarry in the body the death of the Lord Jesus'.
The death of the Lord Jesus is also the central theme for the common Christian life. 'Proclaiming the Death of the Lord' is something Paul teaches the believers in Corinth and what he received especially from the Lord Himself to pass on (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
“For I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread, and after giving thanks, He broke it, and said, Take, eat, this is My body, which is broken for you. Do that in remembrance of Me. Likewise He also took the cup after supper, and said: This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do that, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”
Until He comes
The coming of the Lord Jesus is the next theme in the section of 2 Corinthians. Not immediately with the same words, but that our 'earthen pitcher' will come to an end. 'Our earthly home, this tent, is torn down' (5:1) and we'longing to be clothed with our dwelling which is from heaven' (5:2).
Paul wished 'not undressed, but clothed' to become. In other words, he hoped that he would not have to die, but that he wouldthe mortal would be clothed with immortality'. It was a mystery that he had already made known to the Corinthians before:We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.". Paul longed that he should live when Christ came and that he would thenin an indivisible moment, in the twinkling of an eye (…) would be changed' (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).
We may long for that moment when we will see the Lord Jesus and be changed forever. Because that moment is getting closer and closer, we are of good courage. It is found twice in 2 Corinthians 5:6 and 8.
“So we always have good mood and know that as long as we dwell in the body we are dwelled away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. But we have good mood and we delight more to dwell out of the body and dwell in the Lord.”
While we are still here, we walk in faith and what (and in Who) we believe gives us good cheer. Only when we see the Lord will we dwell with Him. That desire gives us good courage to continue in the walk with and for Him.
Working!
That we long for the coming of the Lord to be 'clothed over' is not a reason to sit back and sit and wait. On the contrary, it may be an exhortation to devote the time we have left to Him and not to live for ourselves.”but for Him who died for them and rose again” (5:15). Christ will soon judge when we are with Him whether the things we have done here below can be rewarded by Him.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone [retaliation] receives for what he through [his] body has done, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:10
That which is good is rewarded; it has contributed to the glory of God and the advancement of His Gospel. But without reward remains the work that proves to be worthless; there is no reward, praise, or an incorruptible wreath for it (see 1 Corinthians 3:14; 4:5; 9:24,25).
God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has placed in us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18,19). In doing so, we have become ambassadors for Christ, charged with entreating people to be reconciled to God (5:20; 6:1).
We don't lose heart
because we know the glory of God and of Christ.
We don't lose heart
because in the earthen vessel we carry the death of Jesus.
We are always in good spirits,
because we long to be clothed
with our dwelling which is from heaven.
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