The Glory of God in the Face of Christ 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Throughout the history of the Church there has always been that pull, that option to take control, to take matters in our own hands, so that we can achieve our desired goal for the church. Sad to say, but the option to take control has been chosen far too many times and each and every time the result has been disastrous. Those who have been placed in positions of leadership have used the ways of the world instead of the ways of Jesus to achieve their goals instead of God’s will. At this very hour there are heartbreaking documentaries running on television and podcasts being listened to that detail the corruption of some of the biggest names and churches of the past decade. Another form of corruption that is always present, whispering in the ears of the leaders of the church, begging to be deployed, has nothing to do with breaking the law, but it does have to do with breaking the heart of God. The whispering is relentless, it can be deafening, and the temptation is always there. “Give the people what they want! Leave all of the talk about sin and the cross, redemption and discipleship for another day, and give the people what they want. Spend your time talking about politics, how to be a good parent, how to have a strong marriage, and how to maximize your potential in the marketplace–that will draw them in!” In Ecclesiastes we learn that there is nothing new under the sun and this pull to dim the lights on the Word of God and shine a spotlight on what the people want has always been an option for preachers and churches who are called to teach God’s Word. In the last letter Paul ever wrote, written to a young preacher named Timothy, he said, 

1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:1-3 NIV)

What is it that our “itching ears want to hear?” It certainly isn’t what we talk about on Sunday morning. We do not like to be reminded that we are sinners who have an incurable sickness for which there is no hope apart from the remedy of our Redeemer. What do we want to hear? We certainly don’t want to be reminded that Jesus said if we want to be one of His followers we must die to ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). We want to be told how we can become great, but we want nothing to do with Jesus’ plan for greatness. Do you remember Jesus’ plan for greatness in Matthew 20? He said, “If any of you wants to become great, you must become a servant…” If you want to climb the ladder of greatness then you must get on your knees and serve. The itching ears of people have always wanted what they want and the leaders of the church have always been tempted to give in, in order to grow the church and make a name for themselves. I discovered an article written by one of my old dead preacher friends, Dr. Howard Crosby, who died in 1891. Dr. Crosby was a professor of Greek at NYU and Rutgers before he became the Chancellor of NYU in 1870. He saw the same situation taking place in his day that is going on in our own day. He wrote, 

One of the saddest sights in the Church of Christ is the yielding to this spirit of pride on the part of the ordained preachers of the Word. Many modern Timothys use the pulpit for discourses on art and literature; others take the opportunity for the display of rhetoric and oratory; others proclaim an ethics of expediency; while still others seek only to tickle the ears of an audience that desires to be amused. In all this you look in vain for the Gospel… Churches are filled by appealing to carnal desires and aesthetic tastes. Brilliant oratory, scientific music, sensational topics and fashionable pew holders are the baits to lure people into the churches, and a church is called prosperous as these wretched devices succeed. The preacher delights to get himself into the newspaper and he accommodates his preaching to the newspaper level. Such churches will, of course, have worldly-minded officers and a worldly-minded membership, while godly souls either flee from them, or else mourn in secret, if they are not themselves chilled by the lack of Gospel heat. (Crosby, Howard. Preach the Word)

The language is dated, but the truth shared by Dr. Crosby will remain as powerful one hundred years from now as the day it flowed from his pen. In our Scripture for this morning, found in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, we find Paul declaring that he has silenced the whisper to do what is necessary to compete with the “super apostles” who have arrived in Corinth and have captured the crowds. Let’s read our Scripture for this morning. 

1 Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:1-6 NIV)

The “therefore” at the beginning of verse 1 points back to what we discussed in 2 Corinthians 3:6-18. With the new covenant, those who look to Jesus have the veil removed, they begin to contemplate the Lord’s glory, and the Holy Spirit begins to transform them into the image of Jesus with ever increasing glory. In 2 Corinthians 3:12, Paul said the new covenant is our hope, our sure hope. Now, in 2 Corinthians 4:1, Paul makes it clear that because of the ministry of the new covenant, he does “not lose heart.” I want us to notice something at the very beginning of verse 1 that is critically important for us to understand. The work that Paul was doing was not his ministry, it was not something he had concocted, he didn’t hire a consulting group to devise a plan, but he was given the ministry through the mercy of God. It was Paul’s passion to spend the rest of his life spreading the word about the One who had redeemed him, the One who had radically changed his life. Paul knew what he was before he met Jesus, before Jesus changed his life. He never lost his sense of awe and amazement that the Lord would choose to use someone so unworthy of being an ambassador of Jesus. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he wrote,

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17 NIV)

Paul is saying, “If God’s mercy is capable of saving, of changing me, the worst sinner ever, then His mercy is able to save anyone…that’s why God chose to save me! God saved someone like me, a wretched, horrible persecutor of God’s people, to show that His mercy is able to save anyone!” I want to go back just for a moment to what Paul said in verse one: “we do not lose heart.” I don’t want any of us to walk away from here this morning thinking that Paul never had moments of doubt or despair, times when he almost lost heart. There were times that Paul felt like giving up, throwing in the towel. When Paul first arrived in Corinth he met a couple named Priscilla and Aquila who were also tentmakers and followers of Jesus. The three began to minister together and we read that every Sabbath Paul went to the synagogue to teach about Jesus. People became upset with Paul and began to oppose him. We read in Acts 18:6 that they became abusive towards Paul. He said, “I’m done with you. I’m going to the Gentiles.” Then we read, in Acts 18:9-10,

9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." (Acts 18:9-10 NIV)

Again and again, on at least three occasions that we can read about in Acts, Paul was not in a good place and the Lord appeared to him, to encourage him to keep pressing on and not give up. I’m so glad God’s Word tells us the truth about the Lord’s people, people like Paul who seem to us to be altogether different than the rest of us. The truth is all of us have faced those times when we have lost heart or were on the verge of losing heart. Here’s something else to think about–there are more of those times awaiting us in the future. The good news for you and me is that just like the Lord came alongside Paul to encourage him, He is more than willing to come alongside us, to encourage us not to throw in the towel, but to lean into His strength when we have none of our own. That’s good news! Let’s move on.In 2 Corinthians 4:2, we find Paul making a bold declaration about his method of ministry which most Bible teachers believe is in response to the methods of the shady charlatans who are trying to undermine Paul’s ministry. Paul writes,

2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2 NIV)

Paul says he had renounced three ways of doing ministry which most likely is a reference to those he had written about back in 2 Corinthians 2:17. Read that verse with me. 

17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. (2 Corinthians 2:17 NIV)

Paul refuses to use “secret and shameful ways.” He will not deceive people. No matter what the people want or the potential benefit that may come, Paul will not, under any circumstance or situation, “distort the word of God.” Instead of using the tricks of the trade, Paul says he will only set “forth the truth plainly.” Chuck Swindoll writes,

Unlike many popular preachers today, Paul refused to rely on cleverness, wit, and charm to woo people into the kingdom. He had no place for gimmicks and tricks in order to get results. He refused to play on people’s emotions. He knew that when you appeal to people’s emotion to draw people in, you need to keep giving them an emotional fix to keep them coming. Rather, Paul relied upon the unadulterated word of God to do its work (4:2). Paul’s strategy might appear quaint compared to that of the glitz and glamour preacher we have today. He simply presented the plain, unvarnished truth of the gospel, depending on the Spirit of God to do His work through His word (Swindoll, Charles. Swindoll’s Living Insights: 2 Corinthians. pg. 334). 

Paul would rely on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God alone. No tricks. No smooth presentations designed to draw a tear from the audience. No turning the lights down low and stirring the heart to make a decision that the head had no desire to carry out. Just preach the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to convict hearts and open eyes.This was one of the reasons some of the teachers in Corinth were critical of Paul. His presentation lacked punch. His preaching was plain. He spoke too much about sin, repentance, faith, and the cross. That was not what the false teachers were selling and it was not what the people wanted. Paul wrote, back in 1 Corinthians 1:22-23,

22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles… (1 Corinthians 1:22-23 NIV)

Let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 4 and take a look at verses 3-4. In these verses Paul acknowledges that the gospel is veiled to some, not everyone in Corinth is turning to Jesus. The lack of response is not because of the failure of the gospel or the failure of Paul in presenting the gospel. Read verses 3-4 with me. 

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NIV)

Paul says the “god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers…” I can remember those years before I was a follower of Jesus. It was not that people were not telling me about Jesus, many were, far too many for my liking. There were really two things happening in my life that kept me from seeing the truth of the gospel. First there was my own sin. I wanted to live my life my way and I didn’t want anyone interfering. I rejected the invitation of those well meaning friends of mine who told me about Jesus because I wanted to keep doing what I was doing. John puts it another way when writes in John 3:19,

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19 NIV)

The Light was right in front of me, the door had been opened, but I chose to continue to live in darkness instead. Now, I would have never described my life and the choices I was making as darkness and neither would those of you who are here this morning and choosing not to come to the Light. Now I see, and what I see is that to live apart from the Light is to live in darkness. The god of this age convinces us that we should be free to do what we want with our life and doing what we want to do is far, far better than surrendering our lives to Jesus. So my sin, my choices to do life on my terms kept me from being able to see. There was another reality at work that we find here in verse 4 and that is Satan, whom Paul calls the “god of this age,” even though Satan is no god, but a created being. Satan blinded my mind, my thinking. The Greek word translated “mind” is “?????” (no?ma) and it means, “thought, mind, or intention.” The word refers to the ability to reason or think. Now, let me make something very clear for us. You can possess a mind, a brain that can do high level math calculations in your head, understand the study of physics with such precision that you can speak with ease about matter, motion, energy, and force, and excel in all matters of academia like no other and be an absolute imbecile when it comes to spiritual truth. God can give you a brilliant mind and the enemy can blind you to the greatest truth in the history of the world. Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. C.S. Lewis was by any definition a genius, such a brilliant thinker. He was a professor at Oxford University, wrote more than 30 books during his life, and described himself as an intellectual agnostic. He had gone to church when he was a kid, but as he got older he rejected everything he had been taught about Jesus. C.S. Lewis met J.R.R. Tolkien when they were both adults and they became close friends. J.R.R. Tolkien was a devoted follower of Jesus and he would eventually have a big influence on C.S. Lewis’ life. Tolkien, along with G.K. Chesterton’s book, The Everlasting Man, presented truth to C.S. Lewis in such a way that he just couldn’t dismiss it as fairy tales any longer. Night after night, after having conversations with Tolkien, C.S. Lewis would go back to his room at Oxford. He wrote about his experience in his book, Surprised by Joy,

You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen [College, Oxford], night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. (Lewis, C.S. Surprised by Joy)

C.S. Lewis said his mind was fighting him all the way, even though his conscience had been captured by the Word of God. God alone is able to reach the mind that has been blinded by sin and the enemy. No preacher, regardless of how eloquent or persuasive, no theatrics or drama can do what only the Spirit of God working with the Word of God can do in the mind and heart of those who are still veiled and blind to the truth of God. Back in 1 Corinthians Paul wrote,

14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)

Before we leave here this morning we have to take a look at verse 6. Verse 6 is such a powerful lesson for you and me about the power of God, a power that was put on full display back in Genesis 1:3 when God spoke and said, “Let there be light” and there was light. That same power is still at work today. Let’s read verse 6.

6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV)

There is no doubt that Paul, while he is writing, is thinking about the darkness and chaos of the creation account in Genesis 1:1-2. The Hebrew Scriptures tell us that when God created the heavens and the earth they were “tohu v’vohu,” they were formless, void, no structure or form, and chaotic.” And in the midst of the disorder and chaos God spoke, “Let there be light” and there was light. And in every verse that follows throughout the creation account that which was characterized by disorder and chaos found order, meaning, and definition because of the power of God. Paul knew, with firsthand knowledge, that the power of God exhibited in the creation, the power to cause light to shine in the darkness and bring order out of disorder and chaos, is exactly what he experienced on the road to Damascus. Paul had thought that his life was full of meaning and purpose and it was not until he met Jesus that he recognized that everything he had valued was meaningless compared with the joy of knowing Jesus. The Light, Jesus, appeared to him, and Paul was recreated. The Light that had created him, recreated him, and all things became brand new.  The same power that created the cosmos and all that it contains is the same power that can recreate those of us who are here this morning, and still blind to God’s glory. When the veil is removed, when the Light opens our eyes and we see clearly for the first time, then we come to know the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. The glory of God perfectly displayed in the life of Christ Jesus. Pastor Spurgeon wrote,

In the visible creation we see God’s works, but in Christ Jesus we have God himself, Emmanuel, “God with us.” The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ is most sweetly conspicuous, because you are conscious that not only are God’s attributes there, but God himself is there. (Spurgeon, Charles Haddon. The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ. Sept 7, 1879)

Oh what joy floods our soul when we look to Jesus! The joy is like a never ceasing fountain filling us to overflowing throughout our lives and giving us such peace and purpose for the day and every day to come. What about you this morning? Do you sense God speaking in your life this morning like He spoke into that dark, formless creation? Won’t you let His Light come in and recreate you this very morning? Mike HaysJanuary 29, 2023