2 Corinthians - Faint Not - Part 2

We turn to 2 Corinthians 4:7 and Paul is still talking about how to keep from fainting. People faint in ministry. They're faint yet pursuing sometimes, but oh, the fainting that goes on in serving the Lord. It's not easy to serve the Lord, and there are battles going on. 2 Corinthians 4:1, "Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not." 2 Corinthians 4:16, "For which cause we faint not." Paul is telling us how to keep from fainting as we serve the Lord.

Now, you'll notice in 2 Corinthians 4 that the emphasis is on what we have. Notice in 2 Corinthians 4:1, "we have this ministry." 2 Corinthians 4:7, "we have this treasure." 2 Corinthians 4:13, "we having the same spirit of faith." 2 Corinthians 5:1, "we have a building of God." Paul emphasizes what we have in Jesus Christ. Don't sit around and complain about what you don't have. Be thankful to God for what you do have because what you have in Christ is going to last forever.

And he also emphasizes the purposes that God has in mind. You'll notice the repetition of the little word "that," which in the Greek means "so that." 2 Corinthians 4:7, "we have this treasure in earthen vessel so that the excellency of the power may be of God not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:10, "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."

And he repeats it again in verse 11. Then in 2 Corinthians 4:15, "For all things are for your sakes so that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God." God is working out His purposes.

Now you may not see them. I don't know of any place in the Bible where it says we see all things working together for good. It says we know. And I would much rather know something than see it any day. I have seen things that were not true; I have been deluded. But when you know something, that's pretty solid.

2 Corinthians 5:1, "we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God." 2 Corinthians 5:6, "therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord."

Back in 2 Corinthians 4:14, "knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus." Lay hold of what you have and what you know and what God's doing. That's what keeps you from fainting. You know what you have, and you know what you know, and you know that God is accomplishing His purposes.

Paul tells us that we can keep from fainting if we'll just follow the instructions that he gives us in this section, verses 7 through 15. Instruction number one: focus on the treasure, not on the vessel. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."

Focus on the treasure, not on the vessel. Now what is this treasure? Well, what he talked about back in the previous section: the light of the glorious gospel of Christ that shines in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This new creation, this new life within.

You and I are just clay vessels, that's all you are. Psalm 103:14, "he remembers our frame, he knows that we're just dust." Just dust. Now you may think you're steel or iron, but you're not, you're dust. You came from dust and you're going back to dust, and you're just a vessel.

Even the great Apostle Paul was just a vessel. In Acts 9:15, God said to Ananias, "now look, he is," Paul is, "my chosen vessel." And so are you. You are God's chosen vessel.

You know why God compares you to a vessel? A vessel is weak. Of yourself you have nothing. But we are vessels because a vessel can contain and share. All God wants us to be is empty and clean and available, and He'll do the rest. He'll do the rest.

If you are empty of self and empty of sin and clean and available, God will fill your vessel, and then you know what'll happen? You'll be troubled and that'll spill the blessing over on other people. You'll be perplexed and persecuted and cast down and going through these experiences of difficulty. You know why? It spills the blessing out on other people.

Ralph Waldo Emerson used to say, "it is hard to carry a full cup." And you and I want to carry a full cup and just enjoy all of this instead of sharing it. The vessel doesn't contain for itself; the vessel contains for others.

Now, God looks upon us as vessels. He says you're clay. He knoweth our frame; He remembers that we're dust. And He says, "I want to use you, but you're going to go through trials." A vessel has to go through the furnace to be hardened and beautified. A vessel has to go through difficulty to spill over some of the blessing. God permits these trials and God controls these trials and God watches over His vessel.

You may be troubled, you don't have to be distressed. You might even be perplexed—the great Apostle Paul perplexed, yes—but you don't have to be in despair because you know God's going to lead you through. Persecuted, but God won't forsake you. Cast down, yes, but you won't be destroyed because God is so working that death might abound in us, but life through the Lord Jesus Christ.

There's a paradox there, isn't there? Always bearing about in the body, daily being exposed to death, the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that—now here's the reason—so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

God permits these trials so that the vessel will bring glory to God. We die, but others live. We suffer, but others are blessed. So that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. J. Hudson Taylor was being introduced at a meeting one day and the man went on and on bragging about Hudson Taylor and finally said, "And now here is our illustrious guest." And Hudson Taylor stood up and said, "I am the little servant of an illustrious Master." Focus on the treasure, not on the vessel.

Secondly, focus on the Master, not on the servant. Notice that: "For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, 'I believed, and therefore have I spoken,'" a quotation from Psalm 116:10. "We also believe, and therefore we speak." Focus on the Master, not on the servant. You see, our purpose in life is that the life of Jesus might be made manifest.

2 Corinthians 4:10, "we experience the dying of the Lord Jesus so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. We are delivered unto death for Jesus' sake so that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

This is what Paul meant in Philippians 1 when he said Christ is the one who's being magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death. Galatians 2:20, "Christ liveth in me." And so as we go through the difficulties of life, we die to ourselves and out of this death comes life for the sake of others. All this is by faith.

2 Corinthians 4:13, "having the same spirit of faith." When you walk by faith and not by sight, when you trust God, then the life of Jesus is manifest. When difficulty comes, faith says out of this difficulty will come blessing. When death comes, faith says out of this death will come life. When persecution comes, faith says out of this persecution will come growth and advancement.

Paul said, "we believe." We believe God. We believe the God who can bring life out of death, the God who can bring order out of chaos, the God who can bring light into darkness, the God who always leads us in triumph, the God who always enables us to do His will. We believe and therefore we speak. Nothing will shut your mouth faster than unbelief.

Instruction number one: focus on the treasure, not on the vessel, verses 7 through 10. Focus on the Master, not on the servant, verses 11 through 13. Instruction number three: focus on the future glory, not on the present trial, 2 Corinthians 4:14-15. "Knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus," that's the greatest victory God ever wrought, "shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you." Paul said, "Even if I do die, I'm going to be raised from the dead. I would much rather serve God and then lose my life, give it for Him, than to waste my life."

Somebody was scolding George Whitefield one day because he worked too hard, he preached too hard, he'd sometimes preach twenty times a week. And George Whitefield said, "I would much rather wear out than rust out." That's good. "For all things are for your sakes."

We don't do it for ourselves; we do it for others. "That the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God." Grace and glory, they go together, don't they? He will give me grace and glory. 1 Peter 5:10, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory."

Paul says don't focus on the present trial; focus on the future glory. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed. We know that death has been defeated. Now, if our greatest enemy has been defeated, why worry about any other enemy? We know that the Lord Jesus has resurrection power. What we are doing, we are doing for the sake of others.

Therefore, don't give up. Don't faint. Don't quit. Don't resign. Don't hand in your resignation. Focus on the treasure, not on the vessel. Focus on the Master, not on the servant. Focus on the future glory, not on the present trial, and you will not faint.

If anybody had reason to be discouraged, it was Paul. His friends had, some of them, deserted him; the enemy was attacking him; Paul had been through difficulties. These first four chapters of 2 Corinthians outline just a few of the problems that Paul was facing. And yet Paul was not discouraged. Paul said, "I am not going to faint; I'm not going to lose heart." I'm going to read with you and study with you today 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5.

This paragraph deals with three of the major causes of discouragement in the lives of people, and Paul outlines and discusses these three causes of discouragement, and he tells us how to overcome them.

2 Corinthians 4:16, here's the first cause of discouragement: ourselves. Ourselves. Have you ever caused yourself to be discouraged? "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish," or it's present now, is perishing, "though the outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."

Now, if you look at the outward man, you'll get discouraged. I don't care how old you are or how young you are, the outward man is perishing. There's just something about life that makes us get older. This is just a part of everyday life. Now this doesn't mean we shouldn't take care of ourselves.

Our body is God's temple and we ought to take good care of our bodies; there's no reason why we should ruin our bodies. Our bodies are God's tools; God works through our bodies to accomplish His purposes. But even apart from all of the exercise and the good food and the vitamins and all that we do to maintain strong, healthy bodies, whether we like it or not, the outward man is perishing.

But more than that, Paul had been through some difficult circumstances. Later on in 2 Corinthians, he tells us about some of these. He had spent a night and a day in the deep; he had been beaten; he had been in prison; he had gone without food; he'd had many sleepless nights. He was persecuted and troubled and exposed to death. Is it any wonder the outward man was perishing? Paul put into one lifetime three lifetimes of service.

And so we look at ourselves and we see the outward man perishing, and we can get discouraged. We can't do the things we used to be able to do. We can't run as fast as we used to be able to run.

But you know, the other side of the coin is the inward man is being renewed day by day. Now, that's the focus. The focus is on the inward man. We must take care of the outward man. You can't divide these two; you can't separate them. But the inward man experiences renewal. And even though the outward man may be subject to decay and deterioration and weakness, no matter what we do, the inward man can go from glory to glory through the ministry of the Spirit of God.

We read that in 2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transfigured, transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." And so when you spend time in the Word of God and when you pray, when you worship, when you meditate, the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and makes you like the Son of God. And that's that inward renewal.

And those three words at the end of 2 Corinthians 4:16 are so important: "day by day." You live a day at a time. Now you try to carry the worries about tomorrow and the mistakes of yesterday, and you'll wreck today. And so we live day by day, experiencing day by day renewal. Take time to be holy. Take time to let God renew your spiritual life within.

Now 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Paul says there's a second cause of discouragement, and that's our circumstances. "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look," that's our part now, God'll do His part if we'll do our part, "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen," the invisible, the imperishable, "for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." When you walk by faith, then you can overcome circumstances.

Now, he gives us a list of contrasts here. We have affliction contrasted with glory. Light affliction which is working against us in the outward man, working for us in the inward man, because we are not looking at the visible, we're looking at the invisible. Now unsaved people cannot understand this; they think we're crazy because we see the invisible.

Faith enables us to see. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. By faith Abraham saw that city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God. By faith Moses saw that Promised Land and led Israel out of Egypt. When Stephen was being stoned, he looked up and he saw heaven and he saw the Lord Jesus.

Now the world doesn't understand this because they walk by sight. The world says, "well, seeing is believing." That's foolish. Believing is seeing. Because we believe the Word of God, we are able to see what other people cannot see.

And when you realize what God is accomplishing, you realize that trouble is not working against you; trouble is working for you. Calvary's the greatest illustration of this. If anything looked like defeat, it was Calvary, and yet look what happened three days later: glory. Our Lord Jesus arose from the dead and accomplished the great miracle of redemption.

Now 2 Corinthians 5, the first five verses, he gives us a third cause of discouragement: death. He deals very, very courageously with death. You know, death is going to come. "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were taken down," Paul compares your body to a tent, Paul was a tentmaker you'll remember, "we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." This is not our heavenly mansion of John 14; this is the glorified body.

Paul is saying right now I'm living in a tent, and the real me is not this tent. You can take down the tent and I'll still survive because that's the inner man. And I'm going to have a glorified body, an eternal home, not a tent, but a house, a permanent dwelling in the heaven.

We shall all be changed, and this old body of mine shall be transformed. I'll receive a new body; I shall be clothed upon with my house from heaven. "If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle," this tent, this, this earthly house now that we live in, "do groan, being burdened."

Now what's he burdened about? Not that we would be unclothed, not that I would die. You see, he compares dying to taking down a tent and he compares dying to taking off clothing. He says, "When I, if I should die, my spirit will leave this body and my spirit'll go to be with the Lord, but I'm not looking for death; I'm looking for the Lord Jesus to come back." We're burdened, not that we would be unclothed. A Christian, because they know they're going to heaven, doesn't go around seeking death. They aren't morbid about it.

He said, "we don't want to be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality," that's our present body given to death, "might be swallowed up of life." It's a beautiful picture. Paul says when Jesus Christ returns, my present situation will change dramatically. We shall see Him, we shall be like Him, and my mortality will be swallowed up with life, and this old tent will be replaced with a wonderful new body. One day we shall share with Him marvelous eternal glory.

That should encourage us today. How do you know it's true? Well, God has given unto us the earnest of the Spirit, the deposit, the guarantee. That word "earnest" is the Greek word for engagement ring. The Holy Spirit is God's engagement ring, God's deposit, God's down payment, saying heaven is on the way. You're going to have a new body.

The Holy Spirit lives in your body and He experiences with you the groanings of your body, and He's promising you that one day you are going to have a new body. Well, don't quit. Don't quit because of yourself or your circumstances or death. Jesus Christ has overcome. Live by faith. Look at the invisible and lay hold of the things that are eternal, and God will encourage your heart.