Living in Light of Eternity

1:34What they see there isn't real. Because where their bodies and their minds actually exist in the real world, that's what's reality. That is real life. It has all of these discomforts, it has all of these trials, it has all of these difficulties, but that is what is real. The unseen world inside of the matrix is the real one. And so today in 2 Corinthians 4, Paul honestly addresses the circumstances that he and his team are facing.

2:06But he's going to remind the Corinthians that they don't lose heart because they're living for the eternal things that are unseen. And so today we're going to learn that when we view this life in light of eternity, we can face our circumstances with faith. Let's take a look here at the text in verse 7. Paul begins and he says, But we have this treasure, this treasure. Well, this treasure is clearly referring back to the gospel that he shares in verse 6.

2:45If you look back there, he talks about it being the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The good news of Jesus' life and death and resurrection is a treasure. Jesus talked about it that way in Matthew chapter 13. Take a look. He says, The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

3:20Now, most of us have had a garage sale at some point. I'm not sentimental about stuff. My family will tell you that. If something has not been used, needed, or appreciated for the past two weeks, I'm like, why is this still here? Now, you might be more sentimental than me, but I will tell you this: even I don't want to sell all that I have. I have stuff I like. I have stuff that I love. I don't want to sell that stuff.

3:53So, what is it that would motivate someone to sell all that they have, even if they're not sentimental about things? Well, it has to be something that's so obviously superior, something so obviously better, something so obviously more valuable than what they currently own. And, friends, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is that treasure. It is so valuable that even the most valuable things in this world pale in comparison. In the kingdom of heaven, everything is perfect. Nothing wears out, nothing breaks down, nothing gets old. It's a place without sin or death or tears. It is a priceless treasure.

4:43And Paul says in verse 7, we have this treasure where? In jars of clay. We have this good news about Jesus' life and death and resurrection and the kingdom of heaven that we inherit through faith in that message. We have it in jars of clay. Now, that was a common way of referring to the human body in the ancient world. We learn in Genesis 1 and 2 that God formed us out of dust. And Moses tells us in Psalm 90 that we might get 70 years on this earth. We might get 80 years on this earth.

5:23But then we are going to return to dust because of our sin. We were made from dust. We're going to return to dust. And during our brief lifetimes, we are reminded of that over and over again through our weakness and illnesses and aches and pains. And the reality that our minds and our bodies are slowing down and they're wearing out year after year. We're reminded of that fact. In our pride, we're tempted to ignore the fact that our bodies are returning to dust. We can To ignore it, we can try to cover it up in various ways, but the reality remains: we are dust and we are returning to dust.

6:07We're jars of clay. How very strange and wonderful it is then that God chose to place the treasure of His gospel and of His kingdom inside of us, inside of jars and clay, fragile jars of clay that wear out and that break down over time. See, God's ways are not our ways. And Paul says the reason that God places this treasure in jars of clay is, according to verse 7, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

6:48That is the surpassing power, the unexplainable strength to remain joyful and hopeful and faithful in the midst of trials. That has to come from God because there's no human explanation for remaining joyful, hopeful, and faithful in trials. Especially not the kind of trials that Paul and his team were facing. Look at how he describes them in verse 8. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

7:41Now, I want to take a look at each one of those phrases because they all seem like they're synonymous in some ways, but they mean different things. When he says they're afflicted in every way, he means that they're experiencing trouble and hardship. And that was just daily life for these men who were traveling across the globe in the ancient world. That was hard enough as it was. They're traveling across the globe in the ancient world to preach the gospel and to establish churches.

8:12They're trying to eke out an existence and pay for their expenses and their needs while they're doing those things. They had trouble and hardship every day. He says they're perplexed. And that word means to be at a loss for how to understand or explain what's happening to you. That certainly would have been the case when they're looking at their circumstances. He says they are persecuted. And that word refers to a systematic oppression that is carried out by a group of people against another group of people.

8:53They had to deal with that everywhere they went from the Jews. And then oftentimes from the Roman government as well, they were systematically oppressed. And harassed. And then he says they were struck down. That means to suffer considerable pain or injury, which happened every time they were roughly arrested, beaten with rods, whipped, stoned. So when you saw Paul and his team, when they came to your city or they came back to your city after a length of time, you were in a very real sense looking at the walking dead.

9:35You can only go to prison so many times. You can only be beaten with rods so many times, whipped so many times, stoned so many times, and survive all that and look like anything but the walking dead. That's what they looked like. So when Paul says in verse 10 that they are always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, that's no hyperbole. They probably looked a lot like the Nazarene who was whipped and beaten and crucified.

10:11So when you look at these guys and then you see all that they've been through and yet they are hopeful and joyful and faithful, what do you do except ask, what treasure do you have inside? Of that jar of clay. Because it's just so obvious that that power to endure has to come from God. How else could you explain that kind of a response in the face of those circumstances? He says they carry the death of Jesus in their bodies so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in their bodies. Nothing short of resurrection power could enable them to go on.

10:59And because that resurrection power was alive and working in their hearts and in their bodies, it was being manifested there. Paul didn't view his circumstances like you would expect him to. He says, again, they're afflicted in every way, but they're not crushed. Perplexed, but they're not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. I appreciate so much how honest Paul is about the struggles. And I'll tell you, the word in this section that encourages me the most is perplexed. He says that they're perplexed.

11:44It's one thing to experience hardship and trial and difficulty when you are a missionary, you are traveling across the world, the ancient world, to go and plant churches amidst all kinds of oppression. We look at that and we think, well, yeah, that's just what happens to missionaries. And church planners, especially the apostles in the first century. When they are afflicted, when they're struck down, when they are persecuted, we say, that makes sense. But for Paul to say that he is perplexed, that he is at a loss to understand and explain what's happening to him and why it's happening, I think a lot of us read that and we say, I have certainly felt that way before.

12:30It's just so helpful when the Apostle Paul can admit that he struggled in that way. But I think what's even better is the perspective that he brings. He's able to say that their circumstances were exceptionally difficult. He is honest about that. But he's also able to say that they weren't crushed. They weren't driven to despair. They weren't forsaken. They weren't destroyed. He has that kind of perspective. God was sustaining them through all of their trials. Death was at work in them, but life was at work in the Corinthians. And so they put up with all of their difficulties, he says, for the sake of Jesus.

13:17Friends, many Christian leaders and many pastors will talk about the benefits of following Christ. They'll talk about forgiveness and reconciliation with God. They'll talk about justification and sanctification and what awaits them. For us in heaven. And all of those are good things. They're true things. They are right things to talk about. But far fewer Christian leaders and pastors, especially in the American church, will talk about the cost of following Jesus. That includes persecution. It includes, at times, feeling nearly driven to despair because of our trials.

13:58And because that's the case, I think there are so many believers in our country who are hesitant to even admit that they're struggling, hesitant to even admit that they're having a hard time, that they're perplexed and at a loss for how to understand and explain the things that are going on in their life. Because they've had this picture painted for them that the Christian life is all joy, all victory, all prosperity all the time. So if you're a Christian and you're not experiencing that, something is wrong with you. Something is wrong with your faith.

14:32But Paul helps us to remember the words of Jesus. He said, in this life, you will have trouble. He didn't say you might have trouble. He didn't say it's a possibility that you could encounter trouble. He said, in this life, you will have trouble. It's guaranteed. But then he also reminds us of the rest of what Jesus says. By how he responds to the trial, Jesus said, In this life you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.

15:11I have overcome the world. His overcoming power lives in us, and it shows everybody who's watching us respond to trials, that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Verse 13. Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what has been written, I believed, and so I spoke. We also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

16:07In verse 13, Paul is referring back to Psalm 116. And the psalmist in that psalm seems to be going through something similar to what Paul and his companions are enduring. The psalmist reports feeling distress and anguish, if you remember us reading through that at the beginning of the service. He talks about feeling like the snares of his. Of death were encompassing him. So, what did he do? He honestly acknowledges his trials. He honestly says how anxious they're making him feel. But then he looks to God.

16:48He turns his eyes to God. He focuses on God's character, God's promises, God's kindness to him. In other words, he exercised faith in the midst of all that he was going through, in the midst of all that he was facing. And so, Paul looks at this psalmist who wrote Psalm 116, and he looks at those distressing circumstances that he was going through. And Paul writes, We have the same spirit of faith. In other words, we're going to look at our trials, our circumstances, through the lens of eternity, because we have the same spirit of faith.

17:33See, Paul did not view himself and his circumstances and trials, all that happened to him, in a vacuum, as though he were the only believer who ever went through trials and suffering. He knew for a fact that he was not. After writing what is known as the hall of faith in chapter 11, the author of Hebrews transitions. Into chapter 12, and he says this: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

18:26See, Hebrews 11 is this vast lineage of men and women all through the ages who responded to God with faith in the midst of their difficult trials. And so Paul looks to that great cloud of witnesses, these men and these women who faced extraordinarily difficult circumstances and yet believed God and his promises in the midst of them. And he says, We have the same spirit of faith. We have the same spirit of faith that allowed them to honestly face their circumstances, to honestly admit that it was really hard, but to see their circumstances through the lens of eternity. And that's why Paul says at the end of verse 13, we also believe, and so we also speak.

19:20What did they speak? Verse 14. Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise the Lord. us with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. See, last week we talked about Colossians chapter 1 because at the heart of this problem here in Corinth was that you had this set of false teachers who was coming in and they were saying Jesus was just a rabbi. He was just a teacher. Some of them thought he was a good rabbi. Some of them thought he was a heretical rabbi. But the thing that they had in common was that they all believed that Jesus was nothing more than a teacher. And Paul goes to the Corinthians and he reminds them, as he did with the Colossians, he says, Jesus is not just the teacher, he is the Son of God. He is the firstborn from among the dead. That's who he is. And he promised to resurrect and grant eternal life to all who believe in his life and his death and his resurrection, knowing that that is their only hope for forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

20:29And so because they believed that, they were able to face their current circumstances with faith. Saying, listen, no matter what we go through, no matter how hard it is, this is what's true about our future. We may die tomorrow. We may die decades from now, but when we do, we're going to be raised with Christ. We're going to be raised with all of you, with all believers everywhere. We are going to enter into the kingdom of heaven. That's the promise.

21:02So, until then, everything that they did and all that they endured, he says at the end of verse 15, it was all for the sake of the Corinthians. Because more than anything, what they wanted was God to be glorified. So, earlier he says they do everything for the sake of Jesus. But how is God glorified? He's glorified when his grace extends out to more and more people, leading more and more people to give thanks to God so that he receives more glory. So, they do everything for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of the Corinthians and others, so that God will receive more glory.

21:46That's how they looked at their trials. And so, church, if you have ever felt alone in your suffering, and we all do at times, verses 13 through 15 are such a wonderful reminder and encouragement. We stand in a vast lineage of faithful men and women and children who have faced exceptionally difficult circumstances with faith. They believed, and so they spoke. Because God keeps His promises, we can face every trial, every difficulty in our lives with confident faith because we know that we're going to be raised with Christ and raised with one another on the last day. And because we know that when we suffer rightly, our witness is going out and shining forth before the watching world.

22:51So when you feel discouraged, when you feel all alone in your trials and sufferings, that is the time to go to God's Word and say, I believed, and so I spoke. And friends, this is not positive self-talk. What positive self-talk does is you try to minimize your circumstances and pretend that they're not really as bad as they seem. Or you try to tell yourself and you try to tell other people that everything's going to work out in the end.

23:23But friends, the beauty of Christianity and the beauty of the Bible is that there's no lies. There's no lies. It's 100% truth. And what the Bible teaches us is that your circumstances actually may be that bad. What the Bible teaches us is that actually in this life, it may not turn out okay in the end for you. But what we learn in Scripture is that everything not only turns out okay in the end, in eternity, we have a glorious future awaiting us.

24:01We will be raised with Christ, and we will be raised with each other to enjoy the new heavens and the new earth and all of the glory of God, apart from any sin, disappointment, tears, trials, struggles of any kind. That's why Paul has great hope in the midst of his trials and his circumstances. Verse 16. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

24:46The chapter essentially begins and ends at the same place. Paul says, So we do not lose heart. He's telling the Corinthians, in spite of their circumstances, they're not allowing themselves to get discouraged. They may be perplexed, but they're not going to despair. Whenever we do pre-marriage counseling, me and Kendra always talk to young engaged couples about expectations. And we talk about how expectations are so important in marriage because our expectations determine our reactions. If you, as a husband or wife, are expecting your spouse to be home at a certain time and they come home four hours later, Your reaction is probably not going to be very good. Why? Because the expectations were not communicated. You thought they were coming home at one time, they thought they were getting home at another time, and nobody talked about it. So you react accordingly.

25:46And friends, it's the same exact thing in the Christian life. Our expectations determine our reactions. So if you expect that following Jesus is going to lead to a life of unbroken joy and victory and prosperity, you are going to lose heart when you inevitably encounter the trials and difficulties and suffering that Jesus promised. See, Paul and his team may have been perplexed. They may have been at a loss as for how to explain and understand what was happening to them, but they were never driven to despair. They never lost heart because they expected following Jesus to come with difficulty. They did not expect a life of comfort and ease.

26:37But something else kept them from losing heart as well. Look at verse 16 again. It's the knowledge that although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. That's a hard thing to admit, that the outer self is wasting. Away. It's a really hard thing to admit in a culture like ours that just idolizes youth and beauty and health. It's a hard thing to admit that because of sin and the curse, our physical bodies are wasting away. Things ache that didn't used to ache. I used to be able to do active things and then just move on with my life. Now, if there's not foam rolling and heat treatments, and appropriate medications, like there's no getting out of bed the next day, I just live there now.

27:34This is what's happening to us as our outer bodies are wasting away. And here's the thing: you can see all of that. There is evidence that your outer body is wasting away. What you can't see is that our inner selves are being renewed day by day. That takes faith. And here's how faith is defined in Scripture. Look at Hebrews 11. He says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

28:16Secular people, some of them often define faith as believing something in spite of the evidence against it. But see, as Christians, we don't believe anything. In spite of the evidence, no, we take a look at the evidence and we are convicted about and we hope for things that we can't see, just like them. They are convicted about and they hope for things that they can't see either. That's what the Bible, that's how the Bible defines faith: it's being convicted about and hoping for things that you can't see.

28:59So let's move on now to verse 17 and see why that matters. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Now, verse 17 has to be one of the most beautifully written verses in all of Paul's letters. I mean, just look at these phrases.

29:39His present circumstances he calls light momentary affliction. But his future hope he defines as an eternal weight of glory. What's happening in his life right now is affliction. It's definitely not glorious. But in comparison with what's to come, it is light. It's not heavy. It is temporary. It's not eternal. How does somebody have that perspective? How do you get there? Well, see, friends, it's because Paul is viewing all of his present circumstances, which were not good, through the lens of what was true about his future circumstances, which were glorious.

30:37And how did he do that? Well, I want you to think back to Hebrews chapter 12. We just read verse 1 earlier. And Paul was talking about that great cloud of witnesses that was encouraging us to adopt the same spirit of faith. Look at what the next verse says, Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus. The NIV says, fixing our eyes on Jesus.

31:22The author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. What Paul says at the end of this section is that they were able to do this. They were able to look at their current circumstances through the lens of what was true about their glorious future by not focusing on what they could see, the transient and temporary things. Instead, they fixed their minds on the things that were unseen, namely, the person of Jesus, who set us an example by going to the cross and despising the shame because he was looking ahead to the joy that was set before him.

32:20My Christian brothers and sisters, how do you view the trials that God brings into your life? Do you view them as light, momentary afflictions? If not, it may have everything to do with your perspective, with how you're viewing the situation. You see, it's just not natural for us to look at our trials the way that God teaches that we should view them in His Word. Naturally, we view trials negatively, we see them as disappointments and setbacks. We see them as pain without a point.

33:05We don't view them as an opportunity to manifest the death of Jesus and the life of Jesus in our bodies through our joy and hope and faith in the midst of our suffering. We don't view them in such a way that would lead others to believe that, yes, we know our outer self is wasting away, but our inner self is being renewed day by day. That's not natural to us. And so, encouraged by the great cloud of witnesses, we must look to Jesus. We must fix our eyes on Him, not on the things that are temporary and transient, but on the things that are eternal and unseen. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross and despised the shame and now is seated at the right hand of God.

34:00Because you see, if we don't look to Jesus but instead look to what is seen, whether our circumstances or ourselves or other people, we are going to be driven to despair by our light momentary afflictions. If we don't fix our eyes on Christ, that's what's going to happen. So, Christian, what is your perspective today? Have you fixed your eyes? Jesus. And if you're here and you're not yet following Jesus, it might be the case that you've faced a lot of trials this year. Many people have.

34:46Maybe you felt overwhelmed with all that's going on around you and inside of you during this season, and maybe you've come close to losing heart and giving up. And if that's the case, I want to invite you to look to Jesus. I want to invite you to fix your eyes on him. He came to seek and to save you. Not once you got your act together, not once you cleaned yourself up, not once you had established a good enough track record of religious performance. He came to seek and to save you while you were lost, while you were his enemy.

35:30He went to the cross for sin, not for his own sin, but for yours and for mine. He promises to receive anyone who fixes their eyes upon him, to anyone who confesses that he is Lord and that he has been raised from the dead. See, your circumstances, some of which were brought about by your own sin, and some of which were completely outside of your control. They had nothing to do with your son. Do with anything that you said or did, they might feel overwhelming. And what Jesus says to you is He invites you to come to Him if you are weary, if you are weighed down, and He says, My yoke is easy, my burden is light. Come to me, and I will give you rest.

36:22He does not promise to immediately change all of your circumstances. He does not promise you a life of unbroken joy and victory and blessing. But what He does promise is an easy yoke and a light burden. He promises most of all to remove the burden of sin from you. And so I urge you this morning to turn to Him and to receive Him by faith. Because when you do, your circumstances may not change. But because now you're viewing all of life through the lens of eternity, you can face those same circumstances with faith.

37:09Let's pray. Father, I begin by praying for all the men and women and children who are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances in their lives. Sometimes going to worship can be really hard in those moments because you want to be joyful, you want to be hopeful. A lot of people around you seem to be exhibiting joy and hope, and yet you are weighed down with your circumstances. And so I pray, God, that they would be encouraged by the Apostle Paul today to be honest about their circumstances and their trials and their suffering, and yet to also look with clear eyes. Empower them to look with clear eyes at their glorious future that has been promised after this light momentary affliction is over.

39:00We have this eternal weight of glory that is being prepared for us. God, may we take hold of that by faith. May we, like the psalmist and like Paul, believe and so speak. May we preach the truth to ourselves and to each other so that we are constantly reminded that no matter what happens to us in this life, we have an amazing future that is guaranteed. I pray that you would fill us with hope, fill us with joy, fill us with a passion to share the good news of Jesus Christ so that thanksgiving may abound to you, God, that you might receive more glory in our community and around the world.

40:04In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.