Stand Strong in the Word
Stand Strong in the Word is a weekly bible study that teaches through the Bible verse by verse in chronological order. For more information, visit www.standstrongministries.org.
Stand Strong in the Word
#273 "From Brokenness to Glory: God’s Purpose in Our Trials” (2 Corinthians 4:5-15)
In today's episode, we're jumping deep into the inspiring passage of 2 Corinthians 4:5-15. This powerful text speaks to the resilience needed to endure trials while relying on God's unwavering strength. The apostle Paul reminds us that as followers of Christ, we may face hardships, but we are empowered with divine strength to triumph over them.
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Do you ever wonder if trials in life matter? Today, we will be studying 2 Corinthians 4, verses 5-16, about how God works through our challenges. This passage reminds us that our hardships are not pointless. Even in our toughest moments, we'll see how God turns our weaknesses into displays of His power, leading us from brokenness to glory, one trial at a time. Well, hey there, my friends, welcome to Stand Strong in the Word podcast, jason Jimenez, with you guys, as always, blessed to be with you in studio as we study 2 Corinthians, chapter 4.
Speaker 1:Now, where we left things off was really powerful, because we are talking about the God of this age who blinds the minds of unbelievers. Now, in context, we have to remember because this is Paul talking about ministry. He's talking about this unseen war. He's talking about breaking the spiritual darkness that plagues people wherever he went, but remember, he came without losing heart because he had a ministry that was given by the mercy of God. That, my friends, is where our strength comes from, is from the Lord, and when we have community with others and we commune with the Lord and we are not, as Paul talked about in verses two through three, using the role that God has given us as he goes back in chapter two, verse 17,. We're not peddlers of God's word. He's renounced that. They're not doing anything. That is disgraceful. They're not practicing cunning, they're not tampering with God's word, so they're not falling prey to the works of the enemy.
Speaker 1:But at the same time, when you're doing ministry, you have to realize that you're preaching the gospel to people whose minds are blinded by the God of this age. And it is through the light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, that's pointing to the incarnation. That Christ came into this world, demonstrated for us what holy living is, perfect life is, and the power to overcome the darkness. That is what we walk in. So we can't bring hope to people if we're hopeless, and we cannot deliver people from the darkness if we ourselves are shackled to the bondage of sin, and a lot of Christians in ministry have lost heart. But it is by God's mercy that you and I are doing what we're doing, and so that's one way, my friends, as we're now building into this next part, because what Paul's going to do is he's going to go into particular details about the suffrage, and so it's one way for us to be an overcomer, or as I title this message, from brokenness to glory, to see God's purposes in our trials and not to lose hope, not to give up.
Speaker 1:But notice, in verse five, right off the bat, he says for what we proclaim is not ourselves. That's the next point that is so important. In ministry we're not proclaiming ourselves. In the Greek it's oi hoitos chrisomen. It means not ourselves do we preach, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus's sake. That one verse here in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 5, my friends, breaks down what ministry is. It's not about us, it's about Jesus. We are to be servants and we do it for his namesake period. Notice, paul's focus in his proclamation was preaching the gospel.
Speaker 1:If we go back to 1 Corinthians 2, 1 and 2, and, a matter of fact, I was actually praying this over my life and many of my colleague friends that I do minister with that I love dearly In 2 Corinthians 2, verse 1 and 2, it says I do not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. That's what it's about, my friends, and you know and this is important because look if God has blessed you, where you are able to go and get really good education and you have degrees and that sort of thing, that's awesome. I've pursued to some extent the same things and there's been aspects that I love and there's been aspects of it I don't love, obviously. But it's sad because oftentimes and I was just with a friend recently and I couldn't tell you how many times he told me that he had a PhD and I've known that and you only need to tell me that once and you know there's pride there and it's again a lot of times as Christians, when we're doing ministry, we come with that lofty speech or saying let me talk about this. You shouldn't be talking about this because I'm more educated or more qualified. You want to talk about somebody who was qualified and it wasn't because of the education that Paul had, but because he was called by the mercy of God.
Speaker 1:He was a servant. He didn't take advantage of his role. He decided to know nothing among you, the Corinthians, and this is what we need to decide to know nothing other than Jesus Christ and him crucified, to share that with people. Paul didn't come, as he says in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 24, to lord it over people. Spiritually, he was a servant. That word is doulos that we see repeatedly used throughout scripture. In fact, when he says, imitate me, for I imitate christ, in first corinthians 11 1, it says I'm an example of christ, I'm a servant, I'm a bond servant. That's how he referred to himself in the opening of the letter of romans, where, again, the most intelligent in that time and of course paul, laid out the doctrine of justification in the book of romans like no one had ever done before. But he came as a servant.
Speaker 1:And that's what we have to remind ourselves and we have to be very careful when we're having these conversations with some of our friends where we don't come off like you know what. Stop telling me how smart you are, be rude about it, but sometimes say hey, you know what, you know. Why do you feel the need to tell people how smart you are or how educated you are? You know and that's that's the tone that Paul's coming here and that's what we can't overlook we have to come as a servant. We have to look around us and think I'm no one special. But, lord, if you've called me, I wanna be obedient, I wanna be faithful to minister to the people.
Speaker 1:It's hard to minister to an audience right One-on-one, but if God gives an audience, if he gives you people in front of you to share his word, to like right now, you guys, I don't ever see this as an audience, but in the sense of like a messenger with a message to an audience. In that sense that's true. But you guys are brothers and sisters in the Lord and we love hearing from you, we love knowing that there are thousands of people around the world who come to this podcast to learn the word of God and we do it together. We're servants and I don't ever want us to lose sight of that. And it was so powerful in the context of what we saw in verse four, when the God of this age and he's bringing darkness, and it says that he blinds the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. We know that we're the hands and feet of Jesus.
Speaker 1:And verse six here says for God, who said let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And this is so powerful because when you and I are dealing with the demonic warfare. Let's say the darkness cannot prevail over light. It's the light that actually shines forth and eliminates darkness. Darkness, all that it is, is the absence of light. But when light comes in our hearts, the light of the knowledge, of the glory of God, notice in the face of Jesus Christ. He's using that again when you go back to verse four. The glory of Christ, the face of Christ, it's personal, because the light isn't us. We don't proclaim ourselves. We are proclaiming the light of Christ, who is the light of the world, we're told in John 8, verse 12.
Speaker 1:But what's also amazing is what Paul does is he goes back to God's action of calling light to shine in the darkness. That also is a depiction, if you will, of salvation Genesis 1, verse 3. Salvation is a picture of coming out of darkness and into the light. It's the dawning of new creation. So just as God's original creative word brought light into the world, his ongoing creative word continues to bring spiritual life and understanding of the gospel to those who have not experienced it before. That's why it's so transformative when you see someone who doesn't have knowledge. Remember Hosea 4, verse 6 says that God's people are destroyed literally. Not just that they fail, but they will face destruction because they lack knowledge. And here, one reason people are in darkness is because they don't have the knowledge of the glory of God that was revealed in Jesus Christ when he came. That's our responsibility.
Speaker 1:The ESV study Bible says, quote in the old Testament the glory of God was the bright light that surrounded the presence of God. It had led the people of Egypt as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, in Exodus 13. Later it had filled the tabernacle under Moses Exodus 33, exodus 40, and had then filled Solomon's temple in 1 Kings 8. But it departed from the temple in the time of Ezekiel because of the sins of the people, in Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel 11. It returned only in Jesus, who became flesh and dwelt among us. John says we have seen his glory, glory as the only son from the father in John 1, verse 14. In contrast to the face of Moses, from which God's glory faded, god's glory forever shines brightly in the face of Jesus Christ and we reflect that. My friends With Moses.
Speaker 1:As we saw earlier in some previous podcasts, it's veil. The veil in 2 Corinthians 3, remember you know prevented people from really seeing the glory of God, but then it diminished over time. That's not the case. In the new covenant, we shine forth the glory of the gospel. Now. We have to keep that in mind, because now, with that type of eternal perspective, with knowing the redemptive work of Christ in us, that he reigns supreme in us and that we're dwelt with the power of the Holy Spirit, we then live life.
Speaker 1:Notice in verse seven that we have this treasure in jars of clay. Now, this is amazing because, even in this broken down body that each and every one of us are operating in right now, some of you guys have illnesses, afflictions, some of you guys are distraught, you're being brought down financially, you're in a mess, you have relational problems and you want to just call it quits, or you just you can't wait to just hit the bed again because you're tired. I'll be honest, I'm tired right now. Didn't sleep the best, going to be traveling again and trying to get clarity, trying to pursue the Lord. Was up early, seeking the Lord, and you know what, supernaturally, god gives strength.
Speaker 1:But what's amazing, though, is, as we shine the light of Christ in us, notice we have this treasure, but Paul uses this language it's in jars of clay. Notice to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. This is amazing because, if you track what Paul's saying is, we're not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus. And then, in verse six, we shine the knowledge of the glory of God. And then, in verse 6, we shine the knowledge of the glory of God. And then in verse 7, we show that the surpassing power so what we are the business of doing even as we face trials as he's going to be talking about trials in a minute there is Christ in the midst. God is not hidden, he's not far away, he doesn't run from opposition or when we are going through a tragic time, he is there. And I would even say, for my own personal trials and trauma, he's closer than never before. And so what we have to understand with what Paul is talking about and this is what he's going to break into in verses 7 through 15, is he's going to—this is his second of five listed accounts of his hardships as an apostle. That's a lot. He's focusing in on that and he builds around that.
Speaker 1:And I believe we need to do this more. We need to take more opportunity to talk about suffering, to talk about trials, to talk about hardships. That's why sometimes you know throughout the year when I'm speaking somewhere, even if it was not given directly for me to do this, but if a particular passage or message or lesson that I'm teaching, inevitably I will maybe for a few minutes tie in my testimony and tell and remind people of the grace of God, the mercy of God, in my own personal life, and that's what Paul's doing here. This is something that he is wanting to make sure that people understand is that he is going through a ton of hardship, and here in verse seven is a very pivotal verse because it's a central thesis, if you will, of him pointing out God's power that prevails catch this, my friends, despite the afflictions and the shortcomings. So remember when he goes back and he was talking about chapter one, particularly in verses 3 through 11, or just in chapter 2, verses 14 through 17, where he was talking about facing death but he believed that he'd be delivered and you go back even further than that in 1 Corinthians, chapter 4, 9 through 13. And later, as we study this, we're going to see in another list, in chapter 6, and then in another one, in chapter 11, of the hardship and what he does is he in one context, if you go back in the first letter, he talks about the body that is broken and that is fading or, you know, like a mirror, dimly. And in this passage and we're going to see, at the very end of chapter four we're going to talk about that, this momentary light affliction. But what he's talking about here in the body is he refers to us as a jar of clay or an earthen vessel.
Speaker 1:For some translations and this just is referring in those days and many of them have been discovered in archaeology of a brittle vessel. In fact, some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were in jars of clay. The Dead Sea Scrolls were in jars of clay and they were well-preserved because of the lack of humidity and the dryness and no sun beating down, you know. And when they're found in many of them in caves. But they're in these jars of clay. They're brittle vessels that have little to no value.
Speaker 1:And this is so important in context because, remember, it's not we who preach ourselves, it's not about us, it's about the Lord. Okay, we shine his light separate. We are nothing but people who are filled with darkness. We are jars of clay. We are this brittle, weak, shallow of a person. And yet Psalm 31, verse 12, says I have been forgotten. Like one who is dead. I become like a broken vessel, like that is what Paul's saying. I'm nothing. So I'm not preaching myself. I don't think of myself more highly than I ought to think. That's wisdom. And the more quote success you have and the smarter you think you are compared to other people and you're always measuring yourself based on that. Well, I sell more books, I get more clicks, I get more views. I'm more valuable. You're losing sight of the treasure that is in you as a brittle vessel.
Speaker 1:You know Paul talks about in second Timothy and I oftentimes refer to this and it's been a beautiful passage in my own life to hold me accountable is that he says that you'd be a vessel of honor, that you'd be sanctified and useful for the master, that you'd be prepared for every good work. You know the IVP New Testament commentary in reference to this passage. It says the noun here skeos refers to a vessel serving a specific purpose. So you think of a jug or a cup or a pan or a pot. And again, if you go back to what Paul is saying in 2 Timothy, chapter 2 about the vessel of honor. You know he's talking about these utensils, and so, when used of people, it often carries a sense of implement or an instrument. So to be God's vessel is to be his instrument in carrying out a specific service, in this case the gospel ministry.
Speaker 1:So Paul here is not arguing that life okay, he's not trying to depict that life is pointless, that there's no significance to it. No, what he's simply pointing out is that we are God's humble messengers who show the surpassing power that is hyper, both dynamos of God, showing the transforming power of God. Again, darkness to light, death to life. And so Paul's emphasizing that, as believers and this goes to all of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that we possess a valuable treasure in us which can be likened to precious goods or items of great worth. So it's not, and of course we have value because we're made in the image of God. But it's not about us, it's about what is in us, and that is the Holy Spirit. And so this treasure that we have in this body of clay, this body of death, that's safeguarded by God within us, and that's a beautiful thing. So then, when Paul says in verse eight that we've been afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed but not driven to despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed.
Speaker 1:Paul provides four antitheses to contrast his weakness to God's power and provision in his life. And he sometimes, when he's talking about how he faces challenges, he always points out that there's always a way out. Not that it's completely eliminated, not that it won't affect you, it's going to happen. And he experienced many setbacks. But the point he's saying here is, with the treasure that is in him, with the light that is shining forth in and through him, he never gave up because he has a supernatural strength given by an eternal God. So, despite being tested, he never did lose hope. No matter how many times Paul fell, he always rose again and again.
Speaker 1:There are many setbacks in our lives and if you look at just our outward weaknesses and our shortcomings again, some physical disabilities that people might have, some mental issues that people might have, some mental issues that people might have or just emotional distraughtness you know it can really weigh on us and it can really weigh us down, but nothing compares to the incomparable inward strength that the Holy Spirit gives Christians to overcome the perils they face in the world. So if you've ever watched somebody who has a disability? They don't see it as that. They say, of course, yeah, I mean, I have no arms or something and I have no legs, or you know, I was born this way. Or I was serving in Iraq and this happened.
Speaker 1:But, by the grace of God, god has used us to bring his name glory and to share my message to so many people. And people think how can you endure through this, how can you continue to do this? And they're like it's the Lord. That's the point. You can have these setbacks, you can have these outward deformities or disabilities, you can have certain shortcomings, but it's through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can overcome these things. They, they they're not meant to defeat us. They are there in this world because God allows us through freedom and and permit certain things.
Speaker 1:And I can't explain all of why he does what he does, because he's God. I'm not. But there's one thing I can honestly say when I look at this passage of scripture, I say you're right, lord, I didn't expect certain things in my life. You know, if I had it my way, of course, that this wouldn't have happened, but I certainly wouldn't be the man of God I am today if it wasn't for you allowing me to go through certain setbacks, or having to deal with certain setbacks, or having to deal with certain perils, or having to deal with certain trials, sometimes pointing out my weaknesses, or when I try to do it in my own strength and I fail miserably. How many times have we done that?
Speaker 1:And so, no matter Paul being crushed, no matter him being perplexed, no matter him being persecuted, being struck down, he is not defeated. Why? Because verse 10, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus. So notice, he's bringing back Soma, the body here that he refers to as jars of clay. So it's weak, it doesn't amount to anything.
Speaker 1:Again, he's not. He's not discrediting our body, soul as a human being. We have intrinsic value and dignity, made in the, in the imago dei. He's just saying, in comparison this body of death, that we live in this earthen vessel, we carry about the death of jesus, because that's one thing that it points out to like that there is sin, that there is fallenness, which points back to why jesus, one reason why Jesus came. And he says we care about the death of Jesus, meaning we're to again as servants, as a bond servant, we surrender, we crucify the flesh, and this is so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. So when we, as the Bible says, when we reckon ourselves dead to sin, paul doesn't stop there, just like he doesn't stop here in verse 10, because he says that when we reckon ourselves dead to sin, in alive in christ jesus. He says here that we carry about the death of jesus, meaning crucifying the lust of the flesh, but we live in abundance of life because Christ's resurrected power is manifested in our earthen vessels. And so he says for we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
Speaker 1:So notice the death terminology, the jars of clay terminology, the body terminology, the mortal flesh terminology. He's describing these things as he's describing all of the conflict, the setbacks, the trials, the perils. But then he says in verse 12, so death is at work in us, but life in you. Now again, if you go back to 1 Corinthians, 15, 31, verse 31 there Paul had already been laying a lot of this stuff out. When he says I face death every day, okay, so that's not going to completely go away, but what he's getting at. And this is so important and that's why, whatever you're going through right now, it isn't pointless. There is meaning, there is purpose. It isn't pointless. There is meaning, there is purpose. There is the Lord working these things out for the good, because, despite the challenges, despite the setbacks, paul's identity in Jesus Christ was never lost.
Speaker 1:My question to you, my friends, is as you're going through a particular setback or trial in your life, have you lost a sense of identity? Is your faith, instead of it being strengthened and refined, has it been weakened? You see, in Paul's writings he draws a connection between our own physical sufferings and hardships and the death of Jesus. If you go back to Galatians, chapter 6, verse 17, he says from now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. So he literally was a person who showed the persecution, the sufferings for Christ. And, according to Paul, our experiences of suffering should serve as a powerful reminder to ourselves and others of the ultimate suffering endured by Jesus. Reminder to ourselves and others of the ultimate suffering endured by Jesus. You know, his death on the cross is what you and I look to.
Speaker 1:In his resurrection, robertson says quote his, that is, paul's dying was working out for the good of those who were benefited by his ministry. Are you and I willing to go to great lengths if you will, or to allow God to maybe sometimes put on display our shortcomings or setbacks or trials, and yet people can see the joy of the Lord? That is our strength in us. Are we willing to do that? The Zondervan Illust commentary says quote for paul dying not only initiates the believer's new life, according to romans 6, 1 through 11, but it also sustains the believer's new life and has a redemptive effect on the believing community. And then the commentary is quoting here the verse here in 12.
Speaker 1:So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. And here's the point that, yes, when you and I suffer, there are times. Yes, we need to suffer alone. There have been times in my life that I need to escape and go in hiding, but not exclude and isolate myself to the point where it becomes unhealthy and not good for me. But what Paul's getting at here is when people see your endurance, when they see how you resist temptation and you don't give in to the lust of the flesh and you're being persecuted for your faith. So you're facing a form of death, if you will.
Speaker 1:What that does is it inspires and brings life to people. That's why, in verse 13, he says since we have the same spirit of faith I love that phrase, spirit of faith, according to what has been written, I believe and so I spoke. We also believe and so we also speak, knowing that we, or, excuse me, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us up with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. So, despite his perils, I love this because in verses 13, and then let me read verse 15, verse says 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. That is why we do what we do.
Speaker 1:And so, despite his perils, what Paul's saying here in verses 13 through 15, and this is the motive that he has and this is how he's been enabled to continue the ministry, and this is how he's able, enabled to continue the ministry, and this is how he's he's able to not lose hope or not to lose heart, is because the power of the holy spirit, or as david said I think it was david in psalm 116 and this because this is what he's quoting here is talking about maintaining hope and faith in god despite the tragedies, despite the losses. Can we say that? Are we saying that in our own lives? Sometimes it's easy for us to say if life has been pretty good, or years ago we went through some tragedy and it was a particular loss, but how far are we willing to say that Now?
Speaker 1:This is not testing the Lord. This isn't asking for perils and trials to come, but what Paul's getting at is death itself is not the end. He believed and we as Christians, we believe in the power and the certainty of the resurrection to come. Our Savior was resurrected and we will receive our resurrected bodies, and so that's why he says for it is all for your sake, and that's Paul's confidence in God. And that's as I often do as a pastor. I will remind you guys in this podcast and encourage you guys in this podcast when you take that and you're thinking do you have a pastor in your own life who has this type of quality in shepherding? Do they bring that kind of confidence? Do they believe in the power of the resurrection? Do they believe, as Paul believed, that he raised the dead, and that same strength lies within us as we continue to preach, as we continue to minister, as we continue to minister, as we continue to stand against the attacks of the enemy.
Speaker 1:Paul was confident of his words. He believed that they would enrich the people that God had called him to love on, to foster deep trust, to produce gratitude within the believers, because he was demonstrating through his own life the reality of God's transcendent truth that was permeating his life, which is why the Believer's Bible commentary says Paul realized that the more he suffered, the more the grace of God was made available to others, and the more people who were saved, the more thanksgiving ascended to God. And the more thanksgiving ascended to God, the more God was glorified. May the Lord use you and I in whatever he's called us, and no matter what trial you're going through, may you say, as verse 16 says don't lose heart. Though our outward self is wasting away, the inner self is being renewed day by day. Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 1:And I pray that is true for you, my friends, that whatever trial or trials you're going through and you're being broken, that brokenness that you're faced with in life right now, god can use for his divine purposes and that you can reveal the glory and the truth of Christ in the midst of darkness. So I pray this passage today from brokenness to glory. God's purpose in our trials has encouraged you and has given you direction through God's word, to continue to stand and fight and not to give up, because it's not in your own strength, but it is in the power, the mighty power that is of the Lord. Love you guys, encourage you guys, as I close out, that you guys leave us a review, on whatever platform that you guys get this podcast, share it with your friends. Go to standstrongministriesorg, check out our other articles, our other podcast, challenging conversation, as well as the books that I've written to help you guys continue to stand strong in your faith, to provide you guys wise thinking and bold living. Until next time, keep standing strong in the word of God.