2nd Corinthians 4:10-18 | Redound to the Glory of God
We’re there in 2nd Corinthians 4. Last week we left off in verse 9. We talked about how verses 8 & 9 deal with the minister’s suffering. That has been a theme of 2nd Corinthians. We saw the minister suffering and I preached a whole sermon out of that those two verses. We spent time looking at those verses. Then in verses 10-12 we are going to see the minister’s sacrifice. Then in verses 13-18 we are going to see the minister’s spiritual life.
I want you to notice the theme here in verse 10. 2nd Corinthians 4:10 “10 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.”. Verse 11 “11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”. That’s really the theme of the next verses that we’re going to look at this evening. The Apostle Paul talks about how the minister (and he’s really talking about himself), but how those in ministry will sacrifice. Now of course we are all ministers even if we are not in full time ministry.
First we see the minister’s sacrifice. When it comes to the ministry of sacrifice, we must die to self. This is a common theme in the Apostle Paul’s writings and this is what he’s talking about. Verse 10 again “10 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.”. The term bearing is a reference to the manner that someone carries or conducts themselves. He talks about how he is always bearing about or striving to conduct himself in a way where he dies to self. He is showing the dying of the Lord Jesus.
Look at verse 11. “11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake,…”. Now of course he could also be referencing here the fact that there’s many trials and tribulations that come upon the Christian life. He’s dealt with a lot of those. However, I think that the emphasis we’re going to see it here as we go through it is that if we are going to live for Christ, we must die to self. “11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”. I remember years ago hearing an old preacher preach a sermon. He asked this question. “When did you die?”. Because in the Christian life, if you and I are going to live for God, if we’re going to have Jesus be made manifest in our lives and in our bodies, then we must die to self. Like I told you, this is a common theme in the Bible.
1st Corinthians 15:31 “31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”. When it comes to dying to self, this is something that must happen ever day. You and I must wake up and decide that we’re going to die to self so that we can live for Christ. If we do not die to self then we will live for self. Someone said that there are only 2 options in life, live for Christ or live for self. You have a choice every day. The idea that Paul is teaching us, and it’s something that Jesus taught us also, is that if we’re going to live for God and live for Christ then we must die to self. This is not a 1 time choice you make where you choose to believe and you’re saved eternally. The life of a disciple is a life of denial and it’s a continual choice you must choose every day to die daily.
Luke 9:23 “23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”. This is not salvation. There is a difference between being a believer and being a follower. There’s a difference between being saved and being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here he’s not talking about salvation. He’s talking about being a follower. He says “23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”. What does it mean to deny one’s self? I means to put self to death. It means to bring discipline into your life. It mentions taking up your cross daily.
In our culture, we have kind of romanticized the idea of the cross and Jesus dying on the cross and taking up our cross. Remember though that the cross was the instrument of death. Jesus took up his cross that he might die on it. He is stating that to do the will of the Father, he had to take up the cross and die to self. He is saying that every day you must take up your cross and die to self in order to follow him.
Galatians 5:24 “24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”. What does this mean? There are some things your flesh wants. There are some affections, some lusts, some desires, some things that we want. The Bible says that if you are going to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ then you must deny yourself. There are many things that you have to tell yourself “No, I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to go there. I’m not going to drink that. I’m not going to smoke that. I’m not going to watch that. I’m not going to listen to that. I’m not going to hang out with those people.”. If you want to be a follower of Christ, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow him. He says they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Ask yourself, what are the affections and lusts that you need to wake up tomorrow morning and say you will put on the cross and die to self?
Not only must we die to our selfish desires but we must also die to this sinful society. Notice Galatians 6:14 “14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”. See, it’s not enough for you to say I am crucified today, I die daily. The Bible says that we must also crucify the world. What does that mean? Here’s the problem with most Christians. They are too worldly. They want to live for God and live for Christ but still look and act the way of the world and enjoy the things that the world enjoys. You have to not just die to self but also crucify the world. You have to be willing to walk away from society. The world is put to death.
People today say that you can follow Jesus and live however you want. Now realize that salvation is faith alone. However, there is a requirement to follow God. The Bible says that you must deny yourself and take up the cross and follow him. What do you do with the cross? You crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts. Then you crucify the world and say the world is crucified unto me and I to the world. See, some of you need to go to work tomorrow and be kind to your co-workers, be nice to your co-workers but realize that those worldly, drunken, fornicating, blasphemous co-workers need to be crucified unto you. Why? Because you’re crucified unto them that the world is crucified to you. I’m not saying be rude to them. I’m not saying be mean to them. However, some of you need to step away and realize that you are a bit worldly and need to die to self.
Thirdly, we must die to sin. Romans 6:6 “6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”. When you got saved, the Bible says you were made a new creature. Our old man should have been crucified with him. That’s why when somebody gets baptized, and of course baptism doesn’t save you but is merely a picture of salvation that illustrates what happened in your heart. But when somebody gets baptized and we take them under the water, that is a picture not only of the death of Christ but we’ll say buried in the likeness of his death and raised to walk in newness of life. Since baptism is the first step of discipleship, it should be a picture of what your life is going to be like. Your old man is buried with him and that you are raised to walk in newness of life. We must die to sin. “that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed and henceforth we should not serve sin”.
What is the purpose of dying to self? Here’s the purpose. That Christ may live through us. I think if you asked any Christian this question “Do you want Christ to live through you?”, we would all answer yes. However, if we told them that the requirement for that is you must die to self then it would be different. Now look, before you got saved, you got angry and cussed and threw a fit. That shouldn’t happen after you are saved. You should die not just to self but also to sin.
2nd Corinthians 4:10 “10 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.”. What manifest means is to be able to be seen. Verse 11 “11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.”. Mortal means subject to death. Verse 12 “12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”. Our goal should be not to live for yourself but to live for Christ. “that Christ may live through us”.
What is discipleship? I mean what does it mean to be a disciple or a follower of Jesus Christ. What does all of this mean? We talk a lot about it but maybe sometimes we don’t define it. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be a disciple? What does it mean to have discipleship? I understand we teach discipleship classes and we have classes where we talk about some of these things but what does it actually mean to be a disciple? Here’s what it means. It means that Christ lives through you. It means that your life is a representation. You are an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ. 2nd Corinthians 5:15 “15 And that he died for all,…”. That’s what gives us, salvation. That’s what gives us eternal life. That’s what gives us the Holy Spirit, that he died for all. That’s what gives us the new man. “15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”. This is discipleship.
Galatians 2:20 “20 I am crucified with Christ:…”. He says that every day he wakes up and he has a habit of prayer and having time with God every day. Every day you need to wake up with a pattern of dying to self. We have to empty ourselves of our desires and will and allow the Spirit of God to take over. Now of course he isn’t talking about literally dying because knowing what he says in verse 20. “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”. Remember in Romans 12, it talks about being a living sacrifice. I just wonder how many of us can say that we are crucified with Christ but Christ is living in us. I wonder what would happen if tomorrow morning if you died to self. What would happen in your marriage, your work, your parents, your lives if every day you woke up and died to self? The Apostle Paul said “I die daily.”. The idea is that we see the minister’s sacrifice. We must die to self that Christ may live in us and may live through us. There’s only one way to have Christ live in you and it’s for you to die self. The question is, when have you ever died to yourself and died to your will and society?
Not only do we see the minister’s sacrifice of dying to self that Christ might live in us but I want you to notice the minister’s spiritual life. Now when he talks about his spiritual life, there are three areas that he talks about. He talks about redemption, renewal, and rewards. In verses 13 & 14, he begins by talking about salvation. When it comes to salvation and getting saved, we often emphasize belief and we should. The Philippian jailer asked “What must I do to be saved?”. They said “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. There is John 3:16 and a lot of verses that say believe.
When we look at verses in the Bible about salvation, they are broken into 2 parts. One is with the mouth and one is with the heart. Sometimes people are so zealous on the believe side that they will ignore what to do with the mouth. I’m all for preaching against works salvation. There is nothing we have to do to earn or pay for it. However, be careful not to be too zealous with it that you deny scriptures about what to do with the mouth.
When it comes to salvation, people want to argue about the prayer aspect of the gospel and how to explain it. People get so into this that they add to their gospel presentation at the door and make it confusing to the person. Romans 10:9 “9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,…”. This is the King James Bible. This is God’s inerrant, perfect, inspired word of God. Every word is placed by God and God chose it. We are talking about a passage dealing with salvation and God chose to emphasize confessing with your mouth. If someone says they believe but refuse to confess then there is a problem. You have a problem with the Bible. Honestly, I would doubt if they are even saved. “9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”. There are 2 sections. What is done with the mouth and what is done with the heart.
People argue about what comes first. What’s interesting is that in verse 9 it mentions the mouth first but in verse 10 it mentions the heart first. “10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”. Look, both of these things are mentioned? Can somebody confess in their mind and their heart? Which comes first? Well, they both come together. I’m not getting in to an argument on the exact timing. What is the point? Well, look at 2nd Corinthians 4:13 “13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;”. When people argue that they believed but didn’t confess then they just aren’t believing the Bible. Both of these things are elements mentioned. The Bible says “let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”. If you actually believe, you have no problem saying it. You have no problem confessing it. You should be able to come up to someone and if you ask about their salvation, they remember believing and calling on the Lord.
2nd Corinthians 4:14 “14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.”. So we see that salvation has these two parts. It mentions the mouth and it mentions the heart. If you believe, you should be able to remember calling on the name of the Lord. Romans 10:13 says “13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”. Romans 10:13 doesn’t even mention believing but if someone calls on the Lord then they are believing. If someone is not willing to say it, especially at the moment of salvation, then they aren’t believing. Some people are just being polite and will pretend to believe everything in hopes that you will leave. This is why we ask them questions at the end and try to get them to pray. If they really believe then they will be willing to call.
2nd Corinthians 4:15 “15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”. Not fainting means not giving up, not quitting. The Christian life is not measured by weeks or months or years but by decades. This shouldn’t just be a phase of our life but this should be our lives. Remember Paul talked about dying daily. He says not only do I have to die daily but he says I need to be renewed day by day. What does that mean? What is he talking about? Go to Acts 17.
I believe being renewed day by day is a reference to having a daily devotional time alone with God. Acts 17:11 “11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”. Deuteronomy 17:18 “18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:”.
What is the purpose of Bible reading every day? That you may be renewed, that you may learn to fear the Lord, that you may keep all his words and that you may actually do them. That’s the purpose. There are 2 types of Christians: those who read the Bible every day and those who don’t read the Bible every day. The truth is that if you don’t have a daily walk with God then you aren’t going to make it. There are a lot of trials and heartaches. We are trouble on every side. How do you get to the point of not fainting? The Bible says to be renewed day by day. Every day open the Bible and read it and allow the Spirit of God to renew you. We must be like the Bereans and search the scriptures daily whether those things are so.
I want to encourage you to make sure you have a daily devotional time. We’re getting ready to go into our nine chapters a day season in January. We challenge the entire family to read nine chapters a day every day in the month of January. Why do we do that? We want you to get into the habit of reading the Bible every day. When it comes to reading the Bible, let me give you 3 tips. How do you develop a daily Bible reading habit? Number 1 – choose a location. Number 2 – choose a plan. Basically a chart or something that tells you what to read each day. Otherwise you will skip sections and have to make a decision each day of what to read. Number 3 – Choose a time. Paul said he was renewed day by day.
Not only do we see the redemption, not only do you see the renewal but we see the rewards. 2nd Corinthians 4:17 “17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”. From my perspective, I might not call the things that you have gone through “light” or easy. But I am also not the Holy Spirit of God. Job was a man who lost all his children, lost all his wealth, had his friends stabbed him in the back, had his wife give up on him and lost his health. God would even look at that and say “for our light affliction”. Why is it light? Because it is “but for a moment”.
I don’t know what you’ve gone through. However, here is what I do know. It’s only a moment. Maybe you have a chronic disease and will have it your whole life. However, it’s only a moment because our life is a vaper that appeareth a little time and then vanisheth away. Our affliction is light because it is for a moment. Paul wants to encourage you and help us realize that our life is short. Whatever affliction you’re going through, if you stay faithful and don’t quit and don’t charge God foolishly, it can work in you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Don’t you think Job was thankful that he didn’t quit on God? At the end of the book, Job got twice as much on Earth. Imagine what he got in heaven. It worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Paul said it this way in Romans 8:18 “18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”. The question is if you are going to live for that which is temporal or that which is eternal. Paul was shipwrecked, spent time in the deep, received stripes, was in prison was beaten and people would look at that as a big affliction. Paul would say it is a light affliction because it is only for a moment.
2nd Corinthians 4:18 “18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”. See, most people look at things like a bank account, house, car, clothes, health, etc…Paul said that he wasn’t looking at those things. Why would we look at the things that are not seen? Here’s why. “for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”. You see, the rewards you can earn are eternal.
You see, if you decide to live for yourself then you could probably make a lot more money. You could go on nicer vacations, have nicer clothes, have a nicer house, have a nicer car. The problem with that is the same as with afflictions. They are just for a moment. Now for afflictions, the benefit is that they only last a moment. For rewards of this world, they only last a moment also. Go ahead and live for yourself and fulfill your selfish ambitions and live for money. It will only benefit you for a moment and then it is all gone. The Book of Hebrews says there is a pleasure of sin for a season. The things of this world are temporary.
2nd Corinthians 4:15 “15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”. Here is what Paul is saying. I’m doing these things and dying to self for you. When you live for Christ and live for others, you will have no problem showing up for soulwinning. If you die to self, you will have no problems living for others. You’ll serve others. At our Church, we have a worker’s appreciation time for all of the volunteers. We have around 75 people at our Church of 200 that are volunteers. Praise the Lord for that.
For the other 125, maybe you think you are too busy. Look, we are all busy. I get it. I’m not trying to put a guilt trip on you. All I’m saying is that when you die to self, you’ll live for others. When you die to self, you’ll serve and minister to others. You’ll give of your time and treasures and talent. Notice verse 15. “15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”. You say “Why are you bringing this up Pastor?”. I’m bringing it up because scripture brings it up. It talks about the “thanksgiving of many”. The Bible says “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”. God says when you learn to die to self and live for Christ, die daily and be renewed daily, serve and care for others then others will be thankful for you. There will be thanksgiving of many.
Here is the sobering thought I have for you. I’m not trying to beat you up. I hope you understand that. I am trying to shake you a little bit. Who would say at your funeral “I’m so glad they live for God. Because when they got saved, when they started serving God, when they died to self, when they began to renew every day, they began to live for others, I benefited as a result.”. Here’s all I’m telling you. We have worker appreciation coming up and Thanksgiving coming up. Live in such a way that people are thankful for your life, that others would be thankful for your life.
Could others say “I’m thankful he’s living for God. I got saved because he’s living for God. I got baptized because he’s living for God. I got discipled because he’s living for God. Someone cared about me because he’s living for God. Somebody prayed for me because he’s living for God. I was raised right because he was living for God. My home and marriage and legacy is better because of how he helped change my life. 2nd Corinthians 4:15 “15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”. He says that we should live for others that God may get the glory.
Let’s pray.