Hanging in There

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

A place I used to hang out in college had a mechanical bull. Above the bull, there was a sign that said: Hang In There! You know, as much as the people watching might have wanted the bull rider to "hang in there,” most took a fast airborne trip. As much as the bull rider himself wanted to "hang in there," most riders found themselves looking up at the bull in a matter of seconds. The fact of the matter is, it takes more than desire and good wishes from the spectators to stay on the bull! You have to have some determination. And it doesn't hurt to have some people rooting for you. But successful bull riders "hang in there" because they have learned how to.

God calls us to continue serving the Lord despite the trials. You can't just decide to do it and succeed. And even though it is nice to have people encouraging you to live for God, they can't keep you doing it! You have to "know how."

2 Corinthians 4:1–6 ESV

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

SCRIPTURAL ANALYSIS

The root problem in Corinth was their prideful refusal to consider all that they had were gifts from God. Their spiritual experiences, leaders, and blessings became grounds for boasting and pride. Consequently, in 1 Corinthians Paul pointed to his own suffering as an apostle to illustrate that they ought to imitate him in principle by humbly considering the needs of others more important than their own comfort. To adopt Paul’s Christ-like attitude would not necessarily mean going without food and shelter, as Paul did, though it might. But it should lead to serving one another rather than boasting and using each other for their own ends. Between the writing of 1 and 2 Corinthians, the Corinthians’ propensity to boast, fueled by their culture’s esteem for the status associated with health and wealth, had led them to accept Paul’s opponents and their false gospel. Paul’s opponents not only promised such “glory” on earth but also paraded their own religious “accomplishments,” ethnic pedigree, rhetorical flair, and materialism as evidence of their validity before God. This is an early forerunner of the prosperity gospel, plus an elitist mentality. Thus, Paul writes 2 Corinthians.

Verses 1-2

Paul refers to his calling when he says that “he has been mercied,” and such language shows that he regards his ministry as a gift from God, not some personal achievement. He’s giving a stark contrast to the mentality that is pervasive in Corinth. With this gift comes the formidable responsibility to spread the gospel faithfully and to speak the truth forthrightly. The reference to mercy also reminds his readers how God graciously delivered him from deadly persecution and gave him the strength to carry on his ministry.

First, Paul affirms that “we have renounced secret and shameful ways.” Second, he repudiates all deception. The noun “deception” translates to a Greek word that literally means the readiness to do anything. When used in a bad sense, it applies to someone who is sly, crafty, deceitful, and tricky. Such persons will stoop to any ruse to accomplish their dishonorable purposes, and they usually resort to secret plots and intrigues. Third, he repudiates any guileful misuse of the word of God. Paul is directly going at the false teaching among the Corinthians.

Paul confessed that he felt so honored to have this place in God’s purposes that he did not lose heart for his work as an apostle. From the verses that follow we see that to lose heart meant at least two things: (1) Paul did not give in to the temptation to use deceit in his ministry, and (2) he did not crumble to the pressures of persecution and hardship.

Verses 3-4

Paul suffered from the same blindness that darkened the vision of some in Israel. During his days of persecuting the church, he looked at the promised Christ from a fleshly perspective. When the divine light was caused to shine in his heart, Paul saw the crucified Jesus as one who died for him because of his sin. All pride and boasting vanished. In his profound humiliation and shame, he could see God’s compelling glory in Christ.

Paul portrays the archenemy Satan as blinding unbelievers’ minds. This image derives from Jewish literature, which pictured the Prince of Light and the Angel of Darkness ruling different realms and engaged in a life-and-death struggle. It also reminds the readers that Satan rules only this age, which in any case is judged and fallen and coming to nothing. Satan has a role in keeping persons from Christ and the gospel, even though they are accountable for their own souls and cannot blame the devil. Moreover, Satan cannot prevent the gospel light from penetrating.

This statement encapsulates the entire history of redemption. Adam was created in God's glorious image but fell from it. God consequently barred Adam and Eve from his presence. Israel encountered God's glory on Mount Sinai but fell from it. Moses consequently veiled his face. Christ did not fall but is the revelation of God's glory to his people.

Verse 5

After reminding the Corinthians who is responsible for everyone’s salvation, he discusses what this means for teachers and preachers. True ministers of the gospel do not preach themselves. They do not draw attention to their own clever or eloquent speech; they do not lord their authority over others. Instead, they draw attention to Jesus Christ as Lord. The true Christian gospel always focuses on Christ, not on the ministers who bear the message. Celebrity preachers often lose this foundational understanding.

Verse 6

The original creation of light out of darkness provided the paradigm for God’s re-creation of spiritual light in a sinner. The initiative lies with God to give the light. Paul returned to the image of light and darkness, which he had introduced in verse 4. The image symbolizes the stark difference between good and evil, between God and Satan. The Greek words used here came from the Creation story itself. Just as God had brought order out of the chaos of darkness, “Let there be light in the darkness,” so God was piercing the chaos of evil with the light of his truth, Jesus. The light of Christ exposes falsehood and evil for what it is: a perversion of the good. Those who believe in Jesus become children of the light.

TODAY’S KEY TRUTH

In Both Good and Hard Times, Stay Centered on Christ.

APPLICATION

I don't suppose there is anyone more qualified to teach us how to "hang in there" than Apostle Paul. Here is a man who endured some of the greatest hardships possible for Christ. He was hated by both Jews and Gentiles. He was misunderstood and attacked even by other Christians. He was eventually executed for nothing more than preaching Jesus Christ. And yet, on the eve of his death, he was able to record, I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

He was not accepted by the other Apostles for several years. He was constantly challenged and questioned by those who knew him as Saul, even by the other Apostles, throughout his ministry. He suffered shipwrecks, beatings, stonings, and jailings on a regular basis. But he accepted the ministry God gave him. Paul completely understood that God had a plan, purpose, and place for his life. Even though he had suffered many things he trusted that God was working through him and on him. Paul accepted what God was doing because he knew God loved him more than anyone else.

In Chapter 3, Paul answers the question of whether he needed a letter of commendation from the other Apostles. Some within the Corinthian church attacked Paul's ministry, but despite all that, he simply writes that we should continue on. Paul did not lose heart. He did not act cowardly but courageously in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers. Paul wrote these verses in part due to the many trials he faced because of his ministry. That’s in contrast to the life of the Corinthians whose life was fairly smooth. The comfort of their life was relatively high.

Paul does not call all Christians to suffer unnecessarily. Yet those who embrace the gospel will, at some point, suffer as they take their stand for Christ. As they give up the comforts of contemporary culture in response to the call to serve others wherever and however God should lead them to do so. At the heart of Paul’s appeal is the declaration that the value of the glory of God in Christ, now and in the future, “far outweighs” any and all of the “light and momentary troubles” of this life. It also outweighs all the material blessings and comforts of this life.

The bitter conflict in Corinth between Paul and his opponents now comes into clearer focus. Earlier in Corinthians, he referred to them as the ‘many’ who ‘peddle the word of God for profit.’ Here, he confronts those who have been disgraceful, underhanded, and tampered with God’s word for their financial and power gain. Those who have done so are lying against Paul because he is calling out their manipulation which would disrupt their quality of life.

The supposed superspirituality of Paul’s opponents, with its health and wealth gospel, played directly into the Corinthians’ cultural propensity for self-reliance and self-glorification. The only obstacle in their way was Paul himself since the apostle who had founded the church and ministry was marked by suffering, weakness, and a willingness to preach for free. If the false apostles were to win in Corinth, they had to destroy the credibility of Paul’s ministry.

These leaders attacking Paul had allowed the good times, power, position, and progress to distract them from Jesus. They wanted to cling to their power. Paul is calling out their manipulation of the Gospel to maintain their status quo. Where Paul had stood firm in hard times, the good times had caused these Corinthian leaders to lose their center.

In Both Good and Hard Times, Stay Centered on Christ.

CONCLUSION

Paul wrote, “Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” The light of the gospel is the light that comes from the gospel. That light shines a new reality of this life.

When that light shines in your life and when you live your life centered on God, the good times and and hard times all look differently. That light changes our perspective on why bad things happen to good people and why good things happen to bad people.

It’s still hard to accept that sometimes God chooses not to do certain things or allows certain things to happen when He could easily prevent either. God has a plan. You are a part of it because you love Him. And loving Him means living a life similar to Christ, who was willing to endure pain, suffering and even death to fulfill the plan of His Father. Christ went through some very ‘hard times’, but God used them for His good. He will allow you to go through some bad things too, but know they are a part of His good purpose.

God is present in both good times and hard. Like the Corinthians, we are just as distracted in good times as we are in hard times. The trappings and glitter of this world are powerful distractions. We are just as likely to drift away from God in times as we are in bad times. Maybe even more likely.

There are many things in life that can distract us from our spiritual disciplines of prayer, worship, and reading the Bible. I, for one, struggle with staying disciplined during the summers. The warm weather draws me outside in pursuit of my love of sports, traveling, and water. Knowing these days are fleeting, I try to fit in as much as I can while struggling to balance my time with the Lord. Good times and hard times make saying centered a challenge.

When the pantry has what we need, there’s enough money in bank account, life is going well, family is going great, we can get lost in our accomplishments.

When the pantry is empty, the bank account is single digits, life is a struggle, and family is a disaster, we can get lost in our constant complaints and gripes.

In Both Good and Hard Times, Stay Centered on Christ.

There’s an old saying this too shall pass. When times are tough, you feel betrayed, your pain is overwhelming, and anxiety is consuming you… this, too, shall pass. When times are good, your relationships are in rhythm, joy fills your cup, and happiness defines your life… this too shall pass. Stay centered.

Our faith is tested in good times and in bad times. In difficult times, we tend to cling to our pain. In times of success, we tend to cling to materialism and wealth. We put our faith in ourselves and talk about what we have accomplished, or we wallow in our self-pity and feelings. Learning to hold on to God and being faithful in times of success or in times of suffering is a real mark of spiritual growth and maturity.

In Both Good and Hard Times, Stay Centered on Christ.

Paul’s description of God’s grace in salvation through Christ in verse 6, “Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” reveals a most significant truth about what our souls need.  We need to see and know God’s glory through and in Christ. Believing, hoping, and trusting in Jesus has everything to do with perceiving in his goodness, worth, majesty, excellence, love, holiness, grace, and mercy. That knowledge completely changes our perspective. Letting the light of Jesus shine in and out of us is how to hang in there no matter where we are in life.

It can be your greatest time in life right now, or it can be your darkest days; let the light of Jesus shine in and out of your heart.

Everything can be going right or everything can be going wrong, twice, let the light of Jesus shine in and out of your heart.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum of good times and hard times, let the light of Jesus shine in and out of your heart.

In Both Good and Hard Times, Stay Centered on Christ.