We can know and be confident

This ministry . . .

Paul has been offering a great defence for he, the apostles, and the ministry that had been entrusted to them. This ministry that is within earthen vessels our earthly tent the hope we can confidently have, as well as the motives for the ministry entrusted to them and for us.

This ministry. . . we do not lose heart (2Cor4:1)

2 Corinthians 4:1 NASB95

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,

This ministry we have in earthen vessels . . . (2Cor4:7; ref: 2Cor3:2-3; Act18:1-3; Php3:20-21; Jn14:1-6)

2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB95

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

In this earthen vessel the surpassing greatness of the power of God may be displayed not from the apostles but from God.

And that leads us to where we are this morning, and we will get there in a minute.

Paul gave a great testimony of the reality of the Christian faith and used the Church as Corinth as an offering, an epistle of that. They were his letters of commendation written on the heart (2Cor3:2-3)

2 Corinthians 3:2–3 NASB95

2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Paul being a tent maker (Act18:1-3) used a tent to paint a picture of our earthly bodies, a weak, temporary structure and then compared to the hope we can have in our heavenly bodies , our glorified bodies we shall receive will be eternal, beautiful and never some signs of weakness or decay.

Philippians 3:20–21 NASB95

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Our temporary tent, our earthly vessel will on day receive a wonderful glorious, glorified body suited to the glorious home in heaven that the Father has prepared for us (Jn14:1-6).

(Transition) May we take a gander at the first part of our passage that gives us confidence in our future hope

We have a future hope

No one hopes for something they already have, we hope for something we have expectation to receive. That is what faith is too (Heb11:1; Rom8:24). In the ministry entrusted to the apostles and recorded for us we too can have a future, an eternal hope.

Hebrews 11:1 NASB95

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Different versions can add to this, words like confidence, substance, certainty, surety, of the things hoped for, confident expectation.

In Rom8:24 it is referring to that one does not hope for something they see or have, but in something they do not see, do not have, for to have is to have hope fulfilled. One day we will have our hope fulfilled, and we can have confidence in that. So now may we look to the passage?

2 Corinthians 5:1–2 NASB95

1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,

2 Corinthians 5:3–4 NASB95

3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:5–6 NASB95

5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—

2 Corinthians 5:7–8 NASB95

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight— 8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Now let’s be good students of God’s word and glean from the scripture:

Question: Even though our tent, our house is torn down what do we have according to (v.1)?

A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Question: What is our desire, our longing to be clothed in per (v.2)?

To be clothed with our dwelling from heaven.

Question: Though we may groan (v.2, 4) and desire to be clothed (v.2, 4) we have been given a pledge (v.5) what is it?

The Holy Spirit was given as a pledge, so we can walk by faith, in hope, not by sight (v.7)

Question: what is the preference you find in (v.8)?

To be home with the Lord.

Now we can glean more, so to have a confident expectation, hope, a future hope.

We know (v.1; 2Cor4:14; Jn14:19; Php1:20-25; 1The4:13-18)

For we know (v.1) - how do we know and can have confidence of the eternal house we have in the heavens?

We know by faith, trust in the Word of God.

We do not have to consult fortune-tellers, Ouija boards, spiritualists, decks of cards, on what lies ahead for us, we know what awaits us after death! Consider (2Cor4:14)

2 Corinthians 4:14 NASB95

14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.

Question: What can we know from (2Cor4:14)?

He who raised Jesus will raise us too!

We have a resurrection, a glorious resurrection! We have the promise of that.

John 14:19 NASB95

19 “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

Question: Because He lives what do we have assurance of too according to (Jn14:19)?

We will live also.

If our tent, out body, our house is taken down, Christians have nothing to fear for we will live, we will live with Christ (Php1:20-25)

In Php1:20-25 Paul had earnest expectation and hope knowing to live is Christ and to die is gain, in life or death he belonged to Christ.

Let me add in another hope, future hope section worth considering

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 NASB95

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:15–16 NASB95

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thessalonians 4:17–18 NASB95

17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

We know there will be the future resurrection, in death or in life, we will be with the Lord.

We groan (2Cor5:2-5; ref: 1Cor15:51-58; Rom8:22-25; 1Cor15:49; 2Tim4:6; 2Cor1:22; Eph1:13-14)

Paul was eager for the return of Christ, in fact he had hope (confident expectation) that He was coming in their lifetime even. The hope so there would be the “clothed upon” with the glorified body. He offers now three possibilities using the imagery of the body as a tent.

Alive - residing in the tent (v.4)

Dead - unclothed out of the tent (v.4)

Clothed upon (v.4) - clothed upon the transformation from the temporary to the eternal.

Paul in (1Cor15:51-58) speaks that all will be changed and what a glorious change it will be, a victorious change it will be when we will be clothed (put on) the imperishable (v.54).

I have mentioned hope several times through already tonight and a beautiful picture of hope that has even some groaning in it is found in (Rom8:22-25) look and see

Romans 8:22–23 NASB95

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

Romans 8:24–25 NASB95

24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Some other scriptures to consider and to look up on your own.

While we are born of the earthly, we also bear image of heavenly (1Cor15:49; 2Cor5:2 in our passage this morning)

Paul calls the transition a “departure” (2Tim4:6)

Departure here being to take down ones tent and move on when looking at this in the Greek.

Have the surety of the hope for our glorified bodies, because of the Spirit (2Cor1:22; Eph1:13-14)

let me put a verse we touched on before you again and let me expand

2 Corinthians 5:5 NASB95

5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

The pledge, also known as an earnest deposit, much like an engagement ring, is a pledge, a promise, a deposit that one day there would be a marriage. We as the church are engaged to Jesus Christ and we are waiting for the Bridegroom to come take us to the wedding!

This very purpose to receive the glorious body! Now if that does not bring a future hope there is something wrong, but wait, there is more.

We are always confident (2Cor5:6-8; Eph3:15; 2Cor4:18)

We can be confident, have good courage, that at home in the body we are absent from the Lord; for we walk by faith as the Lords

Ephesians 3:15 NASB95

15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

So in heaven or on earth we are His! Believers alive are absent from the Lord, while those who died in Christ are absent from the body but present with the Lord. So Paul was confident and we can have the same confidence that no matter what we face that we can walk by faith and not by sight. Paul looked to the eternal unseen not the temporal seen

2 Corinthians 4:18 NASB95

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.

Paul had courage even in the midst of the conflict with the Judiazers that were challenging his Apostleship, his very care for the church in Corinth as well as Paul’s personal character and integrity. He had a valuable treasure in this earthen vessel (the gospel, the assurance of the heavenly hope) and he wanted to share it with the world. He had faith that conquered fear, he had faith in a future hope that was both a motivation and a destination.

Motives, motivation for ministry

Belief and behavior go hand in hand just as duty and doctrine do. We find our motivation and hopefully set our motives because of what Christ has done for us.

Paul was known for his therefore’s and his wherefore’s and this passage has no shortage of them, v.9, 11, 16-17. From explanation (vv.1-8) to application (vv.9-22). It will seem as we look that the theme of this section is motives for ministry. Paul had been accused of using the ministry of the gospel for his own selfish purposes and when in reality it was the accusers that were peddling, merchandising the gospel

2 Corinthians 2:17 NASB95

17 For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

and add in

2 Corinthians 4:2 NASB95

2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

So, consider, what is the ministry of the Christian?

To persuade men to be reconciled to God (2Cor5:11)

2 Corinthians 5:11 NASB95

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

To come in boldness in our God, to speak the gospel free from error, impurity of by way of deceit, approved by God, not pleasing men, but God who examines hearts, not with a pretext for greed. (1The2:1-5) - let me give you the passage

1 Thessalonians 2:1–5 NASB95

1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. 3 For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. 5 For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness—

There is no way to put this all into one message, so now maybe we just read the passage and if time permits glean from it, but next week we will look at the passage in more depth and the motives for ministry that Paul brings out.

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 NASB95

9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:11–12 NASB95

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. 12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

2 Corinthians 5:13–14 NASB95

13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

2 Corinthians 5:15–16 NASB95

15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NASB95

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

2 Corinthians 5:19–20 NASB95

19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB95

21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?

Paul had a great confidence in the promise of the eternal life in our heavenly home while we may groan in this earthly tent now, we have our eternal, imperishable waiting for us one day. It should be a motivating factor of how we are to live and walk by faith now with the future hope for all eternity. Next week we will pick up and get into this passage.

(Pray) (exit)