The Thing About "This": 2 Corinthians 4:15 (6-15)
I want us to take a look at our theme verse and see if we can find the key word to unlocking the meaning and power in it tonight.
I hope to be brief.
2Co 4:15 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.
What a tremendous verse. It got me to thinking. That's getting harder to do, it seems.
What is the biggest word in the Bible.
Look at Isaiah 8:1: "Then the LORD said to me, "Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, 'Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.' "
18 letters. That has to be a contender.
Look at Psalms 56:1, it begins with: "To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths.
Some of your translations say "To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-recho-kim", another 18 letter word.
I believe I can find a bigger word. But apparently there are some who do not agree with me.
"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. " 2 Chronicles 7:14.
One writer said, ""IF" is the biggest word God uses to remind all of us that our futures are not written in stone, that our daily choices mean everything when it comes to shaping our lives."
Another wrote "The word “If” in the bible is a huge and powerful word that singlehandedly ruins our ability to put God in a box. It’s a word that gives a dimension of infinite depth and limitless possibilities to the word of God and the applications of scripture."
He goes on to say, " “If” imparts power. The bible is the very word of God. The word brings life. I can bring life by letting His word find a home in me and be spoken from my lips. “If” empowers me to shape history."
I think you get the point. I just think there is a bigger two letter word.
I understand there are 1522 "ifs" in the Bible. But most of those "Ifs" are man-ward.
I have found a bigger two-letter word that is more God-ward.
John 3:16. How much does God love the world? How much does He love us?
I think I can demonstrate that the word "so" is immeasurable, without end, so no word can be bigger.
About now you are wondering if I chose to read the text and then just preach what I wanted to anyway.
Actually, look at the text.
2Co 4:15 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.
Not the biggest, not the most important, but what is the key word to this verse?
Because of the weight of words, our eyes are drawn to the word "grace".
We understand that grace is immeasurable and limitless..
Ephesians 2:7 talks about the "unmeasurable riches of His grace."
And then our eyes go to the "glory of God."
There is nothing to compete with that. We know it is immeasurable.
If anythings are larger than creation, as big as God Himself, they are His love, grace and glory.
However, because of grammatical construction of this verse, the key to understanding is the word "It".
King James translate the Greek word "pas" as "These things". NIV translates it as "this".
Whatever "It", or "this" is, it points to something previously said.
Whatever "This" is, 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.
Let's take a few minutes to look at the big thing about what "this" is.
To do that, we will back up in the passage and draw some lessons from it.
2Co 4:6 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. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
In refuting claims of using underhanded and deceptive practices, Paul was saying those are not needed when you are operating under the light of God.
He draws back to an Old Testament picture passage of Gideon and his small army.
You will remember, that is the passage that teaches us, it is not the size of our army, but the power of God that wins the battle.
In Judges 7, God whittled the Israelite army from 32,000 to 300.
They routed a Midianite army that was enourmous.
God displayed His power in the victory, not just in the numbers, but in the method of battle.
The 300 good guys had trumpets and something very unusual.
They had earthen vessels with candles in them.
When the shout was given, the broke the earthen vessels and let the light shine.
That is the picture here, as Paul, many years later, says, "We are like those earthen vessels. But inside of us, we have this treasure."
We carry Christ in us in these broken, warped, damaged earthen bodies.
We have no intrinsic value outside of the treasure we carry in us.
That is part of what this "This" is all about. Look at lesson 1.
1. We may be a small association, with small churches, but it's not the size of the army.
It's the power of God in us. That immeasurable treasure of light.
Sometimes at these meetings, I am certain the leaders feel like Gideon.
"Wow, this association is getting a little small."
I want to tell you to hold up your faces to the Lord.
God is willing to do a great work in us.
He loves small armies. Paul tells us why in verse 7, "to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." Next lesson....
2. But for the light to shine, we have to be broken.
If this is not where you vote to kill the messenger, you at least make a motion to maim him.
Those vessels had no value until the light was inside, but they had no purpose until they were broken.
Oh, it is wonderful to enjoy the "Light shining out of darkness...(shining) in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But for us to be engaged in the battle, to find our purpose, we have to be broken.
Listen to the breaking the Apostle and his troops encountered in their ministry in verses 8-12.
2Co 4:8-12 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 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. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
I hate being broken. I hate trouble and trials. I hate conflict.
But God uses these afflictions, perplexings, persecutions, and strikings to take away parts of my flesh so more light can shine out of this earthen vessel.
One of the things that God is teaching me is that, the reason His testing involve these afflictions, perplexings, persecutions, and strikings is because, I have no better opportunity to shine than when I am offended, hurting, angry, depressed and near defeat.
If God makes a difference in my life, it must be in times of trials.
It must be when I am mad that the world can really see the difference, offended, belittled.
But, with all these chipping away from my fleshly ways of reacting, I have His promise that these cannot destroy me.
I will never be crushed, driven to despair, forsaken or destroyed in God's program.
This chipping away from life is a big part of what this "this" is really about.
3. When the light shines, God shares the victory with us.
Reflecting back to Gideon, as he attacked the Midianites, he screamed "The sword of Gideon and the Sword of the Lord."
Gideon got first booking, and that doesn't sound right to me.
See, if it hadn't been for the Sword of the Lord, the sword of Gideon would be either laying beside his dead body or picked up by a Midianite to pursue more of God's people.
Yet we realize, Gideon wasn't very spiritually mature here.
We don't have to be spiritually deep for God to use us, we just need to be willing and available.
We may get some of the theology wrong, but we need to have our hearts aligned with God.
Gideon did not have that part of his earthen vessel chipped away yet, but not to worry.
God has long since taken care of that.
Paul, on the other hand, was much more spiritually mature in this stage of his ministry.
Listen to verses 13-14.
2Co 4:13-14 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, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
Paul said, "The same God, the same Spirit, guided us to shine on you.
Though we are being chipped away, God will put is back together again, with you, in the neatest place.
Into His presence. Can you imagine? NO, you can't.
"Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, nor has it even passed through any of the imaginations of men what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Cor. 2:9.
"And all of this is for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Two last things on HOW this is for your sake.
1. It allows us to reach more and more people. " grace extends to more and more people"
If you have any of the heart of God, you have the heart for people.
If you have a heart for God, you understand that its not about you, it's about the light inside.
You understand that for that light to reach others, your self-sufficiency has to be chipped away.
You have to be chipped away; in other words, you must die daily.
And you understand, the salvation of others brings you great joy.
That is why we continue this association. That is why we fight for these small churches every week.
Let's continue to pray that His grace, even through our earthen, imperfect vessels, will extend to more and more people.
That, as the scripture states, will be accompanied by thanksgiving.
2. Our efforts tonight will bring Glory to God. "it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God."
If you have the heart of God, that is what you live for, to serve and please God.
That motivates our efforts. That drives our giving. That pushes us forward.
St. Francis de Sales - Some men become proud and insolent because they ride a fine horse, wear a feather in their hat or are dressed in a fine suit of clothes. Who does not see the folly of this? If there be any glory in such things, the glory belongs to the horse, the bird and the tailor.
What glory can we claim when anything good that comes from our labor is because He chipped a peice of us out of the way?
What glory must God receive because He chooses to shine through earthen vessels, even me.
And all of this is for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
