Opening illustration: Some things just don’t seem to fit in our modern 21st century. A tribe of headhunters is one of them.
Yet there is one such group of people whose story is worth telling. A tribe living high in the Philippine mountains, a 3-day’s walk from the nearest city, has only within the past 10 years given up their tradition of displaying heads of captured enemies.
The leader of this tribe, a man who got that position because of his head-hunting success, was instrumental in the change. It came about because two women risked everything to travel to the village to live among the people and tell them about Jesus’ love. In 1999, 5 years after the women first visited the village, at least 50 people, including the chief, had trusted Christ to save them. As a result, the people’s lives were transformed, and they gave up their killing ways.
Headhunting may seem primitive, but its source is no different from the most modern sin. The same inborn evil that led Cain to murder Abel thousands of years ago (Genesis 4:8) still exists in human hearts today. All sin, new and old, has just one solution - Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-6). Even in a modern world, He alone is the answer to the ancient problem of the sinful heart. Has He changed yours? (Our Daily Bread, Dave Branon)
Let us turn to 2 Corinthians 4 and check out the power and the purpose of the gospel.
Introduction: Today, when it comes to the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ, many are blind. They do not see his beauty and majesty, and therefore do not ascribe to him the honor and worth he deserves. As Christians, we want to do all we can to spread Christ's glory in the world. In 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 the Apostle Paul addressed how difficult this can be. We may become discouraged and desire to quit (v.1), but we have good reasons to press on. Paul faced more discouragements than anybody we will ever meet, yet he just kept on preaching, teaching and demonstrating Christ with his life until the Lord took him home. He begins this chapter and addresses his readers as to why he does not “loose heart.” Let’s look at this chapter and see what the Apostle thought about and how he looked at things, and learns to do the same so that we too can keep on going in the face of our discouragements.
These first six verses of 2 Corinthians 4, will answer a lot of questions as to why so many people do not believe the gospel when they first hear it, or even after they have heard it over a long period of time. They will answer questions about why many who do believe the gospel quit after they have been walking in the Christian way for some time; and also questions about why some people whom you think will never believe it, suddenly do so.
What is the power and purpose of the gospel?
1. Gospel Exposed (vs. 1-2)
God has called each one of us to some form of ministry or the other. Ministry and sharing the Gospel seasons everything! We don’t worry about “success” because obedience to God IS success. What we do for God is by HIS MERCY. HE calls … HE makes us competent (3:6) … HE makes things happen. Thus “We don’t lose heart.” To not lose heart, understand events in light of God and His Word … don’t understand God or His Word in light of events! God says “He causes all things to work together for my good …” So I believe Him and rest in HIS Truth rather than my feelings. So no matter what … I am able not to lose heart or feel helpless!
“We refuse to … tamper with God’s Word” is important because doing it dishonors God and leads to losing heart. I give you my word that as long as God gives me strength, I WILL deliver to you “The Whole Counsel of God” (Acts 20:26). I will be faithful to the Text as God gives me strength … Thus the most important thing about Scripture is NOT what others say about it. The most important thing IS GOD’S WORD! Read books about Scripture warily. Notes in your Bible are NOT inspired. Not only that … keep 1 John 4:1 in your mind (You Test the spirits and try them … whether or not from God). Scripture is sometimes hard to understand. It’ll trouble you. God will convict you and contradict false beliefs. He’ll challenge things NOT from Him! We’re to study and believe GOD and everything He put in HIS Word. Especially when He contradicts us!
We are not called to read our own ideas into God’s Word. We are called to expose it exactly the same way as it is given to us … the simple truth whether we like it or not. We are not to meddle with it by downsizing, diluting or exaggerating it. Literally proclaim it simply the way it is given to us. Revelation tells us that cursed is the man who adds or takes away anything from scripture. This way the gospel will expose itself through the power of the Holy Spirit not by our concocted words. Preachers must not forget that they stand in the God’s presence – He hears their every word. Therefore when we tell people about the good news, be careful NOT to distort the message to please your audience. Proclaim the truth of God’s Word.
Don’t tamper with God’s Word. Refuse to try and make it say something other than what it says. God’s Word bothers people. People get mad because they don’t like what is found in Scripture! But presenting to people anything other than the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26) is ethically wrong and sinful! Be a faithful to Scripture. Be concerned that God affirms what you believe and say MORE THAN pleasing yourself or being comfortable. Job security and popularity aren’t to be chosen over faithfulness to Scripture! Remember Paul from Galatians 1:10 … Don’t tamper with or twist Scripture. If you don’t like what it says, there’s a good chance you ARE reading it right! Being troubled BY Scripture is not the same as not understanding what it says. “I’m more troubled by what I do understand than what I don’t understand!”
Illustration: Truth is like a "bluegill" fish in the "war of truth" incessantly being waged against God and His children by the world, the flesh and the devil...
San Francisco and New York City are using bluegill fish to check for the presence of toxins in their water supply, which could be a possible target for a terrorist attack. A small number of bluegills are kept in a tank at the bottom of some water treatment plants because the fish are sensitive to chemical imbalances in their environment. When a disturbance is present in the water, the bluegills react against it.
Like these bluegills, Paul wanted the Galatians to beware of and react against any toxic disturbance in the “true gospel” that was being preached. The toxin was defined as the false principle that God grants acceptance to people and considers them righteous on the basis of their obedience to a set of rules (especially circumcision and dietary laws). In short, obedience to the law was needed, apart from faith in Jesus. This false teaching was a toxic disturbance of the truth and the Galatians were told to react strongly against it. Paul said that anyone preaching a gospel that is not based on grace through faith in Christ alone should be accursed (Galatians 1:8, 9).
Let’s faithfully study the Scriptures so we can detect the toxins of false teaching and proclaim the truth of God’s wonderful salvation through faith in Jesus. If you know the truth, you can discern what’s false. (Our Daily Bread)
2. Gospel Veiled (vs. 3-4)
The reasons some don't embrace the gospel are numerous. Pride, love of pleasure, fear, and moralism could be listed as factors for unbelief. But in verse 4 Paul focuses on the work of the "god of this age" who "has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (v.4). The devil fights for his own glory, and he will do anything to prevent people from seeing the glory of Christ.
The gospel is open and revealed to everyone, except to those who refuse to believe. Satan is the “god of this age.” His work is to deceive, and he has blinded those who don’t believe in Christ. The allurement of money, power and pleasure blinds people to the light of Christ’s gospel. Those who reject Christ and prefer their own pursuits have unknowingly made Satan their God.
We must keep this is mind. When someone fails to respond to the gospel despite our best efforts to convince them, we tend to question our methods, our character, and perhaps even the message itself. But blindness to the gospel should not surprise us! We are at war with powers and authorities that we cannot see (Ephesians 6:12). We have the greatest message in the world and unfortunately, the greatest enemy. J.R.R. Tolkien reminds us: "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him" (Tolkien, The Hobbit, 217). We live near a live dragon (Revelation 12:9) who hates the gospel. Let us not forget this.
People are hardened against the Gospel and understand it by God’s will (Isaiah in John 12:37-40 Jesus in Matthew 11:25-30). In these texts we found that GOD hides Himself from some and reveals Himself to others … both according to His will. If so, how does Satan “blind the minds of unbelievers” (4:4)? Satan only does what God allows -nothing more or less. Satan can only accomplish what is God’s perfect will! That is Romans 8:28 … “GOD causes all things to work together for good,” and Ephesians 1:11b, “(GOD) works all things after the counsel of His will!” Satan is God’s pawn who can only blind those GOD allows (as seen in Job 1).
3. Gospel Revealed (vs. 5-6)
Paul equates salvation with creation. Everything exists because God spoke and it existed. God said, “Let there BE light” and light happened. No evolution! No theistic-evolution! GOD did it. Jesus spoke and everything came to be. GOD caused creation (Colossians 1:15-17). Right! Now … Make the connection! Salvation (According to Paul) happens the same way! From death GOD CAUSES LIFE! HE puts light into dark souls! It was GOD (Not us) who “shone into our hearts to GIVE the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!” Ephesians 2:4-5.
Here Paul reminds the Corinthians, and us, that only God can save. Just as in the beginning God made light shine out of darkness (Genesis 1:1–3), He can open blind eyes to the light of the glory of Christ in the gospel (v.6). Our task is simple: announce that Jesus is Lord (v.5). The rest is up to God. We cannot open blind eyes. We cannot create new creatures in Christ. We cannot give life to spiritually dead people. But God can and we must rest in His power.
When a person turns to Jesus Christ and sees him for who he is, the Lord of life, then God’s creative power begins to operate in his life. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:16, “but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” When you finally see Jesus Christ is the Lord, light shines into darkness. God’s glory is fully revealed and amazingly, spiritual transformation is accomplished. The gospel reveals that the Lord is our Adonai and Christ is the messiah, the anointed one and Jesus is Yahweh bringing salvation to us.
Paul’s gospel preaching focused on Christ and not on himself. When you witness, tell people what Christ has done, and not about your abilities and accomplishments. People must be introduced to Christ, not you. And if you hear someone preaching himself or his own ideas rather than Christ, beware – he is a false teacher. The message of the gospel defeats Satan. We don’t preach ‘your best life now.’ We preach Christ crucified – the only way to salvation. Jesus is “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father but by Him” (John 14:6). We preach repentance from sin and faith in Christ. Against those the gates of hell cannot prevail!
Are you walking in darkness? Well, then, begin to seek the "face of Christ." That is where the light shines. Not the Christ you hear about in all the popular presentations around us. There is nothing historic about the Jesus you meet in many of the presentations today. Oftentimes that is a false Christ. But in the Scriptures you have the authentic Jesus, and in the fellowship of the people of God the character and the love of Jesus come through. In moments of communion and prayer you see the "face of Christ." That is what turns off the darkness and brings the light into your life. You do not have to walk in darkness in this day and age when you can look at the "face of Christ," for there is "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God" for all to see.
Application: Our heart is like a crooked fence - all the paint in the world won't straighten it out.
