Transcript

Seeing The Unseen

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Pastor Randy Smith

I want you to think about this for a moment. What gets you excited? What components would you like to line up in order to have a "good day?" What happens that really makes your heart cheerful?

Perhaps you get excited when a baby is born, but we all know that we will grieve over approximately the same number of lives that are taken from us. Perhaps it's the weather - sunny, low humidity, mid-80's, no pollen. What about the rainy days and cold weather that we experienced most of our spring? Perhaps a nice vacation - maybe a cruise or trip to Disney World or outdoor camping adventure? But then we have to return to work on Monday morning. Perhaps you start taking better care of your body. The weight is coming off. The compliments are received. The energy is returning. Yet the wrinkles keep coming, the hair still falls out, the joints get stiffer and the muscles atrophy beyond your control. Perhaps you celebrate when your favorite sports team wins. Yet they don't always win. And if you are a Cubs fan, the agony far outweighs the triumphs. Perhaps you are excited about a new bill that is passed or a person elected to office, but for the Christian there are often more disappointments than victories in politics. Perhaps friends and family bring you much happiness, but these people more than anyone else also bring us our greatest pain. And we even get encouraged with signs of personal spiritual growth when we observe the Lord working in our lives, but we all know too well how often we disappoint the Lord, backslide and find ourselves ashamed of our actions.

I am not implying that any of this is unimportant either to us or to God. I am only trying to make a point that life is filled with continual ups and downs. If we base our existence on these unpredictable circumstances, we will be on an emotional roller-coaster everyday never maintaining the joy and peace and gratitude that our Lord promises and commands us to experience on a regular basis. The problem is we want the Christian results, but we rarely do it the Christian way. Maybe that's why we lose heart so often. Yet in this chapter (2 Corinthians 4), both in verses 1 and 16, we're told not to lose heart. How did Paul himself live this out in a way where he never quit or deviated from the course, always relentless in ministry and faithful until the last breath (2 Tim. 4:7)? How do we do this in a world where the joys are often accompanied by sorrows?

This morning we'll cover three verses from 2 Corinthians that have been a favorite for many believers throughout the ages. Today we'll learn God's perspective as it pertains to the perspective we as His children should have in not maximizing life's pleasures and not being overcome by life's failures by a proper understanding of how God fits in the narrative. Our first two points will teach us why we need not lose heart. The third point will explain how we apply it. Get this one and your life will be radically changed.

1. Inward Renewal (4:16)

The first point, the first reason Christians need not lose heart is because of God's promised inward renewal in our lives. Look with me at verse 16. "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."

"The outer man is decaying." It was one of those moments you never really forget. I was perhaps in Middle School, and I was introduced to a friend of the family that had a terminal illness. I was prepped before he arrived and I could sense there was a deep heaviness over his situation. When he arrived I spoke to him. I was at an age when just about everything I said got me in trouble. The first words that innocently and naturally flowed out of my mouth were, "I'm sorry you are about to die." His response was unforgettable: "Randy," he replied, "We are all dying from the minute we are born." He was right.

Not the most pleasant topic, but from the moment we are born our body is breaking down. Of course we don't feel it right away, but as we get older the aches and inabilities and appearance and familiarization with aisles in the pharmacy we never knew existed become a bold educator. Many do all they can to prevent this, but nothing has ever proven effective to stop the hands of time.

We are born in sin. Sin corrupts and decays and kills. No one is immune. The "earthen vessel" that Paul spoke about nine verses earlier is forever reminding us that we are indeed earthen and will one day return to the earth.

Scripture is not telling us to neglect the body. There are verses all over the Bible that inform us to discipline the body, eat with moderation and care for the Lord's temple. But if we put our focus and hope in this earthly body that is decaying, we are only setting ourselves up for a guaranteed failure.

The story is told that Sir Fredric Catherwood, a Christian businessman and onetime chairman of the European Parliament, enjoyed a lunch with one of Britain's greatest scientists. While they discussed the Bible, the aged scientist remained in his unbelief. In recalling that events Catherwood writes, "Only three or four years later, a few months before his death, I saw the same man in the library of our club, a gaunt, gloomy, silent figure, hunched over the fire, staring into nothing, face to face with oblivion. When I left the club some time later, he was standing in the rain without a coat. I offered him a lift; he told me not to bother. He had come to the end, and nothing seemed to matter anymore" (story adapted from Kent Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p. 98-99).

Ever seen a before and after picture of your favorite model or body builder now past his or her prime?

That's the bad news, but while the "outer man" is decaying, verse 16 informs us that for the Christian the good news is that "our inner man is being renewed day by day."

When we come to Christ the Bible teaches that we become a "new creation" (Gal. 6:15). We are "born again" (Jn. 3:3). We are "light in the Lord" (Eph. 5:8). We have "new heart[s]" (Eze. 36:26). We are "alive from the dead" (Rom. 6:13). We are regenerated (Tit. 3:5). We have spiritual eyes (Ac. 26:18). We have spiritual ears (Lk. 14:35). "Christ dwell[s] in our hearts" (Eph. 3:17).

It's a radical transformation. It's not an improved inner man, but a total replacement of the old with the new. A new heart that now has the capabilities and desires to function on an entirely different spiritual plane. So when this new soul seeks its ultimate pleasures in the passing and trivial things that the old soul chased after, it only sets itself up for failure. It's like trying to drive a new $300,000 yacht down the parkway. You'll be disappointed.

God has delivered you from those things that never satisfied. He wants to bring your soul a higher and more guaranteed delight. And that delight is His promise of continually making you more like His Son (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:28-29). Verse 16 says it is "day by day" that the Holy Spirit is working within you to make you stronger and more beautiful in the place that matters most.

So strength and beauty in the outer man is fleeting. Strength and beauty on the inner man is increasing. The first one is guaranteed for all people, getting worse every day. The second one is guaranteed for the Christian, getting better every day. Which one is more important to you? Which one is more important to God? On which one do you think you need to place your focus, both to give you hope and honor your Lord? Which should you esteem in yourself and others? Proverbs 31:30 tell us: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised."

2. Future Glory (4:17)

A second lesson for guaranteed unbreakable joy in this world is rightly understanding our future glory. Look with me at verse 17. "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison."

So before the comparison is made between the decaying outer man and the renewing inner man. Now the comparison is made between the pain in this world and the glory in the world to come.

Paul starts off verse 17 calling it "momentary light affliction." "Momentary" - a brief amount of time. "Light" - weightless, nothing significant. "Affliction" - suffering, literally "pressure." Let's consider those words that Paul wrote as we consider his life in particular.

We'll start with the third of the three words, "affliction." Did Paul know anything about affliction? Turn for a moment to chapter 11, verse 23. "Are they servants of Christ? - I speak as if insane - I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure" (2 Cor. 23-27).

Nobody in his or her right mind enjoys affliction in and of itself, but if we know the affliction is producing something beneficial, we can find comfort and hope in the midst of affliction. This is what Paul did and what then enabled him to consider the intensity of his suffering, verse 17, both "momentary" and "light." If his focus were on the suffering he experienced, no doubt he would have lost heart, been overwhelmed. But God's perspective gave him an entirely new perspective on affliction. This understanding could revolutionize our lives! What is it? According to verse 17, Paul knew his affliction was "producing for [him] and eternal weight of glory."

You know the biblical theology of suffering. God is sovereign and in His love He permits certain trials into our lives. When we bear under the weight of them, He uses the pain to refine our character (Jas. 1:2-4). Suffering is an integral part of the inward renewal of the inner man spoken of in verse 16.

Due to the trials, we no doubt bear a weight right now. But as Paul says it produces "for us" an "eternal weight of glory." Think of it as a scale. The glory that follows as a result of trials exceeds the present discomfort we experience in the midst of the trials. When the two are compared, verse 17 tells us the latter is "far beyond all comparison." Because of the greatness of the glory (not just after, but through and by the affliction), the suffering is way less in proportion. The suffering is as Paul said, "momentary and light" (2 Cor. 4:17). A remarkable statement when you consider his afflictions.

Even Paul needed to learn this profound truth applicable to all Christians. Remember his remarks back in 1:8-9? "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead." Do you see how this perspective can change your perspective of suffering? As one author said, "The affliction which once felt like a lethal weight round his neck now seems weightless in comparison to his eternal load of glory" (Timothy Savage, Power Through Weakness, p. 183).

Elsewhere in Romans 8:17-18 Paul said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Even Peter picks up on this theme in 1 Peter 4:13, "But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation."

Suffering to glory. Is there a better example than Jesus Christ who was the eternal "I Am," but lived like us, in the temporary? "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:6-11).

So are you primarily focused on the outer man or the inner man (point 1)? Are you primarily focused on the present suffering or the eternal glory (point 2)? And now lastly (point 3), in order to maintain your joy to the honor of God do you have an eternal focus?

3. Eternal Focus (4:18)

Nobody wants to wear a heavy backpack for a six hour flight. But if I was told that it was a parachute and the plane is minutes from crashing, that backpack takes on a whole new perspective.

The Christian life works in the same way. We get in trouble when we think we know what's best. As a matter of fact, we even get angry with God that He's made a mistake somewhere along the lines. Specifically, as we just learned, God never promised you a body that won't wear out. Yet He did promise His people a soul that will grow in Christlike beauty. God never promised you a life free from suffering. Yet He did promise to use your suffering to bring you a glory far beyond comparison. Few things will cause you greater frustration than being a believer with an unbeliever's perspective. I love Ephesians 4:17, "So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind." That's why we need to, Ephesians 4:23, "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind." Think like a Christian!

Understand the Christian perspective, the eternal perspective which leads to Paul's conclusion in verse 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."

What are the "things which are seen?" It's the stuff that begins and ends with time. It's the stuff that won't matter for you in a hundred years. It's the stuff that the world esteems and lives for. It's the ever-changing, standards and ideas and systems and beliefs of this fallen world. Bottom line, the verse says the stuff that is seen is "temporary." It's in the words of James 4:14, a vapor.

What are the "things which are not seen?" As the verse says, it's everything that is "eternal." To the best of my knowledge only two things fit in that box: The triune God with His Word and the souls of people. That's really all that matters. It's to look at the things we can't see or as Paul will say one chapter later, it's to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:17). It is not a blind leap in the dark, but trust in what God has revealed to us in His Word. It is meeting revelation with faith.

As C.S. Lewis once said, "Whatever is not eternal is eternally out of date." It is simple logic. Why not invest myself it that which will last forever and matter most in this life? Do I have the faith to believe that? Do I have a deep satisfaction for all that God promised me in Christ Jesus, beginning now? If so, I will value that which is really valuable. And in order for that to happen, I need the Lord to continually help me to keep my gaze in the right place because the things of this world oftentimes seem so right and attractive, don't they? It's so easy to worship the creation over the Creator, isn't it? But God has designed it where ultimate fulfillment is only to be found in the eternal realm. So if we choose not to go that route we are programed for failure.

So going back to the introduction. How do I view life's situations with a view to the eternal? Death grieves us, but when Christians die I can rejoice that they are home with the Lord. As for unbelievers, it's motivation to get them the Gospel. The weather comes from the Lord and therefore complaints in this regard is a pronouncement that my wisdom is greater than His. Work isn't always pleasant, but I know that when I work diligently and faithfully and honestly that I show others the character of Christ. I know that I am doing my "work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men" (Col. 3:23) regardless of my vocation.

Sports? Do I need to say anything? Politically speaking I know this is not my home. In this domain Satan rules and wickedness prevails. Yet I long for my future home, the one promised to me by God where righteousness will reign and every knee will bow to King Jesus. There's always more that I want that money can buy here on earth, but all that will really matter are the treasures I'm storing up in heaven. There's a lot of fun things to do with my free time, but am I making a significant spiritual investment in souls that will live eternally either with or without Christ? Suffering can get me down, but by faith I believe God has a good purpose to make me more like Jesus Christ. And though I fail frequently in my walk with Christ, I know that He is upholding me. He is teaching me to replace the temporal with the eternal and has already fully saved me and accepted me not through my performance, but by Christ's performance on the cross.

Christian, the Lord created and redeemed you for His glory. There are few ways you can bring Him greater glory than for you to find your ultimate delight in Him, to put off anxiety and complaining and put on peace and joy. Thus God deeply cares about your peace and joy. It's so important that you are even commanded in Scripture to, "Rejoice in the Lord, always" (Phil. 4:4). God has wired life in such a way that when we do it His way we can. Therefore with His grace enabling you to keep the right perspective on the things that matter most, you can go through this life without losing heart (2 Cor. 4:1, 16)!