2nd Corinthians chapter 5. I would like for us to look at
this chapter all day today. I want to give an overview for
our Bible studying and then single in on something for our message
in a moment and for our message tonight. I was drawn here because
of verse 14. That's going to be the centerpiece
to all of this, verse 14. But let's begin in verse 1, and
let's hear what's being said up to that point and in this
chapter as a whole. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 1, it
says, For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved. We know that if our earthly house
of this tabernacle, if it was dissolved, we have a building
of God and house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,
For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from heaven. If so be that being clothed,
we shall not be found naked. What he's saying is we know that
we are groaning down here in our sinful bodies. We're just
groaning down here, longing to be rid of these sinful bodies
and to put on our holy, perfected, glorious, Christ-like bodies. We're gonna get to live. We're
gonna get a new body. Or this body's gonna be changed
in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, whichever it is. But
in this body, it's groaning. That's what it is. And we're
longing for the moment where we can put this off and put on
the holy, perfect, spotless body of Christ. Verse four, for we
that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened, not for
that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might
be swallowed up of life. That's what we want. God's people
are not morbid. They're not looking for death. They're looking for life. They're
ready to be done with death. That's what we're longing for.
We're ready to be done with sin. We want to be done with sin. We want to be done with death. Verse 5, now he that hath wrought us for
the self same thing is God. The one who accomplished this
change for us that's coming is God. Verse 5 goes on to say, who also
hath given unto us the earnest. You ever bought a house before
or bought something before where you had to put down earnest money?
He's given to us the earnest of the spirit. We don't have
holy bodies. We don't have holy bodies. We
can't make these bodies holy. We can't grow in holiness in
these dead, sinful, wicked bodies. But our Lord has given to us
His Holy Spirit. He has given to us His Spirit.
We have the down payment of His promise by way of Him giving
us His Holy Spirit. Verse 6. Therefore, we are always confident,
knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent
from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by
sight." Hang on to that, okay? Really get a hold of that. We walk by faith, not by sight. Verse 8, we are confident, I
say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be
present with the Lord. Wherefore, we labor that whether
present or absent, we may be accepted of him. He said, we know by looking at
this flesh that there is no hope here. Okay? Can you Can you say you know that? We
know that by looking at this flesh, there's no hope here. Once God reveals the flesh, you
know you're born into this world, and babies are so pretty. They
don't have any wrinkles. They don't have any spots. But babies are still flesh. And
the more God reveals to us of the flesh, the more we realize
there's no hope here. There's no perfection here. We walk by faith, not by sight. You know, you say, I just, I
don't see it here. I just don't see it here. Well,
we don't walk by sight. We walk by faith. And because our desire is to
be done with this and to be there with him, our faith and our only
hope and our only confidence is that he has made us acceptable. He has made us accepted of him,
accepted in him, not in us, accepted to him, by him. Our only hope
is that this whole thing was wrought by God. It's not going
to be wrought by me. Wrought by God. We're looking to Him. We're looking
to Him. Verse 10. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the
things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether
it be good or bad." Now, what have we done? Good or bad? We're all bad. We're all bad. You say, well, not me. I've done
good. Well, God says there's none good, no, not one. There's none that doeth good.
There's none righteous. All right, what have we done? The answer is sin, bad, wicked,
evil. And we are either going to stand
in the sinful deeds that this sinful body has wrought, or we're
gonna stand in the holy deeds of Christ, that Christ wrought
in his body and that the Spirit of God has applied to us through
the faith that he's given to us. Faith looks to his righteousness. Faith looks to his goodness.
It's what faith is looking to. And verse 11 says, knowing therefore
the terror of the Lord We persuade men, we persuade men to do what? What do we persuade men to do?
We persuade men by this means that our Lord has ordained of
preaching his word. We persuade men to stop looking
to the sinful deeds of this tabernacle by sight and to start looking to the righteous
deeds of Christ by faith. God's people walk by faith, not
by sight. People say, you gotta see it
in your flesh. You don't have to see it in your flesh. Oh,
no, no, no. God's people see it in Christ's
flesh. That's where they see it. They see it in Christ's flesh. All right, verse 11. Knowing
therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men but we are made
manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your
consciences. For we commend not ourselves
again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf
that you may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance
and not in heart." What he's saying is even though it is our
persuasion to tear down the idol of acceptance with God through
the good deeds or through the right living of this flesh. God
being happy with us and God accepting us and being pleased with us.
We tear down that false religion. We tear that down. But even though
it's our calling as preachers and as believers to tear down
the idol of man's self-righteousness, we don't do that by reveling
in sin. That's not how we do it. We don't
witness that. We're going to sin. We are going
to sin, all of us. There's nothing we can do to
not sin. We are sinners. but our way of witnessing and
persuading the righteousness of Christ alone for acceptance
with God and the utter depravity and ruin of man's flesh before
God in every way, shape and form. We don't witness that and persuade
that and prove that by trying to live as belligerently as we
can. Just as cruel and haughty and
wicked as we can. We don't do that. That's not
the desire of God's people at all. Verse 13 says, for whether
we be beside ourselves, and that means astounding. It means insane,
out of our minds, something happens and you say, you know, I was
beside myself. He was beside himself. Verse
13, whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God or whether we be
sober in that sound in mind. It is for your cause. The deeds
of this flesh, they have no bearing on salvation, acceptance. They have no bearing on the purpose
or the work of God, but which one brings more glory to God
and more good to his people, insanity or sanity? Sanity, soundness, temperance,
restraint. And that's what the word constraineth
means. Verse 14 says, For the love of
Christ constraineth us. Even though we know that there
is no possible way that we could ever begin to actually perform
and fulfill the holy law and commandments of God. The love
of Christ, the love that He has given to us, His love constrains
us from wanting to deny His commandments and reject His commandments and
throw them away and say, well, I can't keep them anyway, they're
dead to me. No. God forbid. We look to Christ
to fulfill them all. And because he did fulfill them
all, our love for him, our thankfulness to him constrains us and causes
us to desire to be like him. Does grace cause God's people
to want to just dive headfirst into sin? No. That very love for him is what
causes us to, as he said in verse two, groan in these earthly tabernacles,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with that new Christ-like,
holy, law-abiding body that we're going to have with him in glory. Our love for him is what creates
all of that in us. Even though vileness is all that
we are, our hearts, our spirits, our souls have been caused to
say, for Christ's sake, for Christ's sake. Turn with me over to 1
Corinthians chapter 4. 1 Corinthians 4 verse 10 says,
we are fools. The apostle Paul said that. We
are fools. The word fools means dull, stupid,
heedless. Paul said that's what we want
to be. That's what we want to be. Concerning what? concerning
the pride and arrogance that goes along with being called
to preach." Let me repeat that. We are fools. Concerning what?
Concerning the pride and arrogance that goes along with being called
to preach. This chapter is condemning competition
among preachers. Look at verse 6. And these things, brethren, I
have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for
your sakes, that you might learn in us not to think of men above
that which is written and that no one of you be puffed up one
against another. Paul said, our desire is to be
dull and heedless of that natural sin of the flesh. It's just so
natural. You know, Paul told the Philippians, he said, every
one of us ought to esteem others better than ourselves. And when our hearts get a hold
of these three words, for Christ's sake, we do. We do. That is not the natural
way of the flesh. That's just not the natural way
of the flesh. Do you ever join a baseball team hoping that each
person on the team is better than you? Is that what you do? You know, you decide to get a
job at a company being a computer programmer, or whatever it is
you all do. Do you sign on there hoping that
within the company every other person there is better than you?
No. That goes so against the flesh.
Why would we see everybody else as being wise and ourselves as
being fools? For Christ's sake. For Christ's
sake. Verse 10 right here says, we
are fools For Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We
are weak, but you are strong. You are honorable. We're despised. You really think that? I really
do. I really do. Why? It has to be for Christ's sake.
It has to be for Christ's sake. It has to be the love of Christ
constraining us. By God's grace, his people can
say, I don't want to be strong in self. I want to be weak in
self and strong in Christ. I literally want that to be my
desire every time I'm in my car driving to this building about
to stand up here to preach. Lord, let me be weak in self
and strong in you, for Christ's sake. Turn over to 2 Corinthians
12. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 7. This is the Apostle Paul speaking. He said, and lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of
Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For
this thing, I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from
me. And he said unto me, my grace
is sufficient for thee. For my strength is made perfect
in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions,
in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, Then am I
strong. All the hardships, all the tribulations,
all the trials, all the sufferings. Listen, all right, think about
this. Really think about this with
me, okay? All the hardships, all the sufferings,
all the trials, all the tribulations, everything that comes, our days
are few and full of trouble. Now listen. Knowing that all of it is the
providence of God Almighty. Knowing that all of it was ordered
and purposed by Him. Knowing that. Why do we not rebel
against it? Why do we not get angry with
God over it? Why? For Christ's sake. It's for Christ's sake. Just
think about the infirmities that were laid on him. Oh, the reproaches and the persecutions
and the distresses of the cross. Oh, the weakness that he took
upon himself, bearing the thorn of our sin in his own flesh. You talk about a thorn in the
flesh. Three times in the garden of Gethsemane. If you haven't
picked up on this, I'm recalling what Paul just said right here.
Three times in the garden of Gethsemane, our Lord prayed to
his father. This is the gospel. He said,
if it be possible, let this pass from me. That's what Paul said. Thrice I besought him that this
thorn in the flesh would be removed. Three times in the garden, our
Lord said, if it be possible, let this pass from me. All three
times the Father said, my grace is going to be sufficient. Through this, through this cross,
through the weakness of the suffering of this cross, through this weakness,
my strength is going to be made perfect. My saving strength is going to
be made known. Just entering into what Christ
endured to save our wretched souls, that constrains us. Turn with me to Ephesians 4. Turn with me to Ephesians 4 verse
21 here. If so be that you have heard
him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus, that
you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which
is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the
spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, wherefore
putting away lying, speaking every man truth with his neighbor,
for we are members of one body. Be ye angry and sin not. Be angry at your own sin, and
we are, aren't we? Let not the sun go down upon
your wrath, neither give place to the devil, Let him that stole
steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands
the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that
needeth. Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, to the use
of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve
not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of
redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you
with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you." Well, Gabe, I thought you said that the deeds of our
flesh have no bearing on our salvation. they don't. Well then why would we do that?
For Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. For the love
of Christ's sake. For his love for us sake. For him creating love in us. For him and love for his people.
The love of Christ is what constrains us and compels us to desire these
things. We don't do these things to earn
God's favor. We desire to do these things
because God has already given to us his favor. He has already
revealed to us his favor. We don't desire to do any of
these things for our sake. Well, I'm going to do these things
so I can go to heaven. That's doing it for my sake. It's all for Christ's sake. The
only way any man or woman can do anything is if God is already
quick in that man and woman to lie. Put faith in them. It's all for Christ's sake. Go
back to our text. I'll just read the last few verses
and we'll just comment on them in the next message. 2 Corinthians
5, verse 14. It says, for the love of Christ
constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all,
then we're all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them
and rose again. Wherefore, henceforth, know we
no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known Christ after
the flesh, yet now, henceforth, know we him no more. Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are
passed away, behold, all things are become new. And all things
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself, by Jesus Christ
and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit or
to know that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you
in Christ's stead, be you reconciled to God. For he hath made him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him. All right, we'll pick up with
this here in a moment, okay? You're dismissed.