Welcome to our program. Now today
I'm going to be preaching from the book of 2nd Corinthians,
Paul's epistle, 2nd epistle or letter to the Corinthian Church
and I'll be taking my main text from chapter 2 beginning at verse
14. I've entitled this message, Triumph
in Christ and that of course refers to the victory that every
believer Everyone who knows Christ, who believes in Him, who is washed
in His blood and clothed in His righteousness, justified before
God through Christ and by Christ, every believer has victory in
Christ ultimately. And that means no matter what
we go through in this life, and that's a big part of this message. Let me just read to you verse
14 of chapter 2. It says, Now thanks be unto God
which always, not just sometimes now, not just when things are
going well, not just when we feel good, but he always causeth
us to triumph in Christ. Now the us there is restricted
to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is not a general
promise or a general condition given to all without exception.
And what the Apostle Paul, as he's led by the Holy Spirit to
preach here, is telling us is that the only victory, the ultimate
victory, that any sinner can have is as we are considered
in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the great victor. He is the
one who is triumphant. Now, in this second epistle to
the church at Corinth, you know, Paul, there are two epistles,
two letters to Corinth in the Bible, in the New Testament.
Some say Paul wrote more than two, But these are two that God
the Holy Spirit has guided men to place in the Holy Writ, the
Holy Scriptures. These are the inspired words
of God. And Paul had a special relationship
with the church at Corinth. He'd been used of God greatly
to establish the church there. He was the one who laid the foundation.
He spoke of that in 1 Corinthians. He spoke of one coming along,
God using a preacher, one of his ministers, to lay the foundation. How do we lay the foundation?
By the preaching of the gospel, the good news of salvation, by
God's free and sovereign grace in and by the glorious person
and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ in him crucified. And then Paul said as he moved
on, somebody else came in and built upon that foundation. He
mentioned other ministers. One especially that he mentioned
was Timothy, his companion. He mentioned a man named Apollos,
who was a Greek who had been converted to know Christ, to
Christianity. And this church was special to
him, but this also was a church with a lot of problems. There
was division in this church, and it was a sad division. It
was a division over preachers. And Paul grieved over that. He
wrote in his first epistle, he said, this is not the way it
should be. Some say I'm of Paul, some say
I'm of Apollos, some say of Cephas, which was Peter, the Apostle
Peter. And he says you shouldn't divide over preachers. We preach
the same gospel, the gospel of God's grace in Christ, and Christ
himself is not divided. Why follow a man? A man did not
save you, Christ did. That's what he's telling us.
So don't divide over that. But there was also problems of
immorality in the church. Specifically, Paul mentions in
1 Corinthians a man who was committing incest, the awful, the heinous
sin of incest with his stepmother. And Paul said that the church
ought to be admonished because they were ignoring this. This
is what brought public scandal upon the gospel in the city of
Corinth, and that cannot be. Paul says you have to deal with
this, you have to put this man out, you have to discipline him.
Not to condemn him, not to just send him off to hell, as it were,
but in hopes of restoring him with mercy and grace and forgiveness. Paul wrote of that in Galatians
chapter 6, when he told him, he said, if a man is overtaken
in a fault, then you who are spiritual, then you seek to restore
him. That's the idea of the gospel.
It's not to condemn, But it's salvation and restoration. But my friend, when we're saved
by the grace of God, we're not saved by grace in order that
we may sin more. We're saved by grace that we
may follow Christ and His teachings and His Word and be able witnesses
and ministers of the Gospel. And we want our lives to reflect
the grace of God. Now, salvation? In no way. Listen to me very carefully here.
Salvation, this has to do with our triumph in Christ, and we
have to see this if we're going to have any victory. Salvation
in no way is conditioned upon what a sinner does for God or
for anybody. Salvation is totally conditioned
upon what God does for His people, sinners, in Christ. And that's
why he sent Christ into the world. You see, in order to be saved,
sins have to be put away. Well, listen, nothing I do or
nothing I'm enabled to do can put away my sins. I heard a preacher
one time preach this message. He said it's hard to put away
sin. Well, it is totally impossible
for a sinner to put away sins. You see, some people believe
that God forgives us our sins based upon our repentance. No,
sir. Repentance will not put away
sin. Repentance is not our victory.
That's not our triumph. Some say, well, tears of sorrow
and remorse will put away sin. No, all the tears. You could
cry enough tears to fill an ocean, and it would not be enough to
wash away even one sin. Some people say baptism. puts
away sin. No, the believer's baptism will
not put away sin. It will not wash away sin. The
waters of baptism will not wash away our sins. What does it take
to wash away my sins? I'll tell you exactly what it
takes. It takes the blood of the Son of God incarnate. It
takes the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, that's my victory, my triumph
in Christ, and that's what Paul's talking about here in the preaching
of the gospel. In verse 14 of chapter 2, So
you see, whenever he talks to them about disciplining this
man who was committing incest, he's seeking to gain victory
here in Christ, not by condemning the man, but by restoring him
into the grace of God. Let this man be out on his own,
that Satan may buffet him in the flesh, that he may be brought
back by the mercy of God. And this is why in 2 Corinthians
he opens up in chapter 1 and verse 3 by identifying God in
two ways. He says in verse 3, he says,
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Speaking
of the covenant relationship between the Father and the Son,
both who are God. There's only one God now. He
subsists in three distinct persons, but one God. Christ is God. And so, we see that God, being
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the God of salvation.
He's the God of hope. He's the God of victory. Now,
we see that His salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ
and no other. We cannot save ourselves. For
example, in order to be saved, we need righteousness. But we
don't have any righteousness in ourselves. We cannot produce
one by our best works and efforts. The only way that a sinner can
be made righteous in the sight of God is through the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord our righteousness. Now he identifies him this way,
in two ways, the father of mercies. Not just mercy, a singular, but
mercies, plural. Now, God is the father of all
mercy, singular. Christ is the mercy seed. If
you want mercy from God, you must find it in Christ. who is
the Mercy Seat that was pictured in the Old Covenant tabernacle
in the holiest of all, the Ark of the Covenant, and over that
Ark was the Broken Law, and over that Ark was the Mercy Seat,
and blood was poured on that Mercy Seat one time a year on
the Day of Atonement. Well, that was a picture of Christ,
our Mercy Seat. You see, God is a just God, and
He must punish sin. He cannot let sin go, by the
way. The soul that sinneth must surely die, without the shedding
of blood, without death. There's no remission, no forgiveness
of sin. So God is a God of mercy, but
He's a God of justice. Now how are we going to meet
the God, the one true and living God, who is both a just God and
a Savior, a righteous, just God, as well as a merciful Savior?
Only in Christ. Mark it down. There is no mercy
from God, no grace, no love, no compassion from God apart
from Christ. And then secondly, he identifies
him as the God of all comfort. All comfort for a sinner who
sees his need of salvation by grace is found in Christ. Now
Paul goes on in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians to talk about
the troubles that he and his companions had faced as they
go out through the world preaching the gospel. He said at one time
as they go out through the Asian provinces preaching the gospel,
he said that they thought that they had the sentence of death
put on them. They thought they were going to die, but God delivered
them. But here's what his point is in chapter 1. He says this,
he said, whether I'm in trouble or whether I'm in jail waiting
to be hanged or to have my head cut off, he says, my comfort
and my hope and my peace and my triumph is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And he said this, he said, the
reason God puts me through these troubles is so that I can be
a help to you when you go through trouble. Do you know that's why
God puts his children through the trials of this life so many
times? They're the chastisements of a loving father, but they
are the experiences that God puts us through because he loves
us and because he wants us to be comforted in him. These troubles
drive us to God for help and out of ourselves and away from
the world. These troubles drive us to the Lord Jesus Christ to
find peace and comfort. And if I go through a trial,
then it may be that I might, and God comforts me in that trial
by driving me to His Word of grace in Christ, then it may
be that I could help someone else who's going through that
trial. But now Paul also told them this.
He said, I've been intending to come and visit you And he
said, I had that on my mind twice. In fact, he made a promise to
visit the church at Corinth two times. But you know what? He
wasn't able to keep that promise. You know, many times we'll make
promises with good intentions, not trying to fool people, not
trying to deceive, but for reasons that we cannot control, providential
hindrances, we might call them, we can't keep our promise. And
that doesn't mean that we're insincere or deceptive. That's
what Paul was saying here in verse 17 of chapter 1. He says,
when I therefore was thus minded, in other words, when I intended
and promised you to come to you those two times, did I use lightness? We might say that this way. Was
I just fooling you or was I kidding? And Paul says, or the things
that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh? that
with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay." In other
words, is Paul a man who didn't keep his word or who wouldn't?
Would he say yes one time and no another on the same issue? Is that the kind of person he
was? Well, he says in verse 18, now
listen to what he says here, chapter 1. He says, "...but as
God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay." Paul
said, I wasn't lying to you. He said, as God is true, I sincerely
hoped and intended to come to you. And that's what he's talking
about. And he goes on to use that to
show the certainty of the promises of God. Now, I may make a promise
to you or to a friend or to someone, and I may be as honest and sincere
as I can be and intend to keep it. But you see, the problem
is I'm a sinful human being. I cannot foresee all the obstacles
that might hinder me from keeping that promise. And then I don't
have the power to remove all those obstacles. But now God
does. God has never made a promise
that he didn't keep. That's why the scripture says,
let God be true, and every man a liar, in Romans 3. So Paul
uses that to direct them to the triumph in Christ. You know what
Paul is really saying here is this. Your victory and your triumph
is not in Paul. It's not in the preacher. It's
in Christ to whom Paul pointed them. You see, that's the issue. It's Christ and Him crucified
that our hope and our stay is in. He is our peace and our comfort
and our triumph, not the preacher. But he goes on, he says in verse
19 of chapter 1, For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was
preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timothy,
these three preachers, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, he was
not yea and nay, but in him was yea." In other words, Christ,
the preaching of Christ and salvation by God's grace in him is a resounding
yes. It's never a no. And this is
something you need to understand. Any sinner who believes in the
Lord Jesus Christ. I don't care who he is, where
he's from, or what he has done. Any sinner who believes in the
Lord Jesus Christ, the answer is a resounding yes. Salvation. God has never turned away. a
truly humble, seeking sinner. And I'm going to tell you one
of the reasons God never turns away a truly humble, seeking
sinner is that truly humble, seeking sinner is the product
and the work of God Himself. Wherever you find a seeking sinner,
you're going to know for sure, according to God's Word, there
has already been there a seeking Savior. And so he says in verse
20, now listen to this, he says, for all the promises of God are
in Him, in Christ, not in me, not in Paul, not in the best
of men, but in Christ, all the promises of God in Him are yea,
and in Him, amen. So be it, unto the glory of God
by us. So every promise that God has
made is sure and certain without fail, a resounding yes and never
a no, in the person and finished work of Christ. Now that's what
he means over here in verse 14. He always causes us to triumph
in Christ. There may be problems, and there
will be. Shouldn't say there may be problems, there are problems. Problems everywhere. Problems
in the world, problems in the church, problems in myself, But
whatever problem it is, he always causes me to triumph in Christ. So now as he begins in chapter
2, he tells them that one reason that he thought it was good for
him to be hindered in the past to come to them was because he
was going to have to deal with some hard, hard things in that
church. In other words, it's almost like
Paul saying, when I come to you, I'm not going to come to you
with smiles and kisses. I'm coming to you with stern
admonitions. And he said he's been thinking
about this, and one of the reasons is, is he's talking about the
man who was committing incest with his stepmother back in 1
Corinthians. He told him, he said, you're
to put that man out of the fellowship of the church. Let Satan buffet
him. That's God's way now. And restore
him unto the fellowship. Here's what Paul hoped. is that
it would bring the man to repentance. Well, thank God. Apparently,
according to 2 Corinthians 2, the man had been brought to repentance.
But even at that, the church at Corinth was reluctant to receive
the man back in. Asking forgiveness, you see.
And Paul says that ought not be. You bring that man back in
and restore him into the fellowship without any strings attached.
He's a sinner saved by the grace of God. He's been brought to
repentance. He's been restored. That's the goal. So here's all
these problems in the church at Corinth. And this is what
Paul was saying here. Look at verse 14 again. Now,
thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ. And he goes on, he says, and
maketh manifest That is, to show forth, to show out in publicly
the savor or the odor of His knowledge by us in every place. What a testimony of the victory
that believers have in Christ, our triumph in Christ. It applies
to our whole salvation and our whole lives all the way into
eternity. And he tells us that there is
no victory without Christ over sin. Here's a man who was committed
an awful scandalous sin. Where is this man going to be,
how is this man going to be delivered? You could preach to him the hammer
of the law and say now you either stop or you're condemned or you're
going to hell. And you could get him to change
his outward behavior. but there be no triumph in Christ.
You see, a lot of preachers enjoy whipping people with the law,
preaching condemnation. They used to call it hell, fire,
and brimstone. Now let me tell you something. There is hell,
fire, and brimstone. Don't get me wrong. But my friend,
the triumph over hell, fire, and brimstone is the preaching
of Christ. It's not just condemning people
for their sins. It's showing people the remedy
for sins in Christ. And he goes on, look at verse
15 of 2 Corinthians 2. He says, "...for we are unto
God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them
that perish." Here's the two effects of the preaching of the
gospel, the gospel of Christ. Salvation and perishing. That's what he says. Whether
we preach the gospel to those who are saved or to those who
are perishing, we're still the sweet odor of Christ. In other
words, the glory and the victory of Christ does not depend on
how men and women respond to the gospel. That's an important
point. You see, most preachers and most
religion today that calls itself Christianity, everything is suspended
upon the sinner's decision. Make a decision for Christ. And
I've heard that and you've heard it. Well now listen to me and
listen very carefully. We ought to make a decision for
Christ. But the glory of Christ, the
victory of Christ, is not suspended or conditioned on what I do or
don't do. If I believe it, if the gospel
is preached and I believe that gospel, Christ is victorious
and he gets the glory. But now listen to me. If I don't
believe it and I perish in eternity, hellfire and brimstone, Christ
still is victorious and gets the glory. And that's what we
have to understand. The Word of God, Isaiah said
in Isaiah 55, never returns void. God said that through Isaiah.
He said, I send forth my word, it is victorious, it will accomplish
the purpose for which I send it. Over in the book of Hebrews
chapter 11, the Bible speaks of Noah in his day when he was
preparing the ark. And it says, by faith Noah being
warned of God. This is Hebrews 11, 7. By faith,
Noah, being warned of God of things not seen, that is, the
flood, as yet, moved with fear, that is, out of respect unto
God and faith, he said he prepared an ark to the saving of his house,
by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith." How did Noah condemn the world?
Was Noah the judge, the jury, and the executioner? No. He simply
preached the gospel of the righteousness of God. He simply told sinners,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. And look
back at 2 Corinthians 2 there. He says in verse 16, now remember
what he said. He says, to the one we are the
savor or the odor of death unto death. That is, when the gospel
goes forth and men do not respond in faith but they reject it,
what is that gospel to them? It's the savor, the odor of death
unto death. and they're going to get exactly
what they deserve. My friend, you realize this.
If you reject Christ and His blood and righteousness as your
only hope and ground of salvation, you are going to get exactly
what you deserve. Now what does the Bible say that
you deserve? What does the Bible say that
we all deserve in ourselves? Death. The wages of sin is death. So if the gospel goes forth,
the gospel of grace goes forth, preached And those who don't,
and they who don't believe it, what is it going to be to them?
To them, it's the savor of death unto death. But now listen to
this. And to the other, that is the
ones who believe it, it's the savor of life unto life. God gives life and those who
have life receive the gospel. They believe in Christ. Their
victory is in Christ. They're washed in His blood.
They're clothed in His righteousness. And he said, and who is sufficient
for these things? The gospel is not an indifferent
message. It's life and death. That's what he's saying. And
here's a preacher, a sinner, preaching the gospel to dying
men and women. Who's sufficient for these things?
Over in 2 Corinthians 3, he's going to tell us, our sufficiency
is of God. We're not sufficient for it.
Over in 2 Corinthians 4, he says this, we have this great treasure
of the gospel of grace. that preaches the victory and
the triumph in Christ for sinners who know Him and believe in Him
and rest in Him. But he said we have this treasure
in earthen vessels, weak, weak vessels. He says in verse 17,
for we are not as many which corrupt or deal deceitfully with
the Word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God in the sight of
God speak we in or of Christ. Paul is reassuring the Corinthian
believers here that I'm not doing this for my own gain. I'm not
doing it dishonestly. I'm not making promises that
I don't intend to keep. I may not keep them all. But
I'm preaching the gospel to you and that's of sincerity. He says
that is of God in the sight of God. I'm preaching unto you Christ
and Him crucified. Triumph in Christ. Whatever problems
we have, whatever things we go through, whatever promises we
fail to keep, our triumph is in Christ and Him crucified. The crucified, buried, resurrected
Christ, who is now seated at the right hand of the Father,
ever living to make intercession for us, and He is able to save
to the uttermost them that come unto the Father by Him. He's
able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that
day. Our triumph is in Christ, not
in ourselves, not in the church, not in the preacher, not in our
family, and certainly not in our works. Our triumph is in
Christ and in Christ alone. So let that be the object of
your faith. I hope you've enjoyed this message
and if you'd like to get a copy of this message, listen to the
announcer and he'll give you the details. The title of the
message is Triumph in Christ. And I hope you'll join us next
week for another message from God's Word.