Let's turn in our Bibles tonight
once again to 2nd Corinthians. Tonight we're looking in chapter
4, 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, the first six verses. Therefore saying we have this
ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. but have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness,
nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it
is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus's
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. I'll take the title for the message
tonight from two words in verse 1. This ministry. This ministry. We see that the
chapter begins with the word therefore, which we know connects
it to what went before. And if you would, glance back
in chapter 3 at what the Apostle had already said about this ministry. First of all, he said that this
ministry was one of the New Covenant or the New Testament. You see
that in verse 6. Who also hath made us able ministers
of the New Covenant or the New Testament. This ministry This
ministry is one of the New Testament. Also we see in chapter 3 that
this ministry is the ministry of the Spirit. In verse number
8, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? And we also see that this ministry
is one of righteousness. In verse number 9, For if the
ministration of condemnation be glory, that's that old covenant,
if that had glory, much more also, the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. This ministry,
this ministry, this ministry is of the new covenant, it is
of the Spirit, it is of righteousness, that is, it reveals unto us how
God may be righteous and justify men and women who believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And this ministry, we see again
in verse number 12 of chapter three, this ministry that Paul
had allowed him, caused him to use great plainness of speech. See that in verse 12, seeing
then that we have such hope we use great plainness of speech. This ministry. Now I'm going
to divide these six verses tonight into three divisions. First,
Paul speaks of his conduct in this ministry in verses one and
two. He speaks of his conduct in this
ministry. Now once again, as you see many
times in the epistles that the Apostle Paul wrote, he gives
a negative and then a positive. We see that many times in his
letters. First he'll state a negative
and then he will give a positive. Now concerning His conduct in
this ministry, first He gives us a negative. Notice in verse
1, He says, We faint not. Not. That's the negative, right?
We faint not. Now again, as you look at that
verse of Scripture, you see how it is that the Apostle Paul cannot
be accused of bragging. Someone might say, well, he's
taken a lot on himself to say, we faint not. You know, who is
he? We faint not. But notice, he
gives all the praise and all the glory unto God, because he
says, receiving mercy. Therefore, seeing we have this
ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not. Now, every child of God, every
child of God, rejoices in the mercy of God. Where would we
be tonight if God were not a God of mercy? But thank God He is. In fact, the scriptures tell
us that God delighteth in mercy. He rejoices in mercy. He's a
God of mercy. Every child of God receives the
mercy of God when we are first Brought to believe in Christ,
we experience the mercy of God and every day as we go through
this life, His mercies are new every morning. We continue to
receive mercy upon mercy upon mercy as we go through this life. Now that's true of every child
of God. But it is especially true of
every minister of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is true of every minister of the gospel. Now Paul acknowledged
that it was owing to God's mercy that he was put into the ministry
to begin with. He didn't do anything to deserve
to be a preacher, to be an apostle, to be an ambassador of Christ.
In fact, just the opposite. Just the opposite. And he never
forgot that either. Look with me, if you will, in
these two places. First in 1 Timothy. How in the
world did a man like Saul of Tarsus end up in the ministry
preaching the gospel? By the mercy of God. By the pure,
unadulterated, free mercy of God. 1st Timothy chapter 1 and
verses 12 and 13. He said, And I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful. Now remember, when he says he
counted me faithful, what he's saying is he made me faithful. It's not like God knew that Paul
would be faithful and then put him into the ministry. He was
faithful because God counted him, imputed faithfulness to
the Apostle Paul. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord
who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful, putting
me into the ministry who was. Now this was my resume here.
This is what I was. And you read this and you tell
me that I deserve to be a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Well, I was a blasphemer. I was
a persecutor. I was injurious. But, now notice,
I obtained mercy. I obtained mercy because I did
it ignorantly in unbelief. Paul says in our text tonight,
Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not. Paul had not fainted, but he's
not bragging on himself. He's giving all the glory to
the mercy of God. It was God's mercy that called
him, God's mercy that put him into the ministry, and it's God's
mercy that he continued, that he did not faint. And look at
this other passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And I've said this before, but
let me remind us, yesterday's gone. You cannot change yesterday. I cannot change yesterday. And
neither could the Apostle Paul. He knew what he had been. He
knew what he was before the grace of God and the mercy of God called
him. He couldn't change that. But
notice what he says there. He never got over it. He never
forgot it. That helped to keep him humble,
no doubt. 1 Corinthians 15 verses 9 and 10, For I am the least
of the apostles, that am not made to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God,
I am what I am, and His grace which was bestowed upon me was
not in vain, But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet
not I. You know, if he'd put a period
there, if he had said, I labored more abundantly than they all,
period, we would say, well, he's bragging on himself. But he didn't
stop there, did he? He put a colon. Yet not I. Don't look at me and think it's
because of me. that I have labored more abundantly. Don't look at me and think it's
because of anything in me that I haven't fainted. He certainly
went through enough that would have caused the average person
to faint, to give up. But he had not fainted. Why?
Because of the mercy of God. Yet not I, but the grace of God
that was with me. He was an example. When Paul
writes this letter to the Corinthians, he was an example to those when
he said, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast. It's easy to wobble, isn't it?
It's easy to wobble. He said, be ye steadfast. He
could write this because He was steadfast because He had not
fainted, but yet He gives all the credit, all the glory, all
the boasting goes to God and God's mercy. Be ye steadfast,
brethren, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For
as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord. I
know all of us, preachers especially, sometimes we think, well, our
labor has been in vain. Did you know the Lord Jesus Christ
had the same thought? You read, I believe it's Isaiah
chapter 49, and it seemed like He had labored in vain. So few,
so few had believed Him. So few of the nation of Israel
had believed and followed Him, but yet God gave him a reward,
and his reward was the Gentiles. But it's easy, isn't it, to think
we've labored in vain, but Paul said, I faint not. And I, by
the grace of God, that's, it's important how we begin. It's
very important how we begin the Christian life. We're to build
upon the rock. We're to dig down till we hit
that solid rock, that is Christ, and build on Him. But my friends,
it's also important how we finish. Not just how we begin, but how
we finish our life, our race in this world. Now notice the
positive. That's the negative here in 2
Corinthians chapter 4. The negative is, we faint not. But now here's the positive. His conduct in this ministry. His sincerity. His sincerity
was manifested in what has to be a contrast to the conduct
of the false teachers. Paul's ministry was open for
all to see and for all to examine. Nothing hidden, nothing done
in secret, everything was open about the ministry of the Apostle
Paul. The false teachers, obviously,
They had some methods, some secret methods, that they would have
been ashamed if they had been known, been made known, rather,
to the people. But Paul said, not so himself. Notice what he says. But have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. You know, there are
those who have practiced this. In the name of religion, in the
name of Christ, the ends justify the means. That's not so. The ends do not justify the means. These people, no doubt these
false teachers, their means had been dishonest, but they hoped
to have good ends. Paul said not so. You see his
sincerity. He had renounced the hidden things
of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, They were willing
to use whatever means to accomplish their end. Paul said his ministry
was all open for everyone to see, everyone to examine. This word craftiness, we have
the same word in Luke chapter 20 and it illustrates what is
meant here in Luke chapter 20 and verse 23. And this concerns the Lord Jesus in Luke chapter
20 and verse 23. These religious leaders, you
know, they came to the Lord and they asked him this question
in verse 22. Is it lawful for us to give tribute
unto Caesar or no? But now notice, but he perceived
their craftiness. Same word. They were trying to
catch him, right? And his words, their craftiness,
Paul said concerning himself that He had renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty. We did not walk in craftiness. We did not think that the means
justify the end. We were honest and above board
in all of our ministry. The false teachers, notice they
handled the Word of God deceitfully. Now, they adulterated the Word
of God. We've seen that before in our
studies here, and we know to adulterate the Word of God is
to add to it, to add the traditions and the doctrines of men to the
Word of God. Paul preached the plain Word
of God, the clear, precise Word of God. How many, as I looked
at this this week, I thought, how many in our day who call
themselves Christian ministers, how many are guilty of this when
it comes to certain truths in the Word of God? For instance,
the truth concerning the sovereignty of God. That is a clearly revealed truth
in the Word of God. God is absolutely sovereign. And if He's not, He's not God. And yet, how many so-called Christian
ministers adulterate the Word of God? They try to teach, well,
yeah, He's sovereign, but you know, man, He's sovereign too. It's kind of a joint venture
between God and man. Not so. Not so. The doctrine of total depravity. Or like that preacher that someone
asked him, is man really dead? Well, that's what the Scripture
says, isn't it? But he asked this preacher, is
man really dead? He said, well, he is, but there's
a little life. A little life. Well, he's not
dead then. If he's dead, there is no life. But how many so-called ministers
of the gospel adulterate the Word of God? And about God's
sovereign election, you know that scripture in 1 Peter chapter
1 and verse 2, I believe it is, elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. I just am convinced that there
are many preachers who explain that away when they know full
well. that that verse of scripture
is not saying that God knew beforehand what man would do, and therefore
elected those people. Because that's not what foreknowledge
means. If you just take a concordance
and look at foreknowledge, for whom He did foreknow them, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son. How many preachers adulterate
the word of God? Paul said, that's not my conduct. That's not my conduct. He gives
us a negative, we faint not, and a positive. We have renounced
the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor
handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth,
commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight
of God. Now here's the second division
of the message. Paul answers, he answers an obvious
objection to his ministry, to this ministry. And the objection
might be phrased like this. If what you say is true, Paul,
if what you say is true, if what you preach is the truth, then
why is it that the gospel is hid to some who hear it? If what
you preach is the truth, then why is it that the gospel is
hid to some who hear it? Some who hear what you say to
be the truth But it is hid from them. They go on in their works,
religion. They go on trusting in their
free will decision. They go on working in their works
to obtain reconciliation with God. Why is this, Paul? If what you say is true, why
is this message, the gospel, hid? And Paul answers this objection
by showing that the fault, he doesn't deny that the gospel
is hid, but he points out that the fault is not in the gospel. One writer said, illustrated
it like this. If the sun shines and someone
who is blind doesn't see it, does that mean the sun is not
shining? Of course not. If you go out
on a clear day at noon and a person tells you the sun is not shining,
then what do you know about that person? He's blind. He's blind. The sun is hid to him. Paul says,
if our gospel be hid, then here's the problem. Number one, they
are lost. They're not partly saved and
partly lost. No, they are lost. Isn't that what he says? But
if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Matthew Henry offered this comment.
And I quote, Christ came to save that which was lost, and the
gospel of Christ is sent to save such. And if this do not find
and save them, they are lost forever. They must never expect
anything else to save them, for there is no other method or means
of salvation. The gospel, the gospel is the
power of God unto salvation, and man who are lost who do not
believe the gospel, they need not expect something else. If
they're not saved by hearing and believing the gospel, they'll
never be saved. They're lost. That's what the
Apostle Peter said, actually, in Acts chapter 4, when he said,
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. And then Paul said, not only
are those to whom the gospel is hidden, lost. But number two,
the God of this world has blinded their minds. The God of this
world, who is he talking about? He's talking about Satan. Satan
is called the God of this world because of the power that he
exercises over the men of this world. The Apostle John in his
letter, first letter, he wrote the whole world, life and wickedness. the whole world life in the wicked
one. They're under his influence.
They're led according to his will. Taken captive by him at
his will. They're at his beck and call.
And let me say this tonight. You know it so. Men may deny
that Satan even exists. And there are people who deny
it. Oh, there's no devil. Men may deny that Satan exists. may never acknowledge that they
are servants of Satan. And they may be highly offended
at the suggestion that they are servants of Satan. But it makes
no difference. If Jehovah Jesus is not our God,
then Satan is. There's no alternative. If Christ
Jehovah is not our God, then Satan is, because all men have
a God. And here's the... We see that
the lost and those who believe not are the same in this passage
of Scripture. Those who are lost and those
who believe not. Do you see that? If you look
in verse 3, He said, But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that are lost, And then in whom the God of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, the lost, who are they? They are those who do not believe
the gospel. Our Lord told his disciples in
Mark chapter 16, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature, whosoever believeth and is baptized shall
be saved, whosoever believeth not shall be damned. Now here's the third division. Paul defines this ministry in
verses 5 and 6. What was this ministry? Well,
it was to preach, not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. That's the ministry. To preach
Christ Jesus the Lord. When you look at those words
and meditate upon them for just a moment, to preach Christ Jesus
the Lord. Preach Christ. Now Christ we
know is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term Messiah or
anointed. to preach Christ Jesus, to preach
that Jesus, who was referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus,
the son of Mary, Jesus that was crucified outside the gates of
Jerusalem, to preach Christ Jesus, that Jesus is the Christ. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the one that all the Old
Testament prophets spoke of who was to come. And He is, and He
has done, and He's doing what was predicted of Him. Plus the
Lord. Notice that. Plus the Lord. Preach
Christ Jesus the Lord. What does that mean? Well, it
means to recognize in the sense the scriptures say that every
tongue in heaven and on the earth and under the earth shall confess
that He is Lord. To have any other end in preaching
is not worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them that believe not. And the reason,
if you're here tonight, and I know Many of you are, thank God. And you believe. At one time, the God of this
world had hidden the truth from you as well, had blinded your
minds. But the reason tonight that you believe is because God,
this is what he says, isn't it? For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts. When we say that salvation is
of the Lord, it's just like saying that creating life, light rather,
creating light is of the Lord, isn't it? In the beginning, when
chaos covered the earth, the heavens and the earth, and God
said, let there be light, and light was. That same God, hath
commanded the light to shine in our hearts, which was nothing
other than chaos, to give us the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the person, in the face of Jesus Christ. The clearest revelation of the
fact that God is, And what he is, is made in the person of
Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Neither knoweth
any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal him. It is only in Jesus Christ God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath commanded
the light to shine in our hearts to give the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Has he shined in your
heart to give you the knowledge of the glory of God in the person
of Jesus Christ, to see that he is the one mediator between
God and man? that it is in Him that God may
be as He said He is, a just God and a Savior. That's only through
Christ, only in the person of Jesus Christ and His work. I
pray the Lord would bless this word to all of us here tonight
and we'll sing a verse or two of a hymn and we'll be dismissed.