2 Corinthians 4:13-14 ~ 20180916 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

09/16_2 Corinthians 4:13-14; Believing Leads to Speaking; Theology Fuels Missions ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20180916_2cor4_13-14.mp3

Today we are going to hear Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 4:13-15 that believing leads to speaking; that theology fuels missions (even in; maybe especially in the midst of affliction). What is our hope that keeps us going in the middle of it all, what is our ultimate aim? What is it that we believe that overflows in proclamation no matter what the consequences?

To pick up some of the context, we will start in verse 7.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure

This treasure; the treasure from verse 4 of 'the light of the good news of the glory Christ, who is the image of God'. The treasure from verse 6 of 'the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ'.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay,

Common, plain, ordinary clay pots; fragile, breakable, disposable earthenware.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

We have an afflicted, a crushed, a persecuted, a struck down ministry. A 'carrying around the dying of Jesus' kind of ministry, a 'given over to death' kind of ministry, a 'death is at work in us' kind of ministry. We have a ministry that is modeled after our crucified Lord. This is to show, to put on display, to make manifest that the power is not our power; it is God's power, resurrection power. The life of Jesus is put on display in these mortal bodies, resurrection life in fragile earthenware containers.

Death is at work in us, but life in you. Death is working, energizing, creating life. Death is doing something. This ministry characterized by the dying of Jesus is bringing about life; life in you.

The Danger of Speaking About Jesus

2 Corinthians 4:13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,

Speaking is what Paul has been talking about in this whole passage. He says 'we are very bold' (3:12). He says 'we refuse to tamper with God's word'; it is 'by the open statement of the truth' (4:2). He says 'we proclaim …Jesus Christ as Lord' (4:9). It is God's creative word that creates light in the dark hearts of unbelievers. It is all this speaking and preaching that has got the apostle into so much trouble, has brought on him so much crushing pressure, so much inner turmoil. We know from Acts 18 that Paul was tempted to back off in his proclamation of the truth when he came to Corinth, so much so that Jesus himself spoke to Paul in a vision and said

Acts 18:9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”

We know from earlier in Acts that Peter and John were arrested and 'charged not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus' (4:18). Then Peter and the rest of the apostles were imprisoned and 'strictly charged not to teach in this name.' They were accused of 'filling Jerusalem with their teaching' (5:28). They were beaten and charged 'not to speak in the name of Jesus' (5:40).

Paul would save himself a lot of trouble, a lot of affliction, pressure, persecution, if he simply stopped speaking about Jesus. But as the other apostles responded 'we must obey God rather than men;' 'we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard;' 'they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus'. And they rejoiced 'that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.'

Psalm 116

2 Corinthians 4:13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,

Paul is quoting a phrase from Psalm 116. No doubt this is a Psalm he had been meditating on, a Psalm that had brought him much comfort and strength and encouragement. God uses his word in our lives to strengthen us.

This Psalm is all about affliction. Paul has been talking about being afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, always being given over to death for Jesus' sake. Listen to Psalm 116:

Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” 5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8 For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; 9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 10 I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”;

Paul could certainly resonate with what the Psalmist experienced. 'The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.' He was facing death, affliction; he was brought very low. And yet like the Psalmist, in the middle of his affliction 'I believed, therefore I spoke.'

Believing Leads to Speaking

Paul's point is that believing leads to speaking. As in Romans 10:9 believing in your heart is accompanied by confessing with your mouth. He has the same spirit of faith; faith is believing, trusting, depending or relying on another. He has the same spirit of faith. The Holy Spirit who writes Christ on the tablets of human hearts (3:3); the Spirit who gives life to those who were dead in trespasses and sins under the law (3:6); the Spirit who brings transformation (3:18). It is the Spirit who creates faith in a hard human heart. Because Paul has been given the spirit of faith; since God 'has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,' he believes, he trusts, he depends, he relies on God. Even in the midst of affliction, even when facing death, he trusts in the Lord, he depends on the Lord, and he cries out to the Lord.

In this speaking, there is a private, inner dialogue, and there is a public, out loud aspect. Believing results in speaking. We see this throughout this Psalm Paul quotes. First, there is the voice crying out to the Lord for help. He has head my voice, my pleas, he inclined his ear to me, I will call on him. I called on the Lord “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” Out of his distress he speaks, he cries out to the Lord for deliverance. This is the private dialogue between the believer and the Lord.

Second, there is public speaking that follows and flows out of this Godward cry. It articulates; it vocalizes; it is public, for others to hear. I believed, therefore I spoke. If we continue in the Psalm, he says in verse 14 'I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.' In verse 18 he repeats this public recognition of God's mercy toward him 'in the presence of all his people.' He says in verse 17 'I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving.' In verse 19 he expands 'in the presence of all his people' to 'in the courts of the house of the LORD' and 'in your midst, O Jerusalem.' This is public confession, public recognition of receiving God's grace when he cried out to the LORD for help. In the presence of all the people. Both in the house of the Lord, and in the middle of the city he praises and thanks the Lord.

In his distress, he believes; he trusts, he depends on the Lord, he cries out to the Lord for help. And God meets him in his affliction; in the midst of suffering distress and anguish, in the face of death, the Lord saved him, delivered his soul from death. Now he responds by speaking publicly, declaring in the church and in the city his praise, his thanksgiving to the Lord, telling his story of how the Lord delivered him. 'The Lord is gracious and righteous. Out God is merciful. I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. When I was brought low, he saved me.'

Taste and Tell

Have you experienced the mercy of the Lord? Have you tasted his undeserved kindness? Have you cried out to him from the middle of the mess, and he met you there? Have you depended on him as your only hope? Then speak. Believing, depending on him leads to speaking about him to others, both inside and outside the church. Have you told your brothers and sisters in the house of the Lord how great he is and what he has done for you? Have you told the people you work with on Monday morning? Have you told your unbelieving family? Have you told the doctors and nurses? Have you told the people of our city?

Our daughter Hannah was born 2 months early. I was at work when I got a call from a friend who had taken my wife to the hospital. She said 'you'd better get here right away. She's not doing well. They are prepping her for an emergency C-section.' By the time I made the more than an hour drive from work up to the hospital in our town, I found out they were now transporting her by ambulance down to the University hospital, so I followed the ambulance back down past my work to intensive care at the university, where they were trying to keep my wife and our baby alive. That was a scary time. And God was with us through it all. He carried us. Songs we sang in church like 'you give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will always say, Lord blessed be your name' took on a new depth of meaning. At that point I didn't know if I would lose my wife, and the mommy to our three little girls at home. We leaned in hard to the Lord. And he carried us. It became almost tangible that he was with us and he was enough. We told our church family how the Lord was with us through it all. I told my co-workers, my boss, the people on the van pool. We told the nurses. We told the doctors. We told the anesthesiologist. I cried out to the Lord and he met us in the middle of it all, I believed, I trusted him, and he was enough. And that naturally overflowed into speaking to others about him.

Paul already modeled this in the first chapter of this letter. He wrote:

2 Corinthians 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

We were in over our heads, but that caused us to believe, trust, rely on him more. On him we have set our hope. We want you to know. We have to tell you how faithful the Lord is.

Theology the Fuel for Missions

2 Corinthians 4:13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

The believing has content. Our speaking has roots that go down deep into something solid, sustaining. We believe, and our believing leads to speaking because we know something. We know truth. We know theology. Theology is the fuel for missions. Passion, zeal, enthusiasm can carry you for a time, but what will sustain for the long haul and through the affliction that inevitably comes is good solid theology; truth about God in his word, an anchor for the soul.

Paul is facing death. He is always carrying around in his earthen vessel the dying of the Lord Jesus. He is always being given over to death. What does he know that sustains him even in that? You could say 'well, things turned out all right for you. You didn't lose your wife. Your child didn't die.' Does that mean that if they had, I would have given up trusting, gotten angry at God? Paul's theology is so rock solid substantial and sustaining that it can even produce praise when things all go wrong. Consider Job. He lost everything. And he fell on his face and worshiped. What is it Job believed? What is it Paul believed that caused him to speak even when facing death daily?

2 Corinthians 4:14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

The roots of our believing, our trusting run deep in the resurrection. God raised Jesus from the dead. That is fact, a historical event. The crucified cold corpse of Jesus was sealed in a tomb chiseled into the rock, and three days later, the tomb was empty and he was alive, appearing, spending time with his disciples, convincing the skeptics, teaching them, eating with them. God raised Jesus from the dead. And he promises to raise us who believe up with Jesus. Death has lost its sting, because Jesus conquered death and rose victorious! We can face death with courage, because death was defeated at the cross. Sin separates us from a holy God, and Jesus took all our sins on himself, paid our price in full, so that we can now stand in right relationship with the Father.

God will raise us up with Jesus, and bring us with you into his presence. Being alive forever isn't the point. The point is being in his presence, being established, so that we can enjoy him forever.

Jude closes his short letter with this word of praise:

Jude 1:24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

He is able to present you blameless before the presence of his glory.

He will bring us with you into his presence. Paul's hope, the hope that kept him going, even in the face of death, was that he would be resurrected to stand in the presence of God, and to stand with those that he proclaimed the gospel to. He looked forward to the day when he would be in the presence of God in company with all those who believed as a result of his speaking. He believed, so he spoke, and in response to his speaking many others believed. His theology of the resurrection fueled his mission to reach others with the good news, even in the face of affliction, persecution, death.

Do you believe? Is your theology robust enough to sustain you through the trials so that you can speak; proclaim the goodness of the Lord to others? Even out of the middle of the brokenness? Is your believing resulting in speaking?

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org