Study 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-4

2 Corinthians 5

This chapter 2 Corinthians 4:1-3; the trials and dangers which they encountered in the work of the ministry 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; and the consolations and supports which they had in its various trials, 2 Corinthians 4:13-18. This chapter contains a continuation of the same subject, and a further statement of the motives which prompted them to their work, and of the supports which upheld them in the arduous duties to which they were called. It is a chapter full of exquisite beauties of sentiment and of language, and as well adapted to give consolation and support to all Christians now as it is to ministers; and the sentiments are as well adapted to sustain the humblest believer in his trials as they were to sustain the apostles themselves. The following are the points of consolation and support, and reasons for their zeal and self-denial, to which the apostle refers.

1. They had the assured prospect of the resurrection, and of eternal life, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4. The body might decay, and be worn out; it might sigh and groan, but they had a better home, a mansion of eternal rest in the heavens. It was their earnest desire to reach heaven; though not such a desire as to make them unwilling to endure the toils and trials which God should appoint to them here below, but still an earnest, anxious wish to reach safely their eternal home in the skies. In the prospect of their heavenly home, and their eternal rest, they were willing to endure all the trials which were appointed to them.
2. God had appointed them to this; he had suited them for these trials; he had endowed them with the graces of his Spirit; and they were, therefore, willing to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord; 2 Corinthians 5:5-8. They had such a view of heaven as their home that they were willing at any time to depart and enter the world of rest, and they did not, therefore, shrink from the trials and dangers which would be likely soon to bring them there.
3. They had a deep and constant conviction that they must soon appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11. They labored that they might be accepted by him 2 Corinthians 5:9; they knew that they must give a solemn account to him 2 Corinthians 5:10; they had a clear view, and a deep impression of the awful terrors of that day, and they labored, therefore, to save as many as possible from the condemnation of the great Judge of all, and endeavored to “persuade” them to be prepared for that scene; 2 Corinthians 5:11.
4. Though to some they might appear to be under the influence of improper excitement, and even to be deranged 2 Corinthians 5:14, yet they were acting only under the proper influence of the love of Christ; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. They were constrained and urged on by his love; they knew that he had died for all, and that all people were dead in sin; and they felt themselves the constraining influence of that love prompting them to deny themselves, and to devote their all to his service and cause.
5. Their views of all things had been changed; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17. They had ceased to act under the influences which govern other people; but their own hearts had been changed, and they had become new creatures in Christ, and in their lives they evinced the spirit which should govern those who were thus renewed.
6. They had been solemnly commissioned by God as his ambassadors in this cause. They had been sent to make known the terms and the way of reconciliation, and they felt it to be their duty to proclaim those terms on as wide a scale as possible, and with the utmost zeal and self-denial. It was God‘s glorious plan of reconciliation; and on the ground of the atonement made by the Redeemer, they could now offer salvation to all mankind, and as all might be saved, they felt themselves bound to offer the terms of salvation to as many as possible; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. The grand argument for urging sinners to be reconciled to God, is the fact that Christ has died for their sins, and, therefore, the apostles apprized of this fact, sought to urge as many as possible to become his friends; 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Verse 1
For we know - We who are engaged in the work of the gospel ministry. Paul is giving a reason why he and his fellow-laborers did not become weary and faint in their work. The reason was, that they knew that even if their body should die, they had an inheritance reserved for them in heaven. The expression “we know” is the language of strong and unwavering assurance. They had no doubt on the subject. And it proves that there may be the assurance of eternal life; or such evidence of acceptance with God as to leave no doubt of a final admission into heaven. This language was often used by the Saviour in reference to the truths which he taught John 3:11; John 4:22; and it is used by the sacred writers in regard to the truths which they recorded, and in regard to their own personal piety; John 21:24; 1 John 2:3, 1John 2:5,1 John 2:18; 1 John 3:2, 1 John 3:14, 1 John 3:19, 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:6, 1 John 4:13; 1 John 5:2, 1 John 5:15, 1 John 5:19-20.

That if our earthly house - The word “earthly” here ( ἐπιγειος epigeios) stands opposed to “heavenly,” or to the house eternal ( ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς en tois ouranois) in the heavens.” The word properly means “upon earth, terrestrial, belonging to the earth, or on the earth,” and is applied to bodies 1 Corinthians 15:40; to earthly things John 3:12; to earthly, or worldly wisdom, James 3:15. The word “house” here refers doubtless to the body, as the habitation, or the dwelling-place of the mind or soul. The soul dwells in it as we dwell in a house, or tent.

Of this tabernacle - This word means a booth, or tent - a movable dwelling. The use of the word here is not a mere redundancy, but the idea which Paul designs to convey is, doubtless, that the body - the house of the soul - was not a permanent dwelling-place, but was of the same nature as a booth or tent, that was set up for a temporary purpose, or that was easily taken down in migrating from one place to another. It refers here to the body as the frail and temporary abode of the soul. It is not a permanent dwelling; a fixed habitation, but is liable to be taken down at any moment, and was suited up with that view. Tyndale renders it, “if our earthly mansion wherein we now dwell.” The Syriac renders it, “for we know that if our house on earth, which is our body, were dissolved.” The idea is a beautiful one, that the body is a mere unfixed, movable dwelling. place; liable to be taken down at any moment, and not designed, anymore than a tent is, to be a permanent habitation.

Were dissolved - ( καταλυθῇ kataluthē). This word means properly to disunite the parts of anything; and is applied to the act of throwing down, or destroying a building. It is applied here to the body, regarded as a temporary dwelling that might be taken down, and it refers, doubtless, to the dissolution of the body in the grave. The idea is, that if this body should moulder back to dust, and be resolved into its original elements; or if by great zeal and, labor it should be exhausted and worn out. Language like this is used by Eliphaz, the Temanite, in describing the body of man. “How much less in those that dwell in houses of clay,” etc.; Job 4:19; compare 2 Peter 1:13-14.

We have a building of God - Robinson (Lexicon) supposes that it refers to “the future spiritual body as the abode of the soul.” Some have supposed that it refers to some “celestial vehicle” with which God invests the soul during the intermediate state. But the Scripture is silent about any such celestial vehicle. It is not easy to tell what was the precise idea which Paul here designed to convey. Perhaps a few remarks may enable us to arrive at the meaning:

(1) It was not to be temporary; not a tent or tabernacle that could be taken down.
(2) it was to be eternal in the heavens.
(3) it was to be such as to constitute a dwelling; a clothing, or such a protection as should keep the soul from being “naked.”
(4) it was to be such as should constitute “life” in contradistinction from “mortality.” These things will better agree with the supposition of its referring to the future body of the saints than any thing else; and probably the idea of Paul is, that the body there will be incorruptible and immortal. When he says it is a “building of God” ( ἐκ Θεοῦ ek Theou), he evidently means that it is made by God; that he is the architect of that future and eternal dwelling. Macknight and some others, however, understood this of the mansions which God has prepared for His people in heaven, and which the Lord Jesus has gone to prepare for them; compare John 14:2. But see the note on 2 Corinthians 5:3.
An house - A dwelling; an abode; that is, according to the interpretation above, a celestial, pure, immortal body; a body that shall have God for its immediate author, and that shall be suited to dwell in heaven forever.

Not made with hands - Not constructed by man; a habitation not like those which are made by human skill, and which are therefore easily taken down or removed, but one that is made by God himself. This does not imply that the “earthly house” which is to be superseded by that in heaven is made with hands, but the idea is, that the earthly dwelling has things about it which resemble that which is made by man, or as if it were made with hands; that is it is temporary, frail, easily taken down or removed. But that which is in heaven is permanent, fixed, eternal, as if made by God.

Eternal in the heavens - Immortal; to live forever. The future body shall never be taken down or dissolved by death. It is eternal, of course, only in respect to the future, and not in respect to the past. And it is not only eternal, but it is to abide forever in the heavens - in the world of glory. It is never to be subjected to a dwelling on the earth; never to be in a world of sin, suffering, and death.

Verse 2
For in this - In this tent, tabernacle, or dwelling. In our body here.

We groan - compare note, Romans 8:22. The sense is, that we are subjected to so many trials and afflictions in the present body; that the body is subjected to so many pains and to so much suffering, as to make us earnestly desire to be invested with that body which shall be free from all susceptibility to suffering.

Earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house … - There is evidently here a change of the metaphor which gives an apparent harshness to the construction. One idea of the apostle is, that the body here, and the spiritual body hereafter, is a house or a dwelling. Here he speaks of it as a garment which may be put on or laid off and of himself as earnestly desiring to put on the immortal clothing or vestment which was in heaven. Both these figures are common in ancient writings, and a change in this manner in the popular style is not unusual. The Pythagoreans compared the body to a tent, or hut, for the soul; the Platonists liken it to a vestment - Bloomfield. The Jews speak of a vestment to the soul in this world and the next. They affirm that the soul had a covering when it was under the throne of God, and before it was clothed with the body. This vestment they say was “the image of God” which was lost by Adam. After the fall, they say Adam and all his posterity were regarded as naked.

In the future world they say the good will be clothed with a vestment for the soul which they speak of as lucid and radiant, and such as no one on earth can attain - Schoettgen. But there is no reason to think that Paul referred to any such trifles as the Jews have believed on this subject. He evidently regarded man as composed of body and soul. The soul was the more important part, and the body constituted its mere habitation or dwelling. Yet a body was essential to the idea of the complete man; and since this was frail and dying, he looked forward to a union with the body that should be eternal in the heavens, as a more desirable and perfect habitation of the soul. Mr. Locke has given an interpretation of this in which he is probably alone, but which has so much appearance of plausibility that it is not improper to refer to it. He supposes that this whole passage has reference to the fact that at the coming of the Redeemer the body will be changed without experiencing death; (compare 1 Corinthians 15:51-52); that Paul expected that this might soon occur; and that he earnestly desired to undergo this transformation without experiencing the pains of dying. He therefore paraphrases it, “For in this tabernacle I groan, earnestly desiring, without putting off this mortal, earthly body by death, to have that celestial body superinduced, if so be the coming of Christ shall overtake me in this life, before I put off this body.”
With our house - The phrase “to be clothed upon with our house” seems to be harsh and unusual. The sense is plain, however, that Paul desired to be invested with that pure, spiritual, and undecaying body which was to be the eternal abode of his soul in heaven. That he speaks of as a house ( οἰκητήριον oikētērion), a more permanent and substantial dwelling than a tent, or tabernacle.

Verse 3
If so be that being clothed - This passage has been interpreted in a great many different ways. The view of Locke is given above. Rosenmuller renders it, “For in the other life we shall not be wholly destitute of a body, but we shall have a body.” Tyndale renders it, “If it happen that we be found clothed, and not naked.” Doddridge supposes it to mean, “since being so clothed upon, we shall not be found naked, and exposed to any evil and inconvenience, how entirely soever we may be stripped of everything we can call our own here below.” Hammond explains it to mean, “If, indeed, we shall, happily, be among the number of those faithful Christians, who will be found clothed upon, not naked.” Various other expositions may be seen in the larger commentaries. The meaning is probably this:

(1) The word “clothed” refers to the future spiritual body of believers; the eternal habitation in which they shall reside.
(2) the expression implies an earnest desire of Paul to be thus invested with that body.
(3) it is the language of humility and of deep solicitude, as if it were possible that they might fail, and as if it demanded their utmost care and anxiety that they might thus be clothed with the spiritual body in heaven.
(4) it means that in that future state, the soul will not be naked; that is, destitute of any body, or covering. The present body will be laid aside. It will return to corruption, and the disembodied Spirit will ascend to God and to heaven. It will be disencumbered of the body with which it has been so long clothed. But we are not thence to infer that it will be destitute of a body; that it will remain a naked soul. It will be clothed there in its appropriate glorified body; and will have an appropriate habitation there. This does not imply, as Bloomfield supposes, that the souls of the wicked will be destitute of any such habitation as the glorified body of the saints; which may be true - but it means simply that the soul shall not be destitute of an appropriate body in heaven, but that the union of body and soul there shall be known as well as on earth.

Study 2 CORINTHIANS 4:1-18

2 Corinthians 4 - OUR LIGHT AFFLICTION

A. How a more glorious covenant should be presented.
1. (2 Corinthians 4:1-2) How Paul preached the more glorious gospel.
Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, 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.
a. Since we have this ministry . . . we do not lose heart: Paul preached his gospel boldly. When Paul considered the greatness of his calling, it gave him the heart to face all his difficulties. We often lose heart because we do not consider how great a calling God has given us in Jesus.
i. The idea behind the Greek word for lose heart is the “faint-hearted coward.” The Greek word has the idea of not only a lack of courage but of bad behavior and evil conduct.
ii. “The preacher should either speak in God’s name or hold his tongue. My brother, if the Lord has not sent you with a message, go to bed, or to school, or mind your farm; for what does it matter what you have to say of your own? If heaven has given you a message, speak it our as he ought to speak who is called to be the mouth of God.” (Spurgeon)
b. As we have received mercy: Paul preached his gospel humbly. He knew his glorious calling to ministry was not due to his own works, it was as we have received mercy. Mercy, but its very nature, is undeserved.
c. Renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully: Paul preached his gospel honestly. The word deceitfully is a verb only found here in the New Testament, meaning “to dilute or adulterate.” Paul didn’t preach a concealed gospel (renouncing the hidden things of shame), or a corrupted gospel (craftiness . . . deceitfully), mixing the message with human ingenuity or watered down accommodation to his audience. Paul preached an honest gospel.
i. Many preachers fail on this exact point. They have the true gospel, but they add to it things of human ingenuity and wisdom. Often, they add these corrupting or diluting things to the gospel because they think it will make the gospel more effective, or give it a greater hearing. But they are still doing what Paul insisted he would never do, handling the word of God deceitfully.
ii. “Certain divines tell us that they must adapt truth to the advance of the age, which means that they must murder it and fling its dead body to the dogs . . . which simply means that a popular lie shall take the place of an offensive truth.” (Spurgeon)
iii. “For just as chaste and honourable women are content with the gracefulness of natural beauty and do not resort to artificial adornments, whereas harlots never think themselves well adorned until they have corrupted nature, so Paul’s boast that he has set forth the pure Gospel whereas others have offered a counterfeit Gospel decked out with unworthy additions.” (Calvin)
iv. Craftiness speaks of “a cunning readiness to adopt any device or trickery for the achievement of ends which are anything but altruistic.” (Hughes)
d. By manifestation of the truth: Paul preached an openly true gospel. Anyone could look at what Paul preached and see the openly revealed truth of it.
e. Commending ourselves to every man’s conscience: Paul preached a gospel of integrity. Anyone could look at Paul’s gospel and his ministry, judge it by their own conscience, and see that it was full of integrity.
i. Some men might attack Paul by their words; some might attack him with their actions. But Paul knew both his ministry and his message found approval in the conscience of every man, even if they would not admit it.
f. In the sight of God: Paul preached his gospel before God. It was important to Paul to know every man’s conscience would approve his manner of ministry, but it was far more important to know that what he did was right in the sight of God.
i. “There is a higher scrutiny than that of the human conscience: it is to God that every minister of the gospel is ultimately and eternally answerable.” (Hughes)
ii. Paul will, later in this chapter, reflect again on his sufferings. In these first two verses, he has made it clear that he has not suffered because he has been an unfaithful minister of the gospel. It would have been easy for Paul’s enemies to claim, “He suffers so much because God is punishing him because he is unfaithful.” That wasn’t the case at all.
2. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) Why don’t more people respond to such a glorious gospel?
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
a. Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing: If people do not respond to this glorious gospel, it isn’t Paul’s fault, or his gospel’s fault. Only those who are perishing miss the message.
i. “The blindness of unbelievers in no way detracts from the clearness of the his gospel for the sun is no less resplendent because the blind do not perceive its light.” (Calvin)
ii. The King James Version translates the end of verse four: hid to them that are lost. Spurgeon well says, “According to the text, he that believes not on Jesus Christ is a lost man. God has lost you; you are not his servant. The church has lost you; you are not working for the truth. The world has lost you really; you yield no lasting service to it. You have lost yourself to right, to joy, to heaven. You are lost, lost, lost . . . It is not only that you will be lost, but that you are lost . . . lost even now.”
b. Whose minds the god of this age has blinded: Those who are perishing and for whom the gospel is veiled have been blinded by Satan, the god of this age.
i. It doesn’t mean they are innocent victims of Satan’s blinding work. Satan’s work upon them is not the only reason they are blinded. John 3:19 says, And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Though men love the darkness, and choose the darkness, Satan still works hard to keep them blinded to the glorious gospel of light and salvation in Jesus.
ii. We notice also that it is the minds of the unbelieving which have been blinded. Of course, Satan also works on the heart and the emotions of the lost, but his main battleground is the mind. Can’t we see a strategy of Satan in working hard to make people think less and learn less and use their minds less? This also is why God has chosen the word to transmit the gospel, because the word touches our minds, and can touch minds the god of this age has blinded.
c. The god of this age: The title god of this age is not used of Satan anywhere else in Scripture, but the thought is expressed in passages like John 12:31; Joh_14:30, and in Ephesians 2:2; Eph_6:12 and 1 John 5:19.
i. There is a significant, and real sense in which Satan “rules” this world. Not in an ultimate sense, because, The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. (Psalms 24:1). Yet, Jesus did not contest Satan’s claim to rule over this present age (Luke 4:5-8), because there is a sense in which Satan is the “popularly elected” ruler of this age.
ii. “The satanic world sovereignty is in fact apparent rather than real; for God alone is the ‘King of the ages’ (1 Timothy 1:17, Greek), that is, of every age, past, present, and future” (Hughes). “It is the devil who is here called the god of this world, because he ruleth over the greatest part of the world, and they are his servants and slaves . . . though we no where else find him called the god of this world, yet our Saviour twice calls him the prince of this world.” (Poole)
iii. The Biblical truth that Satan is the god of this age can be understood in a wrong way. Some later Christians (like the Manichaeans) promoted a dualistic understanding of God and Satan, and emphasized this phrase the god of this age. Their idea was that God and Satan were “equal opponents,” instead of understanding that in no way is Satan the opposite of God. In reaction to these false doctrines, many early Christian commentators (like Augustine, Origen, Chrysostem and others) interpreted this verse strangely to “remove ammunition” from the heretics. But this is wrong. Just because some one twists a truth one way, it doesn’t mean we can twist it the other way to “compensate.” Calvin well remarks of this approach, “being hard pressed by their opponents they were more anxious to refute them than to expound Paul.”
iv. Instead, Calvin gives a good sense of what we should understand by the phrase the god of this age: “The devil is called the god of this age in no other way than Baal was called the god of those who worshipped him or the dog the god of Egypt.”
d. Who do not believe: Satan can only blind those who do not believe. If you are tired of having your mind blinded by the god of this age, then put your trust on who Jesus is and what He has done for you! Then Satan can’t blind you anymore!
i. “The god of this world is able only to blind the minds of the unbelieving . . . Refusal to believe is the secret and reason of the blindness that happens to men.” (Morgan)
e. Lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . . should shine on them: To see this glory is to be saved. Therefore, Satan directs his energies into blinding us from ever seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
i. Understanding Satan’s strategy with unbelievers should affect how we pray for the lost. We should ask God to shine His light, to bind the blinding of Satan, and to give faith to overcome the unbelief that invites the blinding.
f. Paul knew what he was talking about when he wrote this. He himself as completely blind to the truth until God broke through the darkness. In fact, when Paul first encountered Jesus, the Lord struck him with a literal blindness that was healed, and his eyes - both spiritually and physically - were opened to see the glory of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-19).
i. The light mentioned here isn’t the normal Greek word for light. It is a word used in the Septuagint in Psalms 44:3 for the light of Your countenance and Psalms 78:14 for In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. Hodge observes “The word therefore signifies the brightness emitted by a radiant body.”
B. Treasure in clay pots.
1. (2 Corinthians 4:5-6) The topic of Paul’s preaching: Jesus, not self.
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
a. For we do not preach ourselves: Paul didn’t climb into the pulpit, or stand before an audience, to preach himself. He wasn’t important. He wasn’t the focus. Jesus was, so He could strongly say, we do not preach ourselves. Instead, the focus needs to be on Christ Jesus the Lord. He is the one to preach about!
i. Not everyone who opens a Bible and starts talking is preaching Christ Jesus the Lord. Many well-intentioned preachers are actually preaching themselves instead of Jesus. If the focus is on the funny stories or the touching life experiences of the preacher, he may be preaching himself.
ii. Often, people love it when the preacher preaches himself. It is revealing, it seems intimate, and it is often entertaining. It is also tempting for the preacher, because he sees how people respond when he focuses the message on himself. But the bottom line is that the preacher himself can’t bring you to God and save your eternal soul; only Jesus can. So preach Jesus!
iii. Is it wrong for a preacher to tell a joke? To use a story from his own life? Of course not. But it is all a matter of proportion. It’s like asking, “is it all right to put salt in the soup?” Of course, but don’t put in too much. And if, week after week, too much of the preacher is in the sermon, it is wrong. A.T. Robertson said the preaching of one’s self was “Surely as poor and disgusting a topic as a preacher can find.” Don’t we have a greater message than ourselves?
b. It wasn’t only that Paul did not preach himself. He also did not preach a gospel of moral reform, or a list of rules you must follow to be right with God. He preached Jesus!
i. Paul’s goal in preaching was to bring men to Jesus, not to make moral changes in men. “To make the end of preaching the inculcation of virtue, to render men honest, sober, benevolent and faithful, is part and parcel of that wisdom of the world that is foolishness with God. It is attempting to raise fruit without trees. When a man is brought to recognize Jesus Christ as Lord, and to love and worship him as such, then he becomes like Christ. What more can the moralist want?” (Hodge)
c. Ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake: When Paul would present himself, this is how he did it. Not as a lord, not as a master, but simply as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
i. It is important that Paul also considered himself a servant of the Corinthian Christians for Jesus’ sake. If it were for his own sake, or for the sake of the Corinthian Christians themselves, it wouldn’t last or it would turn fleshly pretty easily. But Paul always served others for Jesus’ sake. He did it primarily to please the Jesus, not to please man.
d. The God who commanded light to shine out of darkness: Paul is saying, “the Lord God who created light in the physical world can fill your heart with spiritual light, even if you are blinded by the god of this age.” Satan’s work of blinding is great, but God’s work of light is greater!
i. Paul is directly quoting the idea of Genesis 1:3 : Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. Paul really believed the account of creation as described in Genesis 1. Genesis 1:3 says God created light with a command, and Paul believed that is exactly how it happened.
e. Who has shone in our hearts: This verse describes Paul’s own conversion accurately (Acts 9:1-9). On his was to Damascus, to persecute and kill Christians, suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. This was the first encounter with Jesus in the life of Saul of Tarsus (also known as the apostle Paul).
i. This should be a good way to describe every Christian: people with shining hearts. God shone in our hearts, and it should show in shining lives for Jesus Christ.
f. To give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God: What exactly has God shone in our hearts? It is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Every Christian should have some knowledge of the glory of God. If one is a Christian, and could say, “I really know nothing of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,” then they should seek God earnestly, that He would shine it in their heart!
i. To give us the light: God has given us the light of this knowledge of God, and we have the responsibility to get it out. He “shined it in” so we could “shine it out” instead of “shining it on” as some Christians do!
ii. Imagine a man in a sunny room, who enjoys the sunshine so much he wants to keep it all to himself. He says, “I’ll shut the curtains so none of this light gets out!” and puts himself back into darkness. When we try to hoard up the light within ourselves, we will certainly lose it.
g. In the face of Jesus Christ: We come to the knowledge of the glory of God by seeing it in the face of Jesus. God has given us a display, a picture, a representation of His glory: His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9). He also prayed that we would see His glory, the glory of God the Father: that they may behold My glory which You have given Me (John 17:24).
2. (2 Corinthians 4:7) A great treasure in such a humble container.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
a. This treasure: The treasure is the greatness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the glory of God made evident through that gospel. It is the very light of God, and the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, reflected in the face of Jesus Christ. This is the greatest treasure in all of creation!
b. We have this treasure in earthen vessels: When Paul considers us as earthen vessels, he isn’t disparaging the body or considering it merely a receptacle for the soul. Instead, Paul is simply comparing the “value” of God’s light and glory and the “value” what He has chosen to put His light and glory into. When you compare the two, it isn’t hard to be amazed that God has put such a great treasure into clay pots!
i. Who is worthy to be a “container” for God’s light and glory? The smartest person isn’t smart enough, the purest person isn’t pure enough, the most spiritual person isn’t spiritual enough, and most talented person isn’t talented enough. We are all just clay pots holding an unspeakably great treasure!
ii. Earthen vessels: Earthenware vessels were common in every home in the ancient world. They were not very durable (compared to metal), and they were useless if broken (glass could be melted down again). “They were thus cheap and of little intrinsic value.” (Kruse) God chose to put His light and glory in the everyday dishes, not in the fine china!
iii. We almost always are drawn to the thing that has the best packaging. But the best gifts often have the most unlikely packaging. God did not see a need to “package” Jesus when He came as a man to this earth. Jesus was not embarrassed to live as an earthen vessel. God is not embarrassed to use clay pots like us!
c. That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us: Why does God put such a great treasure in such weak vessels? So that the greatness of the power may be of God and not of us. So that it would be evident to anyone who had eyes to see that the work was being done by the power of God, not the power of the vessel.
i. Why did God choose risky, earthen vessels instead of safe, heavenly ones? Because “perfect” vessels are safe, but bring glory to themselves. Earthen vessels are risky, but can bring profound glory to God.
ii. In the story of Gideon, it was the breaking of vessels that made the light shine forth and bring victory to God’s people (Judges 7:20). In the rest of the chapter, Paul will show how God “breaks” His clay pots so the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
3. (2 Corinthians 4:8-12) The suffering in Paul’s ministry brings forth life.
We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.
a. We are hard pressed: This has the idea of “hunted.” Paul was a wanted, hunted man because of what he was for Jesus. In Acts 23:12, forty men conspired together to not eat or drink until they had murdered Paul. He knew what it was like to be hunted!
b. Yet not crushed: Living as a wanted, hunted man means terrible stress, experienced every moment of the day. Yet, Paul was not crushed by this stress. He could still serve the Lord gloriously.
c. Look at how Paul describes the experiences in his life: hard pressed . . . perplexed . . . persecuted . . . struck down. Paul’s life was hard, and it was hard because of his passionate devotion to Jesus Christ and His gospel. Yet, look at the triumph of Jesus in Paul’s life: not crushed . . . not in despair . . . not forsaken . . . not destroyed. Paul knew the power and victory of Jesus in his life because he was continually in situations where only the power and victory of Jesus could meet his need!
i. When we talk about this today, it is easy to think we are just saying “spiritual things,” because some of us live very comfortable lives, and do not suffer much at all. But we should remember that everything Paul says about suffering, he says as a man who has probably suffered more than you, or more than anyone you will ever meet! This was not theory to Paul, but real life experience.
d. Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested: Paul, like any Christian, wanted the life of Jesus evident in him. But Paul knew this could only happen if he also carried about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. There are some aspects of God’s great work in our lives that only happen through trials and suffering.
i. By writing always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, Paul was saying that He felt that the death of Jesus was being spiritually worked inside of him. He is saying that not only was the death of Jesus a historical fact, but it was also a spiritual reality in his life.
ii. In Philippians 3:10, Paul speaks about the glory of knowing Jesus: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Many long to know the power of His resurrection, but want nothing to do with the fellowship of His sufferings or being conformed to His death. But there are certain fragrances God can only release through a broken vial, so Paul rejoiced in knowing both the suffering and the glory. He knew the two were connected.
e. Always delivered to death . . . death is working in us, but life in you: Paul knew the spiritual riches that he brought to the Corinthian Christians came, in part, through the death-like suffering he endured in ministry. God made Paul more effective in ministry through his suffering.
i. Sometimes we think that if someone is really spiritual, or really used of God, they will live in a constant state of “victory” that means life will always be easy. Understanding what Paul writes here not only tells us that God’s servants may experience death-like suffering, but that God has a good and glorious purpose in allowing it.
ii. G. Campbell Morgan tells the story of a great young preacher who was impressive early on in his ministry. Once he had the young man to speak at his church, and after the sermon Morgan asked his wife, “Wasn’t that wonderful?” She quietly replied, “Yes, but it will be more wonderful when he has suffered.” Morgan adds: “Well, he suffered, and it was more powerful.”
f. Death in us, but life in you: Here is the irony. The Corinthian Christians despised Paul because of his great sufferings, and because of what they thought was their great lives of “victory.” But they did not see that their lives of victory were only made possible because God had made Paul such an effective servant through suffering!
i. “Very good interpreters think these words a smart ironical expression, by which the apostle reflecteth upon a party in this church who from his sufferings concluded against the truth of his doctrine, or his favour with God.” (Poole)
4. (2 Corinthians 4:13-15) Paul’s faith in the life-giving God.
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
a. We also believe and therefore speak: This is a great principle - that faith creates the testimony. Paul really believed God had a purpose in his death-like sufferings, and really believed he lived and experienced the resurrection life of Jesus. Therefore, he wasn’t hesitant to speak about it!
i. If you can’t say we also believe, then you should not speak! “That is one great secret of power and success in the Christian ministry. If you do not believe, shut your mouth. That is a word for young ministers. If you do not believe, do not talk.” (Morgan)
b. Knowing that He who raise up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus: Paul knew this. Therefore, he didn’t despair in his sufferings. Every death-like trial was just the prelude to resurrection power!
c. All things are for your sakes: This was the immediate goal of Paul’s ministry. His heart was the serve the Corinthian Christians and the Christians in other cities. But his ministry also had an ultimate goal, that it may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Ultimately, Paul was motivated by the glory of God.
i. Some forget the immediate goal and have a “pie-in-the-sky” super-spirituality. Others forget the ultimate goal and are man-focused, becoming either proud or discouraged. We need to keep both in mind!
C. Our light affliction.
1. (2 Corinthians 4:16) Why we do not lose heart.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
a. Therefore, we do not lose heart: Paul began the chapter (2 Corinthians 4:1) by declaring since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But in the chapter, he describes all the death-like sufferings he has to endure in the ministry. It is as if Paul is anticipating the question, “how can you not lose heart?”
i. Therefore is part of the answer, because it points us back to what Paul has just said. Paul has just explained that his death-like trials made for more effective, life giving ministry for the Corinthian Christians. Knowing that made him not lose heart in the midst of trials and suffering.
b. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day: Another reason why Paul does not lost heart is because though all his suffering takes a toll on the outward man, yet the inward man is being renewed and blessed!
i. Outward man has the same idea as earthen vessels in 2 Corinthians 4:7 and mortal flesh in 2 Corinthians 4:11. The message is the same: “On the outside, we are suffering and taking a beating. But on the inside, God is blessing and renewing us!”
2. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18) A coming glory that outweighs any of today’s difficulties.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
a. Our light affliction: When Paul writes “our light affliction,” we might wonder if he had ever known any “real” trials. Some might think, “Well Paul, your affliction might be light, but mine isn’t. If you only knew how I am suffering! Why, it’s unbearable!”
i. But Paul isn’t writing as a kindergartner in the school of suffering. Paul has an advanced graduate degree! He describes some of these sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 : stripes . . . prisons . . . beaten . . . stoned . . . shipwrecked . . . perils of waters . . . robbers . . . in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. And those are just the physical, outward sufferings! What about the spiritual burdens he bore, and spiritual attacks he faced? “This rich theology of suffering was forged on the anvil of his own experiences of ‘the sufferings of Christ.’“ (Harris)
ii. So, when Paul writes our light affliction, we can know God means our light affliction. If Paul could say his affliction was light, then what is ours?
b. Why is our affliction light, and not heavy? Because even the worst of it, by the measure of eternity, is but for a moment. This is partially true in the sense that most of our troubles come and go, and “this too shall pass.” But it is also true in the sense that even a long life by this world’s standard is nothing on the scale of eternity. Even if one were to live for a hundred years and suffer every day of their lives, by the measure of eternity, it is but for a moment.
c. Why is our affliction light, and not heavy? Because of what God is accomplishing in us through our affliction: a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
i. The Scriptures are clear: if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:17). Glory is tied to suffering, and God will accomplish in us a glory far heavier than any affliction we have suffered here. “Affliction is not something to be endured in order to reach glory. It is the very process which creates the glory. Through travail comes birth.” (Morgan)
ii. It is as if Paul says, “Go ahead and get out the scale. Put all your afflictions on one side of the scale, and even put your thumb down on that side. Then let me place the weight of glory on the other side of the scale, and you will see what a light affliction you really have.”
iii. Yes, our affliction is light! Our affliction is light compared to what others are suffering. Our affliction is light compared to what we deserve. Our affliction is light compared to what Jesus suffered for us. Our affliction is light compared to the blessings we enjoy. Our affliction is light as we experience the sustaining power of God’s grace. Our affliction is light when we see the glory that it is leading to. We really can say with Paul, “our light affliction.”
d. Weight of glory: Do we appreciate the weight of glory? It is an eternal weight. Often, the problem isn’t so much about what we think about our light affliction, but that we think so little of our coming weight of glory.
i. “It is everywhere visible what influence St. Paul’s Hebrew had on his Greek: chabad, signifies to be heavy, and to be glorious; the apostle in his Greek unites these two significations, and says, WEIGHT of GLORY.” (Dodd, cited in Clarke)
e. We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: Paul was saying this especially about his own life and ministry. In the world’s eyes, Paul’s life was an incredible failure. At the height of a career that would reach much higher, he left it all for a life of hardship, suffering and persecution, with eventual martyrdom. But Paul recognized that the world only sees the outward, not the unseen eternal things.
i. When we look at the things which are seen, all we see is our light affliction, and it doesn’t look very light then! But when we look at the things which are not seen, then we see and appreciate the eternal weight of glory.
ii. Paul isn’t saying that all afflictions automatically produce glory. It is possible to allow suffering to destroy us, and to let affliction make us bitter, miserable, and self-focused. But if we will look to the things which are not seen, then our affliction will work in us an eternal weight of glory.

Study 2CORINTHIANS 3:1-18

2 Corinthians 3 - THE GLORY OF THE NEW COVENANT

A. Paul’s letter of recommendation.
1. (2 Corinthians 3:1-2) Does Paul need a letter of recommendation? He has one; the Corinthian Christians themselves.
Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.
a. Epistles of commendation: Such letters were common and necessary in the early church. A false prophet or apostle could travel from city to city and easily say, “Paul sent me, so you should support me.” To make this more difficult, letters of recommendation were often sent with Christians as they traveled.
i. Paul himself sent letters of commendation on many occasions (Romans 16:1-2; 1 Corinthians 16:3; 1Co_16:10-11; 2 Corinthians 8:16-24).
b. You are our epistle: Paul has a letter of recommendation, but it isn’t written on paper. Paul says the letter is written in our hearts, and it is known and read by all men.
i. There was nothing wrong with a letter of commendation written on paper. But how much better to have a living letter of recommendation! The Corinthians, as well as other churches Paul had ministered at, were Paul’s “living letter” to prove his ministry.
ii. Today, the best analogy might be a certificate of ordination. Many people think that a certificate of ordination means that you have the credentials of ministry. While there is an important purpose in a public ordination to ministry, a piece of paper in itself never is a proper credential. The true credentials of the ministry are changed lives, living epistles. Keep your paper to yourself; show us the changed lives from your ministry!
iii. “Nothing so commends a minister as the proficiency of his people.” (Poole) “The fruitfulness of the people is the preacher’s testimonial.” (Trapp)
iv. Many think the main reason God granted miraculous signs and wonders among the apostles in the book of Acts was so they would serve as a “letter of commendation” to their apostolic ministry. If this was the case, it makes sense that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit would cease when the apostles passed from the scene, because there would no longer be an apostolic ministry to authenticate. However, it is significant that Paul does not say “miracles are our epistle of commendation.” Paul apparently did not believe his primary “letter of recommendation” was miraculous signs, but in miraculously changed lives.
2. (2 Corinthians 3:3) The writing of Paul’s letter of recommendation.
Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
a. An epistle of Christ: Paul’s letter of recommendation has an author, Jesus Christ. The Corinthian Christians were indeed Paul’s letter of recommendation, yet he realized that he did not write that letter, Jesus did. Paul is not trying to say “I made you the Christians you are.” But he is saying, “God used me to make you the Christians you are.”
b. Ministered by us: Paul’s letter of recommendation has a pen, Paul himself.
c. Written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God: Paul’s letter of recommendation uses an “ink” - the Holy Spirit.
d. On tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart: Paul’s letter of recommendation has a “paper” - the hearts of the Corinthian Christians.
i. The Old Testament prophets spoke of the idea of the law in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33) and of God granting hearts of flesh to replace hearts of stone (Ezekiel 11:19; Eze_36:26).
3. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6) Sufficient ministers of a new covenant.
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
a. We have such trust through Christ toward God: Paul knows that what he has just written might sound proud in the ears of the Corinthian Christians. After all, it is no small thing to say “You are my letter of recommendation” and “I am a pen in God’s hand.” Paul knows these are big ideas, but his place for thinking them is in Jesus, not in himself.
b. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves: Paul doesn’t consider himself sufficient for the great task of changing lives for Jesus. Only Jesus is sufficient for such a big job.
i. Many people refuse to be used by God because they think of themselves as “not ready.” But in a sense, we are never ready or worthy. If we were, the sufficiency would be in ourselves, not from God.
ii. “Brethren, if Paul is not sufficient of himself, what are you and I? Where are you . . . Do you indulge the dream of self-sufficiency? Be ashamed of your folly in the presence of a great man who knew what he said, and who spoke under the direction of the Spirit of God, and wrote deliberately, ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves.’“ (Spurgeon)
iii. “Our sufficiency is of God; let us practically enjoy this truth. We are poor, leaking vessels, and the only way for us to keep full is to put our pitcher under the perpetual flow of boundless grace. Then, despite its leakage, the cup will always be full to the brim.” (Spurgeon)
c. Ministers of the new covenant: The idea of a new covenant was prophesied in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31) and put into practice by Jesus (Luke 22:19-20).
i. The Greek word for covenant (diatheke) had the ordinary meaning of “last will and testament.” Paul’s use of the word reinforces the sovereignty of God, because it is not a negotiated settlement, but a divine decree.
ii. The word covenant describes “An ‘arrangement’ made by one party with plenary power, which the other party may accept or reject, but cannot alter . . . A covenant offered by God to man was no ‘compact’ between two parties coming together on equal terms.” (Moulton and Milligan)
iii. This new covenant presents the terms by which we can have a relationship with God, centered around Jesus and His work for us.
d. Not of the letter but of the Spirit: When Paul contrasts the letter and the Spirit, he isn’t favoring “experience” over “the word,” nor is he favoring allegorical interpretation over a literal understanding of the Bible. Paul is showing the superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant.
i. The letter is the law in its outward sense, written on tablets of stone. The letter of the law came by the Old Covenant. It was good in itself, but it gave us no power to serve God or to change our hearts. It simply told us what to do. Paul can say the letter kills because the law, exposing our guilt, “kills” us before God. It thoroughly and completely establishes our guilt.
ii. Paul expresses this point well in Romans 7:5-6 : For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
iii. The Spirit is given to us as the law written on our hearts. He is in us to guide us and be our “law.” It isn’t that the Holy Spirit replaces the written law, but completes and fulfills the work of the written law in our hearts. The Spirit gives life, and with this spiritual life we can live the law of God.
iv. So, we can’t throw away or neglect our Bibles (which some might say is the letter), because now we have the Spirit. Instead, the Spirit makes us alive to the letter, fulfilling and completing the work of the the letter in us. We also shouldn’t think this is permission to just live our Christian life on experiences or mystical interpretations of the Bible. Experiences and seeing allegories in the Bible are fine, but each must be proved true and supported by studying the literal meaning of the Bible. The Spirit and the letter are not enemies, but friends. One doesn’t work to the exclusion of the other, but one is incomplete without the other.
B. A contrast between the old and new covenants.
1. (2 Corinthians 3:7-11) The surpassing glory of the new covenant.
But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
a. The ministry of death: Was it wrong to call the old covenant the ministry of death? No, because that is what the law does to us: it slays us as guilty sinners before God, so we can be resurrected by the new covenant. Not that the problem was with the law, but with us: the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. (Romans 7:5)
i. Trapp on the ministry of death: “David was the voice of the law awarding death to sin, ‘He shall surely die.’ Nathan was the voice of the gospel awarding life to repentance for sin, ‘Thou shalt not die.’“
b. Was glorious: There was a glory associated with the giving of the law and the old covenant. At that time, Mount Sinai was surrounded with smoke, there were earthquakes, thunder, lightning, a trumpet blast from heaven, and the voice of God Himself (Exodus 19:16 to Exo_20:1). Most of all, the glory of the old covenant was shown in the face of Moses and the glory of his countenance.
i. “And although the gospel came not into the world as the law, with thunder, lightning, and earthquakes; yet that was ushered in by angels, foretelling the birth and office of John the Baptist, and of Christ; by the great sign of the virgin’s conceiving and bringing forth a Son; by a voice from heaven, proclaiming Christ the Father’s only begotten Son, in whom he was well pleased.” (Poole)
c. Exodus 34:29-35 describes the face of Moses and how he would veil it after speaking to the people. As glorious as the radiant face of Moses was, it was a fading glory: which glory was passing away. The glory of the old covenant shining through the face of Moses was a fading glory, but the glory of the new covenant endures without fading.
d. How will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious: If the old covenant, which brought death had this kind of glory, we should expect greater glory in the new covenant, which brings the ministry of the Spirit and life.
i. The old covenant was a ministry of condemnation, but the new covenant is the ministry of righteousness. The old covenant is passing away, but the new covenant remains. No wonder the new covenant is much more glorious!
ii. The old covenant had glory. But it is far outshone by the glory of the new covenant, just as the sun will always outshine the brightest moon. Compared to the new covenant, the old covenant had no glory, because of the glory that excels in the new covenant.
2. (2 Corinthians 3:12-16) The open and bold character of the new covenant.
Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech; unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
a. Therefore, since we have such hope: Since our hope is in a more glorious covenant, we can have a more glorious hope. Because of this hope, Paul can use great boldness of speech. The old covenant was restrictive and separated a man from God; the new covenant brings us to God, and enables us to come boldly to Him.
b. Unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face: Moses himself did not have real boldness under the old covenant. A veil is not a “bold” thing to wear; it is a barrier and a place of hiding. Moses lacked boldness (compared to Paul) because the covenant that he ministered under was fading away, and fading in glory.
c. So the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away: From reading the account in Exodus 34:29-35, one might first get the impression that Moses wore a veil after his meetings with God so the people wouldn’t be afraid to come near him; that it was to protect them from seeing the shining face of Moses. But here Paul explains the real purpose of the veil: not so the shining face of Moses would be hidden, but so that the diminishing glory of his face would not be observed, because the glory was fading. The passing glory of the old covenant contrasts with the enduring glory of the new covenant.
d. Could not look: Since the veil hid the face of Moses, the children of Israel couldn’t see any of the glory from his face. Therefore, the contrast isn’t only between passing glory and enduring glory, but also between concealed glory and revealed glory.
e. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted: Paul says that the Jews of his day were unable to see that the glory of Moses’ ministry had faded in comparison to the ministry of Jesus. If the veil were unlifted, they would see that the glory of Moses’ ministry had faded and they should now look to Jesus. But since the “same” veil that hid Moses’ face now lies on their heart, they still think there is something superior or more glorious in the ministry of Moses.
f. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away: Yes, it can be said of the Jews that a veil lies on their heart. But the veil can be taken away in Jesus.
i. Many Christians with a heart to preach their Jewish friends have wondered why it is rarely so simple as just showing them that Jesus is the Messiah. This is because a veil lies on their heart. Unless God does a work in them, so they turn to the Lord and have the veil taken away, they will never see the fading glory of Moses’ covenant and the surpassing glory of Jesus and the new covenant.
ii. Of course, it could be said that the Jews are not the only ones for whom a veil lies on their heart. Gentiles also have “veils” that separate them from seeing Jesus and His work for us clearly. But Jesus is more than able to take those veils away! This points to the essential need of prayer in evangelism. It has been rightly said that it is more important to talk to God about men than it is to talk to men about God. But we can do both!
3. (2 Corinthians 3:17) The liberty of the new covenant.
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
a. The Lord is the Spirit: From the context of Exodus 34:34, we see that when Paul says that the Lord is the Spirit, he is saying that the Holy Spirit is God, just as Jesus and the Father are.
b. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Paul’s thinking follows like this: When Moses went into God’s presence, he had the liberty to take off the veil. The presence of the Lord gave him this liberty. We have the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord. We live in the Spirit’s presence because He is given to us under the new covenant. So, just as Moses had the liberty to relate to God without the veil in the presence of the Lord, so we have liberty because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
i. We should also consider what Paul is not saying. He is not giving license to any Pentecostal or Charismatic excess because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We have great liberty in our relationship with God through what Jesus has done and through what the Holy Spirit is doing. But we never have the liberty to disobey what the Spirit has said in the word of God. That is a demonic liberty, not a Spirit-led liberty!
c. Paul really has in mind the liberty of access. He is building on his words from 2 Corinthians 3:12 : we use great boldness of speech. Boldness is a word that belongs with liberty. Because of the great work of the Holy Spirit in us through the new covenant, we have a bold, liberated relationship with God.
i. “A liberty from the yoke of the law, from sin, death, hell; but the liberty which seemeth here to be chiefly intended, is a liberty from that blindness and hardness which is upon men’s hearts, until they have received the Holy Spirit.” (Poole)
4. (2 Corinthians 3:18) The transforming glory of the new covenant.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
a. We all with unveiled face: Paul here gives an invitation to every Christian. He will speak of an intimacy of relationship and a transforming power that is not the property of just a few priviledged Christians. It can belong to everyone, everyone who has an unveiled face.
i. How do we get an unveiled face? When one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:16). If we will turn to the Lord, He will take away the veil and we can be one of the we all.
b. Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord: We can see the glory of the Lord, but we cannot see His glory perfectly. A mirror in the ancient world did not give nearly as good a reflection as our mirrors do today. Ancient mirrors were made of polished metal, and gave a clouded, fuzzy, somewhat distorted image. Paul is saying “We can see the glory of the Lord, but we can’t see it perfectly yet.”
i. There may be another thought here also: “Now as mirrors, among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, were made of highly polished metal, it would often happen, especially in strong light, that the face would be greatly illuminated by this strongly reflected light; and to this circumstance the apostle seems here to allude.” (Clarke)
c. Are being transformed: As we behold the glory of God, we will be transformed. God will change our lives, and change us from the inside-out. Though the old covenant had its glory, it could never transform lives through the law. God uses the new covenant to make us transformed people, not just “nice” people.
i. Everyone wants to know, “How can I change?” Or, everyone wants to know, “How can they change?” The best and most enduring change comes into our lives when we are transformed by time spent with the Lord. There are other ways to change (guilt, willpower, coercion), but none of them are as deep and long lasting as the transformation that comes by the Spirit of God as we spend time in the presence of the Lord.
ii. Yet, it requires something. It requires beholding. The word means more than a casual look, it means a careful study. We all have something to behold, something to study. We can be transformed by the glory of the Lord, but only if we will carefully study it.
d. Into the same image: As we look into “God’s mirror,” we will be changed into the same image of the Lord. When we spend time beholding the glory of the God of love, grace, peace, and righteousness, we will see a transforming growth in love, grace, peace, and righteousness.
i. Of course, this is how you can know someone is really spending time with the Lord: they are being transformed into the same image. But much depends on what we “see” when we look into “God’s mirror.” In this analogy, “God’s mirror” is not a mirror that shows us what we are as much as it shows us what we will become, and what we will become is based on our picture of who God is. If we have a false picture of God, we will see that false picture in God’s “mirror” and will be transformed into that image - much to our harm, both for now and eternity.
ii. Not everyone sees the truth when they look into the mirror. 30 year old David gets up every morning, and his morning routine only gets as far as the bedroom mirror, where he sees a horribly distorted face - a crooked, swollen nose covered with scars and a bulging teye. The pain from his deformities caused him to quit college and move in with his parents ten years ago. Since then, he has rarely left his room, afraid to let anyone see him. He has had cosmetic surgery four times, but with no progress. That’s because the problems with David’s appearance are only in his mind. Experts call it body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD. It causes people to imagine themselves as deformed, ugly people. Psychiatrists call it a hidden epidemic. One psychiatrist says “Patients are virtually coming out of the woodwork. I’m meeting with one new patient each week.” Most BDD suffers are convinced the problem is with their face. Those afflicted live with such an overwhelming sense of shame that they can barely function. One young teacher in Boston tried to continue her job but would run out in the middle of class, afraid that her imagined hideous appearance was showing through her thick makeup. A Denver businessman called his mother from the office 15 times a day for reassurance that he did not look grotesque and spent hours in the bathroom stall with a pocket mirror trying to figure out a way to improve his appearance. Some try to cope with harmful rituals, and cut themselves to “bleed” the damaged area. BDD sufferers are usually convinced that the problem is with their body, not their mind. They don’t want to see anybody but plastic surgeons and dermatologists for their problem.
iii. But when we behold the picture of God as He is in truth, we will be transformed into His image. This is God’s great design in our salvation, for whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Calvin speaks to this great design of God: “that the image of God, which has been defaced by sin, may be repaired within us . . . the progress of this restoration is continuous through the whole of life, because it is little by little that God causes His glory to shine forth in us.”
e. Are being transformed: This work of transformation is a process. We are being transformed. It isn’t complete yet, and no one should expect it to be complete in themselves or in others. No one comes away from one incredible time with the Lord perfectly transformed.
f. From glory to glory: The work of transformation is a continual progression. It works from glory to glory. It doesn’t have to work from backsliding to glory to backsliding to glory. God’s work in our lives can be a continual progression, from glory to glory.
g. By the Spirit of the Lord: With these last words, Paul is emphasizing two things. First, this access to God and His transforming presence is ours by the new covenant, because it is through the new covenant we are given the Spirit of the Lord. Secondly, this work of transformation really is God’s work in us. It happens by the Spirit of the Lord, not by the will or effort of man. We don’t achieve or earn spiritual transformation by beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. We simply put ourselves in a place where we can be transformed by the Spirit of the Lord.

Study 2 CORINTHIANS 2:17

Verse 17
For we are not as many - This refers doubtless to the false teachers at Corinth; and to all who mingled human philosophy or tradition with the pure word of truth. Paul‘s design in the statement in this verse seems to be to affirm that he had such a deep sense of the responsibility of the ministerial office, and of its necessary influence on the eternal destiny of man, that it led him to preach the simple gospel, the pure word of God. He did not dare to dilute it with any human mixture. He did not dare to preach philosophy, or human wisdom. He did not dare to mingle with it the crude conceptions of man. He sought to exhibit the simple truth as it was in Jesus; and so deep was his sense of the responsibility of the office, and so great was his desire on the subject, that he had been enabled to do it. and to triumph always in Christ. So that, although he was conscious that he was in himself unfit for these things, yet by the grace of God he had been able always to exhibit the simple truth, and his labors had been crowned with constant and signal success.

Which corrupt the word of God - Margin, “deal deceitfully with.” The word used here ( καπηλεύοντες kapēleuontes) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and does not occur in the Septuagint. The word is derived from κάπηλος kapēlos which signifies properly a huckster, or a retailer of wine, a petty chapman; a man who buys up articles for the purpose of selling them again. It also means sometimes a vintner, or an innkeeper. The proper idea is that of a small dealer and especially in wine. Such persons were notorious, as they are now, for diluting their wines with water (compare the Septuagint in Isaiah 1:22); and for compounding wines of other substances than the juice of the grape for purposes of gain. Wine, of all substances in trade, perhaps, affords the greatest facilities for such dishonest tricks; and, accordingly, the dealers in that article have generally been most distinguished for fraudulent practices and corrupt and diluted mixtures. Hence, the word comes to denote to adulterate; to corrupt, etc. It is here applied to those who adulterated or corrupted the pure word of God in any way, and for any purpose. It probably has particular reference to those who did it either by Judaizing opinions, or by the mixtures of a false and deceitful philosophy. The latter mode would be likely to prevail among the subtle and philosophizing Greeks. It is in such ways that the gospel has been usually corrupted:

(1) It is done by attempting to attach a philosophical explanation to the facts of revelation, and making the theory as important as the fact.
(2) by attempting to explain away the offensive points of revelation by the aid of philosophy.
(3) by attempting to make the facts of Scripture accord with the prevalent notions of philosophy, and by applying a mode of interpretation to the Bible which would fritter away its meaning, and make it mean anything or nothing at pleasure. In these, and in various other ways, people have corrupted the Word of God; and of all the evils which Christianity has ever sustained in this world, the worst have been those which it has received from philosophy, and from those teachers who have corrupted the Word of God. The fires of persecution it could meet, and still be pure; the utmost efforts of princes, and monarchs, and of Satan to destroy it, it has outlived, and has shone purely and brightly amidst all these efforts; but, when corrupted by philosophy, and by “science falsely so called,” it has been dimmed in its luster, paralyzed in its aims, and shorn of its power, and has ceased to be mighty in pulling down the strong holds of Satan‘s kingdom. Accordingly, the enemy of God has ceased to excite persecution, and now aims in various ways to corrupt the gospel by the admixture of philosophy, and of human opinions. Tyndale renders this passage, “For we are not as many are which choppe and change with the word of God” - an idea which is important and beautiful - but this is one of the few instances in which he mistook the sense of the original text. In general, the accuracy of his translation and his acquaintance with the true sense of the Greek text are very remarkable.
But as of sincerity - Sincerely; actuated by unmingled honesty and simplicity of aim; see the note on 2 Corinthians 1:12.

As of God - As influenced by him; as under his control and direction; as having been sent by him; as acting by his command; see the note, 2 Corinthians 1:12.

In the sight of God - As if we felt that his eye was always on us. Nothing is better suited to make a person sincere and honest, than this.

Speak we in Christ - In the name, and in the service of Christ. We deliver our message with a deep consciousness that the eye of the all-seeing God is on us; that we can conceal nothing from Him; and that we must soon give up our account to Him.

Remarks

1. In this chapter, and in the management of the whole case to which Paul here refers, we have an instance of his tenderness in administering discipline. This tenderness was manifested in many ways:

(1) He did nothing to wound the feelings of the offending party.
(2) he did nothing in the way of punishment which a stern sense of duty did not demand,
(3) he did it all with many tears. He wept at the necessity of administering discipline at all. He wept over the remissness of the church. He wept over the fall of the offending brother.
(4) he did not mention even the name of the offender. He did not emblazon his faults abroad; nor has he left any clue by which it can be known; nor did he take any measures which were suited to pain, unnecessarily, the feelings of his friends. If all discipline in the church were conducted in this manner, it would probably always be effectual and successful, 2 Corinthians 2:1-10.
2. We ought cordially to receive and forgive an offending brother, as soon as he gives evidence of repentance. We should harbor no malice against him; and if, by repentance, he has put away his sins, we should hasten to forgive him. This we should do as individuals, and as churches. God cheerfully forgives us, and receives us into favor on our repentance; and we should hail the privilege of treating all our offending brethren in the same manner, 2 Corinthians 2:7-8.
3. Churches should be careful that Satan should not get an advantage over them, 2 Corinthians 2:11. In every way possible he will attempt it; and perhaps in few modes is it more often done than in administering discipline. In such a case, Satan gains an advantage over a church in the following ways.
(1) in inducing it to neglect discipline. This occurs often because an offender is rich, or talented, or is connected with influential families; because there is a fear of driving off such families from the church; because the individual is of elevated rank, and the church suffers him to remain in her bosom. The laws of the church, like other laws are often like cobwebs: Large flies break through, and the smaller ones are caught. The consequence is, that Satan gains an immense advantage. Rich and influential offenders remain in the church; discipline is relaxed; the cause of Christ is scandalized; and the church at large feels the influence, and the work of God declines.
(2) Satan gains an advantage in discipline, sometimes, by too great severity of discipline. If he cannot induce a church to relax altogether, and to suffer offenders to remain, then he excites them to improper and needless severity. He drives them on to harsh discipline for small offences. He excites a spirit of persecution. He enkindles a false zeal on account of the Shibboleth of doctrine. He excites a spirit of party, and causes the church to mistake it for zeal for truth. He excites a spirit of persecution against some of the best people in the church, on account of pretended errors in doctrine, and kindles the flames of intestine war; and breaks the church up into parties and fragments. Or he urges on the church, even in cases where discipline is proper, to needless and inappropriate severity; drives the offender from its bosom; breaks his spirit; and prevents ever-onward his usefulness, his return, and his happiness. One of the chief arts of Satan has been to cause the church in cases of discipline to use severity instead of kindness; to excite a spirit of persecution instead of love. Almost all the evils which grow out of attempts at discipline might have been prevented by a spirit of love.
(3) Satan gains an advantage in cases of discipline, when the church is unwilling to re-admit to fellowship an offending but a penitent member. His spirit is broken; his usefulness is destroyed. The world usually takes sides with him against the church, and the cause of religion bleeds.
4. Individual Christians, as well as churches, should be careful that Satan does not get an advantage over them, 2 Corinthians 2:11. Among the ways in which he does this are the following:
(1) By inducing them to conform to the world. This is done under the plea that religion is not gloomy, and morose, and ascetic. Thence he often leads professors into all the gaieties, and amusements, and follies of which the world partake. Satan gains an immense advantage to his cause when this is done - for all the influence of the professed Christian is with him.
(2) by producing laxness of opinion in regard to doctrine. Christ intends that his cause shall advance by the influence of truth; and that his church shall be the witness of the truth. The cause of Satan advances by error and falsehood; and when professed Christians embrace falsehood, or are indifferent to truth, their whole influence is on the side of Satan, and his advantage is immense when they become the advocates of error.
(3) by producing among Christians despondency, melancholy, and despair. Some of the best people are often thus afflicted and thrown into darkness, as Job was; Job 23:8-9. Indeed, it is commonly the best members of a church that have doubts in this manner, and that fall into temptation, and that are left to the buffetings of Satan. Your frivolous, and worldly, and fashionable Christians have usually no such troubles - except when they lie on a bed of death. They are not in the way of Satan. They do not oppose him, and he will not trouble them. It is your humble, praying, self-denying Christians that he dreads and hates; and it is these that he is suffered to tempt, and to make sad, and to fill with gloom and doubt. And when this is done, it is an immense advantage to his cause. It produces the impression that religion is nothing but gloom and melancholy, and the people of the world are easily led to hate and avoid it. Christians, therefore, should be cheerful, and benevolent, and happy - as they may be - lest Satan should get an advantage over them.
(4) by fanaticism. For when Satan finds that he can get no advantage over Christians by inducing them to do nothing, or to do anything positively wrong or immoral, he drives them on with over-heated and ill-timed zeal; he makes them unreasonably strenuous for some single opinion or measure; he disposes them to oppose and persecute all who do not fall into their views, and feel as they feel.
(5) by contentions and strifes. Satan often gets an advantage in that way. No matter what the cause may be, whether it be for doctrines, or for any other cause, yet the very fact that there are contentions among the professed followers of “the Prince of peace” does injury, and gives Satan an advantage. No small part of his efforts, therefore, have been to excite contentions among Christians, an effort in which he has been, and is still, eminently successful.
5. Satan gets an advantage over sinners, and they should be on their guard. He does it:
(1) By producing a sense of security in their present condition; and by leading them to indifference in regard to their eternal condition. In this he is eminently successful; and when this is gained, all is gained that his cause demands. It is impossible to conceive of greater success in anything than Satan has in producing a state of indifference to the subject of religion among people.
(2) by inducing them to defer attention to religion to some future time. This is an advantage, because:
(a)It accomplishes all he wishes at present;

(b)Because it is usually successful altogether. It is usually the same thing as resolving not to attend to religion at all.
(3) by producing false views of religion. He represents it at one time as gloomy, sad, and melancholy; at another, as so easy, that it may be obtained, whenever they please; at another, by persuading them that their sins are so great that they cannot be forgiven. One great object of Satan is to blind the minds of sinners to the true nature of religion; and in this he is usually successful.

(4) he deludes the aged by telling them it is too late; and the young by telling them that now is the time for mirth and pleasure, and that religion may be attended to at some future period of life.
(5) he gains an advantage by plunging the sinner deeper and deeper in sin; inducing him to listen to the voice of temptation; by making him the companion of the wicked; and by deluding him with the promises of pleasure, honor, and gain in this world until it is too late, and he dies.
6. Ministers of the gospel may have occasion to triumph in the success of their work. Paul always met with success of some kind; always had some cause of triumph. In all his trials, he had occasion of rejoicing, and always was assured that he was pursuing that course which would lead him ultimately to triumph, 2 Corinthians 2:14.
7. The gospel may be so preached as to be successful, 2 Corinthians 2:14. In the hands of Paul it was successful. So it was with the other apostles. So it was with Luther, Knox, Calvin. So it was with Whitefield, Edwards Wesley, and Payson. If ministers are not successful, it is not the fault of the gospel. It is adapted to do good, and to save people; and it may be so preached as to accomplish those great ends. If all ministers were as self-denying, and laborious, and prayerful as were these people, the gospel would be as successful now as it has ever been.
(There is much truth in this representation. Certainly no great revival of religion can rationally be expected when the ministers of the gospel are not self-denying laborious, and prayerful. Yet we cannot certainly pronounce, that equal diligence in the use of means will in every case be attended with equal success. Allowance must be made for God‘s sovereignty, in dispensing his grace. Otherwise, wherever the word was preached under most favorable circumstances, as far as excellence of means is concerned, there also, we should expect, and find most success. But it has not been so in reality. Never did hearers enjoy a more favorable opportunity of conversion, than when more than the eloquence of angels fell from the lips of Jesus, and he taught the people as one having authority and not as the scribes. Yet comparatively few, a solitary one here and there, listened to the voice of the charmer, though he charmed so wisely. Was it that he did not display the gospel in all its fullness, sufficiency, and loveliness? Was there any lack of moral persuasion, powerful argument, strung motive, touching appeal, in the Saviour‘s addresses? No! Yet immediately after the ascension of Jesus, the Word of God subdued thousands on thousands, although employed by apostles only, whose ministrations, considered apart, must have been immeasurably inferior to those of Jesus. The same Jews that persisted in their unbelief, under the ministry of Christ, were disarmed of their prejudice, under the preaching of Peter! Whence the difference of efficacy? Whence the lack of success, where most we should have expected to find it, and the command of it, where least we could have looked for it? One sentence solves the difficulty. “The Holy Spirit was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Similar comparisons might he made between the ministrations of different individuals now. People of the highest abilities, persevering diligence, and elevated piety, have been left to complain of comparative barrenness in the sphere which they occupied, while humbler instruments, in a field no way more promising, have been blessed with the harvest of souls. The comparison might even be made of different periods of the same ministry. All other circumstances being equal, or differing so slightly as not to affect the argument, the word spoken at one time seems to fall powerless to the ground, as the arrow on the breast of steel. No shaft hits the mark, no sinner retires like the stricken deer to bleed alone. At another time, the people are made willing in the day of power. Conviction spreads with the rapidity of contagion, and the Lord daily adds to his people such as shall be saved. Now this difference cannot be explained but by referring it to the different measures in which God is pleased to communicate his spirit.)
8. Much of the work of the ministry is pleasant and delightful. It is the savor of life unto life, 2 Corinthians 2:15-16. There is no joy on earth of a higher and purer character than that which the ministers of the gospel have in the success of their work. There is no work more pleasant than that of imparting the consolations of religion to the sick, and the afflicted; than that of directing inquiring sinners to the Lamb of God; no joy on earth so pure and elevated as that which a pastor has in a revival of religion. In the evidence that God accepts his labors, and that to many his message is a savor of life unto life, there is a joy which no other pursuit can furnish; a joy, even on earth, which is more than a compensation for all the toils, self-denials, and trials of the ministry.
9. In view of the happy and saving results of the work of the ministry, we see the importance of the work. Those results are to be seen in heaven. They are to enter into the eternal destiny of the righteous. They are to be seen in the felicity and holiness of those who shall be redeemed from death. The very happiness of heaven, therefore, is dependent on the fidelity and success of the ministry. This work stretches beyond the grave. It reaches into eternity. It is to be seen in heaven. Other plans and labors of people terminate at death. But the work of the ministry reaches in its results into the skies; and is to be seen ever onward in eternity. Well might the apostle ask, “Who is sufficient for these things?”
10. The ministers of the gospel will be accepted of God, if faithful, whatever may be the result of their labors; whether seen in the salvation, or the augmented condemnation of those who hear them, 2 Corinthians 2:15. They are a sweet savor to God. Their acceptance with him depends not on the measure of their success; but on their fidelity. If people reject the gospel, and make it the occasion of their greater condemnation, the fault is not that of ministers, but is their own. If people are faithful, God accepts their efforts; and even if many reject the message and perish, still a faithful ministry will not be to blame. That such results should follow from their ministry, indeed, increases their responsibility, and makes their office more awful, but it will not render them less acceptable in their labors in the sight of God.
11. We are to anticipate that the ministry will be the means of the deeper condemnation of many who hear the gospel, 2 Corinthians 2:16. The gospel is to them a savor of death unto death. We are to expect that many will reject and despise the message, and sink into deeper sin, and condemnation, and woe. We are not to be disappointed, therefore, when we see such effects follow, and when the sinner sinks into a deeper hell from under the ministry of the gospel. It always has been the case, and we have reason to suppose it always will be. And painful as is the fact, yet ministers must make up their minds to witness this deeply painful result of their work.
12. The ministry is a deeply and awfully responsible work, 2 Corinthians 2:16. It is connected with the everlasting happiness, or the deep and eternal condemnation of all those who hear the gospel. Every sermon that is preached is making an impression that will never be obliterated, and producing an effect that will never terminate. Its effects will never all be seen until the day of judgment, and in the awful solemnities of the eternal world. Well might Paul ask, “Who is sufficient for these things?”
13. It is a solemn thing to hear the gospel. If it is solemn for a minister to dispense it, it is not less solemn to hear it. It is connected with the eternal welfare of those who hear. And thoughtless as are multitudes who hear it, yet it is deeply to affect them hereafter. If they ever embrace it, they will owe their eternal salvation to it; if they continue to neglect it, it will sink them deep and forever in the world of woe. Every individual, therefore, who hears the gospel dispensed, no matter by whom, should remember that he is listening to God‘s solemn message to mankind; and that it will and must exert a deep influence on his eternal doom.
14. A people should pray much for a minister. Paul often entreated the churches to which he wrote to pray for him. If Paul needed the prayers of Christians, assuredly Christians now do. Prayer for a minister is demanded because:
(1) He has the same infirmities, conflicts, and temptations which other Christians have.
(2) he has those which are special, and which grow out of the very nature of his office; for the warfare of Satan is carried on mainly with the leaders of the army of God.
(3) he is engaged in a great and most responsible work - the greatest work ever committed to mortal man.
(4) his success will be generally in proportion as a people pray for him. The welfare of a people, therefore, is identified with their praying for their minister. He will preach better, and they will hear better, just in proportion as they pray for him. His preaching will be dull, dry, heavy; will be without unction, spirituality, and life, unless they pray for him; and their hearing will be dull, lifeless, and uninterested, unless they pray for him. No people will hear the gospel to much advantage who do not feel anxiety enough about it to pray for their minister.
15. The interview between a minister and his people in the day of judgment will be a very solemn one. Then the effect of his ministry will be seen. Then it will be known to whom it was a savor of life unto life, and to whom it was a savor of death unto death. Then the eternal destiny of all will be settled. Then the faithful minister will be attended to heaven by all to whom his ministry has been a savor of life unto life; and then he will part forever with all whom he so often warned and entreated in vain. In distant worlds - worlds forever separated - shall be experienced the result of his labors. O! how solemn must be the scene when he must give up his account for the manner in which he has preached; and they, for the manner in which they attended on his ministry!
16. Let all ministers, then, be careful that they do not corrupt the word of God, 2 Corinthians 2:17. Let them preach it in simplicity and in truth. Let them not preach philosophy, or metaphysics, or their own fancy, or the tradition of human beings, or the teaching of the schools, but the simple truth as it is in Jesus. Let them preach as sent by God; as in the sight of God; as commissioned by Christ to deliver a simple, plain, pure message to mankind, whether they will hear or forbear. Their success will be in proportion to the simplicity and purity of the gospel which they present; their peace and joy in death and in heaven will be just as they shall have evidence then that in simplicity and sincerity they have endeavored to present everywhere, and to all, the pure and simple gospel of Jesus Christ. As ministers, therefore, desire acceptance with God and success in the work let them preach the pure gospel; not adulterating it with foreign admixtures; not endeavoring to change it so as to be palatable to the carnal mind; not substituting philosophy for the gospel, and not withholding anything in the gospel because people do not love it; and let the people of God everywhere sustain the ministry by their prayers, and aid them in their work by daily commending them to the God of grace. So shall they be able to perform the solemn functions of their office to divine acceptance; and so shall ministers and people find the gospel to be “a savor of life unto life.”

Study 2 CORINTHIANS 2:11-16

Verse 11
Lest Satan - The devil. The name Satan denotes an adversary, an accuser, an enemy. It is the usual proper name which is given to the devil, the great adversary of God and man.

Should get an advantage of us - The literal translation of the Greek would be, “That we may not be defrauded by Satan.” ( Ἵνα μὴ πλεονεκτηθῶμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ Hina mē pleonektēthōmen hupo Satana). The verb used here denotes to have more than another; then to gain, to take advantage of one, to defraud. And the idea is, that they should at once re-admit the penitent offender to their communion, lest if they did not do it, Satan would take advantage of it to do injury to him and them. It is a reason given by Paul why they should lose no time in restoring him to the church. What the advantage was which Satan might gain, Paul does not specify. It might be this: That under pretence of duty, and seeking the purity of the church, Satan would tempt them to harsh measures; to needless severity of discipline; to an unkind and unforgiving spirit; and thus, at the same time, injure the cause of religion, and ruin him who had been the subject of discipline.

For we are not ignorant of his devices - We know his plans, his thoughts, his cunning, his skill. We are not ignorant of the great number of stratagems which he is constantly using to injure us, and to destroy the souls of people. He is full of wiles; and Paul had had abundant occasion to be acquainted with the means which he had used to defeat his plans and to destroy the church. The church, at all times, has been subjected to the influence of those wiles, as well as individual Christians. And the church, therefore, as well as individual Christians, should be constantly on its guard against those snares. Even the best and purest efforts of the church are often perverted, as in the case of administering discipline, to the worst results; and by the imprudence and lack of wisdom; by the rashness or overheated zeal; by the pretensions to great purity and love of truth; and by a harsh, severe, and censorious spirit, Satan often takes advantage of the church, and advances his own dark and mischievous designs.

Verse 12
Furthermore - But ( δὲ de). This particle is properly adversative; but frequently denotes transition, and serves to introduce something else, whether opposite to what precedes, or simply continuative or explanatory. Here, it is designed to continue or explain the statement before made of his deep affection for the church, and his interest in its affairs. He therefore tells them that when he came to Troas, and was favored there with great success, and was engaged in a manner most likely of all others to interest his feelings and to give him joy, yet he was deeply distressed because he had not heard, as he expected, from them; but so deep was his anxiety that he left Troas and went into Macedonia.

When I came to Troas - This was a city of Phrygia, or Mysia, on the Hellespont, between Troy on the north, and Assos on the south; see note on Acts 16:8. It was on the regular route from Ephesus to Macedonia. Paul took that route because on his journey to Macedonia he had resolved, for the reasons above stated, not to go to Corinth.

To preach Christ‘s gospel - Greek. “For ( εἰς eis) the gospel of Christ;” that is, on account of his gospel; or to promote it. Why he selected Troas, or the region of the Troad (note, Acts 16:8), as the field of his labors, he does not say. It is probable that he was waiting there to hear from Corinth by Titus, and while there he resolved not to be idle, but to make known as much as possible the gospel.

And a door was opened unto me - see the note, 1 Corinthians 16:9. There was an opportunity of doing good, and the people were disposed to hear the gospel. This was a work in which Paul delighted to engage, and in which he usually found his highest comfort. It was of all things the most adapted to promote his happiness.

Verse 13
I had no rest in my spirit - I was disappointed, sad, deeply anxious. Though the work in which I was engaged was that which usually gives me my highest joy, yet such was my anxiety to learn the state of things in Corinth, and the success of my letter, and to see Titus, whom I was expecting, that I had comparatively no peace, and no comfort.

But taking my leave of them - Though so many considerations urged me to stay; though there was such a promising field of labor, yet such was my anxiety to hear from you, that I left them.

I went from thence into Macedonia - see the note, Acts 16:9. I went over where I expected to find Titus, and to learn the state of your affairs. This is one of the few instances in which Paul left an inviting field of labor, and where there was a prospect of signal success, to go to another place. It is adduced here to show the deep interest which he had in the church at Corinth, and his anxiety to learn what was their condition. It shows that there may be cases where it is proper for ministers to leave a field of great and inviting usefulness, to go to another field and to engage in another part of the great vineyard.

Verse 14
Now thanks be unto God … - There seem to have been several sources of Paul‘s joy on this occasion. The principal was, his constant and uniform success in endeavoring to advance the interests of the kingdom of the Redeemer. But in particular he rejoiced;

(1)Because Titus had come to him there, and had removed his distress; compare 2 Corinthians 2:13.

(2)because he learned from him that his efforts in regard to the church at Corinth had been successful, and that they had hearkened to his counsels in his first letter; and,
(3)Because he was favored with signal success in Macedonia. His being compelled, therefore, to remove from Troas and to go to Macedonia had been to him ultimately the cause of great joy and consolation. These instances of success Paul regarded as occasions of gratitude to God.
Which always causeth us - Whatever may be our efforts, and wherever we are. Whether it is in endeavoring to remove the errors and evils existing in a particular church, or whether it be in preaching the gospel in places where it has been unknown, still success crowns our efforts, and we have the constant evidence of divine approbation. This was Paul‘s consolation in the midst of his many trials; and it proves that, whatever may be the external circumstances of a minister, whether poverty, want, persecution, or distress, he will have abundant occasion to give thanks to God if his efforts as a minister are crowned with success.

To triumph in Christ. - To triumph through the aid of Christ, or in promoting the cause of Christ. Paul had no joy which was not connected with Christ, and he had no success which he did not trace to him. The word which is rendered here as “triumph” ( θριαμβευοντι thriambeuontifrom θριαμβέυω thriambeuō) occurs in no other place in the New Testament, except in Colossians 2:15. It is rendered there as “triumphing over them in it,” that is, triumphing over the principalities and powers which he had spoiled, or plundered; and it there means that Christ led them in triumph after the manner of a conqueror. The word is used here in a causative sense - the sense of the Hebrew Hiphil conjugation. It properly refers to a triumph; or a triumphal procession. Originally the word θριαμβος thriambosmeant a hymn which was sung in honor of Bacchus; then the tumultuous and noisy procession which constituted the worship of the god of wine; and then any procession of a similar kind. - Passow. It was particularly applied among both the Greeks and the Romans to a public and solemn honor conferred on a victorious general on a return from a successful war in which he was allowed a magnificent entrance into the capital.

In these triumphs, the victorious commander was usually preceded or attended by the spoils of war; by the most valuable and magnificent articles which he had captured; and by the princes, nobles, generals, or people whom he had subdued. The victor was drawn in a magnificent chariot, usually by two white horses. Other animals were sometimes used. “When Pompey triumphed over Africa, his chariot was drawn by elephants; that of Mark Antony was drawn by lions; that of Heliogabalus pulled by tigers; and that of Aurelius drawn by deer” - Clark. The people of Corinth were not unacquainted with the nature of a triumph. About 147 years before Christ, Lucius Mummius, the Roman consul, had conquered all Achaia, and had destroyed Corinth, Thebes, and Colchis, and by order of the Roman Senate was favored with a triumph, and was surnamed Achaicus. Tyndale renders this place: “Thanks be unto God which always giveth us the victory in Christ.” Paul refers here to a victory which he had, and a triumph with which he was favored by the Redeemer. It was a victory over the enemies of the gospel; it was success in advancing the interests of the kingdom of Christ; and he rejoiced in that victory, and in that success, with more solid and substantial joy than a Roman victor ever felt on returning from his conquests over nations, even when attended with the richest spoils of victory, and by humbled princes and kings in chains, and when the assembled thousands shouted Io triumphe!
And maketh manifest - Makes known; spreads abroad - as a pleasant fragrance is diffused through the air.

The savor - ( ὀσμὴν osmēn). The smell; the fragrance. The word in the New Testament is used to denote a pleasant or fragrant odor, as of incense, or aromatics; John 12:3 see Ephesians 5:2; Philemon 4:18. There is an allusion here doubtless to the fact that in the triumphal processions fragrant odors were diffused around; flowers, diffusing a grateful smell, were scattered in the way; and on the altars of the gods incense was burned during the procession, and sacrifices offered, and the whole city was filled with the smoke of sacrifices, and with perfumes. So Paul speaks of knowledge - the knowledge of Christ. In his triumphings, the knowledge of the Redeemer was diffused abroad, like the odors which were diffused in the triumphal march of the conqueror. And that odor or savor was acceptable to God - as the fragrance of aromatics and of incense was pleasant in the triumphal procession of the returning victor. The phrase “makes manifest the savor of his knowledge,” therefore, means, that the knowledge of Christ was diffused everywhere by Paul, as the grateful smell of aromatics was diffused all around the triumphing warrior and victor. The effect of Paul‘s conquests everywhere was to diffuse the knowledge of the Saviour - and this was acceptable and pleasant to God - though there might be many who would not avail themselves of it, and would perish; see 2 Corinthians 2:15.

Verse 15
For we are unto God - We who are his ministers, and who thus triumph. It is implied here that Paul felt that ministers were laboring for God, and felt assured that their labors would be acceptable to him. The object of Paul in the statement, in this and in the following verses, is undoubtedly to meet the charges of his detractors and enemies. He says, therefore, that whatever was the result of his labors in regard to the future salvation of people; yet, that his well-meant endeavors, and labors, and self-denials in preaching the gospel, were acceptable to God. The measure of God‘s approbation in the case was not his success, but his fidelity, his zeal, his self-denial, whatever might be the reception of the gospel among those who heard it.

A sweet savor - Like the smell of pleasant incense, or of grateful aromatics, such as were burned in the triumphal processions of returning conquerors. The meaning is, that their labors were acceptable to God; he was pleased with them, and would bestow on them the smiles and proofs of his approbation. The word rendered here as “sweet savor” ( εὐωδία euōdia) occurs only in this place, and in Ephesians 5:2; Philemon 4:18; and is applied to persons or things well-pleasing to God. It properly means good odor, or fragrance, and in the Septuagint it is frequently applied to the incense that was burnt in the public worship of God and to sacrifices in general; Genesis 8:21; Exodus 29:18, Exodus 29:25, Exodus 29:41; Leviticus 1:9, Leviticus 1:13, Leviticus 1:17; Leviticus 2:2, Leviticus 2:9, Leviticus 2:12; Leviticus 3:5, Leviticus 3:16; Leviticus 4:31, etc. Here it means that the services of Paul and the other ministers of religion were as grateful to God as sweet incense, or acceptable sacrifices.

Of Christ - That is, we are Christ‘s sweet savor to God: we are that which he has appointed, and which he has devoted and consecrated to God; we are the offering, so to speak, which he is continually making to God.

In them that are saved - In regard to them who believe the gospel through our ministry and who are saved. Our labor in carrying the gospel to them, and in bringing them to the knowledge of the truth, is acceptable to God. Their salvation is an object of his highest desire, and he is gratified with our fidelity, and with our success. This reason why their work was acceptable to God is more fully stated in the following verse, where it is said that in reference to them they were the “savor of life unto life.” The word “saved” here refers to all who become Christians, and who enter heaven; and as the salvation of people is an object of such desire to God, it cannot but be that all who bear the gospel to people are engaged in an acceptable service, and that all their efforts will be pleasing to him, and approved in his sight In regard to this part of Paul‘s statement, there can be no difficulty.

And in them that perish - In reference to them who reject the gospel, and who are finally lost. It is implied here:

(1) That some would reject the gospel and perish, with whatever fidelity and self-denial the ministers of religion might labor.
(2) that though this would be the result, yet the labors of the ministers of religion would be acceptable to God. This is a fearful and awful declaration, and has been thought by many to be attended with difficulty. A few remarks may present the true sense of the passage, and remove the difficulty from it:
(a)It is not affirmed or implied here that the destruction of those who would reject the gospel, and who would perish, was desired by God or would be pleasing to him. This is nowhere affirmed or implied in the Bible.

(b)It is affirmed only that the labors of the ministers of religion in endeavoring to save them would be acceptable and pleasing to God. Their labors would be in order to save them, not to destroy them.
Their desire was to bring all to heaven - and this was acceptable to God. Whatever might be the result, whether successful or not, yet God would be pleased with self-denial, and toil, and prayer that was honestly and zealously put forth to save others from death. They would be approved by God in proportion to the amount of labor, zeal, and fidelity which they evinced.

(3) it would be by no fault of faithful ministers that people would perish. Their efforts would be to save them, and those efforts would be pleasing to God.
(4) it would be by no fault of the gospel that people would perish. The regular and proper tendency of the gospel is to save, not to destroy men; as the tendency of medicine is to heal them, of food to support the body, of air to give vitality, of light to give pleasure to the eye, etc. It is provided for all, and is adapted to all. There is a sufficiency in the gospel. for all people, and in its nature it is as really suited to save one as another. Whatever may be the manner in which it is received, it is always in itself the same pure and glorious system; full of benevolence and mercy. The bitterest enemy of the gospel cannot point to one of its provisions that is adapted or designed to make people miserable, and to destroy them. All its provisions are adapted to salvation; all its arrangements are those of benevolence; all the powers and influences which it originates, are those which are suited to save, not to destroy people. The gospel is what it is in itself - a pure, holy, and benevolent system, and is answerable only for effects which a pure, holy, and benevolent system is suited to produce. To use the beautiful language of Theodoret, as quoted by Bloomfield: “We indeed bear the sweet odor of Christ‘s gospel to all; but all who participate in it do not experience its salutiferous effects. Thus, to diseased eyes even the light of heaven is noxious; yet the sun does not bring the injury. And to those in a fever, honey is bitter; yet it is sweet nevertheless. Vultures too, it is said, fly away from sweet odors of myrrh; yet myrrh is myrrh though the vultures avoid it, Thus, if some be saved, though others perish, the gospel retains its own virtue, and we the preachers of it remain just as we are; and the gospel retains its odorous and salutiferous properties, though some may disbelieve and abuse it, and perish.” Yet:
(5) It is implied that the gospel would be the occasion of heavier condemnation to some, and that they would sink into deeper ruin in consequence of its being preached to them. This is implied in the expression in 2 Corinthians 2:16, “to the one we are a savor of death unto death.” In the explanation of this, we may observe:
(a) That those who perish would have perished at any rate. All were under condemnation whether the gospel had come to them or not. None will perish in consequence of the gospel‘s having been sent to them who would not have perished had it been unknown. People do not perish because the gospel is sent to them, but for their own sins.
(b) It is in fact by their own fault that people reject the gospel, and that they are lost. They are voluntary in this; and, whatever is their final destiny, they are not under compulsion. The gospel compels no one against his will either to go to heaven, or to hell.
(c) People under the gospel sin against greater light than they do without it. They have more to answer for. It increases their responsibility. If, therefore, they reject it, and go down to eternal death, they go from higher privileges; and they go, of course, to meet a more aggravated condemnation. For condemnation will always be in exact proportion to guilt; and guilt is in proportion to abused light and privileges.
(d) The preaching of the gospel, and the offers of life, are often the occasion of the deeper guilt of the sinner. Often he becomes enraged. He gives vent to the deep malignity of his soul. He opposes the gospel with malice and infuriated anger, His eye kindles with indignation, and his lip curls with pride and scorn. He is profane and blasphemous; and the offering of the gospel to him is the occasion of exciting deep and malignant passions against God, against the Saviour, against the ministers of religion. Against the gospel, people often manifest the same malignity and scorn which they did against the Saviour himself. Yet this is not the fault of the gospel, nor of the ministers of religion. It is the fault of sinners themselves; and while there can be no doubt that such a rejection of the gospel will produce their deeper condemnation, and that it is a savor of death unto death unto them; still the gospel is good and benevolent, and still God will be pleased with those who faithfully offer its provisions, and who urge it on the attention of people.