Amen. Please remain standing for the reading of God’s word from 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 through 7. Listen to God’s word. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced disgraceful underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word.

But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Please be seated. It is good to be with you this Lord’s Day.

I have a history with this congregation. In the summer of 1973, I was converted on a Sunday evening service at what was then First Presbyterian, and then that was the Sunday that they had voted that morning to withdraw from the old Southern Presbyterian Church and join what became the PCA. And so my spiritual history is very much tied up with this congregation. My father still is living and we come back to visit often and to preach with you all, or to visit with you all. I’ve preached in this pulpit a few times over the years. And then our son, Stephen, was a deacon in this congregation for some time, so this is a little bit of a homecoming for us.

We are moving to Texas to care for my 93-year-old father, and in God’s providence, the session here asked if I would consider becoming pastor here. and you’ll have a vote on that subject next Lord’s Day. My wife, Marie, sends her greetings. She’s helping to prepare for our move as we come back.

Well, as we look at our text this morning here in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, the Apostle Paul has been writing to the church at Corinth. It’s a church where there have been a lot of problems, if you read through 1st and 2nd Corinthians. And there’s been challenges to his apostolic authority, his call from God to serve as the representative of Jesus Christ to that congregation and his teaching and preaching among them. And there have been those who’ve come into the midst who call themselves super apostles, as later we’ll see in the letter. And the question that comes from the challenge from these guys and their questions about Paul’s authority and and even his call to the gospel ministry is a fundamental question. Where does the power of ministry come from? Is it found in the personality of the preacher? Is it found in the programs of the church? Is it found in the ability to attract people and to create momentum?

Those are questions that are not unique to our own time. The church there at Corinth is facing this as well. And so when the apostle is writing this letter, it’s in the midst of criticism of his ministry. These other teachers have arrived at Corinth. They seem far more impressive, likely skilled orators, confident leaders, maybe men of greater education and reputation, although the apostle was no slouch in that department. Later in this letter, he even reports concerning himself that some people were saying his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is of no account. So in other words, some of the folks in Corinth are beginning to evaluate ministry the way people of the world evaluate leadership. They’re asking, who is the most impressive? Who is the most persuasive? Who has the strongest presence?

And in response, Paul does something remarkable. He doesn’t try to compare himself with them. He doesn’t defend himself by boasting his abilities, instead, he explains what true gospel ministry actually looks like. And so as we look at the text before us today, he’ll do so in three ways.

He’ll tell us first that ministry exists because of mercy. Ministry exists because of mercy. And the second place, that ministry proclaims Christ with integrity. And third, that ministry depends entirely upon the power of God. So as we consider these three things together, the passage is gonna quietly also, as the spirit takes it home to our own hearts, and it’s gonna ask some searching questions of each one of us, of me as preacher standing in the pulpit, of us together as a congregation as we are under the ministry of the word of God. So notice in the first place here in verse one, that ministry exists because of mercy. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

Now, anytime you see the word, therefore, you look ahead of it because of what it’s there for. He’s just been describing in chapter three the glory of the new covenant ministry, the ministry of the gospel which brings life and righteousness through Jesus Christ. It’s a ministry that’s far more glorious than the ministry of the old covenant. The law written on stone could expose sin, but the gospel brings forgiveness and transformation through the spirit.

And Paul says, therefore, having this ministry. Now notice how he describes how he receives this ministry. He doesn’t say having this ministry because of our gifts or because of our learning or because of our qualifications. He says having this ministry by the mercy of God. That word mercy is very important here. Paul never forgot. who he had been before Christ had saved him.

He had been a persecutor of the church. He had opposed the gospel. He had approved of violence against Christians. And in his own words elsewhere, he describes himself as a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. And yet, in 1 Timothy chapter one, he says, I received mercy. God had shown him mercy. And not only had God forgiven him, God had entrusted to him the proclamation of the gospel itself. So Paul understands something essential about ministry.

No one deserves it. Even faithful ministers, every faithful minister who stands in the pulpit is there only because God has been merciful. And that truth, understood and received and taken to heart produces humility. Uh, the minister can’t look at himself and say, I have earned this place. Uh, he knows that everything about his calling is a result of the grace of God.

And Paul also says something else. He says, we do not lose heart because ministry is not easy. And if you would continue reading this letter, you’re going to see that it involves tremendous hardship, persecution, rejection, suffering, constant pressure. And Paul says he doesn’t lose heart.

Why? Because that ministry doesn’t belong to him. It belongs to God who showed him mercy. If ministry depended on Paul’s strength, He would certainly have given up in the face of all of these things. But because it depends on God’s mercy, he continues on.

And that truth should shape how we think about the ministry of the church. The church does not need a spiritual celebrity. The church does not need someone who draws attention to himself. The church needs a servant of Christ who understands that he stands there by mercy alone. And the ministry of the word is not a platform for personal influence.

It’s a stewardship entrusted by God. And so this question, this passage here asks a question of every congregation. What kind of ministry do we desire? Do we want to hear Christ or do we want to be impressed by the preacher? In every generation, churches can be tempted to evaluate ministry that way, the way that the world evaluates leadership by personality or charisma or visible success.

You look back in church history, there was one fellow in Semeseta, which is now in Turkey. His name was Paul of Semeseta, and he would hire people to applaud his sermons in the churches. and they would have what they call clackers, kind of a noisemaker thing, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, and he would hire those guys. Oh, what a wonderful, and people swooning and falling over over the power of his preaching.

It was of a spirit, but not the Holy Spirit, we’ll say. Well, Paul reminds us that the foundation of true ministry is not human ability, it is the mercy of God. A church that seeks entertainment will eventually receive shallow preaching. but a church that hungers for Christ and will welcome the faithful proclamation of the word. There’s another application here as well. Paul says, we do not lose heart.

Some of you may feel discouraged in the Christian life. You may feel weak, weary, or aware of your own failures. But remember this, the Christian life itself begins with mercy. Your salvation did not begin because you were strong. It began because God was merciful. And the same mercy that called you will sustain you. The God who began a good work on you will not walk off the job. He will not abandon you. He said, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. And the second place notice here that ministry proclaims Christ with integrity. Let’s look at verses four and five, or excuse me, two through five here.

He says, but we have renounced disgraceful underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

So, he, gospel ministry proclaims Christ with integrity because He exists and the ministry exists because of mercy. Paul is now describing how that ministry is to be carried out. If it belongs to God, then it has to be conducted in a way that reflects the character of God.

So he says, we’ve renounced disgraceful underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. The integrity of the gospel ministry is what’s being described here. First, he rejects manipulation. We’ve renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. The language here suggests sleight of hand, hidden or shameful practices. Things are done secretly in order to influence people or to gain advantage. And then he says, we refuse to practice cunning. That word is craftiness or manipulation.

In the ancient world, you had teachers and public speakers who would often rely on clever rhetoric to win admission and admiration and persuade audiences. They would use impressive speech and subtle strategies to shape people’s opinions. Paul says, nuh-uh, we will not do that.

He says, we refuse to tamper with God’s word. To tamper means to distort it, to dilute it, to adjust it, to make it more acceptable, more palatable for the audiences. So in other words, he refuses to reshape the message in order to gain approval. He’s not going in testing the winds of public opinion. and cultural norms and so forth.

He is preaching the straight up undiluted gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So he says, he does, he comes in by the open statement of the truth. The ministry of the word is not complicated. It’s the clear, honest, faithful proclamation of what God has said. It’s not a teaching that says, okay, here we’re going to give you these things, then later on we’re going to bring some other things in. It’s the full load. What you see is what you get.

The complete scriptures, a whole gospel ministry that is proclaimed by him and all faithful ministers of the word. And so he understands his task is not to improve the message. His task is simply declare it plainly. And that raises an important question for every congregation.

For us here at faith, will we value the plain proclamation of the truth even when it challenges us? Because God’s word does not merely comfort us, sometimes it confronts us. Sometimes it exposes our sin. Sometimes it calls us to repentance. A healthy church welcomes the searching light of scripture. But a church that wants only to feel comfortable will eventually drift away from faithful preaching.

So Paul continues appealing to the conscience. We would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. Now notice his focus here. His goal is not to manipulate emotions or to impress the mind. He speaks to the conscience. He speaks to the heart.

That conscience is that inner awareness of right and wrong, where we stand before God. Faithful preaching will bring people face to face with God himself. In fact, the preacher cannot control the response. He cannot manufacture conversion. He simply places the truth before the conscience and leaves the result to the Lord.

And there’s an important warning here. for those of us who’ve been in church for many years. Some people have heard the gospel so often it begins to feel familiar. You know the doctrines, you understand the language of the church and the vibe and everything going on.

But the question is not merely whether you know the truth, the question is does the truth still reach your conscience? Does the word of God still humble you? Does the gospel stir gratitude in your heart? Or has it become something that you assume rather than something that shapes your life? The Word of God must never become ordinary to us. Well, what about those who hear but don’t believe? Well, he explains this in verses three and four, something that often puzzles us as believers.

Why us and not them? Why have we been made to hear? Why have we been made to know God’s grace and mercy? Wonderful hymn in our hymn books, How Sweet and Awesome is the Place with Christ Within the Doors. And there’s a line in there, you know, that just marvels at why have we been made to understand, made to know, to believe? by God’s grace and mercy, and thousands in their wretched choice would rather starve than come and enjoy the feast of God’s word and of being with Christ. Why is it that way? Why is the gospel so glorious and yet some people still reject it?

And he says, and even if our gospel is veiled, it’s veiled to those who are perishing. So the problem is not that the gospel is unclear. The problem is with spiritual blindness, and sometimes it’s a willful blindness. Paul explains in their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. Unbelief is not merely intellectual disagreement. Scripture teaches us that it’s a spiritual blindness caused by sin and reinforced by the work of Satan.

People do not naturally see the glory of Christ. Unless God opens their eyes, they remain blind to it. Paul continues, he says, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Gospel reveals the glory of Christ. to see Christ rightly is to see the glory of God. Jesus said, you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father. That is, if you see and understand and comprehend, and we do so because of God’s giving that to us in his mercies, we see the Father, we understand.

But apart from God’s grace, the human heart cannot receive and perceive that glory. Maybe someone’s here this morning, or maybe later hearing this, might be curious about Christianity. You might understand many things about the gospel intellectually, but the Bible says the deeper issue is spiritual sight.

The question is not simply, do I understand the message? The question is, have I seen the glory of Christ? Have you come to recognize your sin and your need of a savior? Have you seen that Jesus Christ alone can reconcile you to God? Ask God to give you sight. Ask him to open your eyes to the glory of Christ. So the message is Christ.

Verse five, for what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. This is the heart. of gospel ministry. The preacher is not the message. Christ is the message and faithful preaching does not revolve around the personality of the preacher. It revolves around the person and work of Jesus Christ. And then he asked something, add something here that’s very striking. He says with ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake, he’s a servant. He doesn’t exist to draw attention to himself, but to direct attention to Christ.

In fact, it’s a prayer of many faithful gospel ministers, and one I prayed this morning, Lord, that I might fade away, and that you, Lord Jesus, be seen here in the midst of your people, declaring the perfect will of God for our salvation. And if I’m in the way, Lord, get me out of the way, so that we might behold you. And I would challenge you this morning, yes, you’re looking at calling a pastor next Lord’s Day at a congregational meeting. And you’re looking at me, but brother, sister, look to Jesus. Look at Him. Hear His glory. His majesty is power. His mercy is grace. Every church, faces a subtle temptation.

It’s easy to begin shaping ministry around what seems most appealing to people. Programs, then, can become central. Personality can become central. But Paul reminds us that church grows not by cleverness, but by Christ. The task of the church is not to market itself.

Yes, we want our congregation to be known. and to be positioned, you know, that folks would know of us. Yes, God’s Word is proclaimed there, but ultimately the bottom line is, is Christ front and center of all that we do? We are here tasked by God to proclaim Christ faithfully. And every congregation has to ask itself, what do we most want to hear from the pulpit?

The answer is Christ. then the church is on solid ground. And then verse six here, he’s explained the integrity of the gospel ministry. He now explains why the gospel has such power. If people are spiritually blind, how can anyone ever come to faith?

Verse six, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now he goes all the way back to Genesis chapter one, which we heard the opening verses.

The world is dark and formless. There’s no light. But then God spoke, let there be light and instantly it appears. It’s not. produced gradually, like you go to a dimmer and kind of slowly turn it up. It didn’t arise from within the darkness. It came because God spoke it into existence. And Paul says salvation happens the same way.

When a person comes to faith in Christ, it’s because God shines light into the human heart. Conversion is not merely a change of opinion. It’s not simply learning new religious information. When the Lord worked on me at that Sunday evening, over the course of Sunday evenings and one summer, at the beginning I was blind, but at the end I could see. The Lord had drawn me to himself. And for you would probably, many of you would have that same testimony. It’s a new creation. The same God who created light at the beginning of the world shines spiritual light into the hearts of sinners.

And he describes this light as the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So in other words, when someone truly comes to faith, they begin to see something that they could not see before. They see the glory of God. revealed in Jesus Christ. They see Christ is not merely a teacher or an example. They see that he is the Son of God, the Savior of sinners, the Lord who died and rose again for them. And when someone sees Christ in that way, everything changes.

The truth here reminds us And salvation is ultimately the work of God. No preacher can create this light. No church program can produce it. No amount of persuasion can force it. Only God can shine this light into the heart. And that truth humbles the preacher, but it also encourages the church because the success of the gospel does not ultimately depend on us.

Our calling is simply to proclaim Christ faithfully God alone gives light, but we would gather to pray, Lord, shed your light upon the hearts of the people around us, opening their eyes to Christ. As you had shown mercy to me, Lord, do so. for my family, for my friends, for my co-laborers, for my neighbors, for the strangers around us, for all to come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you pleading before the throne of grace that God would do that to the glory of his name? Perhaps you have family members or friends who don’t yet know Christ. You’ve spoken to them about the gospel many times and yet they see They seem unable to see it.

And this passage reminds us that what God can do is what we cannot. The God who spoke light into existence can shine light into the darkest human heart. So we do not lose heart. We continue to pray. We continue to bear witness, and we trust that God is able to open blind eyes.

So now in verse seven here he brings his argument to a powerful conclusion. He’s described the light of the gospel shining in human hearts. Now verse seven he says, but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Now this verse contains one of the most memorable images in the New Testament. He speaks of a treasure and a clay vessel. The treasure is the gospel, the knowledge of the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ. It’s the most valuable reality in the world. And through the gospel, sinners are forgiven, reconciled to God, given eternal life. But Paul says his treasure is carried about in jars of clay.

In the ancient world, clay jars were extremely common. Think of it probably like a Ziploc bag. in that sense, very common. Nothing great. The jars of clay were ordinary household containers used for storing water, oil, grain. They were inexpensive, easily cracked, easily broken. If one shattered, you didn’t cry tears over it, you just replaced it. No one admired the jar itself. The value lay only in what it contained.

And Paul is deliberately using that humble image to describe those who carry the gospel. Ministers are clay vessels. They’re fragile, they’re weak, they’re ordinary people. And Paul’s point is very important. God could have designed the ministry of the gospel differently. He could have entrusted it to impressive and powerful figures whose strength would attract admiration. But instead, he chooses to place the greatest treasure in the world into fragile vessels. Why? Well, the apostle tells us here, to show that the surpassing power belonged to God and not to us.

God has designed this ministry in such a way that the glory would clearly belong to him. So if the success of the gospel depended on the strength of the preacher, people might conclude, oh, the power belongs to the preacher. But when the gospel spreads through the weak and imperfect servants that he so designs and chooses to use that means, it becomes obvious that the power is divine. This truth also speaks to the life of the church.

Every church can sometimes feel pressure about its future. I know you all have. And so is my congregation back in South Carolina. We might look around and notice there are not many kids here at the moment. And it’s natural to wonder what the future of the church will look like.

It’s right for us to desire the Lord would raise up a new generation of believers. Children are a blessing from the Lord. But Paul reminds us here the strength of the church doesn’t lie in our ability to attract people or to engineer growth or to have babies. The power belongs to God. Our calling is not to manufacture results. Our calling is to faithfully hold and proclaim the treasure of the gospel. And wherever that treasure is faithfully proclaimed, God is still able to bring light out of darkness and life out of death. So the church ultimately rests not on the strength of the vessels, but on the power of God who works through them.

So everything Paul’s been describing for us here in this passage about the gospel ministry finds its fullest expression in our Lord Jesus Christ himself. Paul says that the gospel reveals the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Christ is not merely the subject of the message. He is the perfect embodiment of the very pattern Paul’s describing. Our Lord Jesus came in humility.

When the Son of Man entered the world, he did not come with worldly power or visible splendor. Isaiah foretold this centuries earlier. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. He was born not in a palace, but in a cattle shed, it seems, placed in a manger. He grew up not in a center of power, But an obscure village, in fact, they would say, can anything good come out of Nazareth? By the standards of the world, his life appears unimpressive.

And yet in that humility, the glory of God was being revealed. Another thing. We see about our Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry, he does exactly what Paul describes in this passage. He proclaims the truth openly. He refuses to manipulate crowds or to soften the message in order to gain followers. In fact, when his teaching becomes difficult and many people turn away, he doesn’t adjust it. He simply continues to speak the truth. He came not to please the crowd, but to reveal the father.

He confronted spiritual blindness. The Apostle Paul had said that some are blinded. Some people saw Christ’s miracles and believed, but others saw the same miracles and rejected him. So the difference was not in the clarity of the evidence, but in the condition of the heart. Only those whom God is enabled to see truly recognize who Jesus was. But the most striking example of this pattern comes at the cross.

You see, from a human perspective, the crucifixion appeared to be weakness and defeat. The son of God was rejected, mocked, executed, and yet in that moment, the greatest power of God was revealed at the cross. He defeated sin. He broke the power of Satan. He accomplished the salvation of his people. The ultimate demonstration of divine power came through apparent weakness.

And that’s why the pattern Paul describes power through weakness is not merely a strategy for ministry. It’s the pattern of Christ himself. And through his resurrection, Christ now continues to work through his church. He takes fragile vessels. Ordinary believers. Ordinary churches. and entrust them with the treasure of the gospel. And through that treasure, he continues to shine the light of his glory into the world.

Well, as we come to the end of this passage, Paul leaves us with a simple but profound truth. The gospel is the greatest treasure in the world. It’s the good news that sinners can be forgiven, reconciled to God, and brought into eternal life through Jesus Christ. It’s the light of the knowledge of the glory of God revealed in his son.

And yet God has chosen to place that treasure in fragile vessels. We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. If ever we were to contemplate a name change, we should probably call ourselves jars of clay, Presbyterian church. The church’s confidence, therefore, must never rest in human strength, not in the personality of a preacher, not in programs or strategies, not invisible strength of the church. Our confidence rests in Jesus Christ. He is the treasure.

He is the light that shines into dark hearts. And whenever Christ is faithfully proclaimed, God is still doing only what he can do. He’s opening blind eyes. He’s bringing sinners into his marvelous light. He is building his church. So the calling of the church, the calling of faith, is simple and profound.

Hold fast to the treasure, proclaim Christ faithfully, and trust the surpassing power of God to do the work that only he can do. Amen? Amen, let’s pray. Our gracious God and Father, we thank you for the treasure of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, in whom the light of your glory shines.

We confess that we are but frail and fragile vessels, and yet in your mercy, you’ve chosen to make known the riches of your grace through the proclamation of your word. We pray that you would shine the light of the knowledge of your glory into every heart here today, where there’s blindness, grant sight. Where there’s doubt, grant faith. Where there’s weariness, renew hope through the power of your spirit. Grant that this congregation may always treasure Christ above all else. Give them a deep love for your word, a hunger for the faithful preaching of the gospel, and a humble dependence upon your power rather than human strength. And as I seek your will for the future of this church, grant wisdom and unity and peace, raise up faithful shepherds who will proclaim Christ clearly, who serve your people with humility, and labor for the glory of your name. For we ask these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose face we behold the glory of God, and in whose name we pray, and all God’s people say, amen.