Second Corinthians 4 Part 4 Suffering For The Sake Of The Gospel is Normal

Gospel light in clay vessels, yet we are used by God to advance His kingdom.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7)  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 

We must remember that we still retain our old man, the sin nature we inherited from Adam. 

Our fleshly lusts do not want to submit to God's authority over us and the corrupt culture offers a Christian no encouragement to glorify God instead of self.

Therefore, we carry the treasure of the gospel within our hearts and we experience the struggle between our new man in Christ and our old man ways. 

We carry evidence of the gospel's saving power in bodies of clay that are sometimes prone to wander, prone to follow self instead of God.

Our Father in heaven knows about our struggles and He seeks to purge out any dross from our lives so that we can love and serve Him more.

He will permit His children to experience afflictions, trials and troubles in order to purify us and to mold us into usable instruments for gospel ministry.

James 1:2-4  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3)  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4)  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 

Knowing that God has a purpose when we experience suffering or a trial will help us patiently endure when we do experience suffering.

This is why James, Peter, John and Paul could say that we should count it joy when we suffer for the sake of Christ and His gospel.

This is why they gave us excellent examples of how to respond when we are enduring trials, troubles and afflictions.

Paul tells us that God's grace is sufficient to supply our weakness during times of affliction.

This is why Jesus teaches us that we are blessed when we suffer for His sake.

We wrestle with sin and the Devil, but we have victory in Christ. 

2 Corinthians 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

The word "troubled" is a word used for Olympic wrestling. 

It means gaining a strong grip on your opponent and taking him up in the air followed by throwing him down to the mat.

Thus, the Christian is troubled on every side by a corrupt culture and a fierce adversary who seeks to overthrow our faith.

The word "distressed" means being pinned by your opponent and loosing the wrestling match. 

Notice the great encouragement we have in what Paul is saying. 

We are indeed sometimes strongly gripped by our enemy but we are never pinned by him.

The Devil knows that our flesh is a weak spot. 

He will try to trip us up in our walk with Christ, in order to grip us in sin or cause apathy or callousness to take root in our minds.

He will do everything he can to keep us from attending our local Bible preaching church. He will try to keep us away from worshiping with other Christians. 

He will try to get a grip on us so that we do not have time to read and study the scriptures. 

He will try to throw us down so that we do not spend time in prayer or in thinking about what God says to us in His Word. 

Our active enemy is a defeated foe and we are secure in Christ. 

Romans 8:31-34  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32)  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33)  Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34)  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

If God be for us, who can be against us? 

A Christian living by faith can confidently say that no one can prevail against us because God is for us.

We may be reproached or afflicted for our faith but through all our troubles and trials, God is still for us, working all things out for our good and His glory, as He continues conforming us to the image of Christ (See Romans 8:26-28).

Who can bring charges of sin against a believer in Jesus Christ? Who can accuse us of sin like the devil did to Job? 

A Christian living by faith knows that the moment he or she was born again, the Father in heaven declared him legally and eternally justified in heaven.

Each Christian has the very righteousness of Jesus Christ imparted to us and this is our secure, eternal standing before God.

We endure ongoing battles between our corrupt flesh which wants to satisfy self, and the indwelling Spirit who seeks to glorify God in our lives. 

But, our position and standing before God is solidly based upon our faith in the perfect redeeming work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is going to condemn the Christian? No one for there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ and who are indwelt by God's Spirit (See Romans 8:1-11).

Our standing by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross for us is why Paul says we are indeed gripped by our enemies but never thrown down and pinned.

We are at times "perplexed" which is the idea of being surprised or puzzled over the skill of our enemy.

We are never in "despair" which means losing all hope or having no resources to counter the enemy attacks.

We are often perplexed and sometimes do not know not what to do or which way to turn. 

We often do not know which direction to take or how we shall be relieved and supplied. 

We sometimes are at a loss about how we shall be provided for with food, shelter and raiment.

Yet we know that God will supply all our needs both physical and spiritual, through Jesus Christ (See Philippians 4:19).

The Devil relentlessly pursues but he cannot separate us from God's love.

2 Corinthians 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 

We are not "persecuted" which is another term referring to an Olympic runner seeking to pursue and overtake us. 

Our enemy relentlessly pursues us, seeking to harass us or trip us up while we walk by faith through this  life.

Yet, the Christian is never forsaken because God promised never to leave or forsake us.

Good men may be forsaken by their friends as well as persecuted by their enemies, but God will never leave them nor forsake them. 

We are sometimes dejected, or cast down and the enemy may in a great measure prevail. 

Our spirit does become discouraged and there may be fear within and fighting without. 

Yet we are not destroyed but we are still preserved, and God keeps our heads above water.

Noted Baptist theologian John Gill (1697-1771) exposited this text and his words are helpful.

"Pursued from place to place, and followed with menaces, curses, and reproaches, laid hold on, proscribed, imprisoned, and threatened with the severest tortures, and death itself." 

"But our God never leaves us nor forsakes us though we are followed close by evil men, and left by our friends, we are not forsaken of God."

God remains faithful through our temptations, trials and troubles.

Psalm 37:25-26  I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26)  He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. 

King David reviewed his life and could say that in all of his troubles and trials through many decades, he never observed those who trusted Jehovah being forsaken by Him.

Again, Paul tells us we will be "cast down" another wrestling terms that refers to the first one to throw his opponent down being declared the winner.

The apostle tells us that we will not be "destroyed", which means though the enemy might throw us down by trials and afflictions, we rise up to surmount them. 

Sometimes a believer in Christ may be cast down or broken like a defective clay pot. We may be pinned like a wrestler throwing us down when our enemy attacks us. 

Yet, we remain safe "in Christ" and are kept by His mighty power, because no man or enemy can pluck us out of our Father's hand (See John 10:28-29).

We must remember that Christ suffered for us and will suffer for Him.

2 Corinthians 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.  

The Greek for “the dying” is literally the being made a corpse. Paul regarded his body as a corpse which shares in the life-giving power of Christ’s resurrection, just as it shared in His dying and death.

Jesus taught us that we will experience suffering and troubles for His name's sake (See Matthew 5:10-12; John 16:33).

Children of God will suffer because Christ suffered for us.

Romans 8:16-17  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17)  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Part of the testimony that we are truly a regenerated child of God is when we suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

Galatians 6:17  From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 

Paul could confidently declare that his body bore the marks of suffering for Christ. He will detail his sufferings later one in writing to the Corinthians.

Suffering for Jesus' sake precedes resurrection glory for each Christian.

Philippians 3:10-11  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11)  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

The apostle shows us his willingness to suffer for the cause of Christ because his resurrection from the dead is assured. 

Suffering is normal for Christians, not abnormal. 

1 Peter 4:12-14  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13)  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14)  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 

Peter walked with Jesus for the entirety of His earthly ministry. The apostle reminds us that suffering for the sake of Christ is not a strange event. 

Rather, suffer for Jesus is normal for Christians because the world hated Jesus Christ and it will hate all those who follow and love Him (See John 15:18-21).

We must put on the whole armor of God before we wrestle unseen foes.

Ephesians 6:11-13  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  

This is why Paul was guided by God's Spirit to tell us that we do not physically wrestle our enemy. Instead, we are caught up in spiritual warfare.

He tells us that our weapons for spiritual warfare are not physical one, but are spiritual in nature. Here Paul calls it the whole armor of God. 

God supplies spiritual armor so that we can stand firm when the enemy wrestles with us and when he seeks to cast us down.

False teachers will tell you that God wants you to be happy, wealthy, healthy and live a trouble free life.

False teachers will tell you that there is something spiritually wrong if you are suffering or have troubles and affliction.

This is nothing less than a lying message from Hell sent by the Devil to entice and deceive people, so that they do not obey the life giving, transformational gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus has granted eternal life to each persons who exercised repentant faith in Him.

He has given us all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (See Ephesians 1:3).

He holds us securely in His omnipotent hand. 

He will never leave us or forsake us.

He will perfect us through our sufferings for the sake of the gospel.

All who choose to live a godly life in Christ shall suffer (See 2 Timothy 3:12).

May these truths from God's Word comfort us when we suffer and strengthen us for the battles that we will face.

Bob