The Benefits of Suffering for Christ B

If you don't speak the truth, then either you don't believe that truth, or if you do believe that truth in some superficial way, you don't believe the God of truth can protect you when you say it. True belief in the Word of God and true belief in the God of the Word are the foundations for courage. You just speak the truth. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur.

I'm your host, Phil Johnson. If you moved from Southern California to North Dakota, the first big snow would probably be something you'd never forget. But over time, even big snowstorms would phase you less and less. What once was a shock to your system becomes normal to you. That same principle applies to the wickedness in our culture. As sin becomes normative, there's a temptation, even for Christians, to be less shocked by sin, even in light of the judgment it brings. So stay with us now as John shows you how to avoid becoming desensitized by sin, continuing his study, The World vs. the Kingdom of God. We come now to the study of the Word of God, and we have been looking at 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. I invite you to turn in your Bible to that chapter. Now, we have been discussing the fact that to preach Christ is to provide light in the darkness. Just to remind you of that, let me begin in verse 1.

Follow along. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. For God who said, Light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

We have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So death works in us but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke. We also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. But though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. To pull up and above that text and get an elevated vantage point of what Paul is saying, he is saying this. We have been given the ministry of the new covenant, the preaching of the gospel, the glory of the gospel. We preach Christ. We don't preach ourselves. We understand in doing this that we are insignificant.

We are clay pots, earthen vessels. We have no power. Only God has power. We can communicate the message. We have no power to change the sinner. In fact, we have to face the reality that dominates all evangelism, and that is if it is faithful, it will generate hostility, rejection, hatred, and persecution.

So here we are living in the darkness, not on the edge of the darkness, but literally in the darkness shining as lights. And Paul says in tackling this task, it can be daunting, and that's why he begins in verse 1 by saying, We do not lose heart, and then he brackets it at the end or near the end in verse 16. Again, we do not lose heart. That means we aren't cowards. We don't quit. We don't give in. How is it that you can do this with boldness and courage and endure?

The bottom line is this. In order to be faithful, you have to have strong convictions. You have to believe in the superiority of the new covenant.

We learned that. You have to understand that you need a pure heart, that you have to handle the Word of God accurately. You have to understand that salvation is a work of God.

Only God who said, Let there be light, and brought about light in creation in Genesis 1, 3, can say, Let there be light in a heart. You also have to understand your insignificance. You're a slave. You're a clay pot.

You're powerless. So here we are with this superior new covenant truth, the only saving truth. We have been given the mercy, the high privilege of proclaiming it even though we're unworthy. We must do so from a pure heart, handling the Word of God accurately, trusting in the Lord for the results, realizing our own insignificance. And when we do all of that and do it all to the best of our Holy Spirit-driven abilities, what will happen? You think they'll all believe?

No. Let's go down to verse 8. We're afflicted in every way.

If you think this is the path to popularity, you're wrong. Paul was certain of another thing. This is the seventh certainty that we've looked at. He was certain of the benefit of suffering. You're going to have hostility, you're going to have rejection, and he says suffering is beneficial. First of all, it humbles us to keep me from exalting myself. There was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. He says it again, to keep me from exalting myself. That messenger of Satan, I believe, was the leader of the false prophets who were tearing up the church at Corinth.

A messenger of Satan, an angelos of Satan, a satanic angelos, an angel is a demon. God used suffering to humble him because of the many revelations he had. God also used suffering to draw him to the Lord. Verse 8, concerning this, I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. It drove him into deep prayer.

That's what suffering does. Also, suffering allowed God to display His grace. Verse 9, He has said to me over and over again, My grace is sufficient for you. My grace is sufficient for you. It allows for God to put His grace on display. And finally, suffering not only humbles us, draws us to the Lord, allows Him to display grace, but perfects His power in us.

You're only as powerful as you are weak in your own strength. Paul endures faithfully then, shining the light of the gospel into the darkness, even if it costs him suffering, and it does, even if it costs him death, and it did. The suffering was the way to refine him, the way to break his self-confidence, the way to humble him, draw him to the Lord, and perfect divine power in him.

So he was certain of the benefits of that suffering. The next certainty that steeled Paul for endurance is that he was certain of the need for integrity. He was certain of the need for integrity. Do I have to say how desperately we need integrity? What is integrity? It's acting consistently with what you say you believe, right?

You're not duplicitous. You're not a hypocrite. Verse 13, I believed, therefore I spoke. That's integrity. This is the spirit of faith. You say you believe? This is how faith operates.

It operates according to what is written. And Paul borrows a statement from Psalm 116, verse 10. I believed, therefore I spoke. So Paul said what he believed to be true, said what God revealed to him. He believed, so he spoke.

You can reverse that. What you hear people speak is what they believe. And if they don't speak the truth, they don't believe the truth.

They might want to tell you they believe the truth, but it's not a conviction. What you're afraid to say, you don't believe. Or you don't believe, you can say it and be protected by God.

So you don't trust God. If you don't speak the truth, if you put some other message in, then either you don't believe that truth, or if you do believe that truth in some superficial way, you don't believe the God of truth can protect you when you say it. True belief in the Word of God and true belief in the God of the Word are the foundations for courage. You just speak the truth. And Paul has two reasons to speak the truth. Number one, I love this, verse 14, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. He was willing to preach the truth, even if it cost Him His life.

Why? Because what would happen? He would be raised from the dead. He believed in the resurrection, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus.

Who is that? That's God the Father, Acts 2 24. But God raised Him up again, or 1 Corinthians 6 14. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. Why are we worried about what can happen to us, persecution, hostility, and even death, when that's just the fast track to the resurrection? We wait, don't we, for the redemption of the body? Can we say with Paul, to live is Christ, to die is what? Gain. Would it not appeal to you, 1 John 3 2, to be like Him when you see Him as He is?

Haven't you had enough of yourself? There's no fear when death is gain. He'll raise up Jesus and present us with you. We'll all be together in the resurrection.

The verb there means to come and stand in the presence of someone, and that someone is Christ. So the first reason He's willing to suffer and die is because He knows the resurrection is a reality. And secondly is salvation.

Look at verse 15. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. The indomitable courage of Paul, the integrity of his life, he believed it and he spoke it, and even if the price was death, that was not a problem because resurrection was waiting him. And secondly, because in preaching the truth, the grace of salvation was spreading to more and more people who were being added to the heavenly hallelujah chorus to forever give glory to God.

The goal of gospel ministry is never comfort, never wealth and popularity. It's always the salvation of those lost and alienated from God. And as we proclaim the truth, we count our lives as nothing, except that we would be used for the gathering of God's people through believing the message preached in the power of the Holy Spirit. He says saving grace is spreading to more and more people so that the ultimate goal can take place, which is the glory of God. Ephesians chapter 1, the whole redemptive plan of God summed up in that opening chapter for the praise of His glory, for the praise of His glory, for the praise of His glory. Paul has God's glory in mind.

He's incidental. He's overwhelmed at such a mercy to be used in such a way to bring glory to God. So the believer who is faithful as a witness to the gospel, shining the light of Christ into the darkness, fills his soul with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ and selflessly reflects that glory in what he says and how he lives so that more glory can be ascribed to God as people see his life and hear his gospel and be saved. Paul does all of that confident that if they kill him, it's the fastest path to heaven. Finally, one more certainty anchored Paul to faithfulness. One more reason he didn't lose heart. He was certain that eternal glory far outweighed earthly suffering.

Look at verse 16 to the end. Therefore we do not lose heart. But though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day, for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

He makes three points. We don't lose heart because, number one, spiritual strength is more important than physical weakness. We are decaying, the outer man, and we all know that, right? Life is a terminal disease. Every day you live, you're closer to death. It was escalated for Paul because of the brutal way he was treated.

He died at about 60, probably would have lived longer if he hadn't been so mistreated and abused. But it really wasn't the issue. The outer man is decaying, yet the inner man is being renewed day by day. So Paul understood that spiritual strength was far more important than physical weakness.

Secondly, the future glory was far more important than present humiliation. Verse 17, for momentary light affliction is producing for us eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Momentary light affliction, that's how he viewed his sufferings. You might say he was underestimating them.

He would say, not at all, not at all. Momentary light afflictions, he makes contrasts. Inner over the outer in verse 16, momentary over the eternal in this one, light over heavy. The word light afflictions. Light is alaphorus. It means weightless, inconsequential.

These afflictions are inconsequential. But there is an eternal weight of glory, and even the word glory is related to the Hebrew word weight. What matters to Paul is eternal glory, and it has a weight far beyond all comparison.

It exceeds all limits. He says in 1 Corinthians 2, eye hasn't seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love Him, right? Thirdly, he says, invisible realities are far more important than visible realities. Verse 18, we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. While we look at the focus of his whole life, his vision was fixed not on things which are seen, not on temporal things, not on the visible world. Paul constantly kept his focus on things that are not seen, and they are eternal. It's really an echo of Moses that the writer of Hebrews picks up in Hebrews 11, 27. Moses, it says, endured because he had his eyes on Him who is what?

Invisible. Set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth, right? So with those kinds of convictions, Paul was faithful to the end. And in his last epistle, he gives a testimony.

He says, 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 6, I'm already being poured out as a drink offering. The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the course. I love this. I have kept what? The faith.

That's how you want to end up, isn't it? Let's pray. Father, we're so blessed to have the revelation that You've given us and that even as we hear it read and explained, it comes to us with a kind of supernatural power. It both offends our weakness, offends our sinfulness, offends our indifference, offends our worldliness, offends our preoccupation with what is lightweight, and at the same time calls us as a mercy, as a gift of love to live high, elevated, noble, heaven-focused lives. We grieve over the dishonor that comes to You.

The reproaches that fall on You fall on us. When You, O God, O Christ, blessed Holy Spirit, when You are dishonored, we feel the pain. We desire that You would be exalted and honored, and if we are truthful about that, then we know that that is a calling in our own lives to so live that that is true. May we honor You with our life, and may we honor You with our convictions by living them and speaking them with love and compassion. Lord, I just pray that You'll fill our lives with the unexpected providences that show that You are at work in ways that are only explicable if we understand the kingdom of creation and the power toward us by the Holy Spirit in us. We thank You for this immense and undeserved privilege of being the clay pots from which the glory shines. Be glorified, we pray, in our Savior's name.

Amen. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. His current series is titled The World versus the Kingdom of God. And now in today's lesson, the benefits of suffering for Christ. The type of suffering that we talked about was the persecution that Paul experienced. And of course, there are other types of suffering that Christians face. I think of the book of Job, for example, and it reminds me that whatever form our trials take, knowing the reasons God allows us to go through trials can help ease the pain and even give us strength when we're in the thick of it.

Do you agree with that, John? Yeah, I would agree that it's easier to go through a trial if you know the reason for the trial. But you just mentioned the book of Job, and there you have the classic illustration of a man who went through a trial and didn't know the reason. And all his friends piled around him and gave him stupid answers, and they didn't know the reason either because the reason was hidden in the counsel of God.

So I think that was the ultimate test. Sure, it's easier if you're going through a trial and you know the reasons, like it was things that you did that got you into it or things that other people did that got you into it. At least you have some sense of the, I guess, the pathology of the trial. But the real test is when you're in a trial and you don't know the reason, and therein is the power of the message of the book of Job. The reason is not revealed until the end, and in the end you find out what the reason was. And the reason was so that Job would really glorify God. Job never did know why it happened, even when it was over he didn't know why it happened, but he saw the hand of God. And I think the ultimate lesson in every trial is to see the deliverance of God in the end as you respond appropriately to the trial. The greatest triumph, I think, of a trial in the Bible is Job's trial because he never understood why it happened, but he saw God through the entire trial demonstrate his faithfulness and his power, and his vision of God left him saying at the very end, �I heard of you at the hearing of my ear.

Now my eye sees you and I repent in dust and ashes.� He had a full view of God. I want to mention a book that will help you with that whole issue of suffering, The Power of Suffering, affordably priced, great book examining the sovereignty of God in and through and over your trials, even persecution. You can order a copy from Grace To You, The Power of Suffering. If you can empower your suffering, that's how you live a triumphant life.

That's right, friend. Trials give you an opportunity to glorify the Lord like nothing else does. Learn how God strengthens you in adversity. Order a copy of John's practical book, The Power of Suffering, when you contact us today. Call 800-55-GRACE or go to our website, GTY.org. The Power of Suffering is an ideal book to put into the hands of someone who's facing health problems or family struggles or any other trial. It's 200 pages of biblical comfort and encouragement.

The Power of Suffering costs $10.50 and shipping is free. Again, to order, call 800-55-GRACE or go to GTY.org. And thanks for remembering that Grace To You is listener supported. When you partner with Grace To You financially, you help bring the clarity and comfort of biblical truth to countless people through radio and through our online resources, and you help put tens of thousands of free books or booklets into people's hands, because we do that through the mail each month. To show your support, mail your tax-deductible donations to Grace To You, Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412. You can also give online at GTY.org or when you call us at 800-55-GRACE. Now for John MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Be here tomorrow when John shows you effective ways to bring the light of the Gospel to a broken world. Just another half hour of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace To You.