2 Corinthians 4:1-18
1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
2 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.
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 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.
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.
6 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.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 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.
12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 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,
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 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.
Ministering the revelation of transformed hearts in the glory of God is a privilege that comes only by the mercy of God. This, then, will be shared in humility, without manipulation of scriptures and people. In its presentation there can never be exalting of self, but only Jesus, as anyone not blinded from the truth by unbelief is given opportunity for change when it is Jesus that is magnified. As we yield our bodies to be nothing more than carriers of God’s glory, then, the many pressures and challenges that come against us only work to prove the reality of resurrection life in us. No matter the trial, our declaration of faith never changes, and therefore enables us to effectively exalt the praise and glory of God.
There will always be a temptation to receive recognition and influence in the pursuit of ministry. True and authentic transformation only comes, though, in glorifying Jesus alone. What a wonderful opportunity is ours for the condition of our bodies to be separate from the ever-growing glow of glorious eternal life within. Every day is a chance for renewal and strengthening on the inside that is unaffected by the pressing and crushing of our physical glory-carriers. Instead of being brought down in the least by any physical challenge, it can, instead, be a reason for increased power and hope, as the gaze is lifted from the trial to One who looked away from all worldly insignificance. Trials will become less and less mountainous in the glory of the Greater One, the unwavering declaration of His faith, and a fixed gaze on what is unseen (in the natural) in His face.
My study Bible had an interesting correlation between verse 16 (Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.) and Isaiah 40:31.
It says, “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”
Corinthians tells us to not lose heart and that our inner man is renewed days by day, but it is in Isaiah that unlocks the how. We renew ourselves day by day by waiting on the Lord, being in His presence, hearing His voice and being in HIs word. There is our place of renewing that brings the strength to mount up as the eagles that soar above the storms.
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