Sermon Notes

4 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2 We have renounced the shameful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing clearly the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Light will 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 Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, 9 persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, 10 always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. 11 For we who are living are always being handed over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us but life in you.
13 But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and therefore we also speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us with you in his presence.15 Indeed, everything is for your sake, so that grace, when it has extended to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. (New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, NRSVue)
4 1-2 Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God. 3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get. 5-6 Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
16 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. (The Message, MSG)

2 Corinthians is not Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. In fact, it is a compilation of several communiques—both written and verbal reports—that Paul shared with the church that he founded in Corinth within the Acacian province of the Roman Empire. Unlike other Pauline epistles, the Corinthian Correspondence—as scholars call 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and fragments of other letters that are found within these writings—includes more than one authentic letter which allows us to reconstruct Paul’s relationship with the church in Corinth over an extended period of time. When read together, the Corinthian Correspondence reveals that Paul’s relationship with the church was severely damaged on an unplanned trip that he made to Corinth in response to the church’s refusal to change their behavior after receiving 1 Corinthians from Timothy.
On this second visit, a member of the church treated Paul terribly and the other members did not initially rebuke his actions (2 Cor. 2:1-11). Wounded, Paul leaves Corinth for Ephesus, and writes a “letter of tears” (2 Cor. 2:4) chastising the Corinthians for their indifference to this person’s behavior. Paul says he is forced to “foolishly boast” to defend his authority as an apostle. Based on literary evidence and the rhetorical structure of Paul’s language, many scholars believe 2 Cor. 10:1–13:10 could be that “letter of tears”. Rev. Judy Fentress-Williams (Professor of
Old Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary and Minister of Christian Education at Alfred Street Baptist Church—Alexandria, Virginia) outlines Paul’s ongoing “dialogue” with the Corinthian community in this timeline from her book, Holy Imagination.
• Paul established the church at Corinth.
• They wrote him (1 Cor 7:1).
• He wrote them (1 Cor 5:9); we do not have this letter.
• He wrote them again (this is 1 Corinthians in the NT canon).
• Paul sent Timothy to Corinth (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11).
• The “super-apostles” come to Corinth and criticize Paul.
• Timothy reports to Paul.
• Paul has a “painful” visit to Corinth where he was wronged (2 Cor 2:1-11).
• Paul wrote another letter “of tears” (2 Cor 1:23–2:4; 7:5-11).
• 2 Corinthians is believed to be fragments of earlier letters—scholarship is divided on which fragments are in this letter.
Further complicating his fraught relationship with the Corinthians, Paul complains that “super apostles” that have infiltrated the Corinthian Church and deceived the members by preaching “another Jesus” and “another gospel” that significantly differs from Paul’s teaching. Further, they have a style of leadership that promotes moral/philosophical achievement, above all else, along with harsh talk—or “frank speech, (parresia in Greek)—without compassion, humility, or reconciliation. Because the Corinthians have succumbed to this problematic teaching, they then challenge Paul’s apostolic authority.
This week’s lesson comes from a portion of 2 Corinthians (2:14 – 7:4), that functions as Paul’s first written defense of his apostolic ministry. In 2 Corinthians 2, as he wrestles with the seeds of drama, division, discord that people within and outside of the Corinthian Church have sown, Paul makes the case that unlike the “super apostles” who, “water God’s word down and sell it cheap on the street” (2 Cor. 2:16-17), he and his co-laborers only preach the word they get straight from God. While the “super apostles” hawk the gospel for what they can get out of it for themselves, he and his co-laborers seek to glorify Christ Jesus, not themselves.
In 2 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul says he does not need Roman letters of endorsement or commendations to cement his God-given authority like other “so-called apostles.” The Corinthians themselves are his letters of endorsement. Their changed hearts and maturing lives are the living proof—literally they are the letters that Christ has written on their human hearts—that God has called and equipped him to boldly minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through a form of rhetorical comparison called syncresis, Paul outlines how he differs from those other “so-called apostles.”
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul continues to defend his authority and credibility against those who seek to undermine him by questioning his credentials. Through employing an enlightening metaphor—treasure in clay jars—Paul explains how he and Timothy persevere despite the accusations hurled against them.

1-2 Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God. 3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get. 5-6 Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
In the opening verses of the lesson text, Paul immediately calls out the elephant in the room, so to speak. He underscores the fact that while those may seek to undermine his authority, credibility, preparation, and his ability to minister, their opinions and perceptions essentially mean nothing. He ministers because God has mercifully allowed him the opportunity to do so. And he ministers sincerely and humbly despite any shortcomings or deficits he may have. He refuses to play games, fight his critics with “unholy fire,” as he ministers. He is not going low. Like Michelle Obama, when his detractors go low, he is going high—looking towards Jesus who arrested his attention, changed his character, and assigned him to apostolic ministry.
Further, he will not manipulate the word of God for his own selfish gain, or falsify God’s word—it literally says he will not adulterate the word of God (doloo in Greek)—so that it suits him. In verses 3-4 Paul says, if the gospel that he preaches is “veiled” or “obscure” it is because people are either looking at the wrong things, or they have been blinded by the god of this age (Satan) who has perverted their eyesight. Paul then says if the Corinthians don’t believe his testimony, perhaps they are actually not really listening to the message of Jesus Christ. Essentially he poses the question: are you really saved? Or, are you perishing in darkness?
In verses 5-6 Paul then asserts as a minister of Jesus Christ, his only task it to preach “Jesus is Lord.” Ministry is not about him, but all about Jesus. This phrase was an affirmation of Jesus’ lordship and therefore he can’t get caught up with having a competitive spirit. He must lay aside his ego in order to proclaim the sacrificial life, ministry, and death of Jesus. Jesus is Lord, means he does have the luxury of doing what he wants to do or preaching what he wants to preach—he must represent Jesus at all times and in all thing. He must deny himself because of the call and assignment on his life. This call in in direct opposition to the self-aggrandizement and self-promotion, that other “so-called” minsters of the gospel are comfortable with. He ministers because he is called to do so.
7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
In these verses of the lesson text, Paul discloses how he is able to minister at all—it is because of God’s grace. He doesn’t have the gifts (charisma in Greek) to do anything apart from God’s grace and mercy. In fact, he characterizes humans as nothing but unadorned clay pots—ordinary, fragile, unworthy to be entrusted with the gospel. Yet, God chooses him, all believers, to house the treasure of God’s image and likeness.
The Corinthians were all about boasting of their gifts (as we discussed last week—but the truth of the matter is that all of them were unworthy.) God’s transformative power makes human weakness useful for bearing the gospel in our bodies. God’s transformative power allows humans to endure hardship for the sake of God’s Name! God’s transformative power enables us to hold on, hang in there, not give up, persevere, deal with being broken, deal with being, cast-down, deal with being, “afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed,” (NRSVue), because of God’s grace and mercy. God chooses to bless and do exceedingly, beyond anything that we could ever imagine doing, because Divine power is a transformative blessing!
As Paul shares this hardship list—this is what the list of difficulties that he recounts is called—he reveals that his life is not determined by outward circumstances. His life is governed by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. Paul says he holds within his own body both the death and resurrection of Jesus. His ability to continue to minister despite the trouble that he has faced is a testament to the fact that Jesus lives in him and that God’s power raises him.
13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! 16 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace.
In the final verses of the lesson text, Paul invokes Psalm 116:10, to indicate his trials will not keep him down. He loves the Lord because the Lord heard is cry, pitied every groan, and he is remaining faithful to that God. Paul may not know how God will make a way, but he believes God will make a way, because that is scripture days. The God who raised Jesus up, will raise Paul too! Essentially, Paul is saying, “We are going through death; we are going through pressure and heartache, but it is going to have a positive impact because that’s the kind of God we serve.” He writes to encourage the Corinthians to also take God at God’s word.
2 Corinthians reveals that the early Church was not free from conflict or disagreement. Like congregational and denominational differences within the contemporary Church today, the early Church was comprised of diverse groups of people who collectively struggled to create a unified community of believers who expressed God’s love, grace, mercy, and extravagant welcome represented by Jesus Christ despite their differences. Regardless of the enormous challenges they faced, Paul says they were not going to give up.
God was at work in Corinth, and God is at work in the contemporary Church, creating new life, providing new mercies, and enfolding humanity in Divine grace day by day. We have the power to persevere because God’s Spirit gives us resurrection life morning by morning.

i. David E. Fredrickson’s article, “2 Corinthians,” in Gale A. Yee’s, Fortress Commentary on the Bible: Two Volume Set (Fortress Press, Kindle Edition) 3025.
ii. Judy Fentress Williams, Holy Imagination: A Literary and Theological Introduction to the Whole Bible (Abingdon Press, 2021), 317-318.
iii. J. Paul Sampley, “2 Corinthians: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections,” in The New Interpreters Bible Commentary, (Abingdon Press, 1994), 929-930.