2 Corinthians, 4:10-13

OK, we are in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. So if you'll turn there. I'm going to read the whole passage in context, starting at verse 7, and we're going to go down through verse 13. So 2nd Corinthians 4, starting at verse 7. It says, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed, 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. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death works in us, but life in you. We, having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken, we also believe and therefore speak."

Okay, now as you look at this chapter, Chapter 4, isn't it an incredible chapter? If there is a chapter in scripture that deals with the shoe leather, the moment-by-moment walk of us as believers, boy, this is it. I don't know of any other chapter that does it. Arguably, perhaps, the most unique in any place in the world. In terms of the walk of the believer, it's incredible.

So as we looked at this last week, there was a verb back up in verse 7, which everything else kind of modifies that verb. We are having this treasure in earthen vessels, and that treasure is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, what is interesting as you look at this, when it says that we're having in verse 6 and 7, talking about this treasure that's in us. And then we're having what's happening to us with respect to trials and suffering. And we've seen that God ordains trials and suffering in our life. And he appoints us as ambassadors for him to represent him, to represent our sovereign, to represent the country that we come from. which is heaven, in trials and suffering. So they're ordained by Him. So we said last week there's these kind of bookends. We're having in us the treasure, to us trials and suffering, and the other bookend is we're having in us the dying of our Lord Jesus and death in us.

So this is what we've been looking at last week. We started looking at this last week. So we'll continue on. The other observation we made last week was this, that as you look at verses 10 through 12, it is interesting that in verse 10, 11, and 12, it talks about death and life. In each of the verses, it talks about death and life. And so we asked some questions.

In verse 10, we looked at last week, how are we carrying the dying of Christ in our bodies? And a very simple and short answer is that we're carrying our sin nature in our bodies. And Christ died unto that sin nature. And we died with Him. And so we're carrying about His death to that sin nature in our bodies. And in verse 11, we're asking the question, who or what is delivering us unto death?

Because it says, for we which live, so here's the question. Who are the ones that are living? What does living mean here? For we which live, or we who are living. Present tense, continuous action. We who are living. What is it talking about there? What life? In Christ. Okay. The believer. Okay. The believer.

Positional or conditional? Positional? What's your vote, Scottie? Positional. Okay, we got two. How many would say conditional? In terms of the verb live? Yeah, think about it now. For we who are living are always being delivered unto death. Now, it is true that we have life positionally, right? But this is talking about, is that life being lived conditionally? Are we walking in the Spirit? Are we walking in the life condition?

And if we are, if we are, for we who are living, conditionally, are always being delivered unto death. Now, this is interesting, because a lot of the material that you might read, oftentimes, like in The Hungry Heart, says death must come before life. Ever read that? Death must come before life. Or life comes out of death.

Now, think about that for a moment. Think about, just hold the thought for a moment as we go through this. Think about it and ask the question, is that true? Is that true? We'll go on. So, in verse 11, so let me pick up where I think we left off last week with respect to... We left off with all these questions. Oh wow, so I forgot the questions, alright. So remind me as we go through this. Okay, so at verse 11, for we who live are always or constantly being delivered unto or over to death for Jesus' sake that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

Yeah, yeah. might be made manifest, right? Well, yeah, right. In other words, it's a conditional statement, is it not? Yes, it's a conditional statement. For the life to be made manifest, it must be always delivered unto death. Correct. Exactly. Could we say as well that we who live, meaning walk in the spirit of body and Christ, are always constantly being delivered unto death. At the same time though, we who are walking in the flesh will not be delivered over to death. That's the conditional. Okay, and we will not be delivered over to death.

Why? Because we're already there. Right? That's where we are. We're already there. Yeah. Walking in the flesh. Yeah. We're there. That's death. And again, the power of the Spirit in our life is to make us recognize where we're walking. Exactly. Oh, absolutely. And the fact that the Holy Spirit reminds us of where the power is coming from is in a sense a victory. Yeah, absolutely. And that's so encouraging. Yes. So, if this is true with us, that we're constantly being delivered over death, if we're walking by faith, walking in the Spirit, We are constantly being delivered over to death.

And for the purpose, for the glorious purpose that the life of Christ may be manifested through us and His eternal purpose is then fulfilled or is being fulfilled in our life. And that's His purpose. His purpose is to is to reveal the very glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we're all that He's got. He ain't got anybody else, right?

To manifest the glory of Christ. You cannot see the glory of Christ manifested anywhere else. Not even in creation, you can't see the glory of Christ being manifested. this passage too that's so important is that Paul assumes that we've been founded in the principle that there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus.

Because unless you're founded in that basic truth of positional relevance, then this becomes ultimately equivocal in terms of its relationship to the walk of the believer. Walking in that position, yeah. The idea of disappointing God is really the position that we often take in the relationship to our condition. I'll be getting off on a rabbit here. OK. If I could. Yeah, it's hard.

Here's the point that this passage makes, that in our trials and suffering, Christ's glory is only manifested as the life of the flesh is in the place of death, right? It cannot be manifested any other way. The life of the flesh must be in the place of death. If it isn't, then the life of Christ cannot be manifested. What's going to be manifested? The flesh. So the life of the flesh will be manifested. So, a summary, the Christian life is nothing short of the life of the Lord Jesus being reproduced in us. You know, wonderful words that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So the question comes up, look at verse 10. In verse 10 it says this, always bearing about in the body the dying of our Lord Jesus. Right? In verse 11, it says, for we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Question. Why the use of the word body in verse 10 and mortal flesh in verse 11?

What is the distinction between the two? Let me ask this question. When you think of the word flesh, do you think it's a positive thing or a negative thing? Negative. Negative. So we often think of flesh as being negative. It can be neutral too, right? Okay, it can be neutral too. If you're talking about the flesh, like the flesh, but when you're talking about... in the context that most of the places we see it in the Bible is talking about the sin nature. Okay. So we have to determine its usage. Like Margaret says, where is it being used? If it's being used like in Romans chapter 6 where it's talking about the sin nature and it's talking about flesh, normally then flesh can be equated to the sin nature.

But how about a passage like Galatians 2.20, in terms of, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Is that positive, negative, neutral? It just reflects our vessel, doesn't it? There's nothing holy about our vessel. Sure, but what I meant to say is use it in a negative sense or a positive sense. So the flesh, the flesh itself is neutral. Now, what does the flesh mean? Normally, I think, usually the flesh is a more encompassing term than the word body. The word body talks about just this physical frame, where the word flesh, incorporates the physical frame, our soul, our mind, our heart. Usually the word flesh is more encompassing than just the word body, which is just this physical frame.

But now, when it uses the term mortal flesh, Okay? Mortal flesh, it's talking about something that is in a state of decay and death. Okay? And so I think the reason why Paul uses the term mortal flesh and body in verse 10 and then mortal flesh in verse 11, he's just showing that this body which again is neutral, but it's mortal flesh in that it's in a state of death and decay. And think about this now, that here we have this mortal flesh, this body which is in a state of death and decay, and as Jim went through in terms of an earthen vessel, it's weak and it's frail, and it contains something, right?

It has a treasure in it, and God puts a treasure in that which is weak and frail, and which is in a state of death and decay, and he puts a treasure in this vessel who is all of that, and that treasure is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that incredible? That he would use our vessels, this vessel, to hold something, the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, the point I'm trying to make is this, is that in talking about a vessel's worth, it doesn't come from what it holds. A vessel's worth comes from what it holds, not from what it is. Would you agree with that? That's where the worth comes from. So the worth of this vessel is the fact that it contains the very glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And only God's grace could have possibly accomplished this, right? So, alright, let's look at our little diagram again. in terms of what's happening.

In terms of what is this passage saying? For we who live, we who are living, and we're saying we who are walking by faith, living according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, according to this norm and not that norm, we who are living, who are abiding in Christ. And it goes on to say, are constantly being delivered over to death. So while we're living here, abiding in Christ, we are constantly being delivered over to death. Does that make sense? But look how it happens, as we were looking at last week. We're walking by faith, we're abiding in Christ, but coming at us, to us, are the trials, are the troubles, and the afflictions, and the persecution, and all of the trials in your life.

And whether it be financial, whether it be family, whether it be work-related, whether it be personal, whatever trial that you and I are going through, Those are external trials coming at us. And the response of the sin nature is always the same. It never changes.

The response is that it doesn't want to see these trials. Because the sin nature wants, if you will, I hate to use the word control. But for the sake of a better word, let me let me use the word control. This nature wants to be in charge. How's that? Well, it's a concept of self-preservation. Right. And that's a good summary of it, is self-preservation.

And to preserve self, you know, there's all of these things that occur when a trial comes to us. Irritability, discouragement, anger, casting blame. It's your fault, Lindy, not mine. You made this happen, right? bitterness, resentment, anxiety, fear, loneliness, depression. These are the things that come at us. It's 24-7. Anytime there is any kind of a trial, circumstance that comes into our life, this is the response and it's in nature. But the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of God convicts us of that, right? That these are temptations. And these temptations could lead into sin if we take the bait. But the Spirit of God says, how?

It usually doesn't go that way. The way it usually goes is, Lindy says, how come you're angry? So I'm already, that's right. And I say, I'm not angry. And so I've already taken the bait. Right? So this is the response to the sin nature. But the Spirit of God is constantly delivering us over to that death to say, Al, that anger, it's been nailed to the cross. You're dead to it. You've been cut loose for it. You're separated from it. You don't need to be a slave to it any longer. This is slavery. This is pure slavery, being a slave to being irritable or discouraged or angered.

I like what Newell says about discouragement. To be discouraged is to have trusted in yourself in the first place. Isn't that true? Disappointed with yourself. Or disappointed with yourself. True. Same thing would be true with discouragement. Yeah. Okay.

You see, Hal, I think an issue that came up last week, and which we'll raise again here today, is this concept of when you're, when the Holy Spirit's working in you to have you realize these truths, I mean, our response goes beyond the intellectualization of that, right? I mean, our brain can tell us this is true.

Now the question is, what is our response, right? And how does the Spirit enact a modification of our response to assimilation? Okay, so this is where the intimacy comes in, in terms of this walk, that we're walking by faith, And we're having this moment-by-moment intimacy with Christ. And as we are, and as whatever trial comes at us, and the sin nature has its response, that because of the intimacy that we're having with Him, that we know that this is not of Him. is the key. We just know that's not who he is. And then it's not who we are either. I think that's the most impacting thing for me is it's not only him, but that's not who I am. And that's not who I am.

Exactly right. A gnosis no, right? Yes. I think in response to your question, Bob, Really, the crux of what we're talking about is Romans 6, that core passage there. So, in verse 6, it talks about knowing that your old self was going to be crucified. You know, talking about the knowing part here. And then, down in verse 11, it says, in NAS, it says, Even so, consider yourselves to be dead, and the KJV, I think, uses the word reckoned.

I think that's where we're at. What does that reckoning look like? in regards to the response of the planet. Yeah, good point. And I think the reckoning, you know, what the reckoning looks like is just as you're having this fellowship with the Lord, that the reckoning is, Lord, that's not who you are. And as Margaret says, that's not who I am either. That's not me.

Yes. We are where our citizenship is. Absolutely. So. So the being delivered is in the passive voice. It says that we're being acted upon. Present tense. We're continually being delivered over to. Who's delivering us over to. Who's doing the delivery. It's not us. Passive voice, we're being acted upon. Okay, so it's the Holy Spirit indwelling us that is doing delivery.

So the question I brought up before is that many, a lot of the writers that you would read, say, in The Hungry Heart, emphasize that death must come before life. How would you respond to that? I've marked up my book and said, no, it's the ones who are living are constantly being delivered over to death. Life has to be lived for death to occur, right? We have to be living in terms of in terms of abiding in Him, then we're being delivered over to death. So death doesn't occur before life, it's life first, then death, constantly being delivered over to death.

Now maybe I misunderstand these writers, I don't know. So if you read The Hungry Heart, just look for that. It seems like there's a positional and a conditional thought even in that, because death does come before life in the fact of our position in Christ. We died to sin, and thus we're alive when the God has rolled the six bucks off.

But in our condition, in our daily life, in our daily walk, right as this verse says, those who live. Right. Yeah. And that's right. And that's what I'm talking about is in our in our condition are thrown out there. Yeah. And they're just left hanging without any explanation. Yeah. So it can cause confusion. I've been confused. OK. Let's see. Let me just. I think we've covered most of this.

Just so you just so you know, understand this, this being delivered over to over to death. is a word, paradidomi, which para means up, didomi to give. It literally means to give over. And it's used in the sense of delivering a person or a thing to be kept by another. So, think about this, that the Holy Spirit is delivering us over to be kept by another. And the Holy Spirit is delivering us over to be kept in the place of death. and to be kept here in this place of death on the cross. That's what delivering over means.

But, as I indicate here, The whole process we went through is a lifetime process. It's present tense, it's continuous, durative action. It's a 24-7. And passive voice, as you've said, is the word being acted upon by the Holy Spirit. The addictive mood is the reality in our life. So, now, the wonderful part about all this is this. Here comes the temptation.

Whatever it may be, or whatever trial, and it may be a temptation, and it may be a sin that is committed by someone else to us, which is outright sin. That's a trial. God takes that sin committed to us and turns it into a trial. So it comes at us as a sin, but God takes it and turns it around as a test, as a proof of our faith. How are you going to respond to that insult? How are you going to respond to that criticism? It may be something totally wrong. Somebody characterizes you and says something which is totally untrue. What do you do about that?

It's a sin. And God takes that, turns it into a trial or a test. It goes from a Pirasmas, a solicitation to sin, to a Dakimas, which is a test or trial of our faith. And God says, He uses it to test our faith. How are we going to respond to that? Are we going to respond to it by faith? So, He's testing. God will use it to test our faith. He will never tempt us, right? He will never solicit us to sin. but it will always take a sin committed towards us and turn it into a test.

I don't know about you, but this is true in my life. The external cross is an obvious fact, that Christ died for our sins, and I know that I'm secure in Christ. I know that I'm seated with him in the heavenlies as a result, and I'm going to be with him for all eternity. I know that. That's the easy part. That's the easy part. But the internal cross is not so obvious. It's not so easy. But still it's a fact, right?

That we're constantly being delivered over to death. And our faith response is to reckon that we are dead, like Jim says, to the sin nature. Here's what verse 12 says. It says, So then, death works in us, but life in you. What in the world does that mean? Death in us, but life in you.

You see the so then? The so then is what is called a a consecutive particle, and it expresses the effect or the result of something. So something has happened and the sub-event says, well, here's the result. Here's the result of it. So the thing is, well, what happened? You know, what's happened that there is this result of death working in us and life in you.

So the part that goes prior to the so then is a summary of verses 7 through 11. Boy, this takes me back to my gambling days, 7-11. Well, that's true. But you see, that doesn't come to my mind. The crap table comes to my mind. So what I've tried to do is summarize, you know, 7 through 11.

We have this treasure. in us, the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, in these earthen vessels, these weak, frail vessels, this body, this mortal flesh, the death and decay. We have this vessel, but the worth of the vessel is not the vessel itself, but what is contained in the vessel. And we have a sin nature, also in us, with all of its desires. And we've looked at all of those desires. We've got the two in us. External trials, which are ordained by God, stimulate the sin nature. Fear, anxiety, worry, the whole list.

However, when we, by faith, appropriate His and our death, because He died unto the sin nature, and by our identification in Christ, we died with Him, right? So it's our death. So when we appropriate our death, His death, to these desires of the sin nature, then two things, the excellency of His power in verse 7, and the glory of Christ is manifested through us in verses 10, 11, and 12. So that when you get to verse 12, the so then is based upon this. So then, which is this consecutive particle, here's what happens. Death is working in us.

And by the way, the word death, there's a definite article. It's talking about the death. And when it's definite like that, you have to ask, well, what death is that? I think there can only be one death. It's talking about, that's Christ's death, and ours by our identification in Him. It's talking about the death, the death working in us. And the word work there, energeo, means to put forth power, to work effectually.

I wanted to ask this as a question, but think about this. Death is working in you and in me 24-7. Do you think that's observable by anybody? Is that a question we should even ask? It's 24-7. Do you ever see death working in us? No, because what people see are what happens, how we change, especially someone who's close to us, like our spouse or something.

They see a change. Okay, now here's the test. Barbara, have you seen a change? Go ahead, Margaret. Well, over a period of time, you do see how someone responds differently to a certain thing that maybe has happened before. And you go, wow, that response was different than it was before.

Okay. So you don't see the actual death. I don't think that you do see the change. Okay. Or the change of response. Do you see the life side of it? I really don't think anybody sees the death working in us but the Lord himself because he's the one that's working it. And I don't think we see it either.

What we see is, because I think if we're paying attention so much to the death, then we're intellectualizing that. I think what happens is you do respond differently and you go, oh my gosh, That was the life. I did respond differently. How did I do that? Let me tell you what I think we see. A situation comes up and we have a response. And the response is a subtlety of sin. See, previously, five years ago, I would never have recognized that as sin. But as I come to know Him, I see that that is a subtlety of sin. That is sin in my life. I never realized that before.

Yeah, I mean, how you and I have talked about this, I mean, the idea that the death aspect grows to some extent larger all the time, and that light gets brighter into the darkness of the old man, right? I mean, that's why it's a 24-7 deal, right? And that's hard for someone else to really see in you that, I mean, I guess you could talk about it. Yeah, others don't see it.

It's that relationship, that intimacy that you have with the Lord as we come to know Him and the power of His resurrection, do we come to know the sin nature and the subtlety of sin in our life. To me, that's exciting. What's exciting to me is that as I walk with the Lord, that he reveals to me these subtleties. And what's exciting to me is that I say, Lord, thank you, because I'm coming to know you and the power of your resurrection. Because if I wasn't coming to know him, I'd never, he'd never reveal to me or it wouldn't be obvious to me that these things in my life are subtle sins.

So my point is here. Yeah. Death working in us, that's between us and the Lord. I don't think anybody sees that. But they see the result of that, as Margaret says, as Winnie said. They see the life. And now the word working isn't in the text, but it's implied. So, but the life working in you. And there's a definite article, by the way, in front of life. And if there's a definite article, It means it's something definite, right? So the thing is, what life is it talking about? The life.

And I venture to say this, that as you look at the previous verses, like verse 10, that the life, there's a definite article also of Jesus might be manifest in our body. In verse 11, that the life, there's a definite article also of Jesus might be manifest in our body. Verse 12, but the life in you. And so this is a definite article of previous reference. The previous reference is the life of the Lord Jesus. So in verse 12, I think it's talking about the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in you.

Here's a wonderful result. As this is as we walk. in the life and will constantly be delivered over to death, that the result is, in all of this, that God is glorified. And this is where it's at, right? This is where it's at, that His desire is to be glorified through you and through me. moment by moment. And this is the moment by moment of living.

Okay. Questions? So did we answer? Did we answer? Pardon me? Okay. Comment. He says, I am exceedingly joyful. Excellent. Excellent. I had a summary chart here somewhere. Did I give it to you in your notes? That's what happens when you don't use your notes. OK. If I were to summarize all this. OK.

And in verses 10 through 12, it's talking about our moment by moment appropriation of the cross. in our life, that self might die so Christ can live through us. I mean, that's what it's all about. The new man abiding above in our citizenship, as Bob would say, the old man abiding in the place of death on the cross. For others to see Christ through us, there must be death to the old man in us. Death in life in others, life in you, life, death working in us, life, then the life is being manifested, and that life then is working in others. And that's all they see. They see the life. They don't see the death. Okay. You know, a neat thing here, I think, in verse 13, and you're not going to take time to cover that today, but Paul says, we having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed. And because I believed it, I spoke it to you.

So in a sense, it's kind of these identification truths, which are the Christian life, is something for us to project verbally in addition to reflecting them, hopefully, as the Lord works our lives. Yeah, excellent point. In verse 13, is that not only as we live them, that we can proclaim them. And as they're projected visually, death and us, life and you, people see that light side. Then that, as you said in the hospital, some guy was seeing life in you. Absolutely. That opened the opportunity for you to share them verbally. Yeah. Through them seeing them visually. Yeah. Right. Okay, let's close.

Father, we again are thankful for this time together. We just thank you, Father, for this wonderful passage in Scripture, which really puts the Christian life in tissue leather. And we thank you, Father, for the fact that you're the one that is working in us. And it's not us, but it's you. And our part is just simply trusting, resting by faith in you. And Father, we pray that these truths would edify each and every one of our hearts, that you may be glorified by Jesus Christ being manifested through us. And we ask in His name. Amen.