2 Corinthians chapter 3 and 4, that's page 965 in your pew Bibles, and I'm going to read starting at 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 12, and then I'm going to read through chapter 4 verse 6, because you'll see in chapter 4 verse 1 there's a therefore, so we want to be reminded what comes before the therefore. So, Paul is continuing to talk about the glory of New Covenant ministry. So, 2 Corinthians chapter 3 starting at verse 12. This is the Word of God. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses who had put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning, or to tamper with God's Word, but by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Praise God for his holy word. Let's pray. Lord God, as we now come to dig in here and expand and to reflect on your word, we pray above all else that we would see Christ, that we would see his glory, and that seeing his glory, we might be encouraged in our faith, encouraged to serve you. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so it's starting out with a question here, and this is a bit of a trick question with a dual meaning here. How many of you are tired this evening? And I don't mean because it's PM service or because it has been a long day. What I mean is how many of us here are spiritually tired? By the way, if you're tired this evening, that was a rhetorical question for the moms, just so everyone knows. But we are, in addition to physically tired, we're spiritually tired. And sometimes I know, and if I asked you, who here, if I, you don't have to raise your hands, it's not that kind of church, okay? But if I were to ask you, you can give like a little one if you want to. But do you, how many of you feel worn down? Most of us would say that's me. Sometimes do you feel like you're short on hope or just kind of weary. Weary from being constantly attacked in this culture for being a Christian. Weary from fighting even maybe against your own sin and coming up short in that battle. Well, whether we're particularly weary spiritually on this Lord's Day or not, We all know that feeling. And we've all been there just wondering, how much longer can I hold on? How much longer until Jesus returns? We get discouraged and spiritually overwhelmed oftentimes as we travel along the road to glory because it's a hard road full of potholes, hazards, sharp corners, bad drivers, and now that I've been here a while, I'm going to add a lot of road construction. This is how we feel. And if anyone ever had a reason to be spiritually exhausted and just kind of ready to pack it in, it probably would have been the Apostle Paul. As later in 2 Corinthians, Paul lists all the trials, at least some of them, there's probably more that he had endured for Jesus Christ. He was frequently imprisoned. He was the recipient of countless beatings, even to the point of death. He was whipped, pelted with rocks, shipwrecked. He went on many dangerous journeys. He was in danger from robbers, in danger from angry Gentiles. He was in danger in the city. He was in danger in the countryside. He had trouble sleeping, and he was often hungry and thirsty and left out in the cold. And then on top of all this, Paul had constant anxiety about the churches that he planted, especially the church in Corinth. So we hear this and we wonder, and we want to ask Paul, how did you do it? How did you keep going? Why didn't you give up? Why in the world would you continue in your calling as a Christian and especially as an apostle? And I'm sure there were certainly some days when Paul was wondering, Lord, can I just be a full-time tent maker? Well, Paul answers this question for us in our passage this evening. Here's Paul's answer, and this is also a summary of what we're going to learn tonight. In the midst of spiritual weariness, we do not lose heart because the light of the gospel has shone in our hearts and we have looked upon the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This was Paul's spiritual food to continue on, and this is our spiritual food. And we're going to unpack this in our passage this evening as we look at the messenger of the new covenant. We'll look at the method used to proclaim this message, and then we'll look at the message itself. So our three points are the messenger, the method, and the message. There you go, I got a rare alliteration in there for you. So in verse 1, we learn that Paul's confidence as a messenger of the new covenant is the result of his complete confidence in the surpassing glory and power of Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 4, 1, we read, therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. We notice that this verse begins with therefore. Whenever you see a therefore in scripture, whenever you're reading scripture, you need to look back at what comes right before it. We know that means that whatever's before this, and then there's a therefore, that we're doing something or we're supposed to think something based on what comes before it. So what comes before it? Well, in 2 Corinthians 3, Paul just proclaimed the superiority and surpassing glory of new covenant ministry in comparison with Old Covenant ministry. Old Covenant ministry, which is the ministry of Moses, Paul said it was glorious, it came with glory, but it was temporary. It was a shadow. It was pointing to something greater. The ministry of Moses pointed forward to the permanent and more glorious ministry of Jesus Christ and the work of His life-giving Spirit. And the end result or ultimate goal of this new covenant ministry then, what comes right before the therefore, is in 1 Corinthians 3.18. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. So as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant, believers now see and hold on to the glory of the Lord as they see and hold on to Jesus. And as New Covenant believers ourselves, not only do we now see and understand the Gospel, but the Spirit of God is doing something incredible inside of us. Because even now this evening as we sit here, we are new creatures in Jesus Christ. We're being transformed into the image of the risen Christ. The Spirit of God has made us a new creation and is preparing us to live in the new creation. This morning we said it's new creation rest of Genesis 2, preparing us to live with our God and Father. Now, a ministry that can do that, change us from going from dead sinners unto new life, to live with God in the new creation, could there be a more powerful and glorious ministry? We can barely wrap our minds around this. We cannot live with God as we are now. We must be transformed. We must be cleansed from our sin, made holy and entirely new. And this is what Christ is doing through the work of his spirit in each of you that loves the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the ministry The therefore, this is the ministry that Paul is referring to in verse 1 here, the powerful transforming ministry of the Spirit. Now Paul's quick to point out that he doesn't have this ministry because he was really smart and figured it out or that he was deserving. In fact, we know that Paul was a persecutor of Christians and even a party to the murdering of Stephen. Paul is well aware that he has this ministry and that this work is actually, that Christ is at work in him purely by the mercy and grace of God. And as he thinks about who he was and now who he is and who God is making him to be, he can't continue without interjecting that this new life is just full of the mercy of God. He has to stop and add that here. And it's because of this amazing and glorious ministry now that Paul can say with confidence, Because this is what Christ has done for me and is doing in me, by the mercy and grace of God, we do not lose heart. Paul does not lose heart because he knows that the powerful, permanent, and glorious ministry of the Holy Spirit in the new covenant is making him and his hearers fit for heaven to dwell with God. So when we come to this passage, we can ask it a question as we did in our introduction. How do we go on in the midst of spiritual depression, hopelessness, and despair? Well, Paul's strength for ministry and life is our strength for ministry and life. Sometimes in the midst of all our earthly sufferings and problems, we forget that there's a heavenly and almighty and powerful solution. The answer to this question is remember, Christian, remember who you are, that you are a child of God and not only is the message that Jesus saves beautiful, a beautiful message, it's also a powerful message. The Spirit of Christ is transforming you into the image of our resurrected Lord and getting us ready to live with God in the world to come. This truth is our spiritual food, for when our souls are weak and weary, we need to hear and reflect on Christ each and every Lord's Day, and every day so that we can stand up under the difficulties of this life. So how did Paul go on in the midst of suffering, and how do we continue to go on? We can go on because the power of the Spirit of God at work in us is greater than anything that's at work in this world. When we suffer then we do not lose heart because we see Jesus and we understand the gospel and we now know who we are in Christ and we know what we are becoming. Paul has such confidence in the power of this message that he does no need to resort to underhanded and manipulative ways to preach it. He's being accused of these things. And in point two, Paul is going to explain his method. How does he get this great message out? In verse two, we read, but we have renounced disgraceful and underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth, We would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. So in verse 2, Paul is basically saying here, if I could paraphrase, our message is so powerful that we don't need to doctor it up and make it better or more attractive in any way, shape, or form. Now, it's probably those who are opposing Paul that were accusing him of having false motives and being manipulative, or even of changing the message of God's Word to suit his own needs. Or it could be that Paul's saying that, actually, this is what those false teachers in Corinth are doing. Can't you see it? Paul has such confidence in the power of the gospel message. that he preaches the Word of God as it is, clearly and in public for all to see and hear. There's nothing manipulative, secretive, or shady about Paul's gospel ministry. So this is an encouragement and a reminder to us, and it's also a warning to us as the church today. And not just the larger church, not just out there, but also here. There is constant pressure for us to adopt the persuasive methods of the world in our worship service. There's constant pressure for us. Maybe you should tone it down. Maybe you should change your message. Or maybe you should adopt some kind of extra hobby horse that a lot of people like to hear about and that they'll start coming to hear us more. Or maybe someone has to say, your service is too long. There's too many prayers, too many scripture readings. It's not entertaining enough. There's too many old, old tunes. Those psalms are hard to sing. Or your message is divisive. It's out of date. Or it's not focusing on the important stuff. You know, the stuff I want to hear. Well, the church is constantly under pressure to tone it down. or to tamper the Word of God, or to make it more palatable to the world. So when we preach truths like this, Jesus is the only way to heaven. Christianity is the only true religion. Messages like God made humanity in His image, male and female, and designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. And in this marriage relationship, men are called to lovingly lead and women are called to dutifully follow. That's not popular. God designed the joy and beauty of the union of two people only to take place in the context of marriage. Intimacy is only for marriage. These are not popular messages. These messages are not well received in our culture. And sometimes, perhaps not these, but even sometimes we might bristle a little bit at some of these. But this is what the Word of God says. And that's what we preach. We preach Christ and Christ crucified. And as a Bible-believing Christian church, we have ultimate confidence in this message. And we can't preach any other message. So we don't need to adopt the methods of this world. We don't need to make it more palatable. We don't need to come up with a mini series or movies about Jesus. The word of God is sufficient. We must proclaim the truth of God's word boldly and lovingly for all the world to hear. And then having done that and having been obedient to this, then we trust the Spirit of God to apply this word and to work it out as He wills. If we're ashamed of this message or doubt its power, we'll feel like we need to hide it or make excuses or tone it down or change it or kind of, you know, help it along. May we never fall into the temptation to tamper with the Word of God. God doesn't need our help. The Word of God is fully sufficient and the Spirit is powerful and almighty to apply it. Let's look at verse three. In verse three, Paul says, and even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. See, Paul's anticipating a question that might be in the minds of some he's writing to. Well, Paul, if your message is so powerful, If your message is so clear, then why don't some people get it? Especially those who seem to be really wise and teachers, why aren't they getting it? Well, Paul has already taught us that the aroma of Christ is life to some and the stench of death to others. Not everyone understands and believes the gospel, and he explains why in verse 4. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. So those who do not understand the gospel have had their minds and their hearts blinded by the evil one. He's keeping them from seeing the light and truth of the gospel, the gospel of God revealing His glory through what Christ has done. The devil is keeping them from seeing that full glory of Christ, from seeing Christ as the very image of God Himself. When we hear this, we're reminded of the importance of boldly proclaiming the truth without watering it down or trying to manipulate others to believe. This message is not understood by some because the Spirit of God has not worked in them and awakened them to the truth. It's not our own intelligent efforts that persuade people into the Kingdom of God. It is the Spirit of God alone, as Paul said in verse 1, by the mercy of God. And unless the Lord removes the veil, unless He opens the eyes of unbelievers, they remain blinded by the God of this world. Our call is to clearly preach the good news, and then to pray, and then to wait. We pray that the Spirit of God would open the eyes of those that we love that do not know Him. Or sadly that the Spirit, at least sadly for us now, that the Spirit would further harden their hearts and this would be more evidence against them on judgment day. This is difficult. It's especially difficult because we're so desperate. We're so desperate for our loved ones that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ to believe. But we cannot convince them and talk them in to the kingdom of God. Our job is to do our best to make the gospel known and to pray and to wait and to trust the Lord. This is ultimately our method that we use. Now, we've looked so far at the messenger and we just talked about the method. Now in verses five and six, Paul summarizes the message of the gospel and how God causes us to understand, to believe, and grab hold of it. In verse five, Paul writes, for what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. Now these words here, we're pretty used to this language. We use it all the time, so we forget that it's loaded with a lot of meaning. Jesus Christ as Lord contains the entirety of gospel glory. Jesus means the Lord saves and is the name given to the Son of God at His incarnation when Jesus was born. In Luke 2, when Simeon holds Christ, he holds the baby Jesus in his arms, he knew he was looking into the eyes of the one who would save people from their sins. And after seeing Jesus, the Savior, Simeon proclaims, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation. Jesus is the one who saves. And Christ means that He is the Anointed One, that He is the Messiah. And this speaks of all the Old Testament prophecy and all of human history waiting and leading up to this climax in redemptive history as Jesus became man, suffered for sin, died, was buried, and rose on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. This is the gospel. Paul summarizes this in his previous letter to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4, for I delivered to you as of first importance that I also received that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. So Jesus is the Savior and the Christ. He's the Christ who has come to accomplish salvation in history according to the Scriptures, according to the promises of God. And Jesus the Christ is also Lord. He is ruler of all. He is the exalted King who at His ascension rose up and was seated in heaven in a position of power and authority at the right hand of God. And there He still sits in His ascension, ruling and reigning, conquering all of His and all of our enemies. Jesus Christ, then, is the promised Savior. He's the accomplisher of salvation, and He's the Lord of glory. That's all contained in this title. One author summarizes the significance of this statement, Jesus Christ is Lord, by saying this, Thus, when you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, you at once confess His incarnation and His Messiahship and His Lordship, sealed by His glorious resurrection as He now forever reigns. Paul teaches us that this is what we must believe in order to be saved. Romans 10, 9, he says this, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Well, we want to be saved. How can we say this? How is this revealed to us? How do we believe it? Well, it's by the Holy Spirit. Again, Paul says, 1 Corinthians 12, 3, no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 6, Paul proclaims to us. He says, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul's continuing to make a point here. We're not proclaiming ourselves, but the power of God, and not just the power of God. in general, but the creation power of God and the re-creative power of God. It is the God of creation who spoke light into the darkness in Genesis 1, and this is the power of God that is now shown, and this light is shown in our hearts, so that in our hearts we might see a full revelation of the glory of God as we look into the face of our Savior, as we see the face of Jesus Christ. In chapter 4, it's continuing the theme of chapter 3 where Paul still has Exodus 32 through 34 in mind as he's comparing the glory of the old covenant to the new. In our Old Testament reading, God revealed a portion of his glory and goodness to Moses, but Moses had to be protected from the full glory of God. He had to be hidden in a cleft of the rock. God told Moses, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. Well, Moses did experience God's glory, but it was just a reflection. And now in the new covenant, God's full glory has been revealed in Christ, and now in Christ we see the face of the Father through Christ the Son. What a gospel Paul has. What a gospel he preaches. What a gospel we have. When we ask, Paul, how can you say in the midst of trials, we do not lose hope? It's clear that he can say this because he's thinking on the surpassing glory of God revealed in the gospel, revealed to us in Christ the Son. Looking upon the glory of God revealed to us by God through his mercy and in the power of the Holy Spirit, This can help us to endure any trial. This can bring us comfort in the midst of even our greatest suffering. And we see something at work here. We see something incredible and really beyond our ability to describe and understand. We're also reminded that even through these trials and these difficult times and seasons of spiritual dryness and hopelessness, The Lord is doing something in us. The Holy Spirit is also transforming us into the same image that we now see, which is Christ. He's making us fit for the new creation and to live and look upon God as we look upon the risen Christ. So then, because of this, we do not lose hope. Instead, in our spiritual weariness, in our depression, in our despair, We're strengthened each and every day by gazing upon the power of God revealed to us through Christ and revealed to us as the Spirit of God works in us. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? When we think of what Christ has done for us and what through his Spirit he's doing in us, we praise God for this gospel that we have. May what God has done for us in Christ always be food for us, for our weak and weary souls. And may we behold the glory of God in Jesus Christ. And as we do, may the Spirit of God strengthen us for this ministry that he's given to each of us in this life as we are prepared for glory. Let's pray. Our Lord and our God, so many times it's so hard for us in the midst of our weariness and our suffering to look past our own sorrow and our own discomfort. Help us all to look up and to look to Christ, seated at the right hand of God, and let us be reminded that we are seated there with Him in the heavenly places and that the almighty power of the gospel of this new covenant ministry of your Holy Spirit is at work in us. Let us be comforted by these things. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.