Verses 1-2 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, 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.
God’s grace and mercy are sometimes used interchangeably and are sometimes not understood by believers. Mercy is when God does not give people what they deserve. The wages of sin is death, but God in His mercy forgives and withholds death. Grace is when God gives people what they do not deserve. No one deserves eternal life in Heaven as all have sinned, but God gives grace to those who love and follow Him and promises that eternal life because He is gracious and loving. The Apostle Paul persecuted Christian believers before his conversion and refers to himself as the chiefest of sinners, yet he through the mercy of God was given the ministry of taking the Gospel to the Gentiles and of establishing churches wherever he traveled. Understanding the great mercy extended to him by the LORD, he writes above that he and his fellow companions keep working hard and do not slack off or faint. And how do they carry out their ministry? By presenting the Word of God truthfully without manipulation of the people or Scripture twisting.
Application: This writer watched a brief portion of a televangelist program and experienced righteous indignation. The man posing as a pastor of the LORD Jesus Christ needed to be silenced as everything he said in just a few minutes time was dishonest, was manipulative of the listeners emotions and generosity as he worked to loosen listeners’ purse strings, was a misrepresentation of the few Bible verses he quoted from a fake bible version, and was completely disgusting. He did everything that the Apostle Paul listed above as things he and the other apostles did not do. It is not difficult to tell who are true servants of Jesus Christ and who are charlatans just by measuring preachers and Bible teachers by verse 2 above.
Verses 3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
If the message of salvation through Jesus Christ is not understood or welcomed by unbelievers, it is because they are unable to understand or desire it because of Satan and his fallen angels who are capable of blinding them to the truth.
Application: When presenting the Gospel to unbelievers, have you, the reader, ever felt like your words were falling on deaf ears or that you were speaking to a cement wall instead of a man or woman? This is because some people are so controlled and deceived by the powers of darkness that they simply cannot grasp what is being said. And some people are reaping such benefits from serving the Devil that they will not see or hear as they like the life they are living. The only recourse is to walk away and pray that their ears and their eyes will be opened. Unfortunately, there are some men and women who will never be able to understand the message of salvation and who will perish in their sins and spend eternity in Hell. This does not mean that the evangelistic effort was in vain. Since no one knows who will hear and who will see Jesus through the sharing of the Gospel, believers must speak the truth in love regardless of how it is received. It is not the Christian believer’s responsibility to save a soul, but God’s responsibility. The Christian believer’s only responsibility is to tell people about Jesus.
Verses 5-7 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined 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 excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Here the Apostle Paul is giving all credit to the LORD. He and the other apostles only preach about Jesus Christ and do not bring themselves into anything that they are doing as they recognize that they are but servants doing the job of and for their Master, the LORD Jesus Christ. Just as God commanded light to appear before creating the sun, the moon, and the stars to lighten the face of the Earth, so He has given the light of the Gospel to His people which is the knowledge of righteousness and the ability to be righteous and to abandon sin. And to keep His servants and children in the light, He has given the Holy Ghost/Spirit who is a precious treasure that dwells inside all believers in Jesus who are made of the dust of the earth and so are referred to by the Apostle Paul as earthen vessels. Why has He done all of this? Not so that the apostles or the Church can glory, but so that He will be glorified.
Verses 8-10 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 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.
The apostles were under constant physical threat and peril. They were persecuted by the religious Jews and they were vilified by false accusations and the testimony of paid witnesses. They were thrown in jail. They often went hungry. They had no real homes or possessions of their own as they traveled from village or city to the next village or city in order to present the truth of the Gospel to as many people as they could. They were beaten and their physical bodies were scarred from the assaults they received. And they were killed. The Apostle Paul had experienced his share of trials and persecution and so in the verses above he mentioned some of the tribulations he and his companions endured. But through all of the difficulties and opposition, they kept their eyes on Jesus and the promises of forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven and they weathered the storms because they knew what their future was going to be when the sufferings on Earth were over.
Application: Christian believers in the West have not suffered the persecution that believers in other countries have suffered, but things ‘they are a changing’ as freedom of speech is being slowly eroded so that preaching the Gospel to unsaved people can be considered a ‘hate crime’, and other freedoms are slowly being legislated away by the evil, Satan run governments. Regardless of what the future holds, believers must keep their eyes on Jesus, stay strong in the Faith, pray, know their King James Bible, and follow the leading of the Holy Ghost/Spirit. Then, like the Apostle Paul, they will not be distressed, not give in to despair, not be destroyed spiritually, and can look forward to their reward in Heaven. Then they will have a testimony to share with unbelievers.
Verses 11-12 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
As servants of Christ Jesus, while alive physically, the apostles and all others actively involved in Christian ministry must metaphorically die to self: to the desires of the flesh, to the temptations offered by devils, to self-will. They just cannot do what they want to do when they want to do it and how they want to do it because of their own goals and desires. They must walk in the Spirit and conform to the character and will of the LORD Jesus. And because of this humble giving of the self to the LORD, the unbeliever is provided with the Gospel message and the opportunity to repent, to be baptized in Jesus’ name, and to be filled with the Holy Ghost/Spirit and receive the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Therefore through the dying to self of the Christian believer, others become believers and inherit spiritual life eternal.
Verses 13-16 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; 14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
The Apostle Paul states that he, his co-workers, and the Corinthian believers will all one day be raised up from the dead together because they all share the same Faith and the indwelling of the Spirit of God. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 So because of this hope, even though the Apostle Paul and the other ministers of the Gospel were aging and slowly loosing bodily strength, through the grace of God their souls and spirits were given new strength each day and their resolve to save souls drove them on-wards.
Verses 17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 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. (2 Corinthians 4)
The Apostle Paul and the other apostles chose not to look at or dwell on the present trials and tribulations and physical afflictions which would always be temporary, but they chose to focus on the invisible, eternal things in the Kingdom of God. And so they endured.