Latest / Chapel Talks / The Greatest Privilege | 2 Corinthians 3:7-4:12 | Andy Robinson

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The Greatest Privilege | 2 Corinthians 3:7-4:12 | Andy Robinson · Chapel Talks

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It was John Stott who said, towards the end of
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his life, I'm sometimes asked whether at my age
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I have any ambitions left. I always now reply,
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yes, my overriding ambition is that I may become
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a little bit more like Christ. I can't remember
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how long ago it was that I came across that quote.
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It was probably 10, 15 years ago. But it has
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stuck with me. It is our great hope, isn't it,
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to be like Jesus. When he appears, we will be
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like him, for we will see him as he is. In many
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ways, it's our calling. John says that whoever
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claims to live in him must walk as he did. Paul
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will invite us to have the same attitude as Christ.
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We're called to be like Jesus. I don't know about
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you, but there's something within me that longs
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for that. I mean, as I'm involved in ministry,
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I'm so aware of mixed motives half the time,
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so aware of struggles to love, so aware of the
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insecurities that kick around. Don't you long
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to be more like Jesus? As we go through life,
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as we seek to minister to and encourage others,
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ah, to be more like Jesus. How do we actually
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make progress in that? How do we ourselves become
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more like Jesus? How do we do ministry in such
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a way that others are becoming more like Jesus?
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To be honest, there's a vast array of stuff in
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2 Corinthians 3 and 4. And to be honest, I'm
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going to do far from a kind of model exposition,
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as it were. But I want really to try and pick
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up two particular things. Because there are two
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different ways in this passage in which we become
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like Jesus. So there in chapter 3, verse 18,
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we become like him as we gaze upon him. And it's
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there at the end of the reading, chapters 4,
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10 to 12, we become like Jesus as we die like
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Jesus. Probably aware that in 2 Corinthians 3,
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Paul is talking about the glories of new covenant
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ministry. That great promise back from Jeremiah,
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the days are coming when I will make a new covenant.
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I will be their gods. They will be my people.
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I will forgive their wickedness and remember
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their sins no more. And that promise hanging
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around until one Passover in Jerusalem. There
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is a man with his friends and he takes a cup
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and says, this cup is the new covenant in my
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blood. And all the promises from Jeremiah's day
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are about to come gloriously true, gloriously
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fulfilled. As Jesus hangs on the cross and sheds
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his blood for us. And Paul here is saying, I
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get the great privilege of proclaiming the benefits
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of all that Christ has achieved. I get to live
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out, to proclaim this new covenant ministry.
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And there are a vast array of blessings that
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come from that. The promise of righteousness,
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not condemnation. And if we're spending longer
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on this passage, I think a great thing to reflect
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on is the extent to which as Christians we actually
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fundamentally enjoy that new covenant. Maybe
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it's because I'm in Oxford where there is a degree
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of intensity around the place, but it can be
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the case that people live with a sense of feeling
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condemned, not righteous. And Paul wants to encourage
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just to receive afresh. We live under the new
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covenant. We get to live as those made righteous
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by Christ and to live that out. And actually
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both for those who have not yet submitted to
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Jesus, they need to hear the call of it is possible
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to be righteous. Actually for Christians, it
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is a call to enter into all that Christ has achieved.
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But it's actually in verse 18 that we get to
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the supreme blessing of the new covenant. Because
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the supreme blessing is to gaze upon the glory
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of Jesus. There's a contrast between the old
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covenant, Moses' experience as he is up enjoying
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the presence of God and his face is shining,
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but of course it has to be veiled and that glory
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passes away. Whereas Paul says the great privilege
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now for those who turn to the Lord is that we,
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with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord's glory,
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are being transformed into his image with ever
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increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,
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who is the Spirit. You do know that the greatest
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privilege of being a Christian is that we get
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to gaze on Jesus. That is the supreme. Blessing.
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The final blessing. We contemplate, behold the
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Lord's glory. You go to Bethlehem and you see
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the glory of his incarnation. You listen to the
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Sermon on the Mount and you see the glory of
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his wisdom. You see him speaking to the leper,
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I am willing, be clean, and you see the glory
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of his compassion. You see him saying to the
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storm, calm, be still, and you see the glory
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of his power. You see him on the Mount of Transfiguration.
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You get a sense of the glory of his majesty.
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You see him putting a towel around his waist,
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washing his disciples' feet, and you see the
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glory of his humility. You see him in the Garden
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of Gethsemane saying, not my will but yours be
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done, and you see the glory of his obedience.
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You see him hanging on a cross in Calvary and
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you see the glory of his love. You see him coming
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from the empty tomb and you see the glory of
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his risen life. You see him now ascended. And
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you see his glory. And there's nobody like him.
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And it's a great privilege as we gaze, contemplate
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the Lord's glory. I don't know where you most
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enjoy visiting, but there's a place in North
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Wales, Great Orm. It's above sort of Llandudno.
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And I love it, actually. On a sunny day, which...
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It isn't always the case in North Wales. But
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on the rare sunny day, you sort of go up, and
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there you are, and you can pretty much see all
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around. So you're looking over there, and there's
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the sort of North Wales Anglesey coast. And there,
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actually, on a sunny day, you can even see out
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to the Isle of Man, or you can see northwest
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England. And then you sort of turn around, and
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there's Snowdon behind you. I just love being
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up there. Have you ever been somewhere, and you
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think, I just want to keep looking my eyes out?
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Because it is so stunning, so beautiful, so majestic.
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Of course, all of that is a pointer to the one
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who made these things. And we get to see the
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glory of Jesus. And what the Spirit does, according
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to 3, 16 to 18, is that as we gaze on the glory
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of Jesus, so we are transformed into his image.
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You know, Moses' face was radiant as he was with
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God. And there's a sense that as we gaze on the
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glory of Jesus here, so we are transformed. So
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we are made to be like him. There's a sense in
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which that happens fairly naturally, doesn't
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it? We become like the people we admire. I mentioned
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John Stott earlier. Apparently it was the case
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that when John Stott was at All Souls, so many
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of the curates ended up sounding like him. You
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become like the one you admire. Strangely, none
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of the young preachers at my place sounded anything
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like me. But you become like the one you admire.
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You gaze and you become. And that's what Paul
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is saying is the great joy of being a Christian.
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And that helps us, particularly with those times
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when we do end up feeling frustrated with ourselves.
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Oh, to be more like Jesus. I remember a conversation
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with a fellow pastor about 15 years or so ago
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now. And to be honest, we were having one of
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those conversations where we're just reflecting
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on frustrations with ourselves. Why do I keep
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giving in to temptation in that area? Why don't
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I love them? And you know what it's like. You
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just think, ah, we wish we were better at this.
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I remember my friend saying to me, and I kind
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of wish I'd said this, but it was him who said
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it to me, Andy, we do know the answer to this,
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don't we? I was thinking, no, that's why we're
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having the conversation. But he said to me, Andy,
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we do know the answer to this, don't we? Go hard
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after Jesus. Go hard after treasuring him. Go
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hard after gazing on him. Go hard after doing
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whatever it takes to get him in front of our
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eyes. Go hard after Jesus. Because it is as we
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gaze on him that we are transformed to be like
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him. As the Spirit does that work in our hearts.
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And that's why for Paul, ministry was all about
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this. As you get into chapter 4, you notice a
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couple of things. You notice that this is the
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thing that keeps him going. Since through God's
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mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
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Why does Paul go from place to place, face imprisonment
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and flogging, and then go to the next place and
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still preach the gospel? Well, two reasons. Partly
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this is God's mercy. He says, not only did I
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sort of reject Jesus, but he's forgiven me and
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given me this ministry. He's got a constant sense
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of this is God's mercy, that I get to do this.
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And he's got a sense of, I get to do the most
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glorious thing in the world. Because as I preach
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Jesus as Lord, so is it where God turns the lights
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on in people's hearts. Ministry for Paul is presenting
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Jesus as the most glorious Lord, as the most
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glorious being in the universe. That's why he
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keeps going. I mentioned great awe earlier. If
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you're not particularly athletic, the way to
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get to Great Ormond is via a tram. There's a
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sort of tram that sort of goes up to lead you
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to this place where there's a great view. And
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I've always thought in some ways ministry is
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like the tram. Ministry is what enables people
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to see the great view. Proclaiming Jesus enables
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people to see the greatest vision in the universe.
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And as people see him to become like him. Does
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that feel vaguely worth doing? To have a role
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that enables us to see the greatest view in the
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world? Are there worse things than being involved
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in Christian ministry? And so both for ourselves,
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we gaze on Jesus and so become like him. and
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also for our ambition in ministry, whatever that
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might look like in the years to come, to keep
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proclaiming and presenting Jesus to people. Well,
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that's worth doing. We become like Jesus as we
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gaze on him and contemplate his glory. But there
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is a second way in which we become like Jesus,
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and here we head towards chapter 4, verses...
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7 to 12. Because Paul says he has this glorious
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ministry of proclaiming Jesus and the Spirit
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working as he does this. And Paul says he has
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the wonderful experience of God's light being
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in his heart in the face of Jesus Christ. But,
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he says, verse 7, we have this treasure in jars
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of clay to show that this all -surpassing power
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is from God. and not from us. I have to be honest,
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2 Corinthians 4 is the passage I go to most often
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as I'm talking to friends a bit younger than
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me who are thinking about ministry. Actually,
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as I look around, I'm pretty sure there are some
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of you here who've heard me on 2 Corinthians
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quite a few times before. Apologies for that.
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But I remember looking at 2 Corinthians with
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one person who was thinking about pastoral ministry.
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He went away on holiday, and he brought this
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back for me. And to be honest, this has sat on
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my desk now for about 15, 20 years or so, and
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it is a bit like looking in a mirror. To be honest,
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I'm surprised it's lasted that long, because
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let's be honest, it is pretty fragile. And Paul
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says we have the glory of knowing God through
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Jesus in bodies that are weak and fragile, stored
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in people who emotionally go up and down. Stored
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in people who get sick. Stored in people who
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get tired. People who cry. And Paul says God
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has done that for a reason. He's done that for
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a reason to show that the all -surpassing power
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is from God and not from us. I wonder whether
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you can imagine with me for a moment Super Christian.
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Super Christian never gets tired. Never gets
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discouraged. Super Christian always knows the
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right thing to say in any given situation. Super
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Christian is gloriously gifted. And after a while,
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people say of Super Christian, wow, they're amazing,
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aren't they? And Super Christian begins to think,
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yeah, I am. And God won't let that happen. He
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puts this treasure in jars of clay to show that
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the all -surpassing power is from God and not
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from us. Can you imagine this passage means the
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world to me? Forgive me for being personal for
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a moment, but one of my earliest experiences
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of any form of Christian leadership was at university,
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being involved in leading a Christian union.
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And I remember particularly my last year at university.
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Various personal issues that I was wrestling
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with were sort of swamping me. Some of the pressure
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of CU leadership and coursework and so on. And
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I vividly remember getting to that point of thinking,
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I just can't do this anymore. This was pre -email
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days, so I hand -wrote my letter of resignation.
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Left it on my desk. It so happened that was a
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Saturday night, Sunday morning, came around.
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To be honest, the last place I wanted to be was
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church. But I was just in the pattern of it was
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Sunday morning, so I went to church and heard
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2 Corinthians 4 preached. We have this treasure
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in jars of clay. And suddenly realized that actually
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all the sort of turmoil or the emotional distress
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I was experiencing, all the things that I thought
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disqualified me from any form of Christian leadership
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were part of the deal. I went back and tore the
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letter up. It's funny, if I suspect life would
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have been quite different had I not heard 2 Corinthians
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4 that morning. But that's the way God works.
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And Paul describes what that will feel like.
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Hard pressed. You know, times where it just feels
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like the walls are closing in on us because of
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the various demands. And yet not crushed. Somehow
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the Lord does keep us going. Perplexed. There
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are times where you think, I'm not fully sure
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what the Lord is doing here. And just the confusion
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of that. But not in despair. Because somehow
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we have the confidence that in his sovereignty
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he's working all things for good. Persecuted.
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That sense as though we feel pressure, opposition,
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people attacking us. And yet not abandoned. Because
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we know that the Lord is always with us. Struck
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down. Somehow it feels as though we can't keep
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going. And yet not destroyed, the Lord enables
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us to get back up again. And that natural rhythm
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is what Paul says is normal in Christian life
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and ministry. It is the normal experience of
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being a jar of clay. I've always found some of
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Hudson Taylor's letters home from China in the
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19th century as he began to lead the work of
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China in the mission deeply moving. Here's one.
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Pray for us. At times I seem altogether overwhelmed
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with the internal and external trials connected
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with our work. But... He has said, I will never
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leave you nor forsake you, and my strength is
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made perfect in weakness. Don't you love that?
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In many ways, I think the distinctive of Christian
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pressures, of Christian trials, is actually the
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ability to say but. You know, there's deep distress,
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but. Hard -pressed, but not crushed. I'm overwhelmed,
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but. He said, never will I leave you, never will
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I forsake you. Some of you may well be in that
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sort of context now. I wonder whether you're
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able to say but. Not that it doesn't feel hard,
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not that there isn't deep distress, but somehow
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God is working out his purposes in this. And
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his purposes are actually to make us more like
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Jesus. Because as you look to verses 10 to 12,
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you see a rhythm taking place. We always carry
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around in our body the death of Jesus, so the
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life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
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We who are alive are always being given over
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to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may
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be revealed in our mortal body. Death is at work
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in us, but life is at work in you. Let me encourage
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you with this. Paul, in each verse, verse 10,
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verse 11, verse 12, describes ministry as a form
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of death. Hope that cheers you up. We always
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carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
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Death is at work in us. There's no way of escaping
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the fact that as we seek to minister like Paul,
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death will be part of our experience. Death to
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pride, death to self -sufficiency, death to comfort.
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And in so doing, carrying around in our body
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the death of Jesus. It's like Paul says elsewhere,
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becoming like him in his death. Perhaps we walk
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towards other people's pain. We carry the emotional
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distress of the personal issues we're facing,
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and yet we're still seeking to minister to others.
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My guess is I'm not telling you anything you
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don't know. All of us, my guests in the room,
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will have had that sense of there is a death
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-like quality to ministry. And yet that's the
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way we become like Jesus. As we walk towards
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pain. And as we persevere. And as we keep going.
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And yet do you notice how the rhythm works? We're
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being given over to death for Jesus' sake. Carrying
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in our body the death of Jesus. Death is at work
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in us. Why? Well actually in each verse there
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is also life. so that the life of Jesus may be
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revealed in our body, so that his life may be
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revealed in our mortal body, in verses 10 and
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11. So it is as we go through that rhythm of
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death, facing the emotional cost, persevering,
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seeking to love others, that's how we become
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like him. That's how we become like Jesus. That's
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how his life is revealed in our mortal bodies.
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And I know there are times we wish there were
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ways we could be more like Jesus without that
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rhythm of death and life. But there really aren't.
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But it's the way we become like him. And actually
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it's the way that life comes to others. Do you
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notice the pattern? Death is at work in us, but
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life is at work in you. So again, you think of
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Paul's experience, imprisoned, flogged, released,
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goes to the next place and faces persecution
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again. And you think, why do you keep giving
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yourself over to death, Paul? It's because that's
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the way life comes to people like the Corinthians.
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As we keep going and we keep giving. Of ourselves.
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Which means you're left essentially with this
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application. Those things that remind you that
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you're a jar of clay. Those things that at times
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leave you feeling hard pressed. Those things
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that make you feel perplexed. Those things that
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feel like death. Can I say don't resent them?
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I'm not saying you should enjoy them. But don't
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resent them. Because they're part of the deal.
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Over the years I've had people say, if only I
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was slightly different. If only I were less shy,
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less reserved, more outgoing, I'd be such a better
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witness. If only I had a slightly stronger personality.
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If only I didn't have to wrestle with this illness.
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Don't resent them. They're the ways he makes
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us more like him. And enables us to remember
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that the powers from him are not from us. One
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day we will be perfectly like Jesus. In the meantime,
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we are growing by the Spirit to be more like
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him. And it seems to me that the two ways that
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the Lord uses from 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, we
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become like him as we gaze on him. Whatever you
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do, get his glory in front of your gaze and delight
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in him and enjoy him. And we become more like
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him as we die like him. As we give ourselves
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over to death for his sake. So that life might
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come to others. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we gaze
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on your glory. The glory of your perfect character.
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The glory now of your risen and ascended state.
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We gaze on your glory. And as we gaze on you,
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Lord, we want to be like you. We want to love
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like you. We want to be humble like you. And
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so, Lord, we pray, please, as we gaze on you,
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won't you work by your spirit to transform us
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with ever increasing glory into your image, we
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pray. And then, Lord, we see you heading towards
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Calvary. And in some ways, Lord, it is perhaps
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with a degree of hesitation that we say we want
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to be like you. But Lord, we know that is the
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inevitable road we have to take. So please, Lord,
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help us to persevere in carrying around in our
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bodies your death, becoming like you in your
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death, we pray. That we would become more like
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you and so bring life to others, we ask. For
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your name's sake. Amen.