Now for the last 12 years I've had the privilege and really it's an honor and a privilege to stand in his pulpit and to do the greatest thing that a man or a person can ever do and that is to preach the gospel. of our Lord Jesus Christ. And for all of that time, I've had the words of the text of Scripture behind my very back, the words of 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 5. It was only in recent times that I received an email from a man who had an association, I believe he may have had some connection to either attending this church when it was a brethren assembly, whether it was in an admin capacity or even in a form of attending the church, And he said that he'd noticed that as he tuned into one of the meetings recently, that that text of scripture is still here behind us on the wall. It's a very striking thing. It's very unusual. Normally we have in churches just letters on the wall or something of a different nature. But he was so pleased to see that it was still there. And he asked the question, is it still being preached? Is Christ Jesus still being declared from this pulpit? And while I'm not one to big myself up or to take upon me any type of title or assumption, I could assure him that it had been my endeavor with the help of God to preach none other but the Lord Jesus Christ in this pulpit. And if I could leave you, and this is not my final Lord's Day, so please don't be alarmed, but if I could leave you as we turn to these studies in the gospel over this next while with one single piece of advice when it comes to the future of the church and the man who follows and the ministry which continues It will be that the words of this text remain central at every opportunity, at every time. We are not preaching ourselves. We are not declaring the glory or the magnificence or the majesty of any given individual. The calling and the responsibility of the Christian minister and the glorious Christian ministry is the preaching of Christ. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus. our Lord and ourselves are servants for Jesus' sake. When we preach and what we preach and to who we preach, these things are vital and these things are critical. As you know, one of my routines that I've done with you throughout my time in the pulpit here is to go through various chapters in scripture. On a personal level, I believe it's been very beneficial in my own study, and I believe also for you it's been profitable as a congregation That's not to say I won't go through books, as we have been doing, and character studies, as we are doing, like for Peter. But now and then, just chapter studies. Just identifying key verses and portions that stand out, and understanding the context and why they mean what they mean to us. Well, there's no better place for me to finish with in terms of my ministry here in South Grove than to finish with a chapter study and to finish with a chapter study that deals with this very text of Scripture behind my back. And to understand not just the implication of these words and what Paul means when he says, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus our Lord. But to understand, of course, why he said these things. What was the setting, Paul, of your words at that particular time? I understand that I'm somewhat squeezed into time. I would rather spend more time. I estimate probably five or six more meetings in the afternoon along these lines. So it's my desire, as I've sketched out this chapter, to really navigate through this chapter in these next six meetings or so. And may the Lord be honored and glorified. And in keeping with the tone of the end of the chapter, as I said, we want to consider the title the best is yet to be. Well this afternoon we begin with verses 1 to 4 and we're going to look at the glorious gospel minister. I leave two things with you this afternoon as we look at the glorious gospel ministry I should say, not minister, the glorious gospel ministry. The first thing is this, the life of the gospel minister. That's the first thing that we're dealing with and then lastly the light of the gospel message. So when we think of the glorious gospel ministry, this is what we're considering, first of all, the life of the gospel minister. And the reason why I say that is because the moment we embark upon the chapter, it's precisely what Paul has in mind in verses 1 and in verse 2. We should readily accept, beloved, and I believe that we all do, that the gospel ministry is not the calling of the many. It is always the calling of the few. of those that God is pleased to raise up at any given time and set apart for Himself. And I understand that while it is disregarded by the world, and it is, and I'm not going to say that's fine, but I understand that, I'm not going to expect anything else from an ungodly world. They're not going to put a regard upon the gospel ministry. They're not going to understand the importance of what it is to stand behind a pulpit to preach the Word of God. But you who are saved, you understand it. You know this. Because the Word of God puts tremendous emphasis upon the Gospel ministry. And so, it doesn't matter if we live in a hostile world that rejects the preaching of the Gospel and views it as to be nothing, or with contempt or disregard, because it is God who places this as the highest calling of all. To be raised up to serve a people, to serve Almighty God, and to preach the unsearchable riches of our Lord Jesus A man who stands in a pulpit is armed with no greater and more noble task than to unfold the riches of the Savior and the Word of God. It's helpful for us to remember that this glorious gospel calling was very much in Paul's mind when he moves into chapter 4 when he deals with the church at Corinth here at this stage. This doesn't mean that there is no relevance or meaning to all other believers. There is. But I want you to remember that the focus of the chapter is primarily upon the gospel ministry and the gospel minister. Though you will get application for our own individual life. That goes without saying. But that's where you need to organize your thoughts before we go any further. He's dealing with his own calling. He's dealing with others. who would also have the calling to preach the Word of God. And when Paul sets forth these words, he understands that he speaks to future generations, the Timothys of his day, others that will come even to this very present day. And it's having this in mind in our hearts that that is a message for the minister, but a message for you, because what you do as you go forward is to understand that the man that must stand here may not be everything that everyone wants to see in the eyes of the world, but let him be this. Let his life be that which reflects the gospel, and let his ministry be that which preaches the gospel of our Savior. When he speaks in verse 1, as I've said, primarily the gospel minister is in view. This is really carrying on from chapter 3. If you just look back to chapter 3, verse 6, you'll see exactly what I mean. The whole chapter is dominated with the excellency of the gospel ministry. And in verse 6 he says, "...who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life." What a fascinating statement from Paul there. What is the power of the gospel minister and the preacher of the Word of God? This is it, he's equipped, he's armed, he's endued the Spirit of God. What is the excellency of the gospel ministry? It's not in character, it's not because of his demeanor, it's really none of these things. It's because the man who preaches the Word of God is a man who is endued with a spirit to preach that which the world needs. That's the excellency of the gospel ministry. That's what Paul is establishing in chapter 3 if you studied in your own time. Here Paul is simply saying that the excellency of this calling is that of life and power. He's magnifying the office, he's not magnifying himself. Okay? That's what he's doing. He's magnifying the office. And he says there's none like it. in preaching the word of God. Into chapter four, it seems, and this is what we can deduce from the way which Paul writes here, that he's required to give a defense. He, along with other apostles and preachers, are often subject to various forms of abuse, far more than we receive today. But there's still areas of this world where similar things are happening. And many may have accused Paul and others in his day, well, you're sufferings, Paul. Surely they're demonstrations that you're not called, that this ministry isn't excellent, that their testimony is against you to some extent. Maybe ways of proving that you're not a minister. Surely if you're suffering in such a way, you've got to consider if you're in the right direction here, Paul. That's something of the argument that was being fired against him. Now we have the response. And in the response, we see the life of the gospel minister the life of the gospel minister and the reason why I mention this is this is important for you as you go forward in the coming days especially after our absence. The life of the gospel minister has no reason to faint and with that the life of the Christian has no reason to faint. So you notice what he says in verse 1, therefore seeing we have this ministry this excellent gospel ministry We have it as we have received mercy. Now, important to see, he ties in the receiving of mercy with the possession of the Christian ministry. In other words, I believe the meaning is this. To have this calling and this ministry is a mercy. It's a mercy. And he says, you know what? It means that we do not faint. And so here were the accusers, Paul, you might as well give up, look you're persecuted, you're suffering, and he mentions all this in verse 8 and onwards. From man's eye, you're troubled every side, faint and give up. No, I've received this ministry, I've received mercy. Therefore, he says, we faint not. And that's the meaning, because the mercy of God is revealed in the calling of the gospel minister. even though there's much difficulty and even though it's strenuous. And believe me, it is. I can say, though, I can say with hand on my heart that as I've lived these 12 years here, that you've been a very easy people to work with. And I thank God for that. But, you know, I've been with you in situations of difficulty. We've gone through struggles together in other aspects of the ministry. But we think not. Why? Because there's a receiving of mercy. That's what he's saying here. That's not to say that there won't be weariness or tiredness. That comes to you and it comes to me along the way. But it means this, how do you answer these spells of weariness? Do we faint? Do we give up altogether? No, because we've received mercy. The minister has received his ministry and you've, in that sense, received that ministry through the minister. You've received mercy. This is what he's saying here. We take stock of not only what we are and have in Christ, but what we've received. And numerous times Paul does that in other ways. I think one of the clear examples is Romans 12, and you know that portion so well. When he begs the church and he urges the church, what does he do? You know, a lot of things Paul could have used as almost, humanly speaking, to manipulate people's thoughts and feelings. He doesn't do that, of course, as is seen in verse 2. What he does is he brings the gospel of mercy and of grace into the picture, and he says, I beseech you by the mercies of God, and he's outlined them in chapters 1 to 11 of Romans, that you present your lives at living sacrifice, your bodies at living sacrifice. So Paul's not going to deviate from that type of argumentation for himself. I've received mercy. I've received this calling. I've been a sinner saved by grace. I do not deserve it. I was a persecutor of the church. I was a hater of Christ. Oh, hear and feel the heart of Paul and the tears that would cascade down his face. I've received a mercy. I've been called to that which I do not deserve. And I'm not going to faint. This is a glorious gospel. ministry and this is my life he says as a gospel minister I do not faint again in Ephesians 3 verse 7 whereof I was made a minister Paul says according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power it's not because Joe Blanks came along and said you know what Paul you'd make a good preacher he was set apart by God set apart by the Lord this was a gift of grace And God forbid that anyone enters this pulpit who has not received that gift and takes it upon themselves. We've seen the absolute depravity of our nation in the past week. The Methodist Church, the largest denomination so far to approve the marriage of same-sex. The age at which we live, it's been going this way for a while. A long time. This is not the first time these things have happened. It's going to keep on going this way. You can assume more and more denominations and churches. What is the answer? The answer is the guarding of the pulpit and the ensuring of the gospel to be preached in these days. I am made a minister according to the gift, the grace of God. Verse 8, unto me who am less than least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. He says that's why I don't faint. Even though I'm attacked, even though Paul, you were half dead on one occasion. Half dead. You were nearly gone. Ah, but in my heart I'm not going to faint. I've received mercy. Let's remind ourselves of this life. He's received mercy, therefore he doesn't faint. He's every reason not to faint as a life. The other aspect of the life of the gospel minister is this. The gospel minister has every reason to be faithful. Every reason to be faithful. Paul and all who must preach the Word of God must not only resist the spells of fainting, but must be faithful in all of their life and all of their labors. We should not forget, by the way, how arduous and trying Paul's day was in his age. I realize it's much to alarm us. In our day, there's a great disdain to the gospel. But for Paul, I mean, the challenges, they were immense. They were significant. I'm always amazed how when we think of the early church and the greatness of the work of God and the revival that took place and how it didn't take that long for air to come sweeping in, but long. We shouldn't really be surprised if we see it in our doors and before our gates. Well, in verse 2, there's a significant thing about the life of the Gospel minister. He says, but have renounced. Notice what Paul does. He always does this. So, we have not fainted and we will not do this. He's always switching from one thing to another. But we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, and so on. Charles Hodge has an excellent commentary on this book, I'll quote from again shortly. He makes the point in verse 2 that what Paul is denying of himself he is affirming of the false teachers in Corinth. That's really important to remember. So in other words, to make it easy for us, especially the younger ones in here, Paul why would you say right now that I've not renounced or I have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty and And I haven't walked in craftiness and I haven't handled word of God deceitfully. But why say these things? Because many were. Many were. That's why he's saying it. The false teachings which had come into Corinth, the false teaching which had eroded the fabric of the Christian church could be understood along these lines. This is what it was. Those who claim to be teachers, those who claim to be preachers of the Word, they held on to their hidden, crooked, deceitful ways, in whatever form it took. They walked in guile, almost like Satan. They did not handle the Word of God honorably. That was the great problem. There were critical areas, and Paul speaks for himself and other faithful ministers, and says, you know what? That was not us. We have not done this. We have handled the Word of God faithfully. It's important to see, beloved, how the features of good and a godly minister are along these lines. It is the tragedy of our day and age that people clamor for a ministry or a pastor or a church that fits a celebrity status. that is fashionable, that is trendy, that is always sort of relevant in some respects, and yet that excuse these things. These things don't matter, but these things matter. Note the inward character of the minister is as important as the proclaiming of the Word of God. I'm not saying it's more important. I'm saying that the Word of God that is being preached must be preached by a life that is honorable to God. So Paul says, he uses some expressions here, we're going to explore them. The idea of dishonesty is shame. What he effectively means, not secretly hiding shameful things, not maneuvering. You notice in verse 2 he says walking in craftiness. Really the language is leaning upon the idea of Satan, his guile, his craft. That's not me, Paul says. Not crafty, not guile, not maneuvering and manipulating things. No, no. Not like that. But transparent and open. Faithful. Paul understood that in the calling of his ministry, the manifestation of truth was critical. So again he says, not handling the word of God deceitfully. People handle God's word deceitfully. That's the great problem of our blight and age. Taking up the Bible and abusing the Bible's message. Not handling it deceitfully. but preaching it for what it is. And he summarizes it really in verse 2 at the end. But by manifestation of the truth, what is the counter, we might say, to a deceitful handling of the Word of God? It is manifesting truth. It is making it clear and known. Preaching it. And Paul says this, you know what really impacts lives? Do you know what commends a minister to someone's conscience? Do you know what commends a ministry to someone's conscience? It's this, that you manifest truth. that you don't take up agendas in the pulpit, that you don't take up little hobby horses, that you don't go on to people individually, but you manifest the Word of God, and when you do that, it does the work. It commends itself to the conscience of a man or a woman. Preach the Word, is what Paul said to Timothy. That's the life of the Christian minister. May the Lord Keep that here in this corner of London and expand it and raise up many others to do the same. So when we think of a glorious gospel ministry, we have the life of the gospel minister. A lot more could be said, but I'm staying strictly with the text here. Lastly, the light of the gospel message. You see, there is no gospel ministry without the light of the message. There is none, is there? And I direct your attention to the sentence in verse 4, the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. I'm not going to say what you do here in the church, but if that falls down and breaks in pieces, either get the same text or get this text or something along these lines. What a tremendous statement. What is the gospel? What is it? It's the light. Ah, but what is it a light of? The Gospel! But what is the Gospel? It's glorious! And what is it all about? Jesus Christ! It's all there in a nutshell for you, isn't it? These words sit at the heart of this argument which is handled by Paul in verses 3 and 4 and it reminds us that the ministry is that in which we hold forth a light in a sinful world. And you know what? That's not so difficult. That's not so hard in terms of understanding what we're to do It's the doing of it that's the difficulty. Hold forth the light of the gospel in a dark and sinful world. As I said, it goes without saying that there is no glorious ministry without the glorious message. And it is what and who we are called to preach that matters before anything else. So why is the light of the gospel needed? It is needed because of the sinner's nature. It is clear that as Paul continues here, he has another question or objection in view. Now, the reason why I urge you, whether you're slightly tired or weary at this stage and mind is starting to switch off, I understand that. I'd be in a similar situation, so don't worry. I'm sympathetic to that. But now I'm asking you to switch on and to follow the reasoning here. Because you've got a text of Scripture that maybe some people think, well, what does that really mean? But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. You've read that many times. Do you know what it means? How do you understand those words? Well, again, the only way to really understand it is to understand that there is an argument behind the scenes that Paul is dealing with. We know that because he's raising it in this manner. If, but if, our gospel be hid. This is presupposing some type of objection. The objection was possibly along these lines. Okay, Paul, you've got the glorious gospel ministry. There's nothing like it on the face of the earth. Why do people still go to hell? Why are they still the lost? Why is it not changing every single life? People ask that same sort of question today, don't they? Different ways, different arguments, different settings. It's a question that's always raised in some way. Why are so many lost? What is the church doing? Is it doing it wrong? Now I'm not trying to excuse any church, any local or or collective church. The Christian church and the minister must examine themselves. There must always be a searching of what we're doing. I get that. That's not a problem. We put that to one side. We must do things wisely and carefully and make sure that we're faithful with all that we have and all the material things that we have. We'll all understand that. That's not the point in view. The question is really along these lines, but why are so many lost? It is absolutely vital that we realize that a person or people are not lost because there is anything wanting in the message or the ministry. They are lost because they are lost. You might say that's just very simple, but this is the answer that we actually forget sometimes. If our gospel be heard, if I can now really sort of Give a paraphrase, a very long paraphrase, and I'm sure the Apostle Paul will forgive me along these lines. If the gospel be hid, if some are not saved, it's not saved because there's a lack in the message. It's not saved because the gospel is powerless. They're not lost because there's no Christian ministry, because there is, and God always maintains a witness. They're lost because they are born in a sinful condition. and they die in that sinful condition. That's the reason. He is not saying if we're going to hide it, we'll hide it from the lost. We'll reveal it to those who will believe. I mean, that would just be such a backward way of thinking about the workings of God. He says it has been preached. It will be preached. It is set forth. The plain truth is that the problem lay within. And this is critical because it's not about readjusting the message. And it's not about the man who preaches here. You say, well, it's just the same thing. He's standing, he's preaching. You've got to do something else. No! No! You don't do something else. You understand that this is what God chooses to give life to those who are dead, to find those who are lost. That's what God has ordained and what God will use to the end of this age. The Apostle Paul argues, it is not because I am holding back, God forbid, he must preach the gospel. But the world sits in spiritual darkness and the quicker we realize that, the more enthusiastic our evangelism is going to be. Again, Charles Hodge has an excellent quote. He says this, by way of illustration, The sun does not cease to be the sun, although the blind do not see it. You think about that. I don't know what it's like to be blind, OK? And what it would be to be blind from birth. I can only assume that because a person has never seen the sun, they can sense or they can feel its warmth. And there may be a difference in tones if they direct their head, but they'll never see the sun. Does that negate the Son? Does that mean the Son doesn't exist? There are effects, there are feelings, there are influences, there are benefits that are all around that poor soul who is blind and cannot see, but the Son remains. And that is the force with which this message comes to. Those who are not saved, they're blind, but they receive the benefits. There are no awards. There's a presence, there's a life, there's some sort of preservation, but they're still lost in their sin. They need their eyes to be open to see. And that's the key thing here. The sun does not cease to be the sun, although the blind do not see it. And the gospel does not cease to be the power of God, because men and women are dead in their sins. Rather, all the more to preach it. If the gospel is hid, it is hid to them who are in this condition of being lost. And therefore the great need is this. We go and preach this gospel. God is pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. It underscores the great need to be born again. And the Lord does that through the preaching of the word. That's why he says this is the great message of all. This is what you need. It is needed because of the sinner's condition. Lastly, it is needed, that is the glorious light of the gospel because of Satan's influence. The light of the gospel, the light of the glorious gospel is needed because Satan is doing all he can to hinder its extension and its influence and its entrance. You know, there are things Satan cannot do and we should rejoice in this. Satan, think about this, okay, what a wonderful thought, Satan cannot disable the power or the efficacy of the gospel. Isn't it amazing? He can't do it. He cannot undo what God will do. It's helpless in that manner. So what he'll do is everything else around that. He cannot stop ministers being raised up by God. Do all he can to attack them in the church, but when the Lord wants to raise up an Elijah or an Elisha, he'll do it. And none will stop him. Satan cannot undo the work of the Holy Spirit of God when the Lord convicts you of sin and brings you to Christ and you say, Lord, I believe I'm a sinner and I want to be saved. No power in hell can reverse that. No power in hell can undo what Christ did on the cross and in the empty sepulchre and in the promise that He's coming again. None. So what would He do? He'll do everything else he can. Remember one thing. Mankind is already blinded and lost. He doesn't blind the neutral. This is a really important point. Don't think that people are neutral. We've all got our spiritual eyes half open and as we go through life, Satan either closed them or God either further opens them. No, we're born spiritually blind to God. We're born spiritually deaf. We're born spiritually dead. You're born in your transgressions, you're dead in them. Satan isn't, in that sense, closing the eyes. Sin has done that already. What Satan is doing is seeking to double the blindness, put a further veil, we might say, hinder the influence of the gospel light from reaching the masses and the multitudes. actively blinding the minds through false teaching. You might say, well, how? Through false teaching. That's what Paul's dealing with here. Through bad influences, through lies, deceptions. I've got to stress this upon you. It's my parting hobby horse message. I don't think I've got too many of them, but maybe this is one of them that I'll leave with you as a minister. The design of Satan is not political or social in scope. I'm not saying he wouldn't use such means. He will. But that's not his end. Okay? The agenda of Satan is to prevent sinners from receiving the light of the glorious gospel lest they should be saved. That's what his agenda is. That's what he's doing. To scare people. To frighten people. But to hinder. to hinder the gospel. So that means as a Christian church armed with the glorious gospel light and in the knowledge of the gospel, the glorious gospel ministry, we say, oh Lord, what do we do? We do what we are set to do on the battlefield of grace. We go with the gospel. We go into the further parts of this world and we preach it. And you say, well, how can I do that? You can do it in your life. in your workplace, amongst your family, and your friends, by your testimony, by the word of God in your heart, the glorious light of the gospel is in your possession. We'll deal with that in future time. It's in our earthen vessels, okay? It's in your possession. Go with Him. Be a light in this dark world and go with the light of the glorious gospel. Because God has chosen that to save people from their sin. nothing else. May the Lord be pleased to give us further understanding of this glorious gospel ministry and as we go through this chapter may our hearts be thrilled as we think about the best which is yet to be.