2nd Corinthians – Godly Social Order

The True Perspective

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Godly Social Order

Lesson: 7-25

Genre: Talk

Track: 7

Dictation Name: RR4164B

Location/Venue:

Year: 1998-2000

[Mark Rushdoony] Oh come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Let us pray.

Our most good and gracious God and heavenly Father, we praise you for your goodness to us each day, we thank you for this beautiful day in which we can enjoy your creation, we thank you for this Lords day in which we can rest from our labors, secure in the knowledge that you care for us better than we care for ourselves. We ask that you would bless those who are assembled together to worship you, we pray for your blessing upon your true church everywhere that worships you this day; we pray that you would encourage them, especially those who are persecuted for your name sake. We ask this in Christ our saviors name, amen.

[R. J. Rushdoony] Our scripture this morning is from 2nd Corinthians, the 4th chapter, verses 8-18. 2 Corinthians 4:8-18.

“8 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.

11 For we which live are always 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.

13 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.

17 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.”

When we began the study of 2 Corinthians, I pointed out that this is one of the grimmest books of the Bible. It is grim because it deals with the sad character of the church, so often. The church which has received as much as the Corinthians had, and yet, despite its many blessings and the miracles it had witness, it was harshly critical of Paul. Treated him like dirt, acted as though he were their inferior, and they had a duty to make demands of him.

Paul knew also that he was under sentence of death. The first verse of the 5th chapter speaks of knowing: “If our earthly house of this tabernacle” That is, if our body were dissolved, were slain, “we have a building of God, an house not made of hands eternal in the heavens.” Paul knew that by being a Christian and especially a leader in the faith, he was liable to execution, to death. After all, to pray to Jesus, to treat Jesus as God incarnate, that was a terrible offense in the eyes of Rome, because Caesar was God. You prayed through Caesar to the Gods in heaven.

Now there were some Romans who were hesitant about persecuting the church, because: “Well, they are a Jewish sect, so we have given them immunity because of their peculiar beliefs, maybe it applies also to these Christians.” But the Jewish leaders were fast abusing Rome of that idea. And so, persecution, although still sporadic, was soon to become total.

So, Paul is telling the truth when he says: “We are troubled on every side. I have problems with you, the church, and other churches as well. With the Romans, with the leaders of Judaism whose coworker I once was. So I am troubled on every side; yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair.” He is perplexed, he is bewildered that people are unwilling to recognize the truth of the Gospel and surrender to it. “Persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. I persevere, I know that what I believe is the truth, and that the power of Christ and His life, His death and its meaning is to be made manifest in my life, in my flesh.”

Now,- Paul’s problem with the Corinthians is a familiar one. They did not believe that the gospel story was not true, they believed it. It was a comfort to them. It meant they had a good insurance policy for heaven. They were like a lot of church people today who are in the church because they want to believe that Jesus Christ is their savior, that all things are going to work together for good and that they are going to go to heaven and so on, but not that He is their Lord. That He must command the whole of their lives, day after day, year in and year out, that they are not under their own control, but to be under Christ’s.

In other words, Christ is their savior, but not their Lord. Doesn’t that sound familiar? We have a large segment in the church today of people who claim to be Bible believing, who deny the Lordship of Christ, and say: “He is our savior.” Well, if He is just our savior and not our Lord, what do we owe Him? Nothing. So their allegiance is marginal. They do not believe in His law, because He is not Lord. Only with the rapture and the second coming, supposedly, is He going to become Lord.

So we can understand the problem in the Corinthian church by looking at the church around us. Not that they believe the same things about the lordship of Christ, but that in practical terms, they were denying it.

For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Those of us who live for Christ, and for His sake are delivered to death, either actually, or in that we are cut off, we are treated as outsiders, as unfit for fellowship, because we take our Lord and savior seriously, we are always delivered; no matter how great the problem, we are always delivered. What a magnificent thought. Delivered unto death though, for Jesus sake. We are sentenced to death in the eyes of the world, but we are delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal body. The more power we have in Christ, the more clearly it means that we are totally surrendered to Him. Ready to face death for His sake. Ready to take whatever indignities the world imposes on us and our hopes.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you. We have, from this world the sentence of death. From our surrender of this world, we die in Christ to the things of this world. But life works in you. That is an ironic statement. You are trying to live in terms of this world, and claim the benefits of Christ! You want life in a double way, you want it in the sense that: “Well, I am born, I am living, I am doing this and that, if all goes well, life is working in me.” And on top of that: “I know Jesus is my savior, so I have a double assurance.” Paul ridicules that.

But then he turns from his ridicule to a more serious note. “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;” Paul here echoes scripture. “I speak because I believe, and because I believe I speak. Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise us up also by Jesus Christ, and shall present us with you. Those of you who are faithful to Christ, those of you who believe with all of your heart, mind, and being, that you must believe and obey, are raised up with us already.” We already have the resurrection of the dead, we have eternal life, and the resurrection of the body shall come.

“For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.” Paul now turns to the faithful members of the Corinthian church. And we know that there were a number of very superior people in the congregation. But he makes it general so it is inclusive of anyone else who turns to Jesus as Lord, and says: “All things are for your sakes.” We know that all things work together for good for them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. What Paul said in those words in Romans 8:28 he amplifies in this text.

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” We faint not, or I faint not. ‘The griefs which you have caused, and which others elsewhere have caused, the very sad and sorry things that lead to my grief as Christ’s servant, do make the outward man perish. I am sick at heart again and again. I am dying, out of grief at what I endure. My life is not an easy one. It is a painful one.’

And yet in the face of this, the inward man is renewed day by day. ‘I suffer loss in the eyes of the world, and yet I know Christ is through all these things preparing me and every one of you who are His, for His eternal service.’ So we are taught here, we are trained here, for eternity.

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” ‘Look back on the past year or the past 2 years, or the past 10. Count up all the grief that you have suffered. It is as nothing, in terms of the future, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.’

“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.” If we look at the things which we can see and enumerate, and say: “This happened to me and that,” It is a grim picture. We may have a great deal of cause for grief, for suffering. And Paul certainly did. But he says: “We look not at those things, but those things we know are eternal. Which are in Christ. We live, maybe 90-100 years, a few more than a 100, and we suffer, and at times we undergo great trials, disappointments. Reverses. But these are nothing. They are Gods use of this world to train us, for the things that are eternal. And our life is in terms of the things that are eternal.

Now, neither Paul nor anyone else in the Bible ever tells us that the things of this world are not important or that they don’t count, and that they cannot be often a source of great grief and trouble. Paul never denies that. But he does say, compared to time, eternity far outweighs it. And it is eternity in terms of which we are called. Eternity that must govern our nights and our days, eternity that is our true life. So, Jesus Christ is not only our savior, He is our Lord. Let us pray.

Almighty God our heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior. We give thanks that through Him, we have a calling for all eternity. In a world without death, where there is neither tears nor crying, but only Thine eternal service, and eternal joy in Thee. We thank Thee for Thy calling. We thank Thee that Thou hast brought us to this point in our lives, so that we can serve Thee with gladness and joy, knowing how great Thou art, and how great are Thy promises to us in Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, amen.

Are there any questions now about our lesson?

As we continue with 2 Corinthians, we shall see that Paul develops the point that there has to be a line of division between the Christian and the world. He cannot assume that they are one and the same for him. Because he is called in Christ, he is to be separate from the world and its ways. And so, Paul develops the line of division between the Christian and the world.

If there are no questions, let us conclude now in prayer.

Our Father, we thank Thee that Thy word is given to us in such clarity and plainness. Open our eyes, give us understanding in increasing measure day by day. Make us truly Thy people, and grant oh Lord that we rejoice in Thee, in Thy word, and in Thy so great salvation.

Now, go in peace, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, amen.