Sunday Morning Service

II Corinthians 5

“The Convictions Of God's Servants” • 3.17.13 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

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Intro.

- In an effort to protect God's work in His church in Corinth, Paul has been openly, yet graciously offering a comparison between the Apostles and those who claimed to be Apostles.

- He began in chapter 3, noting the difference between the covenants that were served.

- The Apostles of Christ were "Apostles Of The New Covenant." They administered the covenant of life, righteousness and liberty, while the "super Apostles" were ministers of death!

- In chapter 4, Paul laid out the characteristics of the Apostles. They were honest, humble, historically accurate, hopeful men, serving the Master and His message well in word and deed.

- As we enter chapter 5, Paul presents the convictions of the Apostles.

- If chapter 3 answers the question, "What covenant do we serve?" and chapter 4 answers the question, "How shall we serve?," then chapter 5 answers the question, "Why do we serve?"

- As I see it, there are 5 convictions that mark our lives and answer the question, "Why do we serve?" We'll mark them out as we go along, the first of which is "The Hope Of Eternity!"

Text

I. The Hope Of Eternity (v.1-4)

• II Corinthians 5:1 : "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." : The Christian understanding of life is more than theory, it's a new testament reality that has been ushered in by the resurrection of Christ!

- We know what happens to this body! Christ's resurrection paves the way for our resurrection, making this earthly house, this tent, something to be left behind on the journey.

- Tents can be expertly constructed and be sufficient for a good period of time, but they have never made for good permanent dwellings. Paul knew, being himself a tentmaker!

- This earthly house, the same word translated "tabernacle," intimates that our bodies are made to be a dwelling place of communion with God. It is our privilege to know God in this body.

- But if this tent is destroyed, we have a building from God. Paul is speaking metaphorically, referring neither to tents or buildings, but the contrast between the temporary and the permanent!

- This temporary dwelling place will be destroyed. That word is translated in the AV "dissolved" but it's the picture that best describes it.

- The word is used of a person who packs his pack at the beginning of a journey, tightly holding things together for maximum efficiency.

- When he gets where he's going, he unpacks and loosens all of it before him. That's what will happen with each of our bodies! But that won't happen with our heavenly home!

- It's not a home that is made with human achievement and it's not here on earth, but eternal and in the heavens!

- Why it is that you and I spend so much time worrying about our bodies. Our bodies are simply mediums through which our Spirit serves Christ.

- Are you busy focusing on the tent or on your house that God is preparing for you?

• II Corinthians 5:2-4 : "For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life." : In this we groan, a word that speaks of an exasperated sigh indicative of a longing for something just out of reach. In the case of the Christian, this is a desire to go to heaven!

- This intense yearning is a present reality for every Christian. As you walk through this world, simultaneously growing in your love and knowledge of God, you will experience this as well.

- I want with all my heart to be clothed with the clothing of heaven!

- I like the NLT's version of verse 2 here, when it says, "We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing."

- Once a Christian dies, they won't be found wearing gym clothes, which in this time would have been akin to undergarments. Rather, they'd be clothed with the righteousness of Christ

- Each of us who live today, sigh, and long for this, though this does not indicate a desire to simply cast off the clothing that we have.

- Paul is not telling the Corinthians that he had some sort of death wish nor is he affirming the gnostic idea of being a disembodied spirit.

- No, our heart, as with Paul, is not to be unclothed, but to be further clothed! We want to put on immortality. Our mortality, the ability to die, will be swallowed up by life!

I. The Hope Of Eternity (v.1-4)

II. The Promise Of Fellowship (v.5-8)

•  II Corinthians 5:5-8 : "Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." : We'll be with the Lord!

- God is training, fashioning and making us fit for this reality. God is growing this in you, preparing you for heaven.

- When you first come to Jesus, you lack the capacity to enjoy heaven. You actually think that the sewer you just left was an attractive river! Then, you think that Christianity is life enhancement!

- Once you get over that, God has to get you over heaven's amenities and the secularization of heaven where you believe that eternity is just your life lived perfectly!

- When it's all said and done, heaven is about perfect communion with Christ, being in His presence with the ability to respond to what His greatness deserves eternally!

- Yes, in His presence there is fullness of joy and unexpressable beauty, but until you are satisfied with Him, heaven will be a bore. That's why He must train you over a lifetime!

- God spends our whole life preparing us for eternity, who has also given us the Spirit as a guarantee. We do not simply wish for an eternity. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that it's true!

- Paul has used this phrase before noting that the Holy Spirit is our downpayment, our engagement ring, assuring us of the final and complete transaction! So we are always confident!

- The Apostles and every Christian who recognizes their position are always of good courage moving forward.

- Why? Because we know that death will bring us to where we belong! Living here is living away from Christ's physical presence. We live by faith that it will not always be so.

- As a result, we can be confident even while facing death because once we are separated from this body, we'll be with the Lord, literally at home with the Lord!

I. The Hope Of Eternity (v.1-4)

II. The Promise Of Fellowship (v.5-8)

III. The Reality Of Reward (v.9-12)

• II Corinthians 5:9-11 : "Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences." : Because of the guarantee of heaven, it's our loving, dedicated honor, whether in their bodies or otherwise, to be well pleasing to God!

- Here's a good goal to consider: Are you living in such a way that God would proclaim that you are well pleasing to Him? In one respect, you are because of Jesus.

- However, beyond that, are your choices pleasing to Him? Are your desires and goals pleasing to Him and in line with His goals? These are good questions to ask on a regular basis. Why?

- Because all believers and that includes you, must appear before the judgment seat of Christ!

- This is not the Great White Throne judgment where unbelievers are sentenced to their final doom. The judgment seat or "Bema Seat" of Christ is for believers only.

- The "Bema Seat" was the elevated platform where the athletes received their rewards.

- That is where every believer is headed and why this life matters so much. We know that "all" will appear there and each one will receive the things done in the body!

- Jesus never misses a thing, even if nobody else notices! However, His judgment will cover that which was done, whether good or bad!

- There are things that will be weighed out that will have been good, those things done out of a proper motivation, the love for and the honor of Jesus Christ. This will be the gold and precious stone.

- Then there will be things that will have been done for an improper motivation that will be bad, having been done with selfish motives. "There go the wood, hay and stubble!"

- Because they knew to fear the Lord, to be in awe of Him preeminently, they sought to persuade men, to call them to Christ. They knew that God knew that about them.

- They were sincere and they wanted the Corinthians to know that as well! Notice where they knew this: In their consciences!

- The arguments that the Corinthians put up, Paul knew weren't embedded in their hearts. In those places, the Corinthians knew of Paul's sincerity.

• II Corinthians 5:12 : "For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart." : "C'mon Corinthians! We're not making more of ourselves than we ought to! You have a chance to speak up for us!"

- The Corinthians were asked the questions about the reality of Paul's ministry. Paul has spoken clearly to them about his ministry so that they could rightly reply to the false teachers.

- These false teachers would brag about the way that they appeared which speaks to the way that one can show off their wealth. They were all external, but not there in heart.

- Hear the NLT on this verse: "We are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag bout having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart."

- In their collective conscience the Corinthians knew that the Apostles were all heart for God.

I. The Hope Of Eternity (v.1-4)

II. The Promise Of Fellowship (v.5-8)

III. The Reality Of Reward (v.9-12)

IV. The Love Of Christ (v.13-17)

• II Corinthians 5:13-15 : "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." : If we are out of our minds, it's not for any other reason than God. To the outside world, it might have seemed that they were crazy, but a Christian must follow God.

- If they were moderate or self-controlled, it was for them, for their benefit. However, they acted and however they were judged, it was the love of Christ that compelled them.

- The sense is that Christ's love is the motivation behind their actions. His love through the Apostles moved them to action, in fact, compelling or urging them.

- There are times as a Christian that you cannot help yourself. His love for another person simply wells up inside of you, forcing you to action. Why? Because He loves that person!

- His heart is for that person! In the Apostle's minds as well as in ours, there is a conviction that stands solid.

- On the part of the Christian, if Jesus died for all, then all died. You and I are already dead if we are in Him. This does not refer to our physical deaths, but a death to our own agendas.

- A Christian is dead to themselves. We are to live entirely for the purpose of God in the World that He affects through us. This is the reason that He died on your behalf.

-  He died To save you from hell, yes. To save you for heaven, yes! And, to save you from yourself! Your plan. Your idea. Your conception of life is too small, narrow and self-absorbed.

- He wants to do more than what you want and the only way that is possible is if you live for Him who died and rose again!

• II Corinthians 5:16,17 : "Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." From this point on, because of Christ's work on the cross, we don't look at anyone according to their outer appearance. This was principle problem with the Corinthians!

- They had become obsessed with externals, whether physical or educational, but Christ's work on the cross, the greatest work of His love, made all men equal!

- When Jesus was on earth, if the Corinthians had judged him by externals, they might not be saved! Would they have sought Him out, looking for His credentials?

- Certainly, a homeless and "uneducated" carpenter would not have commanded their respect! But that homeless, uneducated by the world's standards, is no longer the pauper, but the Prince!

- Because that is who He is, anyone that is in Him is a new creation! Everything of reputation and of the past has gone away and all things have become new!

- We are a new creation in Christ. We are not a refurbished or refinished product. We are new in Him when you are born again!

I. The Hope Of Eternity (v.1-4)

II. The Promise Of Fellowship (v.5-8)

III. The Reality Of Reward (v.9-12)

IV. The Love Of Christ (v.13-17)

V. The Joy Of Service (v.18-21)

• II Corinthians 5:18,19 : "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." : All of this, His love moving us, His grace changing us and His heart making men new, is from God!

- It is God who has done this! It all comes out from Him! He is the prime mover and thank God that He moved toward you!

- People tell me often that they are "Ok with God" meaning that they are not at odds with Him. This verse tells us to reply, "Yeah, but He's not OK with you!" Human sin is an affront to Him!

- We could not be reconciled to Him so He has reconciled us to Himself. He was the one who was wronged. He is the only one that can move in a conciliatory fashion toward men!

- He makes the greatest gesture of that heart through Jesus Christ whose presence is the greatest display of God's desire to extend reconciliation to all of mankind.

- What is reconciliation? The word means to return to one's favor. He has returned us to a state of favor with Himself through or by Jesus Christ!

- Those who trust in Christ, believing and repenting, are living in a state of favor with the Lord. And now, the Apostles have been sent out to administer that same privilege.

- God was in Christ reconciling the World to Himself. The cross is the centerpiece of history. If any man believes that His sin means nothing, he should look to the cross!

- If any person believes that they are righteous in and of themselves, then they need to ask why it is that the cross was necessary!

- God was doing the work, in Christ, who was working at that very moment of torture, to open a door of favor to the world that would believe upon Him.

- He was not imputing or counting their sins against them when He was offering Himself. Why? Did those sins not matter? No, they weren't imputed to men because they were imputed to Christ!

• II Corinthians 5:20,21 : "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." : The Apostles were Ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors are representatives of a country, authorized to convey messages.

- Ambassadors are not required to create content. They simply deliver their superior's content. That is what the Apostles were and that is what we are!

- We are not free to mess with the message! We are free to give it to people as it has been given to us, that Christ lived perfectly, died vicariously, rose supernaturally and lives eternally!

- So what do we do? We convey the message of God as though He were physically conveying it Himself! We are the conduit through which God's heart and message is conveyed!

- What is God's heart? It's urgent. He is repeatedly pleading through us! The same word can be translated "begging." The Apostles beg and desire in prayer on Christ's behalf!

- Why? Because God made Jesus, the one who never sinned, who knew no sin experientially, to become the emblem, the representative of sin for all who believe upon Him.

- Everything we deserved, He received. Every ounce of God's wrath was poured out on Him so that we could receive His righteousness!

Conclusion
- These are our convictions: We have assurance of eternal life. We have a promise that we will be with Jesus. We have a real reward coming, which will be our valued love offering to Christ!

- On Earth, it's the experience of His love in and through us that drives us and the joy of serving in a ministry that reconciles hearts to God and each other! Do we need anything more!?

- I am with Paul when I agree with Him saying, "No way!"