2 Corinthians 4 - Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

2 Corinthians 4:1. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

It is a very high privilege to be called to the work of the Christian ministry, and when the minister remembers what great mercy he has himself received, what sins have been forgiven, what favors have been bestowed, he has the very best incentives in all the world to pursue his ministry with diligence and with zeal. «We faint not,» says the apostle. We do not hang our harps upon the willows. We do not pray to be allowed to retire from the battle, and give up the strife; but, feeling how great has been the mercy of God to our own souls, we are stirred up to press forward with holy zeal to win the victory. We long that others may taste of the same good things on which we have feasted.

2 Corinthians 4:2. But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

There have, alas! been many preachers who have handled the Word of God in the manner described by the apostle. They have out and trimmed the truth in order to please their generation; they have kept back this, or have made unduly prominent that, instead of giving all the truth of God its proper and proportionate prominence in their ministry; but such men have not, after all, won the respect of their hearers. There is an old story told of King John of England that, when he was closely pressed by the barons, he wrote to the Emperor of Morocco, and offered to turn Mohammedan, and take an oath of allegiance to him if he would send an army to help him, and it is said that, ever after, the Emperor of Morocco abhorred and detested the very name of John, for he said he must be an abominable miscreant to be willing to change his religion for the sake of gain. Ah, my brethren! we never gain any respect, even from the world, by seeking after it in this fashion. Be thoroughly honest, especially you who are in the Christian ministry; be outspoken, blunt, and plain; and then, even if men's prejudices condemn you, their consciences will commend you for speaking what you believe to be the truth.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Without light from above, no man can perceive the beauties either of the gospel or of Christ himself. Until God the Holy Spirit sheds a spiritual light upon the person, and offices, and work of Christ, men grope in the dark as blind men do. They see not the truth, they are not persuaded of its excellence; our ministry is to them a veiled ministry, they do not comprehend it. Let those who receive not the gospel see what a miserable state theirs is, they are blinded by «the god of this world.» He has such supremacy over their intellects that he has utterly perverted and ruined them.

2 Corinthians 4:5. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

Hence we learn that anything like priestcraft is altogether foreign to the Bible. The «priest» preaches up himself, the extraordinary value of his ordination, the occult influences which flow from his touch, the mysterious power which dwells in baptismal water, and in «consecrated» wafers and poured-out wine. This is preaching themselves with a vengeance; but Christ's apostles preached not themselves, they preached up Christ and him crucified. Paul wrote, «God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ;» and this was the constant theme of all the apostles. If they mentioned themselves at all, they simply said, as Paul does here, «Ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.»

2 Corinthians 4:6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

There is the very glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, for he is «very God of very God,» and he who will but think of the wondrous mystery of the Incarnate Deity, and the simple but marvellous plan of salvation through Christ's atoning sacrifice, will see infinitely more glory there than in all God's works in creation or providence. Well does Watts say,-

«The spacious earth and spreading flood Proclaim the wise and powerful God,

And thy rich glories from afar Sparkle in every rolling star.»

«But in Christ's looks a glory stands,

The noblest labour of thine hands,

The pleasing lustre of his eyes Outshines the wonders of the skies.»

2 Corinthians 4:7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

The original might very fairly be rendered, «We have this treasure in oyster shells,» for, just as pearls are found in the shells of oysters, so God gives to those who preach the Word the treasure of the gospel, yet they are themselves nothing but the oyster shells, nothing but the earthen vessel in which God pleases to place his priceless treasures. If you have done anything in the service of God, my brother, remember that you are nothing but the oyster shell, it is God's truth that is the pearl in you; so while you are thankful for the honour that he puts upon you, mind that you give him all the glory. It is well to take the right view of our own imperfections and infirmities, as Paul did when he wrote, «Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.» The infirmity of the creature leaves the more room for the display of the greatness of the Creator; for, if God can work such wondrous results by using such poor tools as we are, how great must be his power and skill!

2 Corinthians 4:8-9. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; We are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

«We are troubled on every side.» There seems to be an allusion here to the Greek wrestling games. Sometimes, in wrestling, a man would be gripped by his adversary so that he could scarcely move hand or foot; yet bravely says the apostle, «We are not distressed,» or, as the original seems to suggest, «We still have a plan of overcoming our adversaries; though they seem to have got us entirely in their power, there is still something that we can do to obtain our release.» And he goes even further than that, for he says, «We are perplexed,» it seemed as if there was nothing that he could do, yet he added, «but not in despair,» «not altogether without help,» as the marginal reading renders it, for when he could do nothing, God could do everything. The death of creature-strength is the birth of omnipotent might. «Persecuted, but not forsaken; «-having no man's face to smile upon him, but still rejoicing in the light of God's countenance. «Cast down,» as if his antagonist had thrown him, and he had fallen heavily upon the ground; yet he says, as he springs up again, «Cast down, but not destroyed.» Many a time the Christian wrestler is thrown by his foe, but he never has a final fall. As Paul, when he was stoned at Lystra, and left for dead, rose up again, and soon went on with his work, so the Christian, when he has been cast down by trouble, often seems to gain new life and vigor, and to go on to serve his Master even better than he did before.

2 Corinthians 4:10. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

The apostles were always ready to die for Christ, and therefore they were enabled to live so much like Christ, imitating his life, and being prepared to follow him even to the death whenever he called them to do so.

2 Corinthians 4:11-14. 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. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. 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; knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

There is no possibility of serving God well, especially under great trials and persecutions, without a deeply-rooted confidence in the truth of his gospel. Once have a doubt concerning that, and the strong sinews of our spiritual manhood are out. Once begin to question the evidences of our holy religion, and you cannot henceforth serve God as you did before. Oh, to be strengthened every day with might in the inner man; to feel that in our own experience, we have continually fresh proofs of the truth of the gospel, and that, whether we have trials or delights, we are thereby the more firmly rooted in faith, even as the trees are rooted both by the March winds and the April showers;-and so rooted in faith that we grow into it, and cannot be separated from it, because it has become a part of ourselves. Religion is nothing to any of you unless it is woven into the very warp and woof of your being; it must go right into your very soul, and become a vital part of you, or else you have never received it in truth.

2 Corinthians 4:15-16. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

The sickness that crumbles away the body of a Christian often confirms his soul in the faith that he received when he was strong and well. Some of the healthiest hours that God's people ever have are the hours of their sorest sicknesses. God often sends his people fevers to make them well; he sends them losses to make them rich, he takes away their earthly friends to bring them closer to their best Friend, and he brings them to their wits' end that they may begin to be truly wise. Often, when God strips us of all our worldly possessions, it is the most soul-enriching season we have ever known; but, on the other hand, the day of temporal prosperity has often been a day of spiritual poverty. Adversity has many a time been an angel in disguise, but prosperity has been the devil in a mask. Let us take care that we cleave closely to Christ under both experiences, for then both of them shall be sanctified to us.

2 Corinthians 4:17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Notice the antithesis here. «Light affliction» a «weight of glory.» «Affliction» is not set in contrast with peace, or freedom from affliction, but with «glory.» The «light affliction» is «for a moment» the «weight of glory» is «eternal.» And then, as if this were not enough, the apostle has to exhaust all ordinary powers of speech in order adequately to express the contrast between the «light affliction» and the «weight of glory.» It is «far more exceeding» not only a soul brim-full of bliss, and overflowing, but, far more than that if there can be such a thing, «a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;»

2 Corinthians 4:18. While we look not at the things which are seen,-

Alas for us if we did!

2 Corinthians 4:18. But at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal;

Temporal and temporary; see how they melt away one after another!

2 Corinthians 4:18. But the things which are not seen are eternal.

The substance is beyond the river, the shadows are here. God help us to look for the substance, and to claim it as our own, and let none of us try to grasp the shadows which would be worthless if we could ever hold them in our hands!

2 Corinthians 4:1. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;--

We are sometimes ready to faint, but we cast our fainting spirits into the arms of God, and our strength is again reserved at times, the very importance of an errand first weighs down the spirit of the messenger, yet afterwards it seems to impel him to more than ordinary exertion. So is it here, having been divinely entrusted with this ministry, and being ready to faint under the tremendous responsibility that it involves, we yet are roused to action by the very pressure which seems to deprive us of the power to act, and therefore «we faint not;»--

2 Corinthians 4:2. But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Far be it from the teacher of truth ever to use words in a non-natural sense, or to dissemble or equivocate, saying to the ear what he means not in the sense in which the hearer understands it. Far be it from us to mix with the Word of God anything of our own as vintners mix various kinds of wine, for such is the import of the word that the apostle here uses. Let none of us ever handle the Word of God deceitfully. There is no deceit in it; it is all pure unmixed truth. An honest mind is needed for the understanding of it, and then a truthful tongue for the telling of it to others. If we do preach undiluted, unadulterated truth, we must not expect that the natural heart of man will commend our honesty. We are to commend ourselves to every man's conscience, not by cutting and trimming the Word so as to make it palatable to our hearers, leaving one truth out to please this man, and dwelling too long upon another truth so as to please some other hearer, but by bringing out the whole teaching of the Scripture in clear truthfulness that shall command the approval of the conscience even of those who may not accept the truth that we proclaim.

2 Corinthians 4:3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

It is not hidden under the flowers of our oratory, not hidden under the darkness of our speech, not hidden through the fog of our philosophies; if it be hidden at all, it is hidden «to them that are lost.» If they had any spiritual perception or apprehension at all, if they were not utterly lost to everything: that is spiritual, they would be able to receive the gospel that we are bidden to preach, and which therefore becomes «our gospel.»

2 Corinthians 4:4-5. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,--

What a miserable topic we should have if we did preach ourselves! But we do not set up ourselves as «priests» having authority to administer «sacraments» to a lower order of beings who do not possess sacerdotal sanctity; we do not claim to belong to a ministerial caste; we regard ourselves as simply on an equality with the rest of the Christian brotherhood; and, therefore, «we preach not ourselves,»

2 Corinthians 4:5-6. But Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,

We cannot therefore darken the gospel, or cover it up, «for God hath shined in our hearts,»

2 Corinthians 4:6-7. To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

The most earnest and faithful minister of the gospel must ever remember that humbling truth. He has this precious treasure of the gospel entrusted to his charge; he knows he has it, and he means to keep it safely, but, still, he is nothing but an earthen vessel, easily broken, soon marred,-a poor depository for such priceless truth. Yet God has a good reason for putting this treasure into earthen vessels,

2 Corinthians 4:7. That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

If angels had been commissioned to preach the gospel, we might have attributed some of its power to their superior intelligence, and if only those had been called to preach the gospel who were men of great intellect and of profound learning, we might have considered that the talent of man was the essential qualification for a preacher. But when God selects, as he often does, nay, as he always does; earthen vessels, and some that seem more manifestly earthen than others, then the excellency of the power is unquestionably seen to be of God, and not of us. In Paul's case, the earthiness of the vessel appeared in the trouble which he had to bear.

2 Corinthians 4:8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;-

He is not so far gone as that. He sees the stormy billows raging around outside the ship everywhere, and the ship is tossed hither and thither upon the waves yet she does not leak, there is no water in the hold, and the waves will not sink the ship as long as she can keep them outside; and trouble will not distress us as long as we can obey our Lord's injunction, «Let not your heart be troubled.» «We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;»-

2 Corinthians 4:8. We are perplexed, but not in despair;-

We scarcely know what to do, but we have not given way to despair. We are perplexed, but hope has not gone from us. Dum spiro spero, was the old Latin proverb,-«While I live I hope;» but the Christian proverb is a still better one, Dum expiro spero,- «Even while I die I still have hope,» for «the righteous hath hope in his death.»

2 Corinthians 4:9. Persecuted, but not forsaken;

For there is One who, when we are persecuted, is persecuted with us, and persecuted in us, who has promised that we shall not be left desolate. He lath said, «I will never leave you, nor forsake you.»

«Should persecution rage and flame,

Still truth in thy Redeemer's name;

In fiery trials thou shalt see That, ‘as thy day, thy strength shall be,'»

2 Corinthians 4:9. Cast down, but not destroyed;--

Even if the adversary is able to cast us down, he is not able to destroy us, for «underneath are the everlasting arms.» «Cast down, but not destroyed;»--

2 Corinthians 4:10. 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.

Thus did these apostolic saints in a very high sense die daily, and so must we, when called to suffer for the truth's sake, bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:11-12. 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. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

The disinterestedness of Christian affection is here seen, in that Paul was willing even to be delivered unto death if only the church in Corinth and other Christians might receive more of the divine life. This is the motive that actuated our blessed Lord himself. He saved others; but, in order to do so, himself he could not save; and he who would be a blessing to others must expect that just in proportion to the good that he is able to impart to them must be the cost to himself.

2 Corinthians 4:13-16. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sake, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish,

As, in the ease of most of the apostles, he did absolutely and literally perish by martyrdom,

2 Corinthians 4:16. Yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

As our body, through pain and disease, is constantly sinking towards the grave, here is our continual consolation, that our inner man is renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 4:17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

This is one of the most remarkable verses in all Scripture; the contrast here drawn is perfect, and the language is in the highest degree pertinent to the subject. When the apostle speaks of affliction, he contrasts with it glory. The affliction he calls a lightness of affliction, but the glory he calls a weight of glory; and while he describes the affliction as momentary, he rightly says that the glory is eternal; and then, as though he would make the contract still more vivid, he says that this momentary, light affliction «worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.» He can scarcely find words big enough to express the contrast between what believers now have to endure and what they shall forever enjoy.

2 Corinthians 4:18. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Paul's description of his own ministry and that of Timothy also should be true of every servant of Jesus Christ. There must be no dishonesty, or craftiness, or deceit about the minister of the Word, and it is by the manifestation of the truth that he must commend himself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. He may not win every man's approval, yet even those who differ from him must perceive his loyalty to his Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The light of the gospel is so glorious and bright that it is only hidden from those who have been blinded by Satan, «the god of this world.» The only hope for them is to believe in Jesus who can give sight to the spiritually blind as easily as he gave sight to the physically blind when he was here in the flesh.

2 Corinthians 4:5. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

«Christ Jesus the Lord» is to be the great theme of our preaching; and when it is so, we naturally take our right position with regard to our hearers, as Paul and Timothy did: «and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.»

2 Corinthians 4:6-7. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

God might have put the priceless treasure of the gospel into the golden vessel of cherubim and seraphim; and he might have sent angels, who would never suffer, who would never err, who would never sin, to preach the Word; but, instead of doing so, he has chosen to send the gospel to men by commonplace beings like themselves. «We have this treasure in earthen vessels,» and this redoundeth much to God's glory; and, dear friends, the great object of the sending of the gospel into the world is the glory of God. He would manifest his mercy to men that his mercy might be glorified; and therefore he has committed the gospel, not to the trust of perfect men, but to the trust of poor, shallow, earthen vessels like ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.

The apostle is here speaking for himself and all the members of the apostolic college, and also for all the early saints. They appear to have been very much troubled, and sometimes to have been very much perplexed. I meet with certain brethren, now and then, who have no troubles; they are so supremely wise that they are never perplexed, and so eminently holy that they do not appear to belong to the ordinary democracy of Christianity, but are altogether supernatural beings. Well, I do not belong to their clique, and it does not seem to me that Paul and the apostles and the early Christians did. Those great pioneers of the Church of Christ were men who were troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down; in fact, they were men of like passions with ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:10-11. 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. 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.

So you see, brethren, to have an anticipation of death upon one is no hindrance to one's work, but a great help to it; to bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus is a great help towards the manifestation of the life of Christ. When we begin to reckon that we shall live long, we are very apt to live loosely. To live as though tomorrow might be the judgment day, or as though today the King might come in his glory, that is the style of living which is the best of all. «A short life and a holy one,» lengthened as God may please, but reckoned by us as short even at the longest, be that the Christian's motto. As the worldling says, «A short life and a merry one,» we say, «A short life if God so wills it, but a holy one whether it be long or short.»

2 Corinthians 4:12. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

These apostolic men lived as it were on the borders of the grave, lived expecting to die a cruel death; and in this way spiritual life was brought to the Corinthians and others who witnessed their holy lives and heroic deaths.

2 Corinthians 4:13-16. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

As the flesh goes down, so, by God's grace, the spirit goes up. You know that there are heavy weights that keep men down to the earth; but he who understands mechanics knows that by the use of wheels and pulleys those same heavy weights may be made to lift a man; and God often makes the weights and burdens associated with bodily decay lift up the inward spirit.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us 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.

This exposition consisted of readings from 2 Corinthians 4:1 and 2 Corinthians 5:1-9.

2 Corinthians 4:1. Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

Stern was the labour of the apostles, but they felt that their work was so all-important, so divine, that they must not grow weary of it, though they were, doubtless, often weary in it.

2 Corinthians 4:2. But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

It is no part of the business of Christ's ministers to modify the truth which he has entrusted to them, or to put new meanings into it which God never meant, draining away the very life-blood of the gospel, and leaving it dead and useless; but it is both our duty and our privilege to state it just as we find it, and to proclaim it in as plain language as possible so that everybody may understand what the teaching of God really is.

2 Corinthians 4:3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost;

It was not hidden under fine language and oratorical flourishes on the part of the apostles; there was a far more terrible barrier in the way of its entrance into the hearts of some who heard it.

2 Corinthians 4:4-7. In whom the god of the world hath blinded the mind of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who in the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

There is nothing remarkable in us, we are in ourselves poor, frail fragile creatures, like earthen vessels of no particular value, yet this we do not regret, for there is a good reason for it:

2 Corinthians 4:7-10. That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 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.

He who wishes for an easy time of it must not become a minister of the gospel. If he is determined to preach it faithfully, fully, simply, straight from his heart, he will often find himself in such circumstances as the apostle describes in these verses.

2 Corinthians 4:11. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

The apostles were always to the front where the shots were flying the fastest, and with the deadliest aim; there they stood, the officers of the army of Christ and Paul rejoiced that, for one, he was able thus to make himself to be nothing that Christ might be the great All-in-all.

2 Corinthians 4:12. So then death worketh in us but life in you.

So long as Paul could be the means of the salvation of the souls of men, he did not mind what became of himself, though it should be death to him, he would count it as nothing so long as it should bring life to them.

2 Corinthians 4:13-14. 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; knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

Note the assurance of apostolic preaching and writing. There is no «if» here, no hesitation, no doubt. The apostles knew what they believed, and knew why they believed it, and they spoke with the accent of conviction; nobody was led into doubt by their hesitancy.

2 Corinthians 4:15-16. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not;

Paul had said before that they did not faint, and now he reiterates it that, though his ministry was enough to bear him down, and lay him prostrate in the dust, yet he did not faint.

2 Corinthians 4:16 ; 2 Corinthians 4:18. But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us 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.

This exposition consisted of readings from Romans 5:1-10; and 2 Corinthians 4:1; and 2 Corinthians 5:1.