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

It was John Stott who said, towards the end of

his life, I'm sometimes asked whether at my age

I have any ambitions left. I always now reply,

yes, my overriding ambition is that I may become

a little bit more like Christ. I can't remember

how long ago it was that I came across that quote.

It was probably 10, 15 years ago. But it has

stuck with me. It is our great hope, isn't it,

to be like Jesus. When he appears, we will be

like him, for we will see him as he is. In many

ways, it's our calling. John says that whoever

claims to live in him must walk as he did. Paul

will invite us to have the same attitude as Christ.

We're called to be like Jesus. I don't know about

you, but there's something within me that longs

for that. I mean, as I'm involved in ministry,

I'm so aware of mixed motives half the time,

so aware of struggles to love, so aware of the

insecurities that kick around. Don't you long

to be more like Jesus? As we go through life,

as we seek to minister to and encourage others,

ah, to be more like Jesus. How do we actually

make progress in that? How do we ourselves become

more like Jesus? How do we do ministry in such

a way that others are becoming more like Jesus?

To be honest, there's a vast array of stuff in

2 Corinthians 3 and 4. And to be honest, I'm

going to do far from a kind of model exposition,

as it were. But I want really to try and pick

up two particular things. Because there are two

different ways in this passage in which we become

like Jesus. So there in chapter 3, verse 18,

we become like him as we gaze upon him. And it's

there at the end of the reading, chapters 4,

10 to 12, we become like Jesus as we die like

Jesus. Probably aware that in 2 Corinthians 3,

Paul is talking about the glories of new covenant

ministry. That great promise back from Jeremiah,

the days are coming when I will make a new covenant.

I will be their gods. They will be my people.

I will forgive their wickedness and remember

their sins no more. And that promise hanging

around until one Passover in Jerusalem. There

is a man with his friends and he takes a cup

and says, this cup is the new covenant in my

blood. And all the promises from Jeremiah's day

are about to come gloriously true, gloriously

fulfilled. As Jesus hangs on the cross and sheds

his blood for us. And Paul here is saying, I

get the great privilege of proclaiming the benefits

of all that Christ has achieved. I get to live

out, to proclaim this new covenant ministry.

And there are a vast array of blessings that

come from that. The promise of righteousness,

not condemnation. And if we're spending longer

on this passage, I think a great thing to reflect

on is the extent to which as Christians we actually

fundamentally enjoy that new covenant. Maybe

it's because I'm in Oxford where there is a degree

of intensity around the place, but it can be

the case that people live with a sense of feeling

condemned, not righteous. And Paul wants to encourage

just to receive afresh. We live under the new

covenant. We get to live as those made righteous

by Christ and to live that out. And actually

both for those who have not yet submitted to

Jesus, they need to hear the call of it is possible

to be righteous. Actually for Christians, it

is a call to enter into all that Christ has achieved.

But it's actually in verse 18 that we get to

the supreme blessing of the new covenant. Because

the supreme blessing is to gaze upon the glory

of Jesus. There's a contrast between the old

covenant, Moses' experience as he is up enjoying

the presence of God and his face is shining,

but of course it has to be veiled and that glory

passes away. Whereas Paul says the great privilege

now for those who turn to the Lord is that we,

with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord's glory,

are being transformed into his image with ever

increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,

who is the Spirit. You do know that the greatest

privilege of being a Christian is that we get

to gaze on Jesus. That is the supreme. Blessing.

The final blessing. We contemplate, behold the

Lord's glory. You go to Bethlehem and you see

the glory of his incarnation. You listen to the

Sermon on the Mount and you see the glory of

his wisdom. You see him speaking to the leper,

I am willing, be clean, and you see the glory

of his compassion. You see him saying to the

storm, calm, be still, and you see the glory

of his power. You see him on the Mount of Transfiguration.

You get a sense of the glory of his majesty.

You see him putting a towel around his waist,

washing his disciples' feet, and you see the

glory of his humility. You see him in the Garden

of Gethsemane saying, not my will but yours be

done, and you see the glory of his obedience.

You see him hanging on a cross in Calvary and

you see the glory of his love. You see him coming

from the empty tomb and you see the glory of

his risen life. You see him now ascended. And

you see his glory. And there's nobody like him.

And it's a great privilege as we gaze, contemplate

the Lord's glory. I don't know where you most

enjoy visiting, but there's a place in North

Wales, Great Orm. It's above sort of Llandudno.

And I love it, actually. On a sunny day, which...

It isn't always the case in North Wales. But

on the rare sunny day, you sort of go up, and

there you are, and you can pretty much see all

around. So you're looking over there, and there's

the sort of North Wales Anglesey coast. And there,

actually, on a sunny day, you can even see out

to the Isle of Man, or you can see northwest

England. And then you sort of turn around, and

there's Snowdon behind you. I just love being

up there. Have you ever been somewhere, and you

think, I just want to keep looking my eyes out?

Because it is so stunning, so beautiful, so majestic.

Of course, all of that is a pointer to the one

who made these things. And we get to see the

glory of Jesus. And what the Spirit does, according

to 3, 16 to 18, is that as we gaze on the glory

of Jesus, so we are transformed into his image.

You know, Moses' face was radiant as he was with

God. And there's a sense that as we gaze on the

glory of Jesus here, so we are transformed. So

we are made to be like him. There's a sense in

which that happens fairly naturally, doesn't

it? We become like the people we admire. I mentioned

John Stott earlier. Apparently it was the case

that when John Stott was at All Souls, so many

of the curates ended up sounding like him. You

become like the one you admire. Strangely, none

of the young preachers at my place sounded anything

like me. But you become like the one you admire.

You gaze and you become. And that's what Paul

is saying is the great joy of being a Christian.

And that helps us, particularly with those times

when we do end up feeling frustrated with ourselves.

Oh, to be more like Jesus. I remember a conversation

with a fellow pastor about 15 years or so ago

now. And to be honest, we were having one of

those conversations where we're just reflecting

on frustrations with ourselves. Why do I keep

giving in to temptation in that area? Why don't

I love them? And you know what it's like. You

just think, ah, we wish we were better at this.

I remember my friend saying to me, and I kind

of wish I'd said this, but it was him who said

it to me, Andy, we do know the answer to this,

don't we? I was thinking, no, that's why we're

having the conversation. But he said to me, Andy,

we do know the answer to this, don't we? Go hard

after Jesus. Go hard after treasuring him. Go

hard after gazing on him. Go hard after doing

whatever it takes to get him in front of our

eyes. Go hard after Jesus. Because it is as we

gaze on him that we are transformed to be like

him. As the Spirit does that work in our hearts.

And that's why for Paul, ministry was all about

this. As you get into chapter 4, you notice a

couple of things. You notice that this is the

thing that keeps him going. Since through God's

mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.

Why does Paul go from place to place, face imprisonment

and flogging, and then go to the next place and

still preach the gospel? Well, two reasons. Partly

this is God's mercy. He says, not only did I

sort of reject Jesus, but he's forgiven me and

given me this ministry. He's got a constant sense

of this is God's mercy, that I get to do this.

And he's got a sense of, I get to do the most

glorious thing in the world. Because as I preach

Jesus as Lord, so is it where God turns the lights

on in people's hearts. Ministry for Paul is presenting

Jesus as the most glorious Lord, as the most

glorious being in the universe. That's why he

keeps going. I mentioned great awe earlier. If

you're not particularly athletic, the way to

get to Great Ormond is via a tram. There's a

sort of tram that sort of goes up to lead you

to this place where there's a great view. And

I've always thought in some ways ministry is

like the tram. Ministry is what enables people

to see the great view. Proclaiming Jesus enables

people to see the greatest vision in the universe.

And as people see him to become like him. Does

that feel vaguely worth doing? To have a role

that enables us to see the greatest view in the

world? Are there worse things than being involved

in Christian ministry? And so both for ourselves,

we gaze on Jesus and so become like him. and

also for our ambition in ministry, whatever that

might look like in the years to come, to keep

proclaiming and presenting Jesus to people. Well,

that's worth doing. We become like Jesus as we

gaze on him and contemplate his glory. But there

is a second way in which we become like Jesus,

and here we head towards chapter 4, verses...

7 to 12. Because Paul says he has this glorious

ministry of proclaiming Jesus and the Spirit

working as he does this. And Paul says he has

the wonderful experience of God's light being

in his heart in the face of Jesus Christ. But,

he says, verse 7, we have this treasure in jars

of clay to show that this all -surpassing power

is from God. and not from us. I have to be honest,

2 Corinthians 4 is the passage I go to most often

as I'm talking to friends a bit younger than

me who are thinking about ministry. Actually,

as I look around, I'm pretty sure there are some

of you here who've heard me on 2 Corinthians

quite a few times before. Apologies for that.

But I remember looking at 2 Corinthians with

one person who was thinking about pastoral ministry.

He went away on holiday, and he brought this

back for me. And to be honest, this has sat on

my desk now for about 15, 20 years or so, and

it is a bit like looking in a mirror. To be honest,

I'm surprised it's lasted that long, because

let's be honest, it is pretty fragile. And Paul

says we have the glory of knowing God through

Jesus in bodies that are weak and fragile, stored

in people who emotionally go up and down. Stored

in people who get sick. Stored in people who

get tired. People who cry. And Paul says God

has done that for a reason. He's done that for

a reason to show that the all -surpassing power

is from God and not from us. I wonder whether

you can imagine with me for a moment Super Christian.

Super Christian never gets tired. Never gets

discouraged. Super Christian always knows the

right thing to say in any given situation. Super

Christian is gloriously gifted. And after a while,

people say of Super Christian, wow, they're amazing,

aren't they? And Super Christian begins to think,

yeah, I am. And God won't let that happen. He

puts this treasure in jars of clay to show that

the all -surpassing power is from God and not

from us. Can you imagine this passage means the

world to me? Forgive me for being personal for

a moment, but one of my earliest experiences

of any form of Christian leadership was at university,

being involved in leading a Christian union.

And I remember particularly my last year at university.

Various personal issues that I was wrestling

with were sort of swamping me. Some of the pressure

of CU leadership and coursework and so on. And

I vividly remember getting to that point of thinking,

I just can't do this anymore. This was pre -email

days, so I hand -wrote my letter of resignation.

Left it on my desk. It so happened that was a

Saturday night, Sunday morning, came around.

To be honest, the last place I wanted to be was

church. But I was just in the pattern of it was

Sunday morning, so I went to church and heard

2 Corinthians 4 preached. We have this treasure

in jars of clay. And suddenly realized that actually

all the sort of turmoil or the emotional distress

I was experiencing, all the things that I thought

disqualified me from any form of Christian leadership

were part of the deal. I went back and tore the

letter up. It's funny, if I suspect life would

have been quite different had I not heard 2 Corinthians

4 that morning. But that's the way God works.

And Paul describes what that will feel like.

Hard pressed. You know, times where it just feels

like the walls are closing in on us because of

the various demands. And yet not crushed. Somehow

the Lord does keep us going. Perplexed. There

are times where you think, I'm not fully sure

what the Lord is doing here. And just the confusion

of that. But not in despair. Because somehow

we have the confidence that in his sovereignty

he's working all things for good. Persecuted.

That sense as though we feel pressure, opposition,

people attacking us. And yet not abandoned. Because

we know that the Lord is always with us. Struck

down. Somehow it feels as though we can't keep

going. And yet not destroyed, the Lord enables

us to get back up again. And that natural rhythm

is what Paul says is normal in Christian life

and ministry. It is the normal experience of

being a jar of clay. I've always found some of

Hudson Taylor's letters home from China in the

19th century as he began to lead the work of

China in the mission deeply moving. Here's one.

Pray for us. At times I seem altogether overwhelmed

with the internal and external trials connected

with our work. But... He has said, I will never

leave you nor forsake you, and my strength is

made perfect in weakness. Don't you love that?

In many ways, I think the distinctive of Christian

pressures, of Christian trials, is actually the

ability to say but. You know, there's deep distress,

but. Hard -pressed, but not crushed. I'm overwhelmed,

but. He said, never will I leave you, never will

I forsake you. Some of you may well be in that

sort of context now. I wonder whether you're

able to say but. Not that it doesn't feel hard,

not that there isn't deep distress, but somehow

God is working out his purposes in this. And

his purposes are actually to make us more like

Jesus. Because as you look to verses 10 to 12,

you see a rhythm taking place. We always carry

around in our body the death of Jesus, so the

life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

We who are alive are always being given over

to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may

be revealed in our mortal body. Death is at work

in us, but life is at work in you. Let me encourage

you with this. Paul, in each verse, verse 10,

verse 11, verse 12, describes ministry as a form

of death. Hope that cheers you up. We always

carry around in our body the death of Jesus.

Death is at work in us. There's no way of escaping

the fact that as we seek to minister like Paul,

death will be part of our experience. Death to

pride, death to self -sufficiency, death to comfort.

And in so doing, carrying around in our body

the death of Jesus. It's like Paul says elsewhere,

becoming like him in his death. Perhaps we walk

towards other people's pain. We carry the emotional

distress of the personal issues we're facing,

and yet we're still seeking to minister to others.

My guess is I'm not telling you anything you

don't know. All of us, my guests in the room,

will have had that sense of there is a death

-like quality to ministry. And yet that's the

way we become like Jesus. As we walk towards

pain. And as we persevere. And as we keep going.

And yet do you notice how the rhythm works? We're

being given over to death for Jesus' sake. Carrying

in our body the death of Jesus. Death is at work

in us. Why? Well actually in each verse there

is also life. so that the life of Jesus may be

revealed in our body, so that his life may be

revealed in our mortal body, in verses 10 and

11. So it is as we go through that rhythm of

death, facing the emotional cost, persevering,

seeking to love others, that's how we become

like him. That's how we become like Jesus. That's

how his life is revealed in our mortal bodies.

And I know there are times we wish there were

ways we could be more like Jesus without that

rhythm of death and life. But there really aren't.

But it's the way we become like him. And actually

it's the way that life comes to others. Do you

notice the pattern? Death is at work in us, but

life is at work in you. So again, you think of

Paul's experience, imprisoned, flogged, released,

goes to the next place and faces persecution

again. And you think, why do you keep giving

yourself over to death, Paul? It's because that's

the way life comes to people like the Corinthians.

As we keep going and we keep giving. Of ourselves.

Which means you're left essentially with this

application. Those things that remind you that

you're a jar of clay. Those things that at times

leave you feeling hard pressed. Those things

that make you feel perplexed. Those things that

feel like death. Can I say don't resent them?

I'm not saying you should enjoy them. But don't

resent them. Because they're part of the deal.

Over the years I've had people say, if only I

was slightly different. If only I were less shy,

less reserved, more outgoing, I'd be such a better

witness. If only I had a slightly stronger personality.

If only I didn't have to wrestle with this illness.

Don't resent them. They're the ways he makes

us more like him. And enables us to remember

that the powers from him are not from us. One

day we will be perfectly like Jesus. In the meantime,

we are growing by the Spirit to be more like

him. And it seems to me that the two ways that

the Lord uses from 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, we

become like him as we gaze on him. Whatever you

do, get his glory in front of your gaze and delight

in him and enjoy him. And we become more like

him as we die like him. As we give ourselves

over to death for his sake. So that life might

come to others. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we gaze

on your glory. The glory of your perfect character.

The glory now of your risen and ascended state.

We gaze on your glory. And as we gaze on you,

Lord, we want to be like you. We want to love

like you. We want to be humble like you. And

so, Lord, we pray, please, as we gaze on you,

won't you work by your spirit to transform us

with ever increasing glory into your image, we

pray. And then, Lord, we see you heading towards

Calvary. And in some ways, Lord, it is perhaps

with a degree of hesitation that we say we want

to be like you. But Lord, we know that is the

inevitable road we have to take. So please, Lord,

help us to persevere in carrying around in our

bodies your death, becoming like you in your

death, we pray. That we would become more like

you and so bring life to others, we ask. For

your name's sake. Amen.