"God Will Raise
Us With Jesus"
Sermon: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Weekend of April 22, 2001
Saint Mark's, Watertown, WI
Pastor Karl Walther
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. Amen.
God's Word for our special consideration on this second Sunday morning of the Easter Season is Second Corinthians, chapter four, verses thirteen through eighteen. There the Apostle Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes to the Corinthian congregation as follows:
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
This is God's Spirit-inspired Word of Jesus Christ.
Introduction: Despite the Beauty of Springtime, You Face Troubles
Dear fellow Christians-- to whom Christ's resurrection gives comfort and focus:
Well, after an entirely too long winter, springtime is finally here.... Thank God the snow, cold, and clouds have given way to the beauty we witness around us! We wake up to birds chirping and beams of light drifting through our windows. The bright blue skies, the shiny sun, and the lovely green grass greet our eyes as we head to work or school. Instead of winter cold, we feel warmer weather underneath our skin; before the summer heat, we enjoy the fragrant breezes. Springtime is finally here!
But let's be honest, you still have troubles.... Springtime helps-- but you still get picked on at school or gossiped about at work. Springtime helps-- but you still sometimes feel a lonely dreariness in your life. Springtime is nice-- but you still face the aggravation of certain relationships: both icy ones and stormy ones. Springtime is nice-- but you still face chronic sickness, and maybe even death.
Theme: God Will Raise Us With Jesus
So, is there help for you? Yeah -- thank God! -- the Easter message and God's Word to us today provide exactly that. That's because God's Word to us today reminds us of the Easter message: that * GOD WILL RAISE US UP WITH JESUS. And that fact -- that God will raise us up with Jesus -- (1) THIS COMFORTS YOU IN TROUBLE, and (2) THIS GIVES YOU A GOAL FOR LIFE.
Exposition One: This Comforted Paul In Trouble
Let me give you the background for God's Word to us today. It was probably late in the year fifty-five ad. The Apostle Paul was on his third and final missionary journey. At this point he was in northern Greece, heading toward southern Greece, and writing a letter ahead of him to the congregation there in Corinth.
Now the last couple of decades had been very eventful years for Paul. As soon as he became a Christian, they tried to kill him-- over in Damascus of Syria. Three times on his first missionary journey he was persecuted; at one point they stoned him and left him for dead. Four times on his second missionary journey he was persecuted; at one point they severely flogged him and threw him in jail. Most recently, on his third missionary journey, Paul had precipitated an entire riot over in Ephesus in modern-day Turkey.
So, put yourself in Paul's place. He really didn't know from one day to the next whether he was going to live or die. How in the world did he manage to cope with that? Well, Paul puts it this way in God's Word to us today: We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. Paul had seen the living Lord Jesus Christ. Paul knew that -- as a Christian -- God would someday raise him up with Christ. That's how he managed to cope with the specter of death every day.
And in the second paragraph of God's Word to us today, he specifically makes that application. He says: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all-- because these persecutions were connecting Paul closer to Christ, because these persecutions were connecting other people closer to Christ, because these persecutions were bringing honor to Christ.
That's why Paul explains his mindset this way: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. These threats, these persecutions, these beatings, these imprisonments-- they cannot last forever. But that life, that glory, that bliss, that Christ-- they are forever and ever, and they are mine.
Application One: This Comforts You In Trouble
So my friend, what's your trouble today? ...Are you picked on at school or at work? Is your life lonely and dreary? Do you face relationships, icy or stormy? And is some of this maybe even because you're a Christian?
My friend: Your light and momentary troubles are achieving for you an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, fix your eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Getting picked on will not last forever. Christ will. Trust in him! Your loneliness, your dreariness, will not last forever. Heaven will. Confide in Christ; you'll get there! The aggravation you feel within your family will not last forever. Eternal glory will. So, trust Jesus to get you through these momentary problems. He'll do it!
And how do you know? The one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus. He is Christ; you are Christ-ians. There's a connection there. Your sin -- and it was profound! -- was laid on his shoulders. Your hell -- and it was well-deserved! -- was paid on his cross. Your transgressions -- and they were many! -- were buried in his tomb. He rose; you rise! He lives; you live! He dwells in glory; you dwell in glory!
Therefore: nothing -- not being picked on, not any amount of dreariness, not stormy relationships, not sickness, not death -- nothing can take Christ away from you!
Exposition Two: This Gave Paul a Goal For Life
Paul knew that. In fact, Paul knew it so well that it gave a whole new focus to his life. Now no longer was Paul a tentmaker; he was a tentmaker whose whole goal was to proclaim Christ, win people for Christ, and make friends for himself and for Christ forever.
Here's how Paul put it: It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
See: now Paul had only one focus in life-- and that was promoting Christ.
Application Two: This Gives You a Goal For Life
So, how about you, my friend? Christ also lived for you. Christ died for you. Christ rose for you. Christ means everything to you. So, you have only one focus now-- and that's promoting Christ.
No -- my brother, my sister -- I'm not overstating this! If you're a student, the whole focus of your life is to proclaim Christ. If you're a worker, the whole focus of your life is to proclaim Christ. If you're a father or mother or husband or wife or son or daughter -- a new entry or a retiree! -- your job is to promote Christ. And let me get specific....
If you are a student, your whole goal is to proclaim Christ. You're studying, so you can do something useful with your life: to promote Christ. And when you're picked on, you expose people's sins and the Savior: in order to proclaim Christ.
If you're a worker, your whole goal is to proclaim Christ. You're working, so that you can earn money, so that you can take care of the responsibilities Christ has given you: and so, you promote Christ. If you're gossipped about, you expose people's sins and the Savior: in order to proclaim Christ.
If you're in a family, your whole goal is to proclaim Christ. You read the Bible together at home-- to get to know Christ. You attend church together-- to get to know Christ. When you sin against each other, you apologize-- and direct one another to Christ for forgiveness. And you yourself forgive, forgive, forgive, and forgive -- no matter how aggravated you are -- because you know Christ wants you together, and Christ wants your family members forgiven.
And if you're sick and dying, your whole goal is to proclaim Christ. When people try to comfort you -- and they will -- you tell them Christ is your comfort. When people are amazed at how you're coping -- and they will be -- you tell them you couldn't make it without Jesus. You tell them you're looking forward to the day you'll be with Jesus.
That, after all, is the goal of your life.
Conclusion: Despite Your Troubles, You Enjoy Springtime Easter Beauty
So, although springtime is here -- yes -- your life is still full of troubles. My friend, that means you need to look beyond this temporary springtime to the eternal springtime God got prepared for you through Christ. You see: the beams of his light, the songs of his birds, the heat of his sunshine, the fragrance of his flowers, the taste of his banquet-- will never cease to please. Count on it! And pass on the message! Amen.
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Amen.