ll CORINTHIANS LESSON 5


     We will begin this lesson in II Corinthians 4:1 "Therefore seeing
we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;"

     I admire Paul greatly. In the face of all kinds of hardship, he
still goes on with the ministry. Paul never stops being appreciative
of the mercy the Lord Jesus showed him in stopping him and getting him
on the right track. Paul is compelled from within himself to continue
to minister. When we see "faint not", we see all of the terrible
obstacles that Paul faced. He faced stonings, shipwreck, imprisonment,
and worst of all, rejection from his own people. This just meant that
he worked even harder to bring this simple message of salvation to all
who would listen.

     II 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."

     Paul is saying, here, that he had totally turned his back on the
world and the deceitfulness of riches. "Manifestation" means making
real. We know that this was very real to him. His objective was to
make people realize the simplicity and the necessity of receiving the
Lord into their lives. Salvation is a daily walk with Jesus. We do not
get forgiveness, and then go back into dishonesty. We must walk daily
in the salvation we have received. Paul had learned to do just that.
Paul is expressing, here, the extreme importance of being honest with
God, the people around you, and with yourself. The things of the world
are laid aside.

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

     Gospel means good news. No one wants to hide good news. Paul did
not try to hide it from anyone. This is speaking of those who have
eyes to see and do not see, and ears to hear and do not hear. The
gospel was offered, but they just could not see it. They were lost.

     II Corinthians 4:4 "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."

     Those who will not receive the gospel, are those who are of this
world. They do not want to let go of the world to receive this gospel.
You cannot walk in the darkness of this world, and walk in the Light
of God at the same time. The Light does away with darkness. Each of us
is a free will agent. We can accept the Light of Jesus, or we can
remain in the darkness. God will not force us to follow Him. It is our
choice. Christ is the image of God. We know that He is the Light. If
His glorious Light shines in our heart, it totally does away with
darkness. Accepting Christ is not a mind process. We must give Him our
heart.
     II Corinthians 4:5 "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus
the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake."

     Paul is explaining, here, that he should not be their object of
worship. Paul had made himself a servant to all mankind to win those
he could to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is another word for Messiah.
Christ, also means, the Anointed One. Jesus means Saviour. Notice that
Paul did not stop with introducing them to Christ Jesus as their
Saviour, but included Jesus as Lord. When Paul says, that he is the
servant of Jesus, it means that Paul has made Jesus his Lord.

     II 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."

     The word that God was translated from is Theos. The meaning of
"Theos" is a Deity, Supreme Divinity, or Exceeding God.  Everything
that was applied to this earth, or created, all became as the Word was
spoken. Creator God is, also, the Spoken Word. The Light was eternal.
It already existed. It was just commanded to shine its Light on the
earth and give all things the power to be. There was total darkness,
and the Light shined, and did away with the darkness. {Genesis chapter
1}. This same Light that shined on the earth and gave all things the
power to be, has taken up abode in the heart of the believer. This
Light gives all believers in Christ the power to eternally be. He is
Life. We know this Word, Creator, Light, as Jesus Christ. I can ask
you one question, Christian. Are you filled with the Light of the Lord
Jesus Christ? If you are, there is no darkness in you. Paul
encountered this Light on the road to Damascus, and it changed Paul's
life. From that moment on, Paul did not have to search for the Light.
The Light lived in Paul. Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me."

     II 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 "treasure" that the Christians have is, of course, the Lord
Jesus Christ. The "earthen vessel" spoken of here, is the house of
flesh. The flesh of man is from the dust of the earth. Our flesh is
nothing. The power of the Christian to minister is from Christ within
him. The ministering of the Christian is Christ in him. We have been
given power of attorney to use the name of Jesus. The real power in
ministering is when we allow Christ to minister through us to the
people.

     II Corinthians 4:8  "[We are] troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair;"

     The following Scriptures can say it much better than I possibly
could. Romans 8:35 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
[shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?"  Romans 8:36 "As it is written, For
thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter." Romans 8:37 "Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us." We can be thankful with Paul in
tribulation. Paul never once complained of the tribulations. He just
stayed steadfast in the faith. That must be our lot, as well. We must
not break under the pressures the world brings. We must be like the
old oak tree, which is rooted deeply and is not easily blown over.
We must not keep our eyes focused on the problems around us. We must
focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, who will see us through, if we do not
faint. I Peter 4:12 "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened
unto you:" I Peter 4:13 "But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be
glad also with exceeding joy." I Peter 4:14 "If ye be reproached for
the name of Christ, happy [are ye]; for the spirit of glory and of God
resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part
he is glorified."

     II Corinthians 4:9 "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed;"

     The great promise of God to His own, is that He will never leave
us, or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5  "[Let your] conversation [be] without
covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he
hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."  We see from
the following Scripture, that we will not die until God is ready for
us to come home. Luke 21:18 "But there shall not an hair of your head
perish."  God has a set time for us to go to heaven. They may cast us
down, but we will not give up the ghost, until God is ready for us to.

     II 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 flesh must die for the spirit to live. On this earth, we are
in this body of flesh. There will come a time when we will remove this
flesh as a man removes a garment, and our spirit body will live.
II Timothy 2:11 "[It is] a faithful saying: For if we be dead with
[him], we shall also live with [him]:"  There is a physical body and
there is a spiritual body. The physical body must die for the
spiritual body may live. John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  Let's look at
one more Scripture on this, and then go on. Romans 8:11 "But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

     II 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."

     To me, this is saying, one more time, that the flesh has to die,
that the Life {Jesus Christ in us} can live. Flesh and blood does not
inherit eternal life. The spirit body {the resurrected body} inherits
eternal life. The moment we are born, our physical body begins to die.
     II Corinthians 4:12 "So then death worketh in us, but life in
you."

     The decay of the body is the death that is working. Our life is
in Jesus.

     II Corinthians 4:13 "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;"

     Eternal life does not begin, until the death of the body of
flesh. We covered this thoroughly on the planting of the seed, so that
the new plant comes from the dead seed. Paul says, that it is because
he believes that he must speak.

     II Corinthians 4:14 "Knowing that he which raised up the Lord
Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present [us] with
you."

     This is explained very well in the next two verses in Jesus' own
Words. John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the
life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live:" John 11:26 "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die. Believest thou this?"  It is the spirit man that never
dies. Jesus rose from death of the body. He had a new body. It was
taken from the old body, because it still had the nail prints in his
hands. It was different enough, however, that the disciples did not
recognize Him, until their understanding was opened. We are the
inheritance of the Lord Jesus. He will present us before His Father
and the angels in heaven.

     II Corinthians 4:15 "For all things [are] for your sakes, that
the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to
the glory of God."

     Everything, in and on the earth, was made for the use of man. God
prepared the earth and then brought the man. God has always had the
well-being of mankind in mind. God sent His Son to redeem us. Grace is
not for God's sake, but for our sake. God gave us a way out {Jesus
Christ}.

     II Corinthians 4:16 "For which cause we faint not; but though our
outward man perish, yet the inward [man] is renewed day by day."

     Our physical body was not made for eternity. It is a fragile
thing. It came from dust and unto dust it shall return. Our outward
{flesh] man was made to die. The spirit, within the flesh, is the
eternal being. The Spirit is made for eternity. The Spirit man is what
we are. The part of us that is made in God's image is our spirit. God
is Spirit. If we are in His image, the real us is spirit, as well.

     II 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;"

     The few little problems, we have while we are housed in a body of
flesh, are nothing compared to the wonderful things God has in store
for us. We will shed this body of flesh and live on with Jesus in our
spiritual body. I Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

     II 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."

     So many times, we are told not to look to the things of earth
which pass away. The earth, and everything in it, will pass away. Even
the earthy, itself, is of a temporary nature. This, again, is speaking
of the flesh and the spirit. The flesh represents all that you can see
with the physical eye. The spirit is not seen with the physical eye.
The spirit is the hope of mankind. Faith is spirit. We have faith that
all that God promised, He will do.


































                     ll Corinthians 5 Questions


1.  Why does the author greatly admire Paul?
2.  What is meant by "faint not" in verse 1?
3.  What were some of the cruel things Paul endured?
4.  What had Paul renounced in verse 2?
5.  What does "manifestation" mean?
6.  Salvation is a daily ______ with Jesus.
7.  Who is the gospel hid to?
8.  Gospel means ______ _______.
9.  Who blinded their minds that they believed not?
10. Who is the image of God in verse 4?
11. Why does God not force Christianity upon us?
12. If God does not want our mind, what does He want?
13. Paul preached what?
14. What had Paul made himself, to cause people to come to Christ?
15. Christ is another word for __________.
16. Who commanded the Light to shine?
17. God, in verse 6, was translated from what word?
18. What does it mean?
19. The Light that shined gave all things the _______ to be.
20. When did Paul come in contact with this great Light?
21. Quote Galations chapter 2 verse 20.
22. We have this treasure in _________ __________.
23. What is the treasure of the Christian?
24. The Christian has been given power of attorney to do what?
25. We are troubled on every side, yet not ____________.
26. Quote Romans chapter 8 verse 35.
27. Why did the author compare a Christian to an oak tree?
28. Quote Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5.
29. The _______ must die for the _______ to live.
30. Quote John chapter 3 verse 6.
31. Who will quicken our mortal bodies.
32. We are delivered to death for _______ sake.
33. What is the death that is working?
34. Why was Paul compelled to speak?
35. Who is the Resurrection?
36. Who will Jesus present us before?
37. The inward man is _______ day by day.
38. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9.
39. The things which are seen are ___________.