We are afflicted in every way...

2 Corinthians 4:1-12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, ² but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; ⁸ we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So death works in us, but life in you.

Paul’s life and his ministry are perhaps one of the greatest examples we have of a life changed by and for Christ. Paul went from a denier and a persecutor of Christ and His church to one of the greatest servants of Christ to ever live. But Paul’s life and ministry demonstrates more than just the way people are changed. Paul is also an example to us of the paradox of living the Christian life. Jesus says:   “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  He says:   Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14)  Jesus commands and commissions His disciples saying:   “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.  These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;  they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)    In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul refers to himself and others who serve Christ as His ambassadors, as those who represent and bring the kingdom of heaven to this world. All of the things Jesus promised and commanded, Paul did and lived as a faithful servant, as an ambassador for Christ.

The paradox of a life dedicated to Christ though is also seen in Jesus words and in Paul’s life. Jesus says:    ^“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)    “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-30) and: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18-20)    In Mark 13:9-13 Jesus says:  “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.  The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.  Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.  You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”        All of these things, persecution, tribulation, arrest were all also part of Paul’s life and ministry. In 2 Corinthians 11:24-27 Paul gives a brief summary of some of his suffering for the gospel:     Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.  I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;  I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.      All of that before finally he was martyred for his faith in Christ.

There are many today who want to walk in the fullness of the power and the authority we have in Christ as ambassadors of His kingdom here on earth. They want to live the abundant life, walking in the power and the blessings of Christ. They want to share the good news of the gospel of Christ, to heal the sick and raise the dead and so they and we should. It is Christ’s call and commission for our lives. In Luke 14:27-33  Jesus also says:  “ Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,  saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’  Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.  So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”

In today’s text Paul says:  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;  we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.  So death works in us, but life in you.     Was Paul’s life, because it did not end victoriously, a failure to live in the fullness of Christ?  Was Jesus own death on the cross a defeat or a victory? Paul’s life is an example to us of the paradox of living for Christ, that all who follow Jesus would count the cost and the promise of being a disciple, that we like Paul and like Jesus Himself, would be willing to lay down our own lives for the sake of the kingdom.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for the abundant life You have given me, for all the promises, the power and authority I have as Your disciple, an ambassador for Your kingdom. Thank You that regardless of what trial may come my way, I am: afflicted, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;   I am victorious like Christ. Amen