2 CORINTHIANS 4 (NOTES OF A READING)
2 CORINTHIANS 4 ([p. 206] NOTES OF A READING)
Ques What is “the Spirit of the Lord” (chapter 3: 17)?
CAC It is the Lord in that special character. It goes back to verse 6. I thought it was that grace is thoroughly known, not only objectively, but the Spirit of the Lord is given. Liberty is freedom of soul with God. It is an immense thing to have this liberty; it arises from knowing God’s disposition towards us, so that a man can be happy and free with God. It is quite a different thing from knowing God in your circumstances. The Spirit of God dwelling in man is characteristically the Spirit of Christ. Here it is the Spirit of the Mediator. We have the Spirit of that One. It is very much like the love of God shed abroad in the heart; it comes very near to that practically. It is really here in verse 17 in connection with our being confirmed in grace — the true grace of God. It seems to me that when a soul is free it is at liberty to be occupied with God’s mind. God’s mind becomes very interesting and attractive. It is a great thing to be kept on the line of beholding the glory of the Lord. We have always to be called back to it. The crowning point of the new covenant is that His people know God and will be satisfied with His goodness. There is no element of bondage connected with the goodness of God. “My people shall be satisfied with my goodness” (Jeremiah 31: 14). I think the assembly properly is the sphere of liberty. “Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother” (Galatians 4: 26).
“Looking on the glory of the Lord”. All the goodness and grace of God to man had really come out in the Lord — all that God is in grace has come out in a Man. There is a Man great enough to give expression to all that God is in grace. In reading the gospels, more particularly the gospel of Luke, we want to see the glory of the Lord. You see Him [p. 204] showing out the glory of God in grace. If you put all the incidents together you get a very good idea of the glory of the Lord, and by beholding that you are changed into the same image. Levi beheld (Luke 5: 27 - 29), and we see in him a man who was really in the communion of grace. You see a man so affected by grace that he goes and does the same thing as the Lord did — he is changed into the same image. Like as to the good Samaritan, He says, “Go, and do thou likewise”.
Here it is a question of the covenant. Moses came down after being with God to bring down what God was, and he had to veil the glory. Now One comes down and clears the ground in grace and makes known God’s grace. The grace of God is what is made known by redemption. Death is the basis of it all. Moses prayed, “Let me ... see thy glory”. God put him in a cleft of the rock and covered him with His hand (Exodus 33: 18 - 23); Moses as man after the flesh is hidden and God’s glory is shown; and that takes place in the death of Christ, man is hidden and God’s glory comes out. We have to come to it to be hidden in the cleft of the rock. God says, “There is a place by me”; those words “by me” are the point. Grace is obnoxious to man; he will tolerate law but will not have grace. In Luke 4 they wonder at the gracious words that proceed out of the Lord’s mouth, but immediately He brings grace home to them they take Him out and want to throw Him down the precipice. Many are praying to God to be helped to keep the law, but how many are praying that they may truly and deeply appreciate His grace?
Ques What is “this ministry” (chapter 4: 1).
CAC The new covenant ministry; God had made the apostle a competent new covenant minister — the gospel is in verse 3. Everything is included in the gospel.
Ques What is “manifestation of the truth” (verse 2)?
CAC It is important to keep to the conscience. When people raise points, touch their conscience and they [p. 205] are done for. Ask them about their sins, and it is new light on the subject. There is no hope for those in verse 3. I suppose the conscience of man is always on God’s side. When a man is going on wrongly, he is not only not going on with God but he is not going on with himself; he has a conscience and his conscience is protesting. Of course the longer a man violates his conscience, the less it troubles him. Even a poet of the world has said, ‘Thus conscience does make cowards of us all’.
NOTES OF A READING 2 Corinthians 4: 11 - 18; 2 Corinthians 5: 1 - 10 There was a working of death in the apostle. God took care that death should work on everything that was of the flesh in Paul. The character of the gospel is the bringing out of the glory of God; that was the ministry of the apostle. All the lowliness, gentleness, and meekness of Jesus was suited to the way in which He came. If God came into this world He must come in either at the top or at the bottom, and it pleased Him to come in at the bottom.
Ques How do you understand “the dying of Jesus” (verse 10)?
CAC Is it not pretty much christianity to be always looking for death here? I suppose if we got a little more into this gospel it would put us pretty much on this line. It is through death, and that is where we are deficient, we know so little about it. The discipline of God comes in when we are set for that way, when we have accepted that way.
Ques What is the meaning of “the life also of Jesus”?
CAC We see in Jesus One who was always thinking about others — faithfulness to God and love to man — there was never any consideration of Himself. We look at everything pretty much as it affects ourselves.
Ques What is “the same spirit of faith” (verse 13)?
CAC All that belonged to faith was really found in the life of Jesus. It was all the outcome of faith. The wonderful thing is that in the life of Jesus we see the life of a Man who had perfect confidence in God, and the gospel is come that we might walk in the same spirit and the same life. The apostle was following on in the life of Jesus and was content to die in His service.
Ques Why does he say, “All things are for your sakes” ([p. 207] verse 15)?
CAC All that was in his soul was confirmed and strengthened — the inward man was renewed, the outward was consumed.
Ques What does “our momentary and light affliction” mean (verse 17)?
CAC I thought it was all helping to carry on the work of God in his soul. God had a place for Paul in His system of glory, and everything was helping to fit him for it. The afflictions of saints whatever they have been will be seen by and by to have contributed to God’s great end. God was behind it all; it was pre-eminently so in Paul’s case.
Ques What “things” are these (verse 18)?
CAC “The things”, I suppose, that he is talking to them about in this epistle. These things were engaging his own eyes and he was seeking to engage the eyes of the Corinthians with them.