2
Corinthians
4:1-15
Give
Thanks Even in Times of
Trouble
4:1
Therefore,
since through God's mercy we have
this ministry, we do not lose
heart.
2 Rather, we
have renounced secret and
shameful ways; we do not use
deception, nor do we distort the
word of God. On the contrary, by
setting forth the truth plainly
we commend 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 The god of
this age has blinded the minds of
unbelievers, so that they cannot
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 Jesus
Christ as Lord, and ourselves as
your servants for Jesus' sake.
6 For God, who
said, "Let light shine out of
darkness,"made his light shine in
our hearts to give us the light
of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have
this treasure in jars of clay to
show that this all-surpassing
power is from God and not from
us.
8 We are hard
pressed on every side, but not
crushed; perplexed, but not in
despair; 9 persecuted, but not
abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed.
10 We always
carry around in our body the
death of Jesus, so that the life
of Jesus may also be revealed in
our body.
11 For 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.
12 So then,
death is at work in us, but life
is at work in you.
13 It is
written: "I believed; therefore I
have spoken. With that same
spirit of faith we also believe
and therefore speak, 14 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.
15 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.
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It
is meant to change the way
that we think, and the way
that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Give
Thanks and Allow God to Comfort
You
- Paul is
speaking first hand about
suffering because he had been
persecuted many times before.
But he knew that the pain and
persecution would one day be
over, and he would obtain
God's rest and
rewards.
-
- As we
face great troubles, it's easy
to focus on the pain rather
than on our ultimate
goal.
-
- And,
many feel that being comforted
by God means that they will no
longer have the trouble they
have prayed about. If we
believed this the only time we
would need to call out and
seek God would be to get
relief from a sickness or be
helped out of a bind
(sometimes of our own
doing).
-
- No,
God's comfort is just as it
says; comfort in our
time of trouble and not
necessarily bailing us
out of
trouble.
-
- Just as
a marathon runner keeps her
eyes set on the finish line
and ignores the pain and
fatigue she feels in her legs,
we too must focus on the
reward of our faith and the
joy that will be with us
forever.
-
- What
happens to us in this life is
of no great consequence. We
still have the assurance of
eternal life given by Christ's
sacrifice, when all suffering
will end and all sorrow will
flee away (Isaiah
35:10).
-
- The
next time you are in a
troubled state or feel
overwhelmed, allow God to
comfort you. He may not remove
the trouble but will help give
you the strength and
encouragement to finish the
race.
Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
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content?
This
article may be freely reprinted
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website. The author's name, bio,
and website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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