2 Corinthians: Part 2 - Ch. 4-6

The Center of The Church

As Paul continues his second letter, he looks to build on what he wrote in chapter 3 about being ministers of a new covenant. This is why chapter 4 starts off with ‘therefore’ in its very first verse. This obviously implies that what Paul is about to say goes hand in hand with what he just mentioned. As we go through these next 3 chapters, we see Paul address the glory of Christ, identifying what is temporal and what is eternal, and how we should all be proper ministers of God. All of these points are definitely aspects of building God’s church the right way. How can we claim to be members of Christ’s body if we don’t understand the very glory of Christ? How can we be kingdom-focused when our minds are so set on the temporal things around us? And how can we make sure God’s house is being built properly unless we ourselves are proper ministers of His gospel? These points that Paul lists out here are not just for our education, they are for our sanctification. We shouldn’t just know what the church is supposed to look like, we’re supposed to live it out in our very lives. Once we have been saved, we should notice a change in our hearts that loves Jesus even more, and wants the glory of His gospel to be spread around the world. As John Piper perfectly puts it, “Saving faith sees Jesus as supremely desirable, supremely great, supremely beautiful.” This is the type of heart that Paul expects the members of the church to have, and it’s exactly the type of heart that the Holy Spirit should be growing inside of you, the more and more you follow Christ. With this in mind, let’s dive in to see what else Paul has to teach us. 

The Glory of Christ

To begin, just as we mentioned a second ago, Paul is building off of chapter 3, where he talks about the new covenant and is now discussing the beauty of the glory of Christ. Paul says it best when he states in 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus. 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.” There is so much goodness packed in these two verses. I love how Paul makes it unmistakably clear that the reason anyone has noticed a shift in their lives is because of the power of the gospel and nothing else. This change that people can experience under the new covenant is not because of a particular teacher that this person has found, but rather because of the good news of Jesus Christ that has been revealed to them. Beyond this, however, I find absolutely crucial that we understand the second part of this passage. Paul says that it was God who shone the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in our hearts. This means that the only reason we were ever able to find Christ and respond to His gospel is because of God allowing our hearts to accept this grace that He has made available to us. This is a beautiful chapter that shows us not just how the new covenant is different from the old, but also how this gospel gives all the glory to Christ and Christ alone. As saved believers, we should strive to be the same with our lives. 

Eternity Focused

Furthermore, Paul goes into chapter 5 discussing how life here on earth is temporal and how we are all longing to be with God in heaven one day. Paul states this in a unique way that we will dive into in 2 Corinthians 5:5-8 which says, “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight— but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” God has given us His Spirit while in this temporal world. This is why we don’t need to fear. God will lead us to pursue the eternal matters by His Spirit, even though we are surrounded by the temporal. This is why Paul says that we walk by faith, not by sight. Now, as much as we prefer to be at home with the Lord, the fact of the matter is that while we are here on earth, God has a plan for us. So we can’t let our desire for heaven overcome God’s plan for us here on earth. We should always be desiring to be at home with the Lord, but we should also desire to do His will while here on earth as well. Desiring the eternal is certainly a good thing, but we must not let it distract us from the temporal work God has for us in the here and now. 

Lastly, Paul finds it important that we be proper ministers of God as members of His church. The amazing and full description of what it means to be God’s ministers is found in chapter 6:4-10. This passage would take up a lot of space, but I encourage you to read it fully on your own. For our purposes though, we’re going to look specifically at 2 Corinthians 6:4-6 which states, “but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties, in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,” In everything, we are to be servants of God. This is what a true minister of God looks like. Regardless of hardships, labors, and any kind of attacks, we serve the Lord not because of some temporal reward, but because of what Christ has done for our salvation. I hope and pray that as you read through these 3 chapters and digest what Paul has said to the church, you will be a true minister of God who keeps their gaze on eternity, all for the glory of Christ. 

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Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/

[2] https://www.facebook.com/JohnPiper. “How Do I See the Glory of Christ?” Desiring God, 30 Sept. 2022, www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-i-see-the-glory-of-christ. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.