II Corinthians Chapter 4 "Support
Under Affliction" This Bible Study is written by Roger
Christopherson, and made available with written
permission by http://www.theseason.org II Corinthians 4:1 "Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;" Through Christ's mercy to us we receive His unmerited favor, whether we have earned it or not, after forgiveness He gives us the strength that we need to achieve our goals in the ministry. 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." The "hidden things" are those things that are cunning and crafty, and the Word of God puts the light of God on those things and shows them for the evil that they are. This is Satan's way, to be subtle and deceiving and presenting things twisted to make dishonest and deceitful things to appear to be true. To handle the "Word of God" deceitfully is done when a teacher or minister give out one verse, and then spout off to twist that verse to form what they desire it to say, other than what the Word actually says. II Corinthians 4:3 "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:" If the Word of God is hid to anyone, it's truths are hid or kept from them by their own disbelief. It is hid because they desire to follow the way of the world, and believe the traditions of men that the world teaches and do not seek out the truths for themselves. II Corinthians 4:4 "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believer not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them," The "g" of "god of this world" is not with a capital letter, for Satan is the god of this world. Satan is the one that has caused them to believe his lies, for if a person sought the light of the gospel of Christ, the Holy Spirit would revel it to them. Jesus Christ is the "Image of God", for when you have seen the Son, Jesus Christ, you have seen the Father. Jesus said in John 10:30; "I and My Father are One." It is not meant that all should have eyes to see and ears to here with understanding the Word of God. The reason for this is many just do not have the strength to stand against Satan when he arrives, and if they knew the truth and bowed to him, they would have committed the unforgivable sin. It is God that sends the spirit of slumber on them for their own protection. Romans 11:7 "What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded" Romans 11:8 "(According as it is written, "God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear";) unto this day." Romans 11:9 "And David saith, "Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:" Romans 11:10 "Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow don their back alway." Those that have this spirit of slumber placed upon themselves will not be judged to death for their acts in ignorance in the flesh, but in God's appointed time, in the Millennium age, they shall be taught discipline and judged by their works in that age. In the manuscripts God has prepared His elect, by showing those that can see and have the ears to hear, to see beyond that veil of truth that He sets you at liberty. This is possible because the Holy Spirit is the one that lifts that veil, and shines the light of truth into their mind, and gives you understanding. However, for many there is just no way that they can see beyond that veil and into the things that are spiritual because they are blinded by the Satan the god of this world, which is to say the prince of the power of the air. II Corinthians 4:5 "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." Paul didn't come to Corinth and representing himself, or any denomination or person, but Paul came to the Corinthians preaching Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Paul preached a risen Christ, the Son of God born in the flesh, living a perfect live in the flesh, and crucified at the hands of the Kenite leaders. Paul never represented any division in the many membered body of Jesus Christ, but we came to you as your slaves in the service of Christ, for Jesus' sake. When you teach Jesus Christ and Christ only, then you become the servants of everyone for Jesus' sake. When there is divisions or denominations, then your loyalty is to those man made divisions and the rules that he set, rather than to Christ's teachings only. When you commit to a method of teaching, and set the limits of what shall and shall not be taught in your church house, then you limit God and allow a man to control you. Paul came to Corinth free from all ties and teaching the entire Word of God; chapter by chapter and verse by verse; line upon line and precept upon precept. The entire Word of God is the entire plan of God and man does not set the limits on God's Word. True Christianity brings you above denominationalism and sets you free of that stuff. Though many of them try to do a good job, you need to mature into the deeper thoughts of the Word of God, and get above the childish things. That is not an insult, but a fact. 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 light that shines out of the darkness and into our hearts is behind the veil. That light can not be seen visually with the flesh eye, however it shines in the mind of the soul whereby that light of truth will penetrate to your heart and mind to give you the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Your eyes reflect the mirror of your soul. Christ is the Living Word that brings forth knowledge, wisdom and understanding and insight into God's Word. Paul knew of this insight that the Spirit of God reflects on ones soul. Paul wrote of this in I Thessalonians 5:1-6 that if you have the eyes to see, you don't need someone to tell you truth. I Thessalonians 5:1 "But of the times of the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you." Those with eyes to see and understand the light of God's Word, may not know the exact instant of Jesus return at the seventh trump, but we do know the seasons and events that come prior to His coming. We know that the six trumpets must sound first and come to pass before the seventh will happen. I Thessalonians 5:2 "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." I Thessalonians 5:3 "For when they shall say, "Peace and safety;" then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." Sudden destruction comes instantly when Satan arrives at the Sixth trumpet, for those that are looking for their rapture event will be so taken by Satan that they will instantly think that Satan is Christ. They will do this because they have been taught to do so through their traditions and doctrines. To those with the eyes to see the truth of God's Word, we will be expecting this to happen, we will see Satan come with all his tricks and supernatural powers, and we will know him for the liar and deceiver that he is. I Thessalonians 5:4 "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." Satan is the prince of darkness. I Thessalonians 5:5 "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." You simply cannot be both a child of the day and of the night, For those children of the night have the veil over them to where they cannot understand the truths of God's Word. The children of the day have that veil lifter from their spiritual eyes, and the Holy Spirit shines the knowledge of truth into their minds. I Thessalonians 5:6 "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." So Paul is telling us to wake up to the times that we are living in. Watch for those events that are going on daily, and apply those events to God's Word so that we are not caught knapping like the children of darkness will be. Because you are children of light make sure there is no darkness, misunderstanding and trickery within you. When you have eyes to see, and you have become children of light, you will have a clearer understand of the Word. Speaking in a prophetic sense, all prophesies given in days, the sun or solar, or years are given to God's children, the children of the day. In turn, all prophesies which are given in months, which is to say lunar, the moon, or darkness relate to Satan and his children. In other words, to know and to understand and to be a child of light, you come to the knowledge of all prophesies that relate to God's elect, which are His children as given in days. Every prophecy dealing with the times and dates of Satan and his children are given in moons, or months are dealing in the times of darkness, for they are the children of the night. An example of the is in Daniel 12:11; "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." This warning is to God's elect of the time it will be until Jesus Christ returns. The daily sacrifice that is taken away is the communion, and communion will not be taken any more when Satan arrives for the fact that most Christians Christians will think that Jesus has returned. That is the abomination that is made desolate. In Revelation 11:11; "And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them." This also is directed to God's elect, the children of the day, for all others simply do not care about this three and a half day period, for they are busy worshipping Satan, whom they think is Jesus, and these two witness were just in their way, saying that the one they thought was Christ, is actually Satan. Only God's Children, the elect will apply this to what is happening. One of the examples of the other measurement in time is given in Revelation 13:5 "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months." This is the time that the children of darkness will worship the dragon, which gave the power back to the one world system, which had received a deadly wound, and now that wound is healed. In other words the new world order that will fall apart is going to be brought back together by Satan, the dragon, the serpent or by what ever name you wish to call him. The passage is addressed to the children of darkness and concerns them only, until the world system and Satan are eliminated. So lets come into the light, which is to say the truth. Allow the Holy Spirit to touch you and gain the wisdom that applies to this world that we live in. God led the prophets and the apostles to write what they wrote for a purpose so that we living in these last days would understand more clearly His Word. 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." This "Treasure" that Paul is speaking of is the "Holy Spirit". When you allow the Holy Spirit to enter your flesh body, or "earthen vessel", you allow God to enter into you and bring you out of your problems, to touch and guide you in your daily life. It doesn't matter how dark the night is when you are a child of the light and God will let that light shine throughout your entire being. II Corinthians 4:8 "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;" Everywhere Paul went trouble was on every side of him and those he was with, but it did not bother him at all. Though at times Paul was perplexed, it would never leave him in despair. Those times when Paul sat in prison, it future looked very dim, but God opened the doors, and cleared the path for Paul to continue his ministry. Just like Paul we also can be winners when we have the leading of the Holy Spirit within us. With God's help we have the blessings of God to prosper every thing that we touch. Satan is the god of this world today, but our God in heaven pulls his strings, and allows him to do what he does for the sake of fulfilling God's Holy Word. God even gave us power over this god of the world and his evil spirits, and we exercise our power through this Treasure that is within us, the Holy Spirit. II Corinthians 4:9 "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;" Sure Paul was persecuted, beaten, and called many names, but he was not forsaken and abandon by God. This word "cast down" in the Greek is "kataballo mai", and it is used only a few times in the entire Bible. It is the verb used in the overthrow of Satan in the first earth age. It comes from # 2596 in the Strong's Greek dictionary, "to throw down", and in the kings James we say to "cast down". So why would Paul bring this word "kataballo" into this verse? Paul is saying something far more powerful than just to be down in his spirit, down hearted or something like that, but it is the term used for the overthrow of Satan and his realm in the first earth age. The subject of this chapter is; those that cannot see fall under the god [Satan] of this world. So why would Paul use this word "kataballo" which was unusual? It is because of the term "but not destroyed". The word "destroyed" in the Greek is "apollumi", it is from #575 and the base of " 3639 of the Strong's Greek dictionary, and it means to destroy completely and turn to ashes. It completely ceases to exist. We know from Hebrews 2:14 that Satan is the "destroyer", for that is one of his names. This is the reason that Paul used these words "kataballo" and "Apollumi". When we look at #623 in the Greek dictionary, it reads; "Apolluon, ap-ol-loo'-ohn; a destroyed (i,e. Satan);-Apollyon.). It is the descriptive name for Satan. Revelation 9:11; "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." This verse is telling us the identity of the king that shall rule over the earth and those fallen angels that come with him. The subject of this chapter is the "king of this earth", and he was the "kataballo" and named "Apollyon". Satan is the destroyer. Satan was the arch angel of God, the protector that covereth the mercy seat, and he was cast down from his position and given the name "the destroyer, Apollyon" because he misled the hearts of God's children into unbelief through his subtlety and lies. He will get to you today if you let him. If this doesn't make sense to you, don't worry about it, but as you study the writings of Paul you will soon learn that he uses certain words to describe exactly what he means. When the Holy Spirit is working within you, and it appears that there is trouble on every side, it doesn't matter that there is persecution all around you, we are not sentenced to death but to eternal life in the Holy Spirit. When Paul is saying one thing, there is a hidden meaning for those willing to study and open their minds to the wisdom of the Spirit of God. 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." Paul is saying that he faces death for teaching the many membered body of Christ the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, it is done so that the life and teaching of Jesus Christ can be made known to those that have the eyes to see and the ears to hear and understand. Any time you go deeper into the Word than the first level of the teachings of Christ, the churchmen will talk down on you, and try to discredit your name. You are upsetting their traditions, and making their teaching void. This causes problems with the flow of money to their coffers, and that is why we are to keep our name completely out of it, when teaching God's Word. It is the Word of God only that matters, and all challenges should be over the Word and the the credentials of any man. Let the Word stand on its own merit, and it will when held up to any light that man will shine on it. This is why Paul said that he teaches only Christ. Any other form causes divisions and takes their eyes off God's Word and places the attention on man's words. There was persecution when Paul taught the whole Word of God, and don't think for a moment that those threats don't exist today for teaching the whole Word of God. So Paul is saying here is that he faced threats of death daily for teaching the true Word of God. It is worth it, because it brings for the true Word of Jesus Christ. You can have that same Treasure while in your flesh body today, and anytime you talk about and teach the truth of the whole Word of God, the world around you will persecute you for it. When that truth enters a man or woman's heart it changes their lives. 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." In other words, we face that death because we are Christian and carry the truth of Christ resurrection forth. However, even in our flesh bodies we have the Treasure of the Spirit of God that protects us when ever we are cast down, we have eternal life and we will carry that Word forth where ever we go. II Corinthians 4:12 "So then death worketh in us, but life in you." Paul and the disciples face that death daily because that eternal life was within them. Eternal life is given to each of us, whereby His Spirit becomes a part of your life even while we are living in these flesh bodies. 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;" Paul is quoting from Psalms 116:10-11; "I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: I said in my haste, "All men are liars." " The very subject of Psalms 116. and II Corinthians 4 are the same, "the king of this earth" who is Satan. We see that what happened to David is what was happening to Paul also, and that is why Paul related to this verse. Lets go back to the first and read the first verses of this chapter. Psalms 116:1 "I love the Lord, because He hath heard My voice and my supplication." Psalms 116:2 "Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live." Psalms 116:3 "The sorrows of death compassed me, And the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow." Psalms 116:4 "Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my soul." Psalms 116:5 "Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yea, our God is merciful." In other words God preserves the simple, and He will always help you. Psalms 116:6 "The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and He helped me." Psalms 116:7 "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. Psalms 116:8 "For thou has delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, And my feet from falling." Psalms 116:9 "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living." Psalms 116:10 "I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:" l believed on the Word that Christ brought forth. There was trouble every where, just like in the world today. It was also there in David's day just as it was in Paul's day. It will be there also when you try to teach the whole word of God. Psalms 116:11 "I said in my haste, "All men are liars." " That is exactly as it is when you listen to men and men's traditions, but we are to listen to our Father who is the living God, and He speaks to us through his Word. Psalms 116:12 "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" Those benefits are His mercy and His grace that He puts within our flesh bodies. Psalms 116:13 "I will take the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord." I will take the Holy Communion that I hold near and dear to strengthen me as I call on the name of the Lord. It is His Spirit that dwells with in me and gives me my strength. 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." Paul is telling you here the very same thing that he told us in I Thessalonians 4. Many people make their rapture theory out of this, but Paul states that He does not want us ignorant like the heathen, or non-believers. The subject that Paul was addressing was "where are the dead". What happens when a loved one dies, and you lay his flesh decaying body in the grave; what happens then to his soul? If you believed that Christ rose and joined the Father, so does everyone else at death. That's right, everyone, good and bad alike. No soul is out there in a dead decaying flesh body, but their soul went immediately to be with the Father. Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it." It's not difficult to understand. Your spirit is the intellect of your soul, and where ever your spirit goes, your soul goes also. You can't separate the the spirit from the soul, and when you physical body dies and life goes out of it, God takes that soul and spirit immediately right back to where it came from before your soul entered it's embryo with in your mother's womb at conception. II Corinthians 4:15 "For all things are for your sake, that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God." In other words, any suffering that a teacher goes through is for the sake of the student, so that the unlimited favor that God gives to that student be passed on from that student on to his student. Each time God's Word is passed down from one to another and on to another, it proves that the Word of God is worth while. So when someone persecutes you for teaching the Word of God, it just doesn't matter what that heathen might think. 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." "Perish" means to be turned to dust of ashes and be completely destroyed. This is what happens when you die, for your body will be turned to dust unless you are cremated in which case it goes to ashes of course. Your flesh body is a shell that will perish in time. But the inward man which is your soul where your spirit dwells is renewed or made alive daily. This is saying that even after the flesh is perished, the inward man lives on and on. No soul is out there in any hole in the ground like many teach, for that is as the heathen teach and think. Remember that at death of the flesh body, the soul whether good or bad, returns to the Father that gave it. Some souls return for rewards and glory, while many others to be held for judgment. 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;" Satan tries to strap us with his affliction until we come to our senses and put him in his place. Paul is saying here that there is no comparison between any affliction that Satan can cause you here in this flesh age, and the exceeding glory that God has waiting for you when you souls passes to your eternal rewards. "Eternal" as it is used relating to the life that God gives means that there is no time of none existence in life form from the day God created your soul back in the first earth age, all the way through this age of the flesh, and on into the eternal age. If you except Christ, you have eternal life. Lets go to the Greek to get the full meaning of "eternal". It is #166 in the Strong's; "aionios, ahee'-o-nee-os; from 165, perpetual, (used of past present or future as well), eternal from the beginning of age, eternal, everlasting, without end." This is the word that "eons" came from, and it means from before, now and through the Millennium and it always will be. There is never a time when the soul ceases to exist. There is no timeout for a side trip into the ground to rest, and wait for a coming flyaway to take place. When you accept Jesus Christ, you accept eternal life from the beginning of this earth in the first earth age. When you read John 3:16; "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "Everlasting" as used here is also # 166 in Strong's "aionios", from the day God created your soul in the eons past of the first earth age, through this age, and into a time where there is no end. Mankind just can't imagine such a thing in reality for there is nothing to compare it to in our lives. For the deeper scholar, there is no such thing as pre-existence, though we use the word in our talking for that is the only way that our minds can comprehend the topic, when there is unbelief. When you say that you pre-existed, you are saying that you stopped living for a time, and then started to live again. When God created even Satan's soul, his soul will continue living from the day he was created, until God turns him to ashes in hell fire. That's right Satan was a created soul or man just like you and I were. Ezekiel 28:15 "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in the." This iniquity that came into Satan was when he tried to play the role of God. Satan fell into sin, and God judged him and sentenced him to death, or perdition that his soul would be turned to ashes. Ezekiel 28:18 "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee." This has not happened yet, nor will it happen until after the Millennium age, and the time of the Great white throne judgment In reality there is no such thing as preexistence for there was never a time of none existence after the time that God created your soul. All souls are eternal until the time of its death. That death is called the "second death", and comes after the judgment day. Revelation 20:11 "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." John is writing as he was seeing these things happening so that you and I would know exactly what is going to happen. The reason that the heaven and earth fled away is that it is being done away with, and made ready for the new heaven and new earth that is recorded in Revelation 21. The age of the flesh is long gone, and the thousand year Millennium age has been lived, so it is time for those that in ignorance followed Satan in the age of the flesh, and now will be judged by their works out of the Millennium age. Revelation 20:13 "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell were delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." This is the great white throne judgment at the end of the Millennium age. If you are saved in this age of the flesh, you are saved by your faith, and the belief in Jesus Christ that comes from that faith. You believed not seeing, and that is your faith. Salvation in this age is by the grace or unmerited favor from God to you. Your sins are forgiven, and blotted out, however when you bow to Satan the Antichrist in ignorance, you do not have the eyes to see for God placed a covering over them for your own protection. This is why you are judged by your works out of the Millennium age Revelation 20:14 "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Many will be tested by Satan when e is released for a short season after the Millennium, and they will run to him just like they did in the first earth age, the age of the flesh in the second age, and then in the third age of the Millennium. Three strikes and you are out. You will be caste into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Friend, God gave you many chances to follow him, and when you turned to Jesus Christ, you followed the only way to eternal life. Your name is either in the book of life, or you will not exist, not even in the minds of your loved ones that do have eternal life. You could have been married to a person for forty years, and if their name is not in the book of life and yours is, it will be as if that person was never born, or existed. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28; "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him Which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Paul is trying to make you understand the man that dwells within your flesh body, that inner man of your soul has a Father and He loves you. Once you believe on Christ, your soul becomes eternal and does not go out there in some hole in the ground to sleep, but God claims that soul and brings it right back to Himself. At death you will return instantly to the Father that loves you, enough to place His Treasure of His Holy Spirit in your heart, and that Spirit gives you eternal life. 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." When you study the Word of God, do you go deeper in the Spiritual things that are not on the surface? Those things on the surface appear to be one way, they last just a little time and they are gone. However, the Spiritual things that deal with your eternal soul never have an end. From verse sixteen the subject became "the inner man", the part of you that you can't see and call your soul. Your soul is not temporal but it is eternal when you accept the gift of God through Jesus Christ. It is the greatest gift that is ever offered, for it lets your soul find peace in the fact that you have eternal life. It doesn't matter how far to the bottom that you have sunk in this flesh life, once you love Him and tell him that you love Him, He will help you come out of that state you are in. Then He will make somebody out of you that He can use for His service. However, He will not force you to do anything, it is up to you to make the move. Give your inner man a chance to receive that eternal life.
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