2 Corinthians 4:13-15
On this Easter Sunday morning, we can highlight the importance of the Resurrection with a single question: “Do we have more yesterdays or tomorrows?”
Todd Purdum began his article about the 42nd President of the United States this way: “In the summer of 1996, as he prepared to turn 50—and win a second term in the White House—Bill Clinton took to musing aloud that he now had ‘more yesterdays than tomorrows.’ If that sentiment seemed maudlin for a man still in the prime of life, it was rooted in fact: The men in Clinton’s family died young—his birth father at 28, his stepfather at 59. Today, Clinton turns 73, having exceeded Psalm 90’s allotted three-score years and 10, and having survived impeachment, open-heart surgery, and more than enough personal and political scrapes to exhaust nine lives, much less one. Unless he lives to 150, the 42nd president really does have more yesterdays than tomorrows.”[i]
In a world where “death and taxes”[ii] are certain, can you be sure that you have more tomorrows than yesterdays?
On this Resurrection Sunday, believers are rejoicing in God’s promises that they do indeed have more tomorrows than yesterdays. And it this understanding that gives life new meaning. In fact, it gives each true follower of Jesus Christ an invitation to a life of adventure. In short, our Risen Lord introduces us to risen living: living life in the power of His resurrection.
In 2 Corinthians 4:13-15, the Apostle Paul wrote:
The theme of 2 Corinthians could be aptly summed up using 2 Corinthians 12:9, “God’s strength in our weakness.” Paul’s was a testimony of the sufficient grace of God. How was God’s strength evident in Paul’s weakness in 2 Corinthians chapter 4?
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: Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall presentus with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:13-15
We Can Have the Same Spirit of Faith
“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:” (2 Corinthians 4:13)
When Paul wrote “We have the same spirit of faith, according as it is written…” he noted the similarity between his attitude of faith and that of a psalmist. The apostle had endured his afflictions with a victorious attitude associated with great faith: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 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. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death works in us, but life in you.” (2 Corinthians 4:9-12)[iii] Can you see that theme of the risen Lord in Paul’s risen living?
But how could Paul approach such suffering selflessly? From the very outset, this letter to the Corinthians had described this pattern of God’s strength in the believer’s weakness:
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
When this great comfort of God you know, then you, my friend can overflow – into the lives of others. Paul knew the Father – the Source of all mercies – and he determined to share this comfort with others. With this attitude of faith, challenges became channels to show others the greatness of God. So Paul could write in verse 12, “… so then death works in us, but life in you.”
But where do you get this kind of faith? Could you have “the same spirit of faith” to face your own trials? In Romans 10:17, Paul declared that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” What was it that increased Paul’s faith in those difficult days? He quoted the words of Psalm 116:10 as the anchor for his soul in those trying times: “I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:”
Paul expressed his spirit of faith by using phrases from Scripture. This is a tremendous lesson for every believer. Can you face your suffering using phrases from the Scriptures? If so, then you can have this same spirit of faith.
One author noted, “Both the psalmist and Paul spoke of their trials in order to glorify God (4:13, quoting Ps. 116:10). Paul poured out his heart with reference to his suffering for the sake of Christ. He shared a divine perspective on suffering that has been an encouragement to many in the straits of affliction.”[iv] Paul could say, “we believe and therefore speak” because he had placed his faith in God’s Word.
But wasn’t Paul ultimately put to death because of his Gospel preaching? Yes, but even as he faced death, the apostle undoubtedly remembered Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints!”
Why Can We Have the Same Spirit of Faith?
“Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall presentus with you.” (2 Corinthians 4:14)
According to verse 13, we know something that gives us the same spirit of faith as the Apostle Paul and the psalmist he quoted. What do we know? We know that God raised up the Lord Jesus Christ. We celebrate this on this Resurrection Sunday. But we know something more. We know that the very same Father who brought Jesus forth alive will also raise us up alive from the dead with Jesus Christ. To answer the earlier question, this means we have more tomorrows than yesterdays! Our risen Lord gives us the power to live the life of the risen – fueled by the power of Christ’s resurrection.
Psalms 113-118 are the “Hallel” (praise) psalms. “These are used at major festivals and specifically at Pesah [Passover] in commemorating the exodus from Egypt, Pss. 113–14 before the meal, Pss. 115–18 afterward (cf. Mark 14:26); hence the “Egyptian Hallel.”[v]
Understanding the way these psalms were used at Passover helps us understand the way the apostle thought about Psalm 116. Remember the history of the Passover: the blood of the lamb upon the doorposts in Egypt caused the death angel to pass over the children of Israel (Exodus 12:5-14). The Feast of Passover celebrated this great deliverance. But at a fateful Passover Feast, God would give His Lamb who would “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). While all the people celebrated the “Hallels,” God gave His one and only Son as the Sacrifice for the sins of men on the cross of Calvary.
But the Passover was not the final event in the story of the Exodus from Egypt. When was that Exodus completed? You know the answer: their Exodus from Egypt was complete when they crossed the Red Sea. Throughout the Old Testament, that Exodus through the Red Sea was cited as the greatest demonstration of God’s power.
And the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ was not the final event in the Gospel story. What came next? What happened three days later? He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose! Throughout the New Testament, the Resurrection of Christ is cited as the greatest demonstration of God’s power. This is why we can have the same spirit of faith as the Apostle Paul and the psalmist of old. In our deepest trials, and yes, even on our deathbeds, God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. We can live our lives like risen people because we know our risen Lord.
One author wrote, “The miraculous crossing of the Red Sea has been called the Resurrection of the Old Testament, since many OT authors look back on it as the prime example of God’s power in Israel’s history.[vi]
Another author expressed it this way: “The exodus deliverance is to the Old Testament what the death and resurrection of Christ are to the New Testament—the central, definitive act in which God intervenes to save His people. The Old Testament illustrates how God’s acts of redemption call for a response from God’s people. The proclamation of God’s saving acts in the exodus was the central function of Israel’s worship (compare Pss 78:11–55; 105:23–45; 106:7–33; 136:10–16). Christian worship focuses on God’s saving act in Christ. (Compare the hymns in Phil 2:6–11 and Rev 5:12.) God’s saving intervention in the exodus formed the basis both for the prophetic call to obedience (Hos 13:4) and the announcement of judgment on covenant breakers (Amos 2:10; 3:1–2; Hos 11:1–5; 12:9; Jer 2:5–9). Today God’s saving act in Christ forms the basis for the call to live a Christlike life (Rom 6:1–14). God’s saving acts in the past gave Israel hope that God would intervene to save in the future (Isa 11:16; Mic 7:15). Likewise, God’s saving act in Christ is the basis for the Christian’s hope (Rom 8:28–39).”[vii] Is this your hope? Are you living a risen life because of the finished work of your risen Lord?
Rolland McCune wrote, ““The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most colossal single demonstration of the power of God of all time. In the Old Testament God held up the Exodus from Egypt and its attending miracles as the greatest exhibition of His power toward the nation Israel. He constantly reminded them that He had redeemed them from Egyptian bondage, that He had brought them out of the house of slavery with a mighty hand and similar expressions. But all of that was dwarfed by the resurrection of Christ, so that Paul’s heart’s desire was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Phil 3:10), not the power of the Exodus, the crossing of the Jordan, Joshua’s long day, the reversal of the shadow of Hezekiah’s sundial or any of the other Old Testament expenditures of God’s omnipotence.”[viii]
But wait, there’s more! The apostle Paul continued, “… and shall present us with you.” As we shall see in the next message tonight, this was part of Paul’s carefully reasoned service. He knew that his labors were not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). Paul served Jesus Christ because he knew he would stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ. He loved to serve the believers in the church because he knew that he would be raised to fellowship with them for all eternity. What a fellowship! What a joy divine!
In our Sunday schools today, we will emphasize the importance of serving the Lord and sacrificing for Him. As Jesus said, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto [to be served], but to minister [to serve], and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). This is why Paul went on to say, “For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15).
Recently, at the graveside of a dear saint of God, Marcella Westfall, I asked those in attendance, “Is this a burial or a planting?” According to 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, the grave of a believer is a planting, not a burial. Yes, we place the body in the ground, but in that “great getting’ up morning,” God the Father will raise us up. We can live our lives with the certainty of our coming resurrection because of our risen Lord.
This same serving spirit of faith has fueled great missionary efforts. The missionary, C.T. Studd, wrote:
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, and stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.[ix]
A very wealthy young man name William Borden gave away much of his fortune on his way to becoming a missionary to the Arabic regions of the world. He wrote, “In every man’s heart there is a throne and a cross. If Christ is on the throne, self is on the cross; and if self, even a little bit, is on the throne, Jesus is on the cross in that man’s heart…. If Jesus is on the throne, you will go where He wants you to go. Jesus on the throne glorifies any work or spot…. Lord Jesus, I take hands off, as far as my life is concerned. I put Thee on the throne in my heart. Change, cleanse, use me as Thou shalt choose. I take the full power of Thy Holy Spirit. I thank Thee. May never know a tithe [a tenth] of the result until Morning.”[x]
Our risen Lord has given us the freedom to live the life of the risen, knowing that we have more tomorrows than yesterdays. Let us give Him all the praise and glory on this Resurrection Sunday!
Pastor Gordon Dickson, Calvary Baptist Church, Findlay, Ohio, www.cbcfindlay.org
[i][i] Todd S. Purdum, “Did Bill Clinton See This Coming?” The Atlantic, August 19, 2019 accessed at https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/08/bill-clinton-legacy/596323/ 08/20/19
[ii]Death and Taxes, Wikipedia, accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_taxes_(idiom) 04/02/21
[iii] Note Paul’s expanded description of his sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:21-30
[iv] Robert B. Hughes and J. Carl Laney, Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, The Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 569–570.
[v] John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Psalms 90–150, ed. Tremper Longman III, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 316.
[vi] H. L. Willmington, Willmington’s Bible Handbook (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 44.
[vii] David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 150.
[viii] Rolland McCune, A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity: The Doctrines of Man, Sin, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, vol. 2 (Allen Park, MI: Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2009), 225.
[ix] C.T. Studd, Only One Life, accessed at https://tonycooke.org/stories-and-illustrations/only-one-life/ 04/02/21
[x] Mrs. Howard Taylor, Borden of Yale, Chicago: Moody Press, 1960 p. 115. This book is available online at https://bibletruthpublishers.com/borden-of-yale/mrs-howard-taylor/lyb25666-25361