Suffering and Glory

Order of Service

• Prayer of Invocation
• Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: Suffering and Glory

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I. Suffering Produces Readiness for the Glory of Heaven

A. The outer nature (the body) is wasting away while the inner nature is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16)

1. Paul's distinction between body (soma) and flesh (sarx): the body is the physical frame destined for dust due to the fall; the flesh is the internal sin nature being put to death by the Spirit
2. Even as believers gain victory over the flesh through the Spirit, the body still bears the marks of the curse — the "elephant in the room" for the Christian

B. Paul cannot stop speaking of the resurrection of Christ because it is the only answer to the decaying body

1. Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest (1 Corinthians 15); his resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all who are united to him
2. Paul confesses in Romans 7:24: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? — answered only through Jesus Christ

C. The "eternal weight of glory" far outweighs the "slight momentary affliction" (2 Corinthians 4:17)

1. Greek wordplay: momentary literally means light in weight; weight of glory echoes the Hebrew kavod (weightiness, fullness, substance)
2. Paul is literally contrasting a light-in-weight burden now with an eternal burden of weight — God's own glory — that awaits the saints
3. Illustration: just as heavy burdens at work make a person long for vacation, the burden of a decaying body ought to make the believer long for heaven and say, We need glory
4. Anecdote: Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, dying of cancer, when asked if friends should pray for his healing, reportedly replied, "Don't rob me of the glory"

D. The saints throughout redemptive history had a "pulse beat for heaven"

1. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tents even in the promised land; Abraham called himself a sojourner after 62 years (Hebrews 11:9)
2. David in the height of his reign still longed to dwell in the house of the Lord (Psalm 27:4); called himself a sojourner (Psalm 39:12; Psalm 119:54)
3. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 will liken the mortal body to a tent, carrying the same symbolism as the patriarchs' tents — we are sojourners longing for a permanent home

II. Suffering Produces Longing for the Permanence of Heaven

A. We live in a transient world — the primary source of suffering (2 Corinthians 4:18)

1. Transient means lasting only a short time; the seen things are passing away, while the unseen things are eternal
2. The longing to hold on to fleeting moments (photographs, social media documentation) reflects a deep awareness of impermanence and an attempt to create an illusion of permanence

B. Entertainment and distraction function as a way of avoiding the reality of our transient existence

1. Blaise Pascal observed that the king of France could not bear to be alone without his court jester — constant entertainment masked contemplation of his own mortality
2. Modern devices (phones, social media) serve the same function — creating noise so we need not face our fleeting existence
3. Paul's counsel: the sooner you come to grips with your transient world, the sooner you can develop a true pulse beat for heaven and find genuine, lasting joy rather than illusory pleasure

C. Longing for heaven is ultimately longing for the resurrected Christ

1. Christ's resurrection spells permanence in an otherwise transient world; the empty tomb is the victory of concreteness over a malleable, flimsy existence
2. Taking your eyes off the resurrected King in the midst of suffering is like Peter taking his eyes off Christ — you will drown in the decay of your own mortal existence (Romans 7:24–25)
3. Keep your eyes fixed on the risen King; he is your permanence, your hope, and your joy now and forever

D. Special exhortation to young people: do not wait until old age to develop a heavenly pulse beat

1. Get your priorities straight now; do not be deceived by social media and the fleeting things of this world
2. Augustine: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee