The Strand Study Bible

Written From Philippi During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

II CORINTHIANS

1935

It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians... and I am one of them. 1

The joy (the great secret) that this third-century martyr was referring to was what Paul was referring to here in this chapter; and the great secret is this: There is something ahead of us. It awaits us, and it calls to us every moment of the day if we’re listening; and if we’re attentive to it, like Cyprian and Paul were, we will discover a joy so surreal that no matter what happens to us in this incredibly unjust world, we can take it with a smile. It’s called the eternal perspective ( II Cor 4:17,18 and Phil 1:21 ). NOTE – If we share in His suffering we will also share in His glory ( that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body – Rom 8:17, II Tim 2:11-12 and I Pet 4:13-14). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Life changes. Just don’t let it change you 4:15 This word ( redound ) is the Greek word SHULσσHXσK ( perisseuse ) and means “ to cause to exceed; to turn out abundantly. ” Everything Paul suffered, while carrying the Gospel to the people of Corinth, was for the salvation of the Corinthian people, so that the ultimate purpose of glorifying God exceedingly might be fulfilled ( Jn 15:8 ). 4:17 This life is nothing more than a momentary assignment ( which is but for a moment ). “Now” is not forever –it’s only “for a moment” ( Eccl 1:2 ). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: All that we see is not all that is there 4:18 This word “ temporal ” comes from two Greek words: SUοσ ( pros - meaning “for”) and NDLUο9 ( kairos - meaning “a season”). Placed together, the two words mean “ for a season .” Anything that is temporal only pertains “to a season,” that is, it is not going to last because it is not real. Billy Graham in StormWarning notes: Only that which is real lasts; and since eternity is going to last forever, only the eternal is real. And because only the eternal is real, Paul encourages believers to gain the eternal perspective ( Mt 5:6 & 16:3 , Colo 3:1 and Heb 11:16). Gaining the eternal perspective not only helps “minimize” the temporal drama within a believer’s life, it also helps others “better” their life ( Phil 1: 21- 24 ). C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity notes: If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither. 3 NOTE - Because Heaven is eternal, a believer must focus his attention on two truths if the eternal perspective is to become a reality in this life: (1) Heaven , and (2) What Heaven Thinks . Heaven There are seven truths concerning Heaven that every believer needs to “gain” if the eternal perspective is to become a reality in their life. Practicing the application behind each truth will allow the believer to “maintain” the eternal perspective in his or her life: 1. Heaven is a real place (Lk 11:1-2 and Jn 14:1-3) If Heaven is a real place (and it is) and we are headed there for all eternity (and we are), why aren’t we investing in it now ? Jonathan Edwards, the great Puritan preacher, said of Heaven: It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven… to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and true happiness. 4 Heaven is real and God has commanded us to invest in the next life, not this life. Jesus warned Peter in Matthew 16:26 : For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Jesus was speaking here to believers, not unbelievers. He was exhorting us to invest in the eternal, not the temporal. Application – In order to “maintain” the eternal perspective concerning this one truth we must invest in three areas within the Christian’s life: (1) One’s tithe (Mt 6:19-20, Mal 3:10-12 and I Cor 9:1-14); (2) One’s time (Eph 5:15-16); and (3) One’s talents (I Cor 12, Rom 12:6-8, Mt 25: 9- 30 and Lk 16:9 & 19:11-17 -26). Christians with the eternal perspective value principle over profit, perpetuity (eternity) over point in time (temporal), and people over possessions. They are more concerned with holiness than happiness and posterity than prosperity. Eternal minded Christians don’t waste their time worrying about things that do not matter or working overtime for things they will end up selling at next year’s garage sale. 2. Heaven is a better place (Phil 1:21-23) If Heaven is a better place (and it is) and we are headed there for all eternity (and we are), why do we fight going there ? John R. Rice in Bible Facts About Heaven notes: We Christians often act like heathen. We preach that it is wonderful to be a Christian, that Heaven is to be gained Among the various mysteries discussed by the apostle Paul in his many letters to the churches, was the idea that our world–the world of the visible–is an unreal and impermanent place. The real world, he said, is the unseen world. 2