Sermon Tone Analysis

The common feature in all of these comments, drawn from notes on various passages of Scripture, is that I quote from 2 Corinthians 4, a most important chapter for all who seek to live as the Lord's faithful servants.

At the end of my own notes, I've included a link to a message in which James Philip emphasizes the importance of 2 Corinthians for those who seek to honour the Lord in their ministry of His Word.

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2 Corinthians 4:1-2

We are always ‘unworthy servants’.

We never outgrow our need of ‘God’s mercy’ (Luke 17:10; Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 4:1).

We need ‘the attitude of gratitude’ (Luke 17:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Jesus is coming again (Luke 17:24).

Be ready for Him!

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2 Corinthians 4:3

The ‘veil’ has been removed (2 Corinthians 4:3-4,6).

Our sin had separated us from God, hiding His face from us (Isaiah 59:2).

When Christ died, ‘the curtain of the temple was torn in two...’ (Mark 15:37-38).

He has changed everything (Hebrews 9:7-8,11-12).

Once, we were ‘separated... alienated... strangers... far off’.

Now, we are ‘in Christ Jesus’ - ‘brought near in the blood of Christ’ (Ephesians 2:12-13; Hebrews 10:19-22).

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2 Corinthians 4:4

Hezekiah is facing a very powerful enemy - ‘Sennacherib, king of Assyria’ (Isaiah 36:1).

Hezekiah prays for deliverance - ‘O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand’.

He prays for salvation - ‘O Lord our God, save us...’ (Isaiah 37:20).

We face an even more powerful enemy - Satan, ‘the ruler of this world’, ‘the god of this world’.

We must pray for deliverance.

We must look to the Lord for salvation.

We must pray with faith in Jesus Christ.

Satan ‘has no power over’ Jesus.

When Jesus was ‘lifted up from the earth’ (crucified), He won a mighty victory over Satan.

Jesus died for us so that Satan, ‘the ruler of this world’ might be ‘cast out’.

Satan’s power is broken when ‘the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ shines ‘in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (John 14:30;12:31-33; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

‘The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God...

The Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel’(Ezekiel 1:1-2).

The Lord opens our eyes to ‘see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:4).

The Lord speaks to us and we must listen to Him: ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening’ (1 Samuel 3:9-10).

‘The Spirit came into me... Do not be afraid of them or their words’ (Ezekiel 2:2,6).

Through the Spirit, we receive wisdom - ‘We have received the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand what God has freely given us’ - and strength - ‘God strengthens us with power through His Spirit in our inner being’ (1 Corinthians 2::12; Ephesians 3:16).

‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart... Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word... Be Thou my Battleshield, sword for the fight’ (Church Hymnary, 87).

The human situation is hopeless (Ephesians 4:18-19; 2 Corinthians 4:4) - without Christ!

With Him, everything changes (2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 4:22-24).

‘'The gates of hell prevail against’ us.

They do not prevail against Christ (Matthew 16:18).

Tell others what the ‘Lord has done for you’ - God will use your words to bring blessing (Mark 4:19-20).

Empowered by God, Jesus gives sight to the blind man (John 9:3,6-7).

‘The Pharisees’ hear the man’s testimony (John 9:15).

‘Some of’ them reject the Lord (John 9:16,24).

There will always be those who refuse to believe in the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They will pour scorn on those who have come to know the Lord.

The man gives his testimony: ‘One thing I know...

I was blind, now I see’ (John 9:25).

The Pharisees continue to fire questions at him (John 9:26).

He puts the most challenging question to them: ‘Do you too want to become His disciples?’

(John 9:27).

They hurl insults at him (John 9:28).

Fools attack what they don’t understand.

The more they rage, the more they show their folly.

We say, ‘Lord, I believe’, and our spiritual ‘eyes’ are opened (John 9:38; 2 Corinthians 4:6).

Don’t be ‘blind’, despising the believer and the Saviour (John 9:39-40; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

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2 Corinthians 4:5

As servants of Christ - He ‘came not to be served but to serve’ (Mark 10:45) - , we are to serve others for ‘Jesus’ sake’ (2 Corinthians 4:5).

To those whom we serve, we say, ‘We are your servants but you are not our lords’.

Jesus is Lord: It is ‘as the Lord commands’ (Numbers 8:22).

We are not to be super-spiritual.

We are to be spiritually natural and naturally spiritual.

Let there be no conflict between loving God and loving our neighbour.

Christ is our Lord.

We serve others for His sake (2 Corinthians 4:5).

We are to be faithful to God (Matthew 25:21).

There is a reward for faithfulness (Matthew 25:29; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Our ‘reward’ is not to get more glory for ourselves: ‘what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord’ (2 Corinthians 4:5).

Bringing glory to God - this is to be our greatest joy.

We are not to be thinking, ‘What am I going to get out of this?’.

We are to be asking, ‘What can I give to others?’.

The ‘righteous’ are not full of boasting about their ‘righteous’ actions (Matthew 25:37-38).

The Lord’s true servants do not draw attention to themselves.

Do you have ‘talents’?

Yes - you do! Use them!

‘Serve the Lord with gladness’ (Psalm 100:2).

Let this be your ‘reward’: the joyful privilege of bringing blessing to others and glory to God.

On earth, we begin to ‘enter the joy of our Lord’ (Matthew 25:21).

In heaven, there will be ‘fullness of joy’ and ‘pleasure for evermore’ (Psalm 16:11).

The important thing is the ‘message’ (Colossians 4:3).

The messengers are just ‘jars of clay’.

The message is the ‘treasure’ (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The messengers must not draw attention to themselves.

They must direct attention away from themselves to Jesus Christ - ‘We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord’ (2 Corinthians 4:5).

We are to pray that the message will be ‘clear’ (Colossians 4:4).

Pray for good preaching - preaching which does you good, giving you good cause to say in your heart, ‘For me it is good to be near God’ (Psalm 73:28).

Pray for preaching which glorifies God.

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2 Corinthians 4:6

At the place called Peniel, Jacob ‘saw God face to face’ (Genesis 32:30).

We see ‘the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Jacob wrestled with God and became an overcomer (Genesis 32:28).

Christ wrestled with the powers of evil, and has won a mighty victory for us.

When He cried out from the Cross, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30), this was not an admission of defeat.

It was the declaration of victory - the victory has been won, the victory is complete.

‘Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

How are we brought out of unbelief and into faith, out of derision and into rejoicing?

By the mighty working of God in our hearts, we are brought out of darkness and into light (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Salvation comes from above, from God - ‘The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom’ (Matthew 27:51).

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2 Corinthians 4:7-8

‘The pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him’ (Jeremiah 18:4).

This is what the Lord is doing in our lives.

He is ‘the Potter’.