It was John Stott who said, towards the end of
his life, I'm sometimes asked whether at my age
I have any ambitions left. I always now reply,
yes, my overriding ambition is that I may become
a little bit more like Christ. I can't remember
how long ago it was that I came across that quote.
It was probably 10, 15 years ago. But it has
stuck with me. It is our great hope, isn't it,
to be like Jesus. When he appears, we will be
like him, for we will see him as he is. In many
ways, it's our calling. John says that whoever
claims to live in him must walk as he did. Paul
will invite us to have the same attitude as Christ.
We're called to be like Jesus. I don't know about
you, but there's something within me that longs
for that. I mean, as I'm involved in ministry,
I'm so aware of mixed motives half the time,
so aware of struggles to love, so aware of the
insecurities that kick around. Don't you long
to be more like Jesus? As we go through life,
as we seek to minister to and encourage others,
ah, to be more like Jesus. How do we actually
make progress in that? How do we ourselves become
more like Jesus? How do we do ministry in such
a way that others are becoming more like Jesus?
To be honest, there's a vast array of stuff in
2 Corinthians 3 and 4. And to be honest, I'm
going to do far from a kind of model exposition,
as it were. But I want really to try and pick
up two particular things. Because there are two
different ways in this passage in which we become
like Jesus. So there in chapter 3, verse 18,
we become like him as we gaze upon him. And it's
there at the end of the reading, chapters 4,
10 to 12, we become like Jesus as we die like
Jesus. Probably aware that in 2 Corinthians 3,
Paul is talking about the glories of new covenant
ministry. That great promise back from Jeremiah,
the days are coming when I will make a new covenant.
I will be their gods. They will be my people.
I will forgive their wickedness and remember
their sins no more. And that promise hanging
around until one Passover in Jerusalem. There
is a man with his friends and he takes a cup
and says, this cup is the new covenant in my
blood. And all the promises from Jeremiah's day
are about to come gloriously true, gloriously
fulfilled. As Jesus hangs on the cross and sheds
his blood for us. And Paul here is saying, I
get the great privilege of proclaiming the benefits
of all that Christ has achieved. I get to live
out, to proclaim this new covenant ministry.
And there are a vast array of blessings that
come from that. The promise of righteousness,
not condemnation. And if we're spending longer
on this passage, I think a great thing to reflect
on is the extent to which as Christians we actually
fundamentally enjoy that new covenant. Maybe
it's because I'm in Oxford where there is a degree
of intensity around the place, but it can be
the case that people live with a sense of feeling
condemned, not righteous. And Paul wants to encourage
just to receive afresh. We live under the new
covenant. We get to live as those made righteous
by Christ and to live that out. And actually
both for those who have not yet submitted to
Jesus, they need to hear the call of it is possible
to be righteous. Actually for Christians, it
is a call to enter into all that Christ has achieved.
But it's actually in verse 18 that we get to
the supreme blessing of the new covenant. Because
the supreme blessing is to gaze upon the glory
of Jesus. There's a contrast between the old
covenant, Moses' experience as he is up enjoying
the presence of God and his face is shining,
but of course it has to be veiled and that glory
passes away. Whereas Paul says the great privilege
now for those who turn to the Lord is that we,
with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord's glory,
are being transformed into his image with ever
increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,
who is the Spirit. You do know that the greatest
privilege of being a Christian is that we get
to gaze on Jesus. That is the supreme. Blessing.
The final blessing. We contemplate, behold the
Lord's glory. You go to Bethlehem and you see
the glory of his incarnation. You listen to the
Sermon on the Mount and you see the glory of
his wisdom. You see him speaking to the leper,
I am willing, be clean, and you see the glory
of his compassion. You see him saying to the
storm, calm, be still, and you see the glory
of his power. You see him on the Mount of Transfiguration.
You get a sense of the glory of his majesty.
You see him putting a towel around his waist,
washing his disciples' feet, and you see the
glory of his humility. You see him in the Garden
of Gethsemane saying, not my will but yours be
done, and you see the glory of his obedience.
You see him hanging on a cross in Calvary and
you see the glory of his love. You see him coming
from the empty tomb and you see the glory of
his risen life. You see him now ascended. And
you see his glory. And there's nobody like him.
And it's a great privilege as we gaze, contemplate
the Lord's glory. I don't know where you most
enjoy visiting, but there's a place in North
Wales, Great Orm. It's above sort of Llandudno.
And I love it, actually. On a sunny day, which...
It isn't always the case in North Wales. But
on the rare sunny day, you sort of go up, and
there you are, and you can pretty much see all
around. So you're looking over there, and there's
the sort of North Wales Anglesey coast. And there,
actually, on a sunny day, you can even see out
to the Isle of Man, or you can see northwest
England. And then you sort of turn around, and
there's Snowdon behind you. I just love being
up there. Have you ever been somewhere, and you
think, I just want to keep looking my eyes out?
Because it is so stunning, so beautiful, so majestic.
Of course, all of that is a pointer to the one
who made these things. And we get to see the
glory of Jesus. And what the Spirit does, according
to 3, 16 to 18, is that as we gaze on the glory
of Jesus, so we are transformed into his image.
You know, Moses' face was radiant as he was with
God. And there's a sense that as we gaze on the
glory of Jesus here, so we are transformed. So
we are made to be like him. There's a sense in
which that happens fairly naturally, doesn't
it? We become like the people we admire. I mentioned
John Stott earlier. Apparently it was the case
that when John Stott was at All Souls, so many
of the curates ended up sounding like him. You
become like the one you admire. Strangely, none
of the young preachers at my place sounded anything
like me. But you become like the one you admire.
You gaze and you become. And that's what Paul
is saying is the great joy of being a Christian.
And that helps us, particularly with those times
when we do end up feeling frustrated with ourselves.
Oh, to be more like Jesus. I remember a conversation
with a fellow pastor about 15 years or so ago
now. And to be honest, we were having one of
those conversations where we're just reflecting
on frustrations with ourselves. Why do I keep
giving in to temptation in that area? Why don't
I love them? And you know what it's like. You
just think, ah, we wish we were better at this.
I remember my friend saying to me, and I kind
of wish I'd said this, but it was him who said
it to me, Andy, we do know the answer to this,
don't we? I was thinking, no, that's why we're
having the conversation. But he said to me, Andy,
we do know the answer to this, don't we? Go hard
after Jesus. Go hard after treasuring him. Go
hard after gazing on him. Go hard after doing
whatever it takes to get him in front of our
eyes. Go hard after Jesus. Because it is as we
gaze on him that we are transformed to be like
him. As the Spirit does that work in our hearts.
And that's why for Paul, ministry was all about
this. As you get into chapter 4, you notice a
couple of things. You notice that this is the
thing that keeps him going. Since through God's
mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
Why does Paul go from place to place, face imprisonment
and flogging, and then go to the next place and
still preach the gospel? Well, two reasons. Partly
this is God's mercy. He says, not only did I
sort of reject Jesus, but he's forgiven me and
given me this ministry. He's got a constant sense
of this is God's mercy, that I get to do this.
And he's got a sense of, I get to do the most
glorious thing in the world. Because as I preach
Jesus as Lord, so is it where God turns the lights
on in people's hearts. Ministry for Paul is presenting
Jesus as the most glorious Lord, as the most
glorious being in the universe. That's why he
keeps going. I mentioned great awe earlier. If
you're not particularly athletic, the way to
get to Great Ormond is via a tram. There's a
sort of tram that sort of goes up to lead you
to this place where there's a great view. And
I've always thought in some ways ministry is
like the tram. Ministry is what enables people
to see the great view. Proclaiming Jesus enables
people to see the greatest vision in the universe.
And as people see him to become like him. Does
that feel vaguely worth doing? To have a role
that enables us to see the greatest view in the
world? Are there worse things than being involved
in Christian ministry? And so both for ourselves,
we gaze on Jesus and so become like him. and
also for our ambition in ministry, whatever that
might look like in the years to come, to keep
proclaiming and presenting Jesus to people. Well,
that's worth doing. We become like Jesus as we
gaze on him and contemplate his glory. But there
is a second way in which we become like Jesus,
and here we head towards chapter 4, verses...
7 to 12. Because Paul says he has this glorious
ministry of proclaiming Jesus and the Spirit
working as he does this. And Paul says he has
the wonderful experience of God's light being
in his heart in the face of Jesus Christ. But,
he says, verse 7, we have this treasure in jars
of clay to show that this all -surpassing power
is from God. and not from us. I have to be honest,
2 Corinthians 4 is the passage I go to most often
as I'm talking to friends a bit younger than
me who are thinking about ministry. Actually,
as I look around, I'm pretty sure there are some
of you here who've heard me on 2 Corinthians
quite a few times before. Apologies for that.
But I remember looking at 2 Corinthians with
one person who was thinking about pastoral ministry.
He went away on holiday, and he brought this
back for me. And to be honest, this has sat on
my desk now for about 15, 20 years or so, and
it is a bit like looking in a mirror. To be honest,
I'm surprised it's lasted that long, because
let's be honest, it is pretty fragile. And Paul
says we have the glory of knowing God through
Jesus in bodies that are weak and fragile, stored
in people who emotionally go up and down. Stored
in people who get sick. Stored in people who
get tired. People who cry. And Paul says God
has done that for a reason. He's done that for
a reason to show that the all -surpassing power
is from God and not from us. I wonder whether
you can imagine with me for a moment Super Christian.
Super Christian never gets tired. Never gets
discouraged. Super Christian always knows the
right thing to say in any given situation. Super
Christian is gloriously gifted. And after a while,
people say of Super Christian, wow, they're amazing,
aren't they? And Super Christian begins to think,
yeah, I am. And God won't let that happen. He
puts this treasure in jars of clay to show that
the all -surpassing power is from God and not
from us. Can you imagine this passage means the
world to me? Forgive me for being personal for
a moment, but one of my earliest experiences
of any form of Christian leadership was at university,
being involved in leading a Christian union.
And I remember particularly my last year at university.
Various personal issues that I was wrestling
with were sort of swamping me. Some of the pressure
of CU leadership and coursework and so on. And
I vividly remember getting to that point of thinking,
I just can't do this anymore. This was pre -email
days, so I hand -wrote my letter of resignation.
Left it on my desk. It so happened that was a
Saturday night, Sunday morning, came around.
To be honest, the last place I wanted to be was
church. But I was just in the pattern of it was
Sunday morning, so I went to church and heard
2 Corinthians 4 preached. We have this treasure
in jars of clay. And suddenly realized that actually
all the sort of turmoil or the emotional distress
I was experiencing, all the things that I thought
disqualified me from any form of Christian leadership
were part of the deal. I went back and tore the
letter up. It's funny, if I suspect life would
have been quite different had I not heard 2 Corinthians
4 that morning. But that's the way God works.
And Paul describes what that will feel like.
Hard pressed. You know, times where it just feels
like the walls are closing in on us because of
the various demands. And yet not crushed. Somehow
the Lord does keep us going. Perplexed. There
are times where you think, I'm not fully sure
what the Lord is doing here. And just the confusion
of that. But not in despair. Because somehow
we have the confidence that in his sovereignty
he's working all things for good. Persecuted.
That sense as though we feel pressure, opposition,
people attacking us. And yet not abandoned. Because
we know that the Lord is always with us. Struck
down. Somehow it feels as though we can't keep
going. And yet not destroyed, the Lord enables
us to get back up again. And that natural rhythm
is what Paul says is normal in Christian life
and ministry. It is the normal experience of
being a jar of clay. I've always found some of
Hudson Taylor's letters home from China in the
19th century as he began to lead the work of
China in the mission deeply moving. Here's one.
Pray for us. At times I seem altogether overwhelmed
with the internal and external trials connected
with our work. But... He has said, I will never
leave you nor forsake you, and my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Don't you love that?
In many ways, I think the distinctive of Christian
pressures, of Christian trials, is actually the
ability to say but. You know, there's deep distress,
but. Hard -pressed, but not crushed. I'm overwhelmed,
but. He said, never will I leave you, never will
I forsake you. Some of you may well be in that
sort of context now. I wonder whether you're
able to say but. Not that it doesn't feel hard,
not that there isn't deep distress, but somehow
God is working out his purposes in this. And
his purposes are actually to make us more like
Jesus. Because as you look to verses 10 to 12,
you see a rhythm taking place. We always carry
around in our body the death of Jesus, so the
life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
We who are alive are always being given over
to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may
be revealed in our mortal body. Death is at work
in us, but life is at work in you. Let me encourage
you with this. Paul, in each verse, verse 10,
verse 11, verse 12, describes ministry as a form
of death. Hope that cheers you up. We always
carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
Death is at work in us. There's no way of escaping
the fact that as we seek to minister like Paul,
death will be part of our experience. Death to
pride, death to self -sufficiency, death to comfort.
And in so doing, carrying around in our body
the death of Jesus. It's like Paul says elsewhere,
becoming like him in his death. Perhaps we walk
towards other people's pain. We carry the emotional
distress of the personal issues we're facing,
and yet we're still seeking to minister to others.
My guess is I'm not telling you anything you
don't know. All of us, my guests in the room,
will have had that sense of there is a death
-like quality to ministry. And yet that's the
way we become like Jesus. As we walk towards
pain. And as we persevere. And as we keep going.
And yet do you notice how the rhythm works? We're
being given over to death for Jesus' sake. Carrying
in our body the death of Jesus. Death is at work
in us. Why? Well actually in each verse there
is also life. so that the life of Jesus may be
revealed in our body, so that his life may be
revealed in our mortal body, in verses 10 and
11. So it is as we go through that rhythm of
death, facing the emotional cost, persevering,
seeking to love others, that's how we become
like him. That's how we become like Jesus. That's
how his life is revealed in our mortal bodies.
And I know there are times we wish there were
ways we could be more like Jesus without that
rhythm of death and life. But there really aren't.
But it's the way we become like him. And actually
it's the way that life comes to others. Do you
notice the pattern? Death is at work in us, but
life is at work in you. So again, you think of
Paul's experience, imprisoned, flogged, released,
goes to the next place and faces persecution
again. And you think, why do you keep giving
yourself over to death, Paul? It's because that's
the way life comes to people like the Corinthians.
As we keep going and we keep giving. Of ourselves.
Which means you're left essentially with this
application. Those things that remind you that
you're a jar of clay. Those things that at times
leave you feeling hard pressed. Those things
that make you feel perplexed. Those things that
feel like death. Can I say don't resent them?
I'm not saying you should enjoy them. But don't
resent them. Because they're part of the deal.
Over the years I've had people say, if only I
was slightly different. If only I were less shy,
less reserved, more outgoing, I'd be such a better
witness. If only I had a slightly stronger personality.
If only I didn't have to wrestle with this illness.
Don't resent them. They're the ways he makes
us more like him. And enables us to remember
that the powers from him are not from us. One
day we will be perfectly like Jesus. In the meantime,
we are growing by the Spirit to be more like
him. And it seems to me that the two ways that
the Lord uses from 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, we
become like him as we gaze on him. Whatever you
do, get his glory in front of your gaze and delight
in him and enjoy him. And we become more like
him as we die like him. As we give ourselves
over to death for his sake. So that life might
come to others. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we gaze
on your glory. The glory of your perfect character.
The glory now of your risen and ascended state.
We gaze on your glory. And as we gaze on you,
Lord, we want to be like you. We want to love
like you. We want to be humble like you. And
so, Lord, we pray, please, as we gaze on you,
won't you work by your spirit to transform us
with ever increasing glory into your image, we
pray. And then, Lord, we see you heading towards
Calvary. And in some ways, Lord, it is perhaps
with a degree of hesitation that we say we want
to be like you. But Lord, we know that is the
inevitable road we have to take. So please, Lord,
help us to persevere in carrying around in our
bodies your death, becoming like you in your
death, we pray. That we would become more like
you and so bring life to others, we ask. For
your name's sake. Amen.