Series: 2 Cor
Title: All Things Are For Your Sakes
Text: 2 Cor 4: 15
Date: June 22, 2017
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
2 Corinthians 4: 15: For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
The apostle Paul makes a very comforting statement to every true believer, “All things are for your sakes.”
This applies to all God’s elect. I have worked on this message since last week, but this morning when I heard that last night a tree fell on Brother Keven Thacker’s house, I knew this would the text. We will get to the immediate context in a few moments. But for now, I want to show you that our text applies to a wide variety of things. Back in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he said,
1 Corinthians 3: 21: Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22: Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23: And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
Divisions: 1) The fact—2 Corinthians 4: 15: all things are for your sakes, 2) The means—that the abundant grace 3) The purpose—might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
Proposition: Everything is for the believer’s sake through the abundant grace of God that we might thank God and give him all the glory.
THE FACT—ALL THINGS ARE FOR YOUR SAKES
In eternity, God ordered all things in the everlasting covenant for the sake of all his elect, leaving nothing in our hands. David said,
2 Samuel 23:5:…he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire...
It means from eternity, all things were put into Christ’s hands as Mediator, to work out the salvation of his people in a way that glorified the Father! Christ said,
Matthew 11: 27: All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
When our Lord said all things were delivered into his hands of the Father, it includes: all the works and promises of the everlasting covenant. All the elect of God were delivered to Christ Jesus the Son of God to be saved, kept and delivered to glory by him. All things in accomplishing our redemption through his precious blood was in Christ’s hands and he said, “It is finished!” All things in revealing the mysteries of grace in the hearts of each of his people through the Holy Spirit is in the Mediator’s hands. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ and distributed by him to his people when he is pleased to give it. All the blessings of grace are in his hands to distribute to his people.
Likewise, all men outside of Christ, including the basest wicked men, along with all good angels, fallen angels, all good spirits and evil spirits—all are in his hand to use as he will.
Proverbs 16:4: The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
All things are in the hands of our Prophet, Priest and King the Lord Jesus Christ and all things we need for salvation he is and he gives.
Colossians 1: 16: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18: And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19: For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
2 Corinthians 5: 17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18: And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Our Prophet, Priest and King does not fail to call out each of his redeemed sheep nor does he fail to rule providence to teach us to rest in him alone—because,
Ephesians 1:22 [God] hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
So when he calls us this is what he does:
2 Peter 1:3: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
This is why to every true believer, Christ is All and in all! It is because all things are of him and he is all! Unbeliever, do not think there is something left to be done by you, obey Christ, he says,
Matthew 22:4…Behold,…all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
Just as truly as all things in salvation were worked by our Mediator, so too all things that come to pass in providence are of our Lords’ hand as well—and are just as needful for our good as the works of salvation.
Romans 8:28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For every believer, all things are for your sakes and all things are worked together by our great God and Savior for your good.
When the doctor prescribes medicine, the medicine has one name, but it is usually made up of many different ingredients. If you had one or the other ingredients alone or in a great amount, it would kill you. But when worked together, in just the right amount, those ingredients make medicine to cure you
God is making “All things work together for good”, and none of those things are working separately. Good things are worked with bad things; things that make us laugh are worked with things that make us cry; temporal things are worked with spiritual things. All things are worked together for your good.
Knowing how we feel to wake up to a large oak tree on the house, imagine if God only worked that one thing for us every day. It would be just as bad if God only worked good things for us everyday.
Remember, it is not the one thing alone that is for your good, it is all things worked together for your good. Too much prosperity would ruin us the same as too much poverty; the aame as too much joy or too much misery.
But God knows exactly how and when to mix together different experiences in our life to produce just the right medicine for our good.
Yet, what about those poor saints who seem to have wave upon wave of affliction or sickness?—yet with that affliction or sickness, God is giving more grace—so that it is worked together for their good. I know brethren who have suffered severe losses of children; terminal illness. But in each one, God’s has proven his grace to be sufficient.
The good God works is not what the worldling calls good. God works true, lasting, spiritual and eternal good.
2 Corinthians 4: 18: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In each case, it is so the suffering saint can comfort another child of God with the comfort wherewith they are comforted. In the context of our text, Paul is saying that all things that happened to him as their pastor—afflictions for Christ’s sake and consolation by Christ—is for their sakes. The same is true of each of us. God afflicts and comforts by Christ so that we can comfort others with Christ having experienced his comfort first hand ourselves.
2 Corinthians 1: 3: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4: Who comforteth 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. 5: For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 6: And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7: And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
All these things are to bring us to Christ’s feet that we might be used to bring others to Christ’s feet through the gospel of Christ.
THE MEANS—ABUNDANT GRACE
All things that God gives, he gives to his people in abundance.
· Abundant Life—John 10:10: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
· Abundant supply for all our need—Philippians 4:19: But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
· Abundant entrance—2 Peter 1:11: So an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
· Abundant satisfaction—Psalm 36: 8: They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
And all things are by God’s ABUNDANT GRACE—by the free and sovereign favor of God given to helpless sinners like you and me. From our election till we are finally carried into the glory of heaven, all is by the abundant grace of God
Romans 5: 20:…where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
2 Corinthians 9: 8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
All God’s grace is abundant because it is given us through Christ Jesus our abundant Savior!
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
The all things he speaks of are: redemption and reconciliation, regeneration, adoption, all spiritual gifts and all things in providence—in case I missed something—all things! So we say—
1 Corinthians 15: 10: By the grace of God I am what I am
THE END PURPOSE—GLORY TO GOD
2 Corinthians 4: 15…that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
Believer, when it is all said and done, every hill and every valley, every joy and every tear, it shall be said of every child of God what was said of Abraham, “the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.” (Gen 24: 1)
Seeing that all things are for your sakes, by the abundant grace of God…Paul says:
1 Thessalonians 5:18: In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I do not know every detail and every purpose God has ordained by the heartaches any of us suffer. But this one thing I know: this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you—it is for us, and it is for our good—so if God will enable us, in everything we will give thanks and glorify him!
Psalm 57:2: I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
Romans 11:36: For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Amen!