And so our sermon text is in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
We'll be reading 2 Corinthians chapter 4 starting at verse 5.
2 Corinthians is maybe the most personal letter that Paul wrote to the church.
He had been going through so much suffering and his opponents were saying that the church shouldn't listen to Paul because look how weak he is.
So they were pointing to his suffering as a sign of weakness.
And then Paul, by the inspiration of the Spirit, takes out the pen and here comes this letter to the church.
It's like Paul's life has been wrung like you would take a wet towel and just wring out all the water of it.
And that's what spills onto the page.
It's what's on the inside of Paul through all that he had been going through.
The essence of his faith comes out in the verses we're going to read.
As I read this, remember that this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient word.
It's God's very own word for you, his people.
When I'm done reading, I'll say this is the word of the Lord and will respond.
Thanks be to God.
2 Corinthians chapter 4 from 5 to 18.
We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.
We are perplexed, but not in despair.
Persecuted, but not forsaken.
Cast down, but not destroyed.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
We, having the same spirit of faith according as it is written, I believed, and therefore I have spoken.
We also believe, and therefore speak.
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God.
For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
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.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God indeed.
You may be seated.
The Bible says that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Let's pray.
Father, we trust the promise that as rain brings grain for food,
your word goes forth and does not return unto you void.
Your word does accomplish that which you please.
We trust that your word shall prosper in the purpose for which you send it.
I ask, Lord, that you will speak,
speak through the sermon that you have helped me to prepare by the power of your Holy Spirit.
Lord, I am weak, but you are strong.
I pray that the words that come from me as a vessel will just fall and turn to dust and blow away.
But the words that reveal Jesus Christ, the treasure of heaven,
that those will impact your people, Lord.
Encourage them.
Reorient us to what matters most in life for your glory in our lives, we pray.
Amen.
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I want to talk to you today about what you are.
Not who you are, but what you are.
I feel like this is a dangerous sermon,
not because it's complicated,
but to openly live out our faith,
it is dangerous in this world.
It's God who preserves us.
I'm encouraged that we're not alone
in that battle of doing our best to live out and march out our faith
in a world that hates the gospel.
I'm encouraged by all kinds of different heroes.
I've had the opportunity this past year to study one Puritan in the 1600s.
His name was John Flavel.
So I want to talk to you about the body and the soul from this text today,
but I'm also going to be drawing a lot from John Flavel.
He's become my favorite of all the Puritans.
You might say, why the Puritans?
Well, they got to build on the great doctrines of the Reformation
that had been buried for centuries,
and they lived in a time of extreme persecution.
You'll get some insights into that today.
John Flavel's parents were devout Christians.
They were what was called nonconformists in England.
Their conviction said that they will continue to worship God
despite the restrictions that the government kept imposing.
Well, one evening, his parents gathered with a group of Christians to pray.
That's all they were doing.
They were meeting in a home to pray.
But that was breaking the laws of England.
So they got arrested, and they got put into prison.
And the prisons in the 1600s in England is not where you want to be.
There would be diseases being carried by mice everywhere.
There was no provision of food or even blankets or the basic necessities to live.
So you were depending on your relatives and others,
bringing you everything to survive every day,
and also to pay for your own rent for taking up this space in a public building.
So many prisoners had to pay a beggar to beg for money on their behalf
and then keep a commission.
And under those conditions,
these Puritan, nonconformist Christians,
who were simply trying to be obedient,
they wasted away and died in prison.
Those were John Flavel's parents.
The world viewed the Christians as the problem.
Things haven't changed for us.
It's different, and we're in a time of peace.
But the world still attacks the truth of God's Word.
One specific way that this is happening more and more
is that the world tries to detach your personal identity from what you are.
There are two quotes I came across this week.
I won't even tell you who said them,
because it doesn't really matter.
It's really a symptom of a much deeper issue.
Here's the first quote.
This is wrong, but this is what the world says.
Nature made a mistake which I have corrected.
Well, nature doesn't create anything.
The Bible teaches that God is the creator
and that God is wise
and all of God's ways are perfect.
Here's another quote.
All of us are put in boxes by our society,
our moment in history,
and even our bodies.
And some people have courage to break free.
This view denies Christ as holy,
as the king,
and as the coming judge.
So I think it's very important that you, Christian,
you know what you are.
We can buy into these lies from Satan,
from our own sin inside of us,
and from the world as well.
We can start to think that what I really am
is whatever I feel.
And if what you feel is who you are,
then your feelings will bulldoze over
every aspect of your life.
On the other hand,
if you are only a body,
then there's no world to come.
There's no spiritual realm.
Why would you live this life anyway,
but besides what pleases the body?
So my goal is that if you are a Christian,
you will know more clearly
what you are according to God's word.
I'm going to do my best to persuade you
of this proposition.
What God made you in this life
prepares you perfectly for the next.
I'm going to try to show you five truths
from God's word
about what you and I are.
Here's the proposition one more time.
What God made you in this life
prepares you perfectly for the next.
Number one,
what are you?
You and I are vessels.
Notice Paul's words
in verses five, six, and seven.
Remember, they're criticizing Paul.
They're saying,
Paul, you're so weak.
Who are you?
Why should we listen to you?
There's these super apostles.
There's these very eloquent speakers.
Why would we listen to you?
And Paul's answer is in verse five.
It's because we don't preach ourselves,
but we preach Christ Jesus,
the Lord,
and ourselves as your servants
for Jesus' sake.
Yes, we're low.
We're so low.
We're your slaves.
For God,
who commanded the light
to shine out of the darkness,
has shined in our hearts
to give the light
of the knowledge
of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure
in earthen vessels.
Why?
That the excellency of the power
may be of God
and not of us.
Do you know what you are, Christian?
You are an earthen vessel.
There's dust
that gets mixed with water,
put on a potter's wheel,
and shaped
to a form that's useful.
That's what you are,
and that's what I am.
This is the time of year
where, according to the internet,
48% of people
make a goal related
to their fitness.
And also,
according to the same source,
91% fail to keep that.
Why do you think that is?
Well, I think the true answer
is because there's bad theology,
obviously.
But then you could say,
well, does that mean
someone with great theology
is the most fit?
Well, unfortunately,
that's not true either.
You're thinking,
when's the last time
you looked in the mirror
there, preacher?
No Greek statue yourself.
But we are vessels.
But the Bible says
we're also more than vessels.
It says we created
by God in two parts.
Notice in verse 6,
he says that
the gospel shined in your heart.
That's your inner being.
That's one of the parts.
It's inside of you,
who you are in the inside.
Then he says in verse 7,
you're made as an
earthen vessel.
And that's your outer being.
And this is an ancient truth
that's been echoed
through all of the Scripture
very clearly.
We're told in Genesis 2-7
that the Lord God
formed man
of the dust
of the ground.
There's the earthen vessel.
That's the outer man,
the body,
the flesh,
or the strength.
Then,
God also breathed
into his nostrils
the breath of life.
and man became
a living soul.
That's what Genesis 2 says.
So God is the one
who breathed
a spiritual,
inner being
into man.
That's the inner man,
the heart,
the mind,
the soul.
John Flavel said,
a human being
is not a soul
nor a body,
but both together
as a composite.
Notice that when they
asked Jesus,
how should we live?
What does it mean
to obey your law?
Jesus gave a wonderful answer
and he's really just
telling them back
what Moses told
the second generation
before they entered
the promised land.
You know,
the Ten Commandments
went to the first generation
at Mount Sinai,
Exodus 20,
but then to the second generation
that are about to enter
the land in Deuteronomy 5.
Moses summarizes it all up
with what Jesus quotes
in Mark 12, 30.
You shall love
the Lord thy God,
listen to this,
with all thy heart,
soul,
mind.
Is that inner or outer?
Heart, soul, mind.
It's all your inner man
and with all thy strength.
That's the outer man.
Psalm 8 describes
the creation of Adam
and all of Adam's seeds,
so all humankind,
as being made a little lower
than the angels.
angels,
so you're put on earth
in a physical body,
but also given dominion
over all the animals.
So man is in this position.
You're not an angel,
but you're not a beast.
You have a body of a beast.
You have a body
that's an earthen vessel,
but you are a spiritual being.
You're made for eternity.
You're made for that spiritual realm
like the angels.
And then that's interpreted
by the author of Hebrews
in Hebrews 2
as Christ's incarnation.
Christ was made
a little lower than the angels.
Being truly God,
he also became truly man.
And he was given dominion
over all the created realm.
John Flavel wrote
that you are alive physically
now because soul,
your soul,
is the life of your body.
The absence of the soul
is death to the body.
Death is one of the hardest things
for metaphysicists to define.
What is death?
And we would say
simply when the soul
leaves the body,
that's death.
So you're alive physically
when your soul
is still in your body.
And created under Adam,
cursed under the sin,
he wrote that
Christless men
are not dead
in the physical sense.
They are naturally alive,
though they are spiritually dead,
because they are separated
from God.
Eternal death
is the separation
of both body
and soul
from God.
What is eternal death?
It's when both your body
and your soul
are detached
from your creator.
That's death.
You see how
what God made you
in this life,
it prepares you perfectly
for the life to come.
God put your soul
in a weak vessel.
Why did he do that?
Well, Paul says here,
it's so that your body
and your weakness
will expose to you
your need for God,
your dependence on Christ.
He says in verse 5,
that's why we preach
Christ Jesus our Lord
and not ourselves.
So it's tempting,
isn't it,
to look around
or just maybe
to look at yourself
if you're like me
and wish God
had given you
a better body
or maybe even
a better mind,
less broken.
That's probably
the root of all
of our envy
and covetousness.
We are weak vessels,
but we have to trust
that God made us
weak vessels
to point us to Him,
to show us
you need God.
You are weak.
You're too weak
on your own.
You need to be right
with your creator.
God did design you,
body and soul,
perfectly for His purposes
in this life
in preparation
for the next.
Verse 7,
it's that the excellency
of the power
may be of God
and not of us.
Amen?
So that's number one.
You are a vessel.
Do you know
what you are?
Number two,
you are a treasure
holding vessel.
You're not only a vessel,
you are a treasure
holding vessel.
Paul wrote in verse 6
that God shined
in our hearts
into our soul
the inner man
and He gave
to your inner being
a treasure
in verse 7.
What is the treasure
He's talking about?
Well, He answers that
in verse 6.
Look at that.
The treasure is
the light
of the knowledge
of the glory
of God
in the face
of Jesus Christ.
That is the treasure.
If you've
seen Jesus
with the eyes
of faith,
you know God
and that's
the treasure.
He says in verse 8,
We are troubled
on every side
yet not distressed.
We are perplexed
but not in despair.
Persecuted,
not forsaken,
cast down
but not destroyed.
Always bearing about,
listen,
in the body
the dying
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That the life
also
of Jesus
might be made
manifest
in our body.
See His perfect design?
I love how
Blaise Pascal
described this.
So,
I'm trying to argue here
that you are
a vessel
that was designed
by God
to hold
this great treasure.
That's what
you were designed for.
And to not have
this great treasure,
listen to how
this mathematician
described it.
He says,
There is a God-shaped
vacuum
in the heart
of each man
which
cannot be
satisfied
by any
created
thing.
That's a lot
of things.
It cannot
be satisfied
by anything
created
but only
by God
the Creator
made known
through Christ
Jesus.
Amen.
There's a creator-creature
distinction.
Nothing
that the Creator
has made
can satisfy
what you
as a vessel
were made
to hold.
The inner
treasure
makes all
of your
outer
suffering
worth it.
And I'm
looking around
the room,
there has been
a lot of
suffering
in the outer
being.
Some of you
are currently
suffering in the
body
right now.
Or even
harder than that
is your dear
loved one
is suffering
deeply
in the
body
of flesh.
Paul says
that the
same God
who spoke
light
into darkness
and created
the whole
world,
that's the
power of
His Word.
He's
regenerated
you.
He has
brought life
to your
inner being.
Your
eternal
destiny
now hinges
entirely upon
whether or
not your
soul,
your inner
person is
united to
Christ
through faith
while your
body still
lives.
When your
soul leaves
your body
it's too
late.
John
Flavel
wrote,
you are
alive
spiritually
now
if
Christ
is the
life
of your
soul.
The
absence
of Christ
is death
to the
soul.
But your
soul,
in verse
7 we're
told,
receives this
treasure,
the light
of the
knowledge
of God.
And it
makes
everything
you go
through on
the outside,
everything
that that
weak vessel
has to
bear,
as it
wears thinner
and thinner
with the
suffering in
life,
doable.
Not only
doable,
if you
trust that
you were
made in
this life
exactly how
God wanted
you to be
made,
preparation
for the
life to
come,
it makes
your
suffering
now worth
it.
It made
it worth
it for
Paul.
He told
this same
church later
in the same
letter,
not to
brag,
in fact it was
to brag about
his suffering
and his
weakness
as a
vessel.
He was
whipped
with 39
lashes,
40 would
kill you,
it was one
short of
killing you,
five different
times.
He was
beaten with
rods for
preaching the
gospel of
Jesus Christ,
three different
times.
He was
pummeled with
stones,
which was also
meant to
kill you.
He was
shipwrecked
three times,
traveling to
take the
good news
to those
who had
never heard
it.
On one
of those
trips,
he was
adrift at
sea one
night and
one day.
He was
frequently
having to
travel.
He experienced
dangers from
rivers,
wild beasts,
robbers,
in the
wilderness.
He experienced
danger at
sea,
danger from
false
brothers,
toil and
hardship,
many sleepless
nights,
often hungry and
thirsty,
cold and
exposed,
and he
felt daily
anxiety for
the bride of
Christ.
But it was
all worth
it.
That wasting
away of his
outer man was
worth it because
of the deep
treasure that
God had
shined in
Paul's heart.
It's good for
us to think
about our
body,
our soul,
and even
death.
God gave
us to wear
in the
soul.
God
clothes and
covers it.
It hath
worn this
garment of
flesh from
the beginning
and is to
wear it
still till
sickness has
brought it to
rags and
death stripped
it from its
soul.
It's good for
us to think of
our bodies
as rags or
garments.
It's what
God gave us
to wear in
this life.
It's going to
be decaying
off of our
soul.
It's going to
be turned to
dust.
In the
resurrection,
we will wear
this body
again, but
glorified.
What Paul is
confessing to
the church
here, this
inner strength
of being
united to
Christ, is
the same
thing that
John wrote
in 1
John 4.
He who
is in
you is
greater than
he who
is in
the world.
We need
faith to
hold that
truth and
believe it.
The inner
treasure makes
all the
suffering of
the outer
vessel worth
it, because
what God
made you in
this life
prepares you
perfectly for
the next.
Do you
know what
you are?
you are a
treasure-holding
vessel.
What's more,
as your
vessel wears
thin, what
you are on
the inside
gets manifested.
As your
vessel wears
thin, what
you and I
are on the
inside gets
manifested.
Notice what
Paul writes
in verse 11.
For we
which live
are always
delivered
unto death
for Jesus'
sake, that
the life
also of
Jesus might
be made
manifest,
where?
In our
mortal
flesh.
Verse 12.
So then,
death worketh
in us,
but life
in you.
We, having
the same
spirit of
faith,
according
as it is
written,
I believed,
and therefore I
have spoken,
we also
believe,
and therefore
speak.
Paul's just
bearing witness.
He's testifying.
He's saying
that all of
that suffering,
it wears me
thin, and my
body is dying.
Paul's garments
are worn as
thin as rags,
and these
false teachers
are mocking
him for being
so weak.
He says,
praise God,
God, in
verse 11.
All that
does, as I
wear thin in
my body,
all that
does is it
makes manifest
Jesus Christ,
who's on the
inside,
through my
mortal body.
Praise God.
Well, we all
feel the
wearing away.
Children that
are growing,
you have
growing pains,
you feel your
body growing
and adapting
and changing.
The rest of
us get hurt
doing all
kinds of
very simple,
basic tasks.
Someone said,
life is like
a roll of
toilet paper.
The closer
you get to
the end,
the faster
it goes.
Think about
how many
gifts were
in your
family this
year that
had to do
with managing
pain or
providing a
little bit
more comfort
somehow.
So either
way, your
body and
mine are
dying.
we are
wasting away.
But the
difference is
that when
Christ is
the treasure,
that's not
a bad thing.
We're going
to have a
day of
fasting.
We're going
to be
showing how
weak our
vessels are
and whatever's
on the inside
will get
manifested.
Doesn't that
happen?
The Lord
makes you
limp around
for a while
or puts you
in a hospital
bed.
Whatever's
on the inside
gets manifested.
The world
can be
the opposite.
We
sympathize.
This is
what our
flesh wants
too.
We want
the outside
to be
perfect or
make everyone
think it's
perfect.
But you
ask that
person,
they say
they feel
dead inside.
Well, we
believe that
we were all
dead inside.
Ephesians 2.
Unbelievers
stay dead.
we have
the promise
that God
while you
were dead
in sin
he saved
you.
He loved
you.
He regenerated
you.
So our
body is
dying
but we
have eternal
life.
The world
might try to
preserve the
body but if
there's spiritual
death
where is your
hope?
Eternal
death,
Flavel wrote,
is the
separation
of the
body and
the soul
from God.
So a
spiritually
dead person
ignores the
life to
come.
But the
Bible says
that at the
resurrection
both your
body and
your soul
will have
a horrid
reunion
one with
the other.
Think of
that.
When Christ
returns and
those who
are not
united to
Christ in
their soul
they will
be raised
on the
great day
of judgment.
John
Flavel
imagines
that day
where their
body and
their soul
are brought
back together
one blaming
the other.
To paraphrase
him he said
the soul
might say
body
you made
us live
for all
of your
wants.
It's your
fault now.
We have
no hope.
The body
says back
soul
your pride
blocked
God's
call.
But you
into whose
heart God
has shined
Jesus Christ
we read in
verse 10
you always
bear about
in the
body
the dying
of the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
You bear
the dying
of Jesus
in your
body.
Paul calls
this mortifying
sin putting
to death
the remaining
sin in the
flesh.
You want
to know
what you
are.
then think
of that.
Think of
being united
to Christ
in his
dying.
We read
in Luke
23
verse 43
as Jesus
hangs dying
on the
cross
and he
regenerates
the criminal
next to
him.
Jesus
promises
that
criminal
this day
you
will be
with me
in paradise.
From that
Flavel
said
the soul
is the
life of
the body
so the
soul of
that criminal
will be
with Christ
because they're
united
spiritually
and though
the body
of Christ
will be
put into
the grave
and buried
and something
will happen
to the body
of that
criminal
the soul
is so
united
to Christ
that that
day
the criminal
will enjoy
eternal
life.
We read
in John
19
30
Jesus
says
it is
finished
and then
he bowed
his head
and gave
up his
ghost
or his
spirit.
So
Jesus
died
he gave
up his
soul
or his
spirit
his inner
being
was
separated
from his
body.
It
fulfills
what we're
told in
Ecclesiastes
12
7
then the
dust
shall
return
to the
earth
as it
was
in the
spirit
to God
who gave
it.
Paul's
body
was
delivered
over
to die
just as
Christ
was.
The
sacrifice
that Paul
endured
as a
missionary
was
identifying
with
Jesus
Christ
on the
cross
and
just
as
the
Lord
Jesus
gave
hope
to that
criminal
and to
you
and me
that we
are united
to him
it was
the
persecution
and the
suffering
that Paul
endured
that was
a spiritual
gift
it was
giving
life
it was
ministering
Christ
to the
church
all who
believe
share in
the same
spirit of
faith
he writes
and it's
because it
flows
from union
to Christ
the true
vine
all souls
that are
engrafted
into Christ
share in
that same
union
with Christ
so God
might use
the
ailments
the
illness
the
troubles
that you
experience
in your
body
in this
life
to drive
your soul
to that
union
and once
you're united
to Christ
he uses
that union
to Christ
to encourage
you
as your
body
wears thin
as that
vessel
gets weaker
and weaker
what's on
the inside
will be
manifest
he will
manifest
that precious
union to
Jesus
Christ
and God
will be
glorified
in your
life
it'll be
a blessing
it'll be
a testimony
to those
he brings
into your
life
so you
are a
treasure
holding
vessel
and as
the vessel
wears thin
what's on
the inside
gets
manifested
do you
want to
know
what you
are
you are
a body
and a
soul
made
for God's
glory
you are
a body
and a soul
made for
God's
glory
verses 14
through 17
knowing
that he
which raised
up the
Lord Jesus
shall raise
up us
also
by Jesus
and shall
present us
with you
for all
things are
for your
sakes
that the
abundant
grace
might through
the thanksgiving
of many
redound
to the
glory
of God
for which
cause we
faint not
but though
our outward
man perish
yet the
inward
man is
renewed
day by
day
for our
light
affliction
is but
for a
moment
and it
works for
us a
far more
exceeding
and eternal
weight
of glory
verse
15
what is
all this
for
why does
God allow
weak
vessels
to go
through
all that
we go
through
in a
life
it's
that it
may
redound
it may
multiply
it may
reverberate
as
thanksgiving
for the
glory
of God
and he
says he's
working the
glory of
God
inside of
you
he calls
it the
eternal
weight
of glory
that's even
more exceeding
than what
you know
now
we have
the promise
that our
Lord Jesus
will present
you to
God
body
and soul
faultless
how can
he do
this
how can
God
who created
you as a
body and
soul
present you
broken as
you and I
are
faultless
in this
way
Hebrews 2
answers this
question
Hebrews 2
14
because you
and I
are flesh
and blood
Christ
himself
also
likewise
became
flesh
and blood
that through
his death
he might
destroy the
devil who
has the
power
of death
Jesus
Christ
became
a man
we read
in the
Chalcedonian
Creed
he became
a full
man
body
and soul
according to
his human
nature
in order
to deliver
you as
the only
mediator
between
God
and man
in order
to present
you
faultless
before
God
John
Flavel
wrote
that at
death
the soul
feels
the house
in which
it dwelt
dropping
into
ruins
what will
your soul
do on
that day
either
Christ
takes
your soul
that day
when your
body
drops
like a
collapsing
house
and Christ
presents
you
faultless
or you're
left
homeless
away
from God
your sin
cannot be
in his
holy
presence
he says
your soul
will be
looking for
a new
habitation
but if
you're
united
to Christ
in your
soul
you don't
fear
death
Flavel
wrote
on that
day
you can
happily
let go
of your
body
trusting
that
Christ
will
receive
you
forever
and
one day
he will
call
your
body
to be
reunited
to your
soul
the glorified
state
of the
resurrection
so we
behold the
glory of
God in
Jesus
by faith
now
it's the
invisible
realm
one day
that faith
will be
made
sight
Job
said
it's
with my
eyes
that I
will
see
my
redeemer
one
day
what a
great
and exceeding
weight
of glory
that
expression
the
weight
of
glory
the
weight
of your
gold
or your
treasure
represented
who you
were
and how
much
you
were
literally
how much
you are
worth
so you
could go
to one
man's
household
and he
would have
his little
treasury
you would
have to
stockpile
all of
that up
and weigh
it
and you
go to
another
man's
house
and you
take
all
that he
owns
and put
it on
a balance
and weigh
it all
up and add
up how much
treasure you've been able to amass for yourself
and however much it weighs
the more glorious or powerful or wealthy you are
Paul's lost everything
he's like Job
in the New Testament
he's lost everything
but he's trusting by faith
there is a greater weight
of glory
in the life to come
we trust in the words of Romans 14
that whether we live
or die
we are the Lord's
for to this end
Christ died
rose
and revived
that he might be
both Lord
of the dead
and of the living
we sang now
which was
our catechism
the first one
in an orthodox catechism
what is your only comfort
in life
and in death
the answer is
that I am not my own
but I belong
body and soul
to my faithful Savior
Jesus Christ
he has fully paid
for all my sins
with his precious blood
what God made you in this life
prepares you perfectly
for the next
Flavel wrote
that when the light of this world is gone
and all the joy ceases on earth
as you mourn
around a deathbed
it's faith
that can give us sights
of things invisible
in the other world
those sights
will breathe life
into your souls
amidst the very pangs
of death
praise God
for this gift
of faith
if your outer
self
is wasting away
it's for God's glory
there's a bright
shining treasure
in your soul
the knowledge
of God
and the more cracks
start to spread
throughout the vessel
of the body
the more of the light
of Christ
can shine through
the more your body
is wasting away
the more
you put to death
the desires
of your flesh
all the more
does Jesus
shine through
because you are
body and soul
made for God's glory
well here's the last
thing you need to know
about what you are
you are made
body and soul
for the everlasting
world to come
you are made
body and soul
not for this world
but for the everlasting
world to come
that's what Paul writes
in verse 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
how do you know
that what Paul
is saying is true
how can you know
that this is
what's really
going to happen
when this life
is over
when your body
the house
collapses
and your soul
enters the spiritual
realm
without a body
there's no way
for me to prove
this to you
scientifically
you need to ask
the Lord
to give you
a gift of faith
but one day
for everyone
death will prove
whether the testimony
of God's word
is true
death
will put this
to the test
so we have to ask
the question
for John Flavel
was this testimony
something he could
hold on to
by faith
until the very end
I told you
about his parents
at the beginning
and England
at this time
was ravished
by plagues
some of the worst
most deadly plagues
of the history
of that country
in the year 1666
there was a great
great fire
that destroyed London
on top of that
the nation
was tossed
and turned
back and forth
with civil war
when the side
that was fighting
against the Puritans
when they were
trying to restrain
and institute
a formal religion
over the whole country
then those who were
like John Flavel
and his parents
who had convictions
to worship
according to the scripture
in their conscience
when they disobeyed
the government
willfully
they received
much opposition
from the government
as well as
from the people
a mob
formed outside
of John Flavel's home
they formed
an effigy
like they made
basically a straw
man
with a picture
of John Flavel
you're supposed to know
that's who this is
mocking him
and they set it on fire
for 25 years
of ministry
the government
banished
the Puritans
from their country
many were in prison
like John Bunyan
where he wrote
Pilgrim's Progress
During this time
John Flavel
had to sneak back
into the village
the congregation
had to go out
into open fields
to meet him
to hear
the word of God
preached
he was imprisoned
he had to
have their meetings
disrupted
several times
and he had to
get on a horse
and run away
and be chased down
one time
he got in some
rough waters
he had to leave
the horse behind
and just swim
through the rocks
and the river
darted
into the ocean
to get away
during this time
with the plagues
he had a dear loss
within his own household
it was his wife Jane
and she died
giving birth
to his only child
who also died
in the year
1656
listen to how
Flavel reflected
on this tragic
double loss
he wrote
quote
the almighty
visited my tent
with his rod
that's like the prayer
of Job
that James read
for us
and in one year
the Lord
cut off
from my tent
both the root
and the branch
the tender mother
and the only son
but John Flavel
wasn't hopeless
he wrote
there is still though
an everlasting tie
between the Christ
and the believer
a tie stronger
than all other unions
of the world
death
he said
dissolves
the dear union
between husband
and wife
friend
and friend
even soul
and body
but not
between
Christ
and your soul
we have the promise
in this text
that the same God
who raised up
the Lord Jesus
from the dead
he shall
raise us up
also
by the power
of Jesus
and just as
Christ
pulls your soul
to heaven
the encouragement
for us now
is your soul
being united
to Christ
in heaven
let your soul
also pull your body
heavenward
the grief
of Christians
in this life
Flavel wrote
is only
temporary
amen
it will be
replaced
by joy
at the resurrection
when your souls
meet your bodies
and bless God
one for the other
forevermore
on that day
both body
and soul
of the believer
will enjoy
the infinite
satisfaction
of being together
once again
in Christ
do you see
how God
made you
body and soul
perfectly
for his purpose
in this life
to prepare us
for the next
all glory
be to God
you know
what you are
in the words
of 1 Corinthians 6
19 and 20
Christian
you are
the temple
of the Holy Spirit
which is in you
which you have
of God
you are
not your own
you are
bought
with a price
therefore
glorify God
in your body
and in your spirit
because you
are
the Lord's
amen
let's pray
oh Lord
we confess
the same words
as ancient Job
we know
that our
Redeemer
lives
and at the
last day
he will
stand upon
this earth
and with our
eyes
we shall
see him
help us
to live
in this life
in preparation
for the life
to come
so that you
will be glorified
in our body
and in our spirit
we ask this
for Christ's sake
alone
amen