Creating Christ-Centered Culture with God-Centered Pleasure
2 Corinthians 4:4 (emphasis added);
"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
The concentration that Paul is promoting to the Corinthians is that of intensified admiration for the beauty of Christ and a deep yearning to image Christ’s beauty in all things and at all times. The heart of the apostle was full of “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” for his lost kinsmen (Romans 9:1-2)—thus leading him to a passionate Gospel campaign in the Corinthian church.
The ultimate end of the Gospel is God. If we would really look and pray into this text, the implications to which Paul is referring are some of the most soul-penetrating pleasures in the entire Bible. In verse 4, Paul is stating that the purpose of “the light of the Gospel (good news) of the glory of Christ” is to show us who God really is. Christ is the image of God. Therefore, when we look at Jesus we are looking at God. That is the reason for the constant pursuit of a Christ-centered culture and it is the heart-beat of the Horizons Conference.
As John Piper has said, “the human heart [is] a ceaseless factory of desire”. Our culture has and will continue to manufacture emotional, physical and even spiritual remedies for the “God-sized” hole that is within every person on the planet. As believers we are aware that only the Gospel can rescue us from our carnal lusts, but it is not enough to merely know our condition. We must embrace the daily task of killing it.
Romans 8:13; "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live."
2 Timothy 2:21; "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."
2 Corinthians 4:7; "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."
Paul was acutely aware that the flesh is bankrupt. There is no hope for us if we are to live according to the flesh. It is only by the Spirit that we can live. This allowed the testimony of the finished work of Christ to glisten and bear fruit in Paul’s ministry. The same applies to our efforts to promote the Gospel in our churches and communities. If our desire is to be “useful to the master of the house” we must count the flesh as bankrupt (putting it to death) and set our eyes “on the founder and perfecter of our faith” who joyfully endured the cross, despising its shame. Considering that the treasure of the glory of Christ is held in “jars of clay”, it must be a constant reminder that we are prone to wander from the pleasures of grace. But praise be to God whose grace is sufficient for us, even in our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15-16).
The Gospel is the power by which God transforms the soul into “a ceaseless factory” for God-centered pleasure. When the empty promises of sin give way, in come the rushing tides of truth and grace. The truth is that we cannot be what the law demands us to be. We are powerless and helpless. We have fallen short of the glory of God. The grace is that Christ has become everything that we are not due to his great love for us. Because of Christ, we have been set free from the guilt of sin and will one day be free from the very presence of sin. Lasting pleasure and a furious passion for the Gospel, in both this life and the life to come, are rooted deeply in the sovereign grace of God in the finished work of Christ. The two are inseparable and cannot be found anywhere else.
The Relevance of Catechism
As a final word, I want to refer to the first question of the New City Catechism by Timothy Keller. I personally believe that it is a very real issue to be so concerned for ministry and church and people that we actually forget why we do what we do. I am so guilty of this. Therefore, Catechism is one of the greatest means of renovating our perspective from “do more” and “try harder” to “It is finished”. I hope that you will check into this resource by Keller and use it daily. It is serving me and thousands more quite well.
Question 1: What is our only hope in life and death?
Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.
My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.
Shelton Brown is the Assistant Editor for Horizons Blog.
Follow him on Twitter @SheltonB_Live.
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