The sermon preached at the 187th Annual General Meeting of the Society by the Rev. T. Kirkland, Minister of Ballyclare & Doagh Free Church of Scotland (Cont.) and member of the General Committee. Edited for Publication.

‘But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For 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’ (2 Corinthians 4.3–7).

We turn in the Word of God to 2 Corinthians 4.3–7. How do you know the Bible is the Word of God? Some may immediately recall the words of chapter 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith where you have that series of clauses: the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, and the consent of the parts. These are tremendous reasons that show us why we should believe the Bible is the Word of God. But what if you are talking to someone whose knowledge of these things is very little, maybe even zero? What do you say to them who know nothing about the consent of the parts, of the harmony of the Bible? How can you show them that the Bible is the Word of God?

This was a matter that confronted Jonathan Edwards when he was in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, dealing with the Native Americans, a matter that he records in that wonderful book Religious Affections. Edwards writes, ‘Miserable is the condition of the Houssatunnuck Indians, and others … if they can come at no evidence of the truth of Christianity, sufficient to induce them to sell all for Christ, in any other way but this’.¹ As he pondered the relevant section in the Larger Catechism of the Westminster Confession he saw afresh a phrase that he had overlooked: there in 1.5 was the answer, ‘the scope of the whole (which is, to give glory to God)’. Suddenly he had the answer by which to strive to convince them to sell all for Christ; he would show them the glory of God and the glory of the truths of the Christian faith. The glory of God is a thread that runs through all of Scripture from beginning to end. Everything about Christianity is glorious. The Bible itself is glorious: its very existence is astonishing and remarkable, its penmen were remarkable and, of course, its content is remarkable too.

The principal aim of this Society very simply states, ‘For the Glory of God and the increase of His Kingdom through the circulation of Protestant or uncorrupted versions of the Word of God’. That’s its fundamental purpose: the promotion of the glory of God. The Word of God begins with a glorious statement, ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth’ (Genesis 1.1). It points you to something supernatural, something grand and glorious. And how does the Word of God finish? It takes you to the glorious city, full of the glory of God (cf. Revelation 21.23). From beginning to end of Scripture it is the glory of God that is present.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 4 states for us that the Gospel is glorious. It is glorious because of its content. What is its content? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the glorious Gospel of Christ. What is there about this message that is so grand and so wonderful? This is something we seldom think of, or do not think enough of.

When I look over my life from when I was a youth to now, the church itself seems to have become dejected. Christians are becoming dejected; ministers have become dejected. Is this not because we have lost sight of the glory of God, the glory of the Gospel, the glory of Jesus Christ? I want you to go home with this great theme that we have before us in 2 Corinthians 4 where Paul tells of glorious things, of a glorious Gospel.

The Glorious Nature of the Gospel

There are four things that I want to show you from these verses before you. First of all, Paul tells us that the nature of the Gospel itself is glorious. He says in verse 7, ‘we have this treasure’. A treasure is something of value, of worth, of great price. In verse 4 he tells us it is ‘the glorious gospel of Christ’, and Christ Himself is glorious isn’t He? He tells in verse 4 that the Lord is the image of God: this remarkable, supernatural Being, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the very image of God. He tells us in verse 6 of ‘the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’. When we read in John 1.14, ‘we beheld his glory’, here is the thing that captivates, that allures us, that draws us to Him, that makes the Gospel, that makes the Bible itself so amazing and so marvellous. The Gospel itself is glorious because it tells you of a Person who is Himself glorious, in whose face the glory of God shines.

Yet there is something else that he adds to this in verse 4: the Gospel is glorious because it is light. The nature of the Gospel is that it is a light that shines in a dark place. We live in a world full of darkness, full of weakness. John in his first epistle says ‘the whole world lieth in wickedness’ (1 John 5.19)—this is something we must get across constantly not only to our peers but to the next generation. We have a disposition towards the world; yet it’s a world that lies in wickedness. And that’s a big problem. Worldly Christians, worldly churches: people think the world is not so dangerous after all but the world is in darkness. The light must shine into the darkness. Where is this light? It is the light of the Gospel: that’s the light that God has given.

If you are a Christian there is something special about you. The light has shone into your darkened heart, transformed your miserable existence. Your whole life has been changed. The darkness has been dispelled because the light has come into your very heart. That is why you have come to saving faith: the light of the Gospel shone into your heart. Perhaps for some it was quite a dramatic moment; for others it may have been over a period of time. But however God did it, we all have this in common: ‘whereas I was blind, now I see’ (John 9.25). Once I was in darkness but now the light has shone into my heart. Things that I once did not understand, now I do understand. That’s a remarkable, supernatural thing. We love the Gospel, and we love the Word from which this Gospel is preached.

There is a divine glory in the Gospel. It speaks of glorious things. Its nature is glorious: it shines with a brightness which nothing in this world can encircle or enclose; it cannot be kept out. Think of Paul. He persecuted the people of God, but while he was travelling on that road what happened? The light came. All was bright—he was staggered at such brightness—and the Lord spoke to him. Once he was in darkness, but now he could see; his life was transformed. Paul could not keep out that light once it shone into his life.

We see this across the world. Think of the history of communism. The communists hate the Gospel, they hate the Word of God, and so they erect barriers to try and keep it out. But the one thing they cannot protect is the heart. When that light shines, they are changed. They cannot hold back the Gospel. In yourself you may be a pessimist, but when it comes to these things you can never be pessimistic because you are dealing with things that are grand and glorious and supernatural. So the nature of the Gospel is glorious. 

The Glorious Communication of the Gospel

Secondly, the communication of the Gospel is glorious. Look at the logic and reasoning of the apostle. In verse 1 he says, ‘we have this ministry’. In verse 4 he writes of the light shining. In verse 5, we preach Christ Jesus the Lord. In verse 7, ‘we have this treasure in earthen vessels’.

There is a logic to the apostle’s reasoning. The Bible is not a haphazard collection of ideas all thrown together. There is a wonderful logic to it. God has given His Word to convince us, to persuade us. Paul says here that this preaching of the Gospel, this proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ, is in itself a light shining in the world.

He says in verse 6 that God commands the light to shine. But where will it shine? The answer was given in verse 4: it is into the minds of unbelievers. The god of this world may have blinded the minds of them which believe not, but it is into the mind that the glorious light shines. In verse 6 he says that God commanded the light to shine into our hearts. In other words, it simply overwhelms us in the totality of our being; the light takes over. 

But the means—the sphere in which this happens—the apostle argues, is the preaching of the Word of God. So the preaching is glorious because the thing preached is glorious. Yet there is even more than that. He tells us that God Himself must cause it all to happen. He must cause that glorious Gospel to shine like a light and it must shine in the minds and hearts of unbelievers where there is nothing but darkness and bondage.

You know what it is like as a Christian to talk to someone who is unconverted, maybe a neighbour or a colleague at work. They just do not get it. They thank you for your courtesy and your civility, but they say ‘friend, I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about’. The problem with the sinner is not a lack of evidence; the problem with every sinner is a bias in their mind. Paul puts it in Colossians 1.21, ‘you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind’. There is a decided, determined bias against all of these things. They need to be convinced; they need to be persuaded. And God has to do it.

Why must God do this? We have this ministry to preach the Gospel. So why must God do this? Because of these two reasons. First, unbelievers are lost. ‘If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost’ (2 Corinthians 4.3). The psalmist describes in Psalm 107.27–29 those who are out on the sea and a great storm arises: they stagger to and fro; they are like drunken men, overwhelmed by their circumstances. In that moment they cry to God that He would hear them and save them, that He would deliver them. Then God speaks and all is returned to calm.

That men would pray to the Lord for His mercy and goodness is a constant refrain in the Psalms. And God does cause that to happen as His glorious Word and Gospel are preached. There are a lot of people who criticise preachers, their preaching and sermons, and I do understand that as a preacher. But we often overlook that the message is glorious; the communicating of the Gospel is glorious; there’s nothing like it in all the world. The nature of the Gospel is glorious; the communicating of the Gospel is glorious.

The Glorious Power of the Gospel

But then thirdly Paul tells us that the power of the Gospel is glorious. Verse 7 reads, ‘we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us’. Why were these words put into this whole argument? Well, the earthen vessel is the minister; we have this treasure in earthen vessels—these frail, inadequate human beings—and they are called into the ministry. They are charged with an incredible task. Why would God do such a thing? You know what it is like when you are going past a jewellers’ shop; the colour of the displays makes the diamonds look so great and the watches look so marvellous. And in a sense that is what is happening here. God uses men who are in many ways inadequate to the enormity of this astonishing task, of taking this treasure—this glorious Gospel. They are to handle it so carefully and to preach it so passionately; they are to do so soundly and diligently and plainly. We find in various confessions of faith that the Word of God is to be preached plainly and soundly.

God takes His treasure and gives it to these inadequate beings. Why? That the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. Remember what the earthen vessel can do: the earthen vessel can preach the Word. But remember what the earthen vessel cannot do: it cannot free the captives; it cannot give sight to the blind; it cannot open the heart; it cannot cause the light to shine into those darkened minds and hearts. Only God can do all this. The excellency of the power: all of the necessary supernatural things that have to occur God can do and has done. If you are a child of God, God has done this: He has set the captive free, given sight to the blind, caused the light of the Gospel to shine into the heart and into the mind. 

Paul says this is so that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. In other words all the glory of it returns to God. When you are sharing something about your miserable existence and how God came along and arrested and changed you, that is what you are talking about—what God did. We will not be standing in glory before the Lord Jesus Christ saying, ‘Wasn’t I a good person? I did this, and I did the other’. No! We will say, ‘God has done it all’. He has done this supernatural work. The means that God uses is the earthen vessel; that is why the Word is to be preached by these frail, inadequate beings. That way the glory will go to God when a sinner hears and is converted, when a child of God grows in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes as Christians we really undermine and underestimate the grandeur and the glory of the things that God has given to us. When we come here as a Society and learn about the translation work—that should send a thrill right through our being. There are those who do not have the Word of God but are going to get a copy of the Word of God. It may not look like much at the beginning, maybe just the Gospel according to John. Then after a few more years it is the New Testament; then after another half-dozen years suddenly we come here and say we have got the whole Bible translated. That should cause us to pause for a moment and thank God for this wonderful treasure that is now available for these people, that they too can hear a glorious message being preached unto them and see sinners coming to saving faith.

We should never, ever, diminish this or lose sight of the grandeur of it all. When God superintends the means and the treasure and the task, and when He is pleased, a glorious outcome happens. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines into the heart and mind so that the sinner is instantly persuaded, immediately, absolutely convinced in his mind of his need of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

That is why in some countries—Islamic countries or secular or communist countries—they try to murder Christians, brainwash them, imprison them, take everything from them. But even with their dying breath they confess Jesus Christ. I was reading recently of a young girl in a Muslim country who came to saving faith in Christ—how that happened is amazing in itself. And there she was secretly reading her Bible in her bedroom. When it was found out her father tried to beat her to death, but as he did so she said something wonderful: ‘You have a religion that you would kill for, I have a Saviour I would die for’. It is the power of the Gospel. C. H. Spurgeon is said to have remarked, ‘Morality will keep you out of jail, but only the blood of Jesus will keep you out of hell’.

The Glorious Effect of the Gospel

The nature of the Gospel is glorious, the communication of the Gospel is glorious and the power of the Gospel is glorious. Fourthly, the effect of the Gospel is glorious. Paul says in verse 6, ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’. This is an interesting phrase; to understand it more fully you need to go back to chapter 3, verse 18, ‘But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord’. Beholding: we simply behold; we gaze upon the thing with open face. The contrast here is with Moses and the children of Israel in verse 13, where we are told that Moses ‘put a vail over his face’. But for us it is with open face as in a glass. Very simply this means we see the glory of the Lord like a crystal where everything is bright and clear and shining. We see His Person, His attributes, His work, and His beauty.

We see the beauty of our Saviour. Why is He so beautiful? Because of who He is; because of what He has accomplished. And we who behold Christ in His glory are ourselves changed into the same glory by the Spirit of the Lord. Paul did not say the Spirit of God or simply the Spirit or the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit of the Lord. Why did he put it that way? To emphasise that the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of these people is to bring about a Christ-likeness. This begins in regeneration, it continues in our sanctification and it is completed at glorification. When was the last time you thought about glory, about glorification? The Bible tells us that when the Lord comes something wonderful will happen; He will be surrounded by all His people and they shall admire Him in His glory (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1.10).

As evangelicals we have lost something of that. We have become fixated on other things that seem to matter more than the prospect of beholding our glorious Saviour. He whom we have heard about by this glorious Gospel, whom we read of in His Word: we shall behold Him. You can see something of that when someone is converted. They begin rough and raw. It is wonderful to hear them pray: their grammar is all wrong, phraseology is all wrong, but oh it is so refreshing. Then they pick up all our jargon and they lose some of that. But still they are constantly changed. As they get older spiritually they mature; rough edges get planed away and they grow in grace the more they learn of the Lord. Edwards is said to have called true Christians ‘excellent creatures’. We have our idiosyncrasies and some are like hedgehogs—very prickly—but at the end of the day we are excellent creatures in Christ.

Conclusion

In light of these points what do we take away with us? First of all a warning: we need as evangelicals to stop robbing God of His glory. We have far too many celebrity preachers, and they have become a blight and a blot and a curse on the face of the church. The whole point of the earthen vessel is that God will get all the glory, that the Gospel itself will be glorious, that the content—Jesus Christ—would shine marvellously and gloriously. But we have changed that, and particularly so when people follow their favourite preacher even to the extent of some staying at home to listen to him online rather than going to the place of worship.

In 1839 a very famous trip to Palestine was taken by Robert Murray M’Cheyne along with Andrew Bonar and two older ministers, Alexander Black and Alexander Keith. They went on a wonderful journey to bring the Gospel to the Jews. While M’Cheyne was away from his pulpit in Dundee, Scotland, W. C. Burns was there and revival broke out. R. S. Candlish, who had encouraged the men on the trip, had a concern: when M’Cheyne returned to his pulpit how would he handle the situation? So he wrote M’Cheyne a letter and told him what had happened. Candlish did not need to worry: M’Cheyne had a holy disinterestedness that suppressed every feeling of envy. And even Burns retained throughout his life a strong sense of his own unworthiness. So when M’Cheyne returned to Dundee, there was no problem. In that sense M’Cheyne and Burns were alike: it was God that had done a great work. Celebrity preachers are a distraction from glorifying Christ. When we read 2 Corinthians 4, it is a constant reminder not to draw attention to ourselves, but point all attention to Christ.

Second we remember the dreadful state of all sinners. We say that sinners are lost and blind and there is only one remedy for them: the Gospel. This is why we print and publish Bibles, why we print portions of the Scriptures, put some of it into a tract form. What sinners need is the Word; they need to hear the very voice of God. They need to hear of Him who is the glory and the image of God. That is why the Bible needs to be translated: that all the languages of the world would have this Word so that poor, miserable sinners would know what we know, would hear what we have heard, to hear what has never been heard throughout their generations. How can anyone refuse to support such a work as this?

Once you begin to look at what it is all about, why it matters so much, immediately you say, Yes! we must see the Bible translated across the world that others will have the privilege that we have. There was a time when even this country was full of darkness. And the light came and shone, and generations were changed. There were always difficulties and fake conversions. Bede in mentioning a great famine notes that many confided ‘in the Divine assistance, when none was to be had from men’. But after three years, when the famine eased and people again had plenty, ‘luxury increased, and this was immediately attended [by] … cruelty, hatred of truth, and love of falsehood … even our Lord’s own flock, and his pastors also, addicting themselves to drunkenness, animosity, litigiousness, contention, envy … and casting off the light yoke of Christ’.² Doesn’t that sound familiar? But there are those whom God truly saves.

That brings me to the third point of application: the method of evangelism must in itself reflect the gloriousness of the Gospel. This is why we reject all the man-made methods that now exist in our world, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. The apostle Paul talks about how, when he came to Corinth, he ‘came not with excellency of speech’ (1 Corinthians 2.1)—not with all the methods and devices that a clever person could use. He set them all to one side in order that when a sinner gets converted, God gets the glory. They could not say ‘I was listening to the apostle Paul—what a wonderful preacher—and he preached this and that and he said the other’, and then spend the rest of the time talking about the apostle Paul’s oratory, his command of the language being so marvellous, so fantastic. Paul did not use man-made methods; he simply preached the Word, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

In the light of all of this we must also ask questions. Are you being changed? Are you changing? Is there alteration in your nature, in your mind, your will, and your affections? Let’s put it bluntly and plainly: can you look upon other believers and count them better than yourself? And can you do so without envy, jealousy, and competition? The Puritan Richard Sibbes noted ‘a kind of competition and comparison, they love not to be outshined’. ³ That is a bad fault: not liking to be outshone by somebody else. If you are a Christian it does not matter what honours are given to others. There is only one thing that matters: the glory of Jesus Christ.

Finally, where are all these things to be found? Listen to these words: ‘Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation … which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary’. ⁴ All these glorious things are in the Bible. You will not find them in Plato or Aristotle or ballads or anywhere else. You will not find them on social media. You will not find them in the universities. You will only find them in the Word of God.

TBS has as its aim, ‘For the glory of God and the Increase of His Kingdom through the circulation of Protestant or uncorrupted versions of the Word of God’. I commend this to you—not the work of TBS abstracted from anything else, but the work of our Society in this wonderful context: to promote the glory of God and to do that by circulating this Book. Our aim is that multitudes of people throughout the whole world will hear these glorious tidings. 

As you go home you will pray for preachers—the earthen vessels. You will pray for the cause of Christ, that it would have its face like unto the Saviour. You will pray for this Society. But you must surely have a passion for the Bible being circulated.

May the Lord bless these words to your hearts.