The Overcomer Trust

  • Overcomer Literature Trust
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  • Wiltshire


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Not Ourselves, But Christ. 

By William Romaine.  

 

“We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4 v 5).

 

The apostle speaks these words of himself and of Timothy. In the foregoing chapter he has been comparing the ministry of the Law with the ministry of the gospel and stating the difference between them. The Law was written on tables of stone and was the ministration of condemnation and death, but the gospel was written upon the fleshly tables of the heart, being the ministration of the Spirit and of righteousness, and therefore whatever glory the Law had, the gospel did far exceed it. 

 

Paul and Timothy, being appointed preachers of this most glorious gospel did not faint through any difficulty or opposition, nor did they labour in it upon any corrupt, selfish motives. They renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness with the intention of cheating their hearers, nor handling the word of God deceitfully. They acted openly and honestly in truth, commending themselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God, making the truth so plain and their views in preaching it so noble that everyone’s conscience must approve of them. And God saw the secrets of their hearts and to him they could appeal for the uprightness of their motives. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4 v3-4). 

 

The stratagem of Satan wherever the Gospel comes is to blind and harden men’s minds against it, knowing that if the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into them there would be an end of his reign. Therefore he labours to shut out the light of the gospel that he may continue to rule in the evil heart of unbelief. 

 

But the preaching of the gospel is the means of dethroning Satan. He fears no weapon formed against him but the two-edged sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With this he has been defeated thousands of times, for it is the appointed instrument of bringing sinners out of darkness into light, and from the power of Satan into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. And the Lord works this mighty deliverance by the preaching of the gospel. When ministers of the New Testament have a single eye to Christ and aim solely at his glory, then the Holy Spirit works with their words and glorifies Christ in the understanding and in the hearts of the hearers. Of this Paul had long and happy experience and He was enabled to exalt Jesus.

 

We preach not ourselves, we would have self debased that Christ may be ALL in ALL. “We preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord”. Of His wonderful person, the God-man, of His gracious undertakings, of His finished salvation, almighty power and faithfulness to carry all the purposes of His love into execution, that His people may be receiving out of His fulness grace in time and glory in eternity, of these things we would be telling all the day long. He is the subject matter, His glory is the aim and end of all our preaching, and if He be but glorified, and souls won to Him, we have reward enough. His love constrains us to love Him, the Head of the body, and to love all his members, for His sake ready to do any good work to the souls or bodies of mankind.