AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
HELPS US PERSEVERE IN
LIFE’S AFFLICTIONS
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
INTRODUCTION:
 How many of us are trying to cope up
or endure the pains and the intense
difficulties of life?
 How many of us are at the point of
losing hope and giving up in our
Christian walk?
 Are we seeing and assessing our
present difficulties in the light of God’s
whole plan and purposes?
 We know as believers that the way to
victorious Christian living is dependent
on our daily commitment to Christ,
being obedient to His word and our
submission to the leading of the Holy
Spirit. (Luke 9:23, 1 Cor. 15:31)
 Paul gave us a WARNING in 1 Cor. 15:19
"If only for this life we have hope in
Christ, we are to be pitied more than all
men."
 If we see our situations and the
implications of sufferings and
difficulties ONLY FOR TODAY and THIS
PRESENT LIFE and if our hope in Christ
is only for today's protection and
blessings then:
a. our daily commitment, denial, and
"self-death" will become painful
burdens
b. our walk will be characterized by selfpity and our trials viewed as heavy
crosses which we must bear for Jesus
c. we have grossly underestimated the
power of the Gospel
 This limited view of a Christian life will
always fall short of our expectations.
We then can miss true joy and peace that Jesus desires for our lives.
 If we view what is seen without
looking at God’s character and
promises, His second coming, His
justice and the glory that will be
revealed then we will be easily
overwhelmed or lose heart and not
be different from unbelievers.
As believers, focusing in the present
weakness of our bodies, our sicknesses,
our sins, the different degrees of trials,
sufferings and difficulties without looking
at God’s Word concerning His promises of
rest, resurrection, our new bodies, the
new heaven and new earth WILL BE
DEVELOPING A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN US:
SPIRITUAL MYOPIA OR SPIRITUAL
NEARSIGHTEDNESS.
 Through faith in Jesus, we have been
given eternal life. This means that the
life we now live must be viewed on an
eternal time scale.
 “The burdens that were once so heavy
must now be weighed against the
magnificent glory of Heaven. And our
"never-ending" trials must now be
timed on the clock of eternity.”
(Thomas Adams, 1612-1653)
 Why do we need to maintain an
Eternal Perspective?
 How can an eternal perspective deal
with our spiritual nearsightedness?
 How can this eternal perspective be
used by God to build and strengthen
us individually and even as a Church?
All these can be answered as we will be
seeing from our text THREE BENEFITS OF
HAVING AND MAINTAINING AN ETERNAL
PERSPECTIVE.
Having an eternal perspective will give us:
I. THE RIGHT MOTIVATION THAT LEADS TO
INWARD STRENGTH AND RENEWAL(V. 16)
 Here Paul acknowledged that not losing
heart and being renewed day by day is
possible in the midst of suffering.
 Like Paul, we have weaknesses,
sicknesses, injuries, hardships, pressures
frustrations and disappointments. Each
of these cost us a piece of our life and
this is the reality.
 What was the source of his daily inward
renewal? What was his motivation that
led to his inward renewal and strength?
 The word "therefore" in verse 16 means
that Paul has been saying some things
that led him to this experience and
supported it from verses 7-12 and verses
13-15; "therefore we do not lose heart . .
A. Paul’s First Motivation : DAILY
DEMONSTRATION OF THE POWER
OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING
AND DIFFICULTIES (PRESENT IMPACT)
-Vv. 7-12
 THAT IN HIS WEAKNESS AND HIS DAILY
DYING FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS AND
THE GOSPEL, GOD'S POWER AND THE
LIFE OF JESUS ARE BEING MANIFESTED
AND GLORIFIED.
 DAILY DEMONSTRATION AND
MANIFESTATION OF THE POWER OF
GOD.
Application:
 Times of our weakness, sufferings,
difficulties, sickness, loss, death of
family members, persecution because
of our faith ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
US TO ALLOW GOD’S POWER TO BE
DEMONSTRATED IN & THROUGH US.
OUR RESPONSES WILL ALLOW PEOPLE
AROUND US TO OBSERVE THE POWER
OF GOD BEING MANIFESTED AND OUR
LORD JESUS CHRIST GLORIFIED.
A. Paul’s Second Motivation:- THE HOPE
OF THE RESURRECTION (FUTURE
IMPACT)- Vv. 13-15
 Paul did not only acknowledge the
daily manifestation of the power of
God in all his weaknesses but he also
connected it with a future impact
that looked on the resurrection and
beyond the resurrection.
 In v. 14, hope of the resurrection kept
them from sinking. They knew that
Christ was raised, and that His
resurrection was an earnest and
assurance of theirs.
Implications:
a. The hope of the resurrection should
encourage us in a suffering day, and set
us above the fear of death. A Christian
has no reason to fear death, for we are
assured in hope of a joyful resurrection.
b. As if Paul is saying “THEREFORE we do
not lose heart . . . because it's going to
be all right. Not even death can make
the story have a bad ending. We are
going to live again, and we are going
to live with the people we love, and
we are going to live with Jesus sharing
in His glory for ever and ever.”
(2 Cor. 4:14)
Having an Eternal Perspective will also
give us a:
II. PROPER UNDERSTANDING ON TRIALS
AND DIFFICULTIES ( V. 17)
1. OUR AFFLICTIONS ARE MOMENTARY
 Verse 17: "For momentary light
affliction . . ."
 This does not mean it lasts one
minute only for it may last a
lifetime.
 When Paul said, “This present
afflictions", he referred to the
afflictions that will not outlive this
present life.
Implications:
a. Our afflictions will end. They will
not have the last say in our lives.
b. Afflictions are transitory in nature.
c. Even if our afflictions continue
throughout a whole lifetime, yet
they are momentary compared to
the eternity before us. God will
enable us to examine our trials in
their true perspective.
2. OUR AFFLICTIONS ARE LIGHT.
"For momentary light affliction..” v17
 The Gr. word for “light” means “a
weightless trifle” and “affliction”
refers to intense pressure.
 Afflictions in reality are not light in
themselves for oftentimes they are
heavy and severe; but they are light
compared to the glory we have in
eternity.
 From a human perspective, Paul’s own
testimony lists a seemingly unbearable
litany of sufferings and persecutions
which he endured throughout his life:
• 2 Corinthians 11:23-27.
 Yet he viewed them as weightless and
lasting for only a brief moment.
• Romans 11:18
 When Paul said that his afflictions are
light, he did not mean easy or painless.
He meant that compared to what is
coming, they are as nothing.
 Compared to the weight of glory
coming, they are like feathers in the
scale.
"Afflictions are light when compared
with what we really deserve.
They are light when compared with the
sufferings of the Lord Jesus.
But perhaps their real lightness is best
seen by comparing them with the weight
of glory which is awaiting us."
(Arthur Pink, "Affliction and Glory")
3. OUR AFFLICTIONS ARE PRODUCING AN
ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY(v. 17)
 In our text, the point is not that the
afflictions merely precede the glory,
they help produce the glory.
 Paul is emphasizing here that there is
a real causal connection between
how we endure hardship now and
how much we will be able to enjoy
the glory of God in the ages to come.
 What is coming to Paul is not momentary,
but eternal. It is not light, but weighty. It's
not affliction but glory. This is beyond
comparison and beyond all
comprehension. 1 Corinthians 2:9
 The effect of these afflictions is to
produce eternal glory. This they do:
1. By their tendency to wean us from the
world
2. By purifying our hearts enabling us to
break off from the sins on account of
which God afflicts us
3. By disposing us to look to God for
comfort and support in our trials.
4. By inducing us to contemplate (reflect)
the glories of the heavenly world and
thus winning us to seek heaven as our
home.
 God has graciously promised to reward
His people in heaven as the result of their
bearing trials in this life. Everything we
are to do in this life for the sake of Christ,
whether personal or our service to God
will have an eternal impact.
 “The early Christians were so much in
that other world that nothing which
happened to them in this one seemed
very important.” (Hannah Hurnard
1905-1990)
Having an Eternal Perspective will also give
us the:
III. CONTINUOUS ADMONITION NOT TO SET
OUR MINDS ON THE TEMPORAL (Seen)
BUT ON THE ETERNAL (Not Seen)- v. 18.
A. TEMPORAL THINGS [THE THINGS WHICH
ARE SEEN] – things we should not set
our minds and hearts on.
 The things here below; the things of
this life-poverty, want, care, trial,
persecution, wealth, pleasures, etc.
What we can see now are all
temporary.
 This refers particularly to the things
which Paul suffered in this context.
 What satisfies and gratifies us now is
not necessarily in our best interest in
light of eternity.
B. ETERNAL THINGS [THE THINGS WHICH
ARE NOT SEEN]- the things we should set
our minds and hearts on
 God is eternal; the Savior is eternal
 The Word of God is Eternal
 Heaven and all its joys are eternal
where there shall be no interruption,
no night, no cessation, no end.
 But how can we see the things which
are unseen? It is looking on the unseen
things through the eyes of faith.
• Heb. 11:1.
Implication:
 We must be aware of how the world
pulls us to focus on the here and now on immediate gratification from what
we can see and feel, on sensual
pleasures and tangible possessions.
 “I would not give one moment of
heaven for all the joys and riches of the
world, even if it lasted for thousands
and thousands of years.” Martin Luther
Applications:
1. In Christ, we have been given new
eyes! Let us then view our life in the
context of eternity gaining the greater
hope and power which this view can
provide today.
2. We choose to carry our cross with
greater joy, live with peace and
contentment. We can experience new
victories in life's many battles as we
begin to evaluate all areas of our lives
from an eternal perspective.
3. We choose to walk by faith, not by
sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). We need to
trust God even when we cannot see or
understand what He is doing.
 “A continual looking forward to the
eternal world is not a form of escapism
or wishful thinking, but one of the
things a Christian is meant to do. It
does not mean that we are to leave the
present world as it is. If you read
history, you will find that the Christians
who did the most for the present world
were just those who thought most of
the next.” (C. S. Lewis, 1898-1963)
CONCLUSION:
 “All the world’s ends, arrangements,
changes, disappointments, hopes and
fears are without meaning if not seen
and estimated by eternity.”
(Tryon Edwards)
 Do we have an eternal perspective?
 Will our present walk and what we are
doing with our lives now amount to
anything in the light of God & eternity?
 Are we aligning our decisions, our use
of time, our perspective on material
possessions, our relationships, our
service to God in relation to eternity?
 What areas of our lives do we need to
trust God to develop an eternal
perspective?
 Having an eternal perspective enables
us to live in light of God's truth rather
than on what we perceive to be true
through our limited knowledge.
 At the same time, having an eternal
perspective enables us to discern and
apply God’s eternal truths in life now
while we anticipate the glory to come.