Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

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everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. [3] And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. [4] In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. [5] For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. [6] For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [7] But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. How effective can our own preparation, investigation, practice, and work be in terms of communicating the Word of God with power? In many ways, our heartfelt desire as Christian leaders is to communicate the Word of God regarding Jesus of Nazareth in a convincing and compelling way. We spend untold hours of preparation, prayer, study, and instruction for this end. Yet, sometimes, in spite of all the hard work that we do to prepare ourselves for urban ministry, the results are the opposite of our desires. Why do our best laid plans, prayerfully conceived and diligently carried out, often result in fruitless, even hostile reactions? What exactly are we doing wrong to get such unwelcome, even mean spirited responses to the Word of God? Of course, it could be due to our own fault – in the way we communicated, our lack of humility and openness to others, the communication of a harsh, judgmental spirit or the lack of genuine love demonstrated in our sharing of the Gospel. More likely than these, however, is the presence of a very real enemy, one who masterfully interferes with the presentation of the Word of God to those who do not believe, and whose aim is to undermine all ministry done in the name of the Lord. Of whom do we speak? Paul speaks about the hiddenness of the Gospel. This is unusual language for an apostle, even while shackled himself in the Roman prison, to say confidently that the Word of God cannot itself be imprisoned (cf. 2 Tim. 2.9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!). This same apostle says that the Gospel is hidden due to the demoniacal work of the “god of this age,” the devil, who veils the Gospel to those who are perishing. He has blinded their minds to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. He impedes the work of those who proclaim the Word of God, interfering, lying, deceiving, and inhibiting them to fully comprehend the wonder and depth of God’s salvation offer in Jesus Christ.

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