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Spiritual Treasure in Clay Pots
2 Corinthians 4:5-12
Good News Translation (GNT)
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5 For it is not ourselves that we preach; we
preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves
as your servants for Jesus' sake.
6 The God who said, "Out of darkness the
light shall shine!" is the same God who made
his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the
knowledge of God's glory shining in the face
of Christ.
7 Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are
like common clay pots, in order to show that
the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.
8 We are often troubled, but not crushed;
sometimes in doubt, but never in despair;
9 there are many enemies, but we are never
without a friend; and though badly hurt at
times, we are not destroyed.
10 At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the
death of Jesus, so that his life also may be
seen in our bodies.
11 Throughout our lives we are always in danger
of death for Jesus' sake, in order that his life
may be seen in this mortal body of ours.
12 This means that death is at work in us, but life
is at work in you.
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Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
Spiritual Treasure in Clay Pots
2 Corinthians 4:5-12
Paul writes: For we do not preach ourselves.
That is, Paul and his colleagues did not puff themselves up with pride, they did not seek honour from men.
Instead, setting forth the truth plainly (verse 2), Paul preached the Gospel of Christ and nothing else.
Even though Paul was an apostle, he was not the Corinthians' master; rather, he was their servant.
In one way, Paul was the servant only of Christ, and not of any other man.
But in another way, Paul made himself a servant of all men for Jesus' sake.
In so doing, Paul was following the example of Jesus Himself, who, being in very nature God ... made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
In the beginning, God said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3).
And even today God continues to say to all men: "Let there be light."
God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
God made his light shine in our hearts.
At the time we first believed in Christ, God's light began to shine in our hearts.
God makes His light shine in our hearts in order to reveal to us His own glory in the face of Jesus Christ
Jesus said: "I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life".
One day on the road to Damascus, Paul himself had seen the light of Christ, and his life had been changed forever.
The Apostles' Weakness and God's Strength
We humans are like jars of clay.
We are ordinary, weak, breakable jars.
But in our "jars" we have this treasure: namely, the gospel of the glory of Christ
Paul also refers to this "treasure as the light of the knowledge of the glory of God (verse 6).
In simplest terms, the treasure in our "jars" is the Gospel of Christ.
This Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.
Such great power in such weak jars!
Nevertheless, God desires to use weak "jars" like us, because when people see our own natural weakness, they will know that the spiritual power within us comes from God and not from ourselves.
In these verses, Paul describes various trials he has experienced.
Most Christians have experienced one or more of these difficulties that Paul mentions here.
They have been hard pressed and perplexed (verse 8);
they have been persecuted and struck down (verse 9).
They have reached the point where there is no human solution to their problems, no way of escape.
But God has always been with them.
When human means end, then God's means begin (Deuteronomy 31:6).
Paul's life was filled with the kinds of trials he mentions here.
Nevertheless, God always led him in triumphal procession in Christ.
Christians even triumph in death!
In death our body comes to an end, but we ourselves are not destroyed.
Rather, through death we receive our heavenly inheritance, which is eternal life and a crown of righteousness.
There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.
We need not fear men who can kill only the body; we need fear only Him who is able to destroy both body and soul - that is, God.
Paul writes: We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus.
Paul and his colleagues are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake.
What does Paul mean by these statements?
Paul means that he and his colleagues are facing the risk of death every day.
Like a sheep about to be sacrificed, Paul is, in a sense, facing death all day long for Christ's sake.
In a way, Paul is being crucified to the world.
Just as Jesus had said to do, Paul is taking up his cross daily.
Since Paul is Jesus' servant, he is receiving the same persecution that His Master received.
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