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But, we possess this treasure in vessels of baked clay,1 so that the surpassing greatness may be the power of The God and not our own.2
| 1 | We possess this treasure in vessels of baked clay: Or, CON: a body of fragile clay; MOF: frail vessels of earth; GDS: a mere earthen jar. [Genesis 2:7; Isaiah 64:8; 1 Corinthians 15:47] |
| 2 | May be the power of The God and not our own: Paul gives the glory to God, the source of power and strength. It was the Christian “clay” that destroyed the Roman “iron.” [Daniel 2:43] |
Dear Friends of the Nazarene,
We choose 2 Corinthians 4:7 as the theme verse of the chapter – Shining Gloriously. Because the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, Paul exhorts Christians to “let their light shine.” [1-5] In this he echoes the Nazarene Master at Matthew 5:16. Christians do not proclaim themselves, but rather Christ, for The God has “shined in our hearts to illuminate them.”
However, this treasure is “in vessels of clay” so the glory goes to The God. [7-12] Paul list’s some of the experiences these “clay vessels” must endure: pressure and stress, perplexed and persecuted. Living Christians are constantly exposed to death in behalf of Jesus.” Christians should be possessed of a certain attitude of conviction, a believing disposition or attitude that naturally moves them to speak. Paul states a vital principle: “I believed, therefore, I spoke.” [13-15] All of this will result in being raised together with the rest of the Church and God’s glory.
This endurance is not done by one’s own strength, for though the “exterior person is wasting away – the inner person is being renewed day after day.” [16-18] Thus, Christians must fix their minds not on the visible and temporary, but “the invisible things are ageless.”
May Heaven bless those whose faith moves them to speak.
[15 June 2002]
The treasure of the knowledge of Christ and of the ministry of the gospel of life. Perhaps his enemies pointed to his sorrows as a proof that he was not so favored as a minister of Christ. A splendid treasure was placed in a fragile, cheap earthen vessel. Then it was manifest that the great work wrought was the power of God, not of us, the apostles and evangelists.
