2 Corinthians 4:5-12, “We have this treasure in clay jars…”
Today’s text comes from 2 Corinthians 4:5-12, a powerful reminder of who Jesus Christ is and our identity in God. This passage, written by the apostle Paul, is a part of his second letter to the Corinthians, where he addresses the purpose of ministry, challenges, and triumphs of the Christian community.
The first verse of our text teaches that the purpose of our ministry is to preach about Jesus Christ as Lord and not about ourselves. In other words, whenever preachers preach, it should be about Jesus the Messiah, Jesus Christ as Lord, and not about themselves. One should never draw attention to oneself but to Jesus as the center and the focus.
Along the line, the preaching agenda should be about Jesus, His work, what he did for us, and who Jesus is to us: the Lord, the son of God, a triune God, and the Savior of the world. That is why if any preaching does not contain directly or indirectly the blood of Jesus, His atonement for sins, and who Jesus Christ is, then that is not preaching. If any preaching denies the divinity of Jesus, Jesus being the only way to God, but trying to teach any deviation from the word of God written in the Bible, then that is not Christian preaching.
Today, we see the human agenda being preached from the pulpit. A UMC bishop taught that Jesus was a clump of clay and struggled to find his identity; that bishop denied the divinity of Jesus to substantiate his own human agenda. Against such human agenda, mass exodus of one million people from UMC happened in a day on the African continent a couple of days ago. It’s a stark reminder of the importance of biblical truth. We must be vigilant and discern whether what is being preached aligns with the word of God. When we stand before God to be accountable for our lives on earth, we will be judged by the word of God. This is a biblical truth that should guide our actions and teachings.
Another thing to note is that preaching is not only done with words but also with actions. In this context, every Christian is a preacher of Christ Jesus. Our agenda in living, doing, and saying should not be about ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people seem to have little to say other than talking about themselves, what they have, or where they go on vacation. Our lives should be about Jesus; we are to preach and share about Jesus, our Lord, and Savior, since nothing about us is worthwhile. This leads to the second point.
Verse 7 states that we are clay jars. “… We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Those who think highly of themselves might have difficulty accepting that they are nothing but “clay jars.” However, that is a biblical truth. We are made of dust from the earth. We are “clay jars.” Some clay jars might be beautifully ornamented; some might be just plain clay jars. Regardless of how richly ornamented or not, “clay jars” are “clay jars.” No matter how it might look, the essence does not change. Are you a millionaire? Then you are a millionaire clay jar. Are you a successful businessman/ woman? Then you are a successful “clay jar” looking great on the outer side. Nevertheless, you are a “clay jar” who cannot take anything when dying.
When we die, we all return to dust; nothing in and of ourselves is worthwhile unless we have Christ Jesus. Only when we have Jesus Christ, the “treasure” in us, do we become containers or jars of “treasure.” Only Jesus Christ makes us worthwhile, the jar that contains “treasure,” nothing else does. That is why it is critical whether you have Jesus in your heart as your Lord and Savior.
Have you accomplished something great in life? It is because of God’s power and strength that worked in you, not because you are great, wise, or able. Because we are “clay jars,” we cannot accomplish anything alone. The “surpassing power from God” enables us to achieve any success in life. At this point, we must note an important point about having this “treasure,” Jesus, in our lives. Jesus remains the “treasure” in us if He is the Lord, and we serve Him as His servants. If we switch the place of Lord and servant, that is, if we become the Lord and place Jesus at the margin or remove Him from our lives, then we become worse than plainly being “clay jars”; we become evil.
On our Reformation tours, we visited where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, –into the commoner’s language so that everyone could access the Bible, not just priests who read the Bible in Greek or Latin. We also visited Wittenburg church, where he posted 95 theses, pointing out all the corrupt practices and teachings of the Catholic Church, selling indulgences/salvation with money. We also visited other Reformation sites, Geneva and Jurich, where Calvin and Zwingli led the Reformation movement. But it left a bitter taste in my mouth when we had to swallow how they degenerated themselves and became evil later in their lives. Martin Luther, who motivated the whole of Europe to reform the church from its corrupt and distorted practices, promoted killing Jewish people. His later articles that were written promoting the destruction of Jews were used by the German Nazis to justify the mass killing of Jews, attempting to wipe them off the face of the earth. Calvin burnt his theological opponent at the stake; Zwingli gave full consent to drown Anabaptists to death in a river.
These people, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, who had been used by God powerfully, became evil themselves, proving that it was by the “surpassing power from God” enabled them to accomplish what they accomplished in the history of Reformation, not by their own strength, wisdom, or ability. After all, they were “clay jars.” When there was no longer Jesus Christ, the “treasure” in their hearts, even these people became evil, worse than just being plain “clay jars.” In other words, what ultimately counts is not how much or how powerfully we have done for God but whether we have kept the “treasure,” Jesus, in our hearts as the Lord, serving Him. This reminds what Jesus said in Luke 10:20, “… Do not rejoice that the spirits obey you. But rather, rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.” Demon spirits obey us if we have the “treasure,” Jesus, in us; having Jesus guarantees that our names are written in the Book of Life. How important it is to keep this “treasure” in us!
Keeping Jesus until the end is not easy. The Bible does not promise that our Christian living will be easy; it rather talks about persecution, suffering, heartaches, and disappointments in following the Lord. As followers of Jesus, we are to walk the path to crucifixion, dying to the world, dying to ourselves, fighting with the harsh realities created by Satan. However, we are not to be dismayed when faced with difficult circumstances because Jesus Christ the Victor is with us. Apostle Paul stated through vss. 8-10, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” Because Christ Jesus is with us, we will not be crushed when we are hard-pressed on every side. We might be perplexed, not understanding why unthinkable things are happening to us, but we will not despair; we might be persecuted, seemingly left alone to defend ourselves, but God will never abandon us; struck down, but we will never be destroyed. Because in Christ, there is victory; in Christ, there is life and power. Amen!
Today’s text comes from 2 Corinthians 4:5-12, a powerful reminder of who Jesus Christ is and our identity in God. This passage, written by the apostle Paul, is a part of his second letter to the Corinthians, where he addresses the purpose of ministry, challenges, and triumphs of the Christian community.
The first verse of our text teaches that the purpose of our ministry is to preach about Jesus Christ as Lord and not about ourselves. In other words, whenever preachers preach, it should be about Jesus the Messiah, Jesus Christ as Lord, and not about themselves. One should never draw attention to oneself but to Jesus as the center and the focus.
Along the line, the preaching agenda should be about Jesus, His work, what he did for us, and who Jesus is to us: the Lord, the son of God, a triune God, and the Savior of the world. That is why if any preaching does not contain directly or indirectly the blood of Jesus, His atonement for sins, and who Jesus Christ is, then that is not preaching. If any preaching denies the divinity of Jesus, Jesus being the only way to God, but trying to teach any deviation from the word of God written in the Bible, then that is not Christian preaching.
Today, we see the human agenda being preached from the pulpit. A UMC bishop taught that Jesus was a clump of clay and struggled to find his identity; that bishop denied the divinity of Jesus to substantiate his own human agenda. Against such human agenda, mass exodus of one million people from UMC happened in a day on the African continent a couple of days ago. It’s a stark reminder of the importance of biblical truth. We must be vigilant and discern whether what is being preached aligns with the word of God. When we stand before God to be accountable for our lives on earth, we will be judged by the word of God. This is a biblical truth that should guide our actions and teachings.
Another thing to note is that preaching is not only done with words but also with actions. In this context, every Christian is a preacher of Christ Jesus. Our agenda in living, doing, and saying should not be about ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people seem to have little to say other than talking about themselves, what they have, or where they go on vacation. Our lives should be about Jesus; we are to preach and share about Jesus, our Lord, and Savior, since nothing about us is worthwhile. This leads to the second point.
Verse 7 states that we are clay jars. “… We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Those who think highly of themselves might have difficulty accepting that they are nothing but “clay jars.” However, that is a biblical truth. We are made of dust from the earth. We are “clay jars.” Some clay jars might be beautifully ornamented; some might be just plain clay jars. Regardless of how richly ornamented or not, “clay jars” are “clay jars.” No matter how it might look, the essence does not change. Are you a millionaire? Then you are a millionaire clay jar. Are you a successful businessman/ woman? Then you are a successful “clay jar” looking great on the outer side. Nevertheless, you are a “clay jar” who cannot take anything when dying.
When we die, we all return to dust; nothing in and of ourselves is worthwhile unless we have Christ Jesus. Only when we have Jesus Christ, the “treasure” in us, do we become containers or jars of “treasure.” Only Jesus Christ makes us worthwhile, the jar that contains “treasure,” nothing else does. That is why it is critical whether you have Jesus in your heart as your Lord and Savior.
Have you accomplished something great in life? It is because of God’s power and strength that worked in you, not because you are great, wise, or able. Because we are “clay jars,” we cannot accomplish anything alone. The “surpassing power from God” enables us to achieve any success in life. At this point, we must note an important point about having this “treasure,” Jesus, in our lives. Jesus remains the “treasure” in us if He is the Lord, and we serve Him as His servants. If we switch the place of Lord and servant, that is, if we become the Lord and place Jesus at the margin or remove Him from our lives, then we become worse than plainly being “clay jars”; we become evil.
On our Reformation tours, we visited where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, –into the commoner’s language so that everyone could access the Bible, not just priests who read the Bible in Greek or Latin. We also visited Wittenburg church, where he posted 95 theses, pointing out all the corrupt practices and teachings of the Catholic Church, selling indulgences/salvation with money. We also visited other Reformation sites, Geneva and Jurich, where Calvin and Zwingli led the Reformation movement. But it left a bitter taste in my mouth when we had to swallow how they degenerated themselves and became evil later in their lives. Martin Luther, who motivated the whole of Europe to reform the church from its corrupt and distorted practices, promoted killing Jewish people. His later articles that were written promoting the destruction of Jews were used by the German Nazis to justify the mass killing of Jews, attempting to wipe them off the face of the earth. Calvin burnt his theological opponent at the stake; Zwingli gave full consent to drown Anabaptists to death in a river.
These people, Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, who had been used by God powerfully, became evil themselves, proving that it was by the “surpassing power from God” enabled them to accomplish what they accomplished in the history of Reformation, not by their own strength, wisdom, or ability. After all, they were “clay jars.” When there was no longer Jesus Christ, the “treasure” in their hearts, even these people became evil, worse than just being plain “clay jars.” In other words, what ultimately counts is not how much or how powerfully we have done for God but whether we have kept the “treasure,” Jesus, in our hearts as the Lord, serving Him. This reminds what Jesus said in Luke 10:20, “… Do not rejoice that the spirits obey you. But rather, rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.” Demon spirits obey us if we have the “treasure,” Jesus, in us; having Jesus guarantees that our names are written in the Book of Life. How important it is to keep this “treasure” in us!
Keeping Jesus until the end is not easy. The Bible does not promise that our Christian living will be easy; it rather talks about persecution, suffering, heartaches, and disappointments in following the Lord. As followers of Jesus, we are to walk the path to crucifixion, dying to the world, dying to ourselves, fighting with the harsh realities created by Satan. However, we are not to be dismayed when faced with difficult circumstances because Jesus Christ the Victor is with us. Apostle Paul stated through vss. 8-10, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” Because Christ Jesus is with us, we will not be crushed when we are hard-pressed on every side. We might be perplexed, not understanding why unthinkable things are happening to us, but we will not despair; we might be persecuted, seemingly left alone to defend ourselves, but God will never abandon us; struck down, but we will never be destroyed. Because in Christ, there is victory; in Christ, there is life and power. Amen!