Key Verse: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 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. (2 Cor. 4:7-10)
When archaeologists dig up the past, they find many remarkable things. One of the things they have found is what they call “coin hoards”—coins buried in clay jars for safe keeping—ancient Greek and Roman piggy banks. They have found thousands of these, Some of them have a few coins, and some have thousands. Careful people have put their coins in these jars and buried them in the ground. They are “treasure in jars of clay.” They are no longer of use to their owners, but these coin hordes provided the Apostle Paul with a remarkable image: We are like clay jars holding the treasure of the gospel.
We have, writes Paul, “the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay.” The glory of the gospel is the treasure. We are the containers. We carry the treasure, and this is so for a specific purpose. It is “to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” We can’t change people’s hearts, but the gospel can. We may be able to influence people in certain ways. We may be able to encourage them or advise them or help them with some task, but we can’t change them, not deep in their hearts. Only God can do that through the gospel.
Probably, the apostle had seen many of these clay jars hidden in the ground, keeping their treasure safe. As he writes this letter, he is traveling around to the churches collecting money to relieve the suffering of the Christians in Jerusalem. Possibly some of those he has recently visited have taken him to where the money they have collected is buried, and he has watched as it is dug up. He has seen the earth pressing around the jar, and he writes, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (8-9). Our suffering is pressing in on us on every side, but we go on.
Paul shows this kind of strength because he sees a purpose and a goal in his sufferings. The purpose is “to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (v. 7). The glory has to go to God. And that is “so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (v. 10). We are to display God’s strength, not ours.
But Paul also sees a future goal: “We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself “ (v. 14). And that lets him write that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (v. 17).
I hope you don’t mind being called a clay jar, but that’s what God uses. He deliberately chooses weak vessels to display his strength. So when you feel weak or discouraged, when you feel unable to keep going, when you feel inadequate to serve the Lord, lean back on the fact that this is all in God’s plan. He wants you to depend on his strength.
Prayer: Father, Lord of heaven and earth, teach me to depend on You. You are my strength. You are my rock. You are the energy of my life. Help me to trust You and to depend on You. If the Apostle Paul could do it then, I can do it now. Let me live and serve You, Lord, for your glory.
Author: Lindsay Hislop was raised in southern Scotland and southern Ontario and now lives in the southern United States. He worked in the engineering field for 15 years (mostly in Canada) before pursuing an academic career. He has taught for over thirty years at Columbia International University. He also serves as an elder in his church, where he teaches and preaches regularly. He is married to a wonderful wife Pam and has two terrific children, Holly, who lives in Canada, and Doug, who lives in Columbia. His four grandchildren, Isaac, Madeline, Lindsay, and Dolan, are also pretty special. He likes doing carpentry and odd jobs around the house.
