Knowing The Word in 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, Treasure in Jars of Clay

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

To look in the face of Jesus is to know what God is like. Having such knowledge is a great treasure, even though it is kept in an earthenware vessel. Ben Witherington writes, “This may be a reference to the cheap pottery lamps made in Corinth and used for walking about at night. Precisely because of their thinness, these vessels let out more light. This frail form also makes it clear that the light comes from another source, so Paul adds that in his case his frailty ought to make obvious that the power is coming from God and not from himself.” Paul lists a catalog of his trials to demonstrate his frailty, his resilience, and his composure. Taken as a whole, Paul’s vessel has plenty of cracks but is still intact, suggesting God’s intervention and power on behalf of Paul. What does Paul mean by all this “death” language? Paul manifests the dying or killing of Jesus in his own sufferings and is thus being conformed to Christ’s image. Believers are always being delivered over to death as we become more like Jesus. We die to self and sometimes literally die. Yet in spite of such sufferings, God’s light shines through it all. In his catalog of suffering, Paul seeks to instill admiration in the Corinthians, especially among his detractors, as he shows them that he is God-reliant and God-confident. He is even so bold to proclaim that while death works in him, it gives life to the Corinthians. As Jesus died to give us life, Paul dies to himself to give them life.

Father in heaven,

nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Whether we live or die, we are yours.

When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death

we fear no evil, for you are with us.

We come with—beneath the cross of your beloved Son

and ask you to wash us in his blood.

In your mercy, forgive us our sins,

and prepare us to rejoice with your people in Zion,

where there is no mourning nor crying

nor any more pain.

May your Holy Spirit, who raised Jesus from the dead,

raise—and us to full healing and salvation

to praise you in eternity.

John Gunstone