Treasure in Clay Pots

3 Truths that will give you the courage to be used by Jesus in the tough times of life.

1. You Are the Perfect Vessel for Jesus (7)

2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB95

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Believer’s Bible Commentary G. An Earthen Vessel with a Heavenly Destiny (4:7–18)

The treasure is the glorious message of the gospel. The earthen vessel, on the other hand, is the frail human body. The contrast between the two is tremendous.

Clay pots were just common earthen pots. Cheap and easily breakable. like paper plates and dixey cups. Our bodies are

Just so we are clear. You are not the treasure. You are the vessel. The world today will tell you that you are the treasure, but that is not the case.

Actually, the plainer and weaker you are, the greater the contrast is with the true treasure.

Believer’s Bible Commentary G. An Earthen Vessel with a Heavenly Destiny (4:7–18)

Jowett says:

There is something wrong when the vessel robs the treasure of its glory, when the casket attracts more attention than the jewel which it bears. There is a very perverse emphasis when the picture takes second place to the frame, and when the ware which is used at the feast becomes a substitute for the meal. There is something deadly in Christian service when “the excellency of the power” is of us and not of God.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary Cracked Pots

By His Spirit, God places the treasure of His Son into the clay pots of our lives. This is like placing the Hope diamond in a Glad trash bag.

2. Your Suffering Enhances Your Testimony (8-9)

2 Corinthians 4:8 NASB95

8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

Afflicted = compressed into a small space, squeezed

but not crushed = confined or restricted.

Like in Philipi - God still gave Paul opportunity to share the gospel

acts 16 22-31

Perplexed = doubt how God can use this situation.

Despairing = same root verb doubting how God was going to use these circumstances but not doubting that He could.

2 Corinthians 4:9 NASB95

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

Persecuted = hunted or pursued. Like king Saul pursuing David.

Not Forsaken = God was with him all the way.

Struck Down = knocked to the ground with a weapon

Not Destroyed = not permanently ruined or killed. Modern example from boxing, he was knocked down but not out for the count.

Believer’s Bible Commentary G. An Earthen Vessel with a Heavenly Destiny (4:7–18)

The New Bible Commentary paraphrases verses 8 and 9: “Hemmed in, but not hamstrung; not knowing what to do, but never bereft of all hope; hunted by men, but never abandoned by God; often felled, but never finished.”

Philippians 1:21 NASB95

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Why would someone endure all all the things Paul endured and still stick to his message about the grace of Jesus Christ through the gospel if he hadn’t really been transformed by God himself? Paul’s sufferings were a proof that his message was genuine

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 4)

piano craftsman Theodore Steinway who said that it is the forty thousand pounds of pressure exerted on the two hundred forty-five strings of a piano that creates beautiful harmony. Sometimes, it is only the pressure, the persecution we undergo that causes a song to resonate in the hearts of those with whom we share.

3. Your Suffering Has Purpose (10-12)

2 Corinthians 4:10 NASB95

10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

We should expect to suffer like Jesus if we expect live forever like Jesus.

Galatians 2:20 NASB95

20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Courage for the Conflict (2 Corinthians 4:1–5:8)

The test of a true ministry is not stars, but scars

Mark and Amanda Joubert losing baby Gus

God has many purposes for allowing them to suffer in this way and not a tear will be wasted. Think of the impact that this little boy and this young couple have already had and will have for Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:11 NASB95

11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Courage for the Conflict (2 Corinthians 4:1–5:8)

Dr. John Henry Jowett said, “Ministry that costs nothing, accomplishes nothing.” He was right. A pastor friend and I once heard a young man preach an eloquent sermon, but it lacked something. “There was something missing,” I said to my friend; and he replied, “Yes, and it won’t be there until his heart is broken. After he has suffered awhile, he will have a message worth listening to.”

Believer’s Bible Commentary G. An Earthen Vessel with a Heavenly Destiny (4:7–18)

When violence comes to a servant of the Lord, we normally think of it as a tragedy. Actually, this is God’s normal way of dealing. It is not the exception. Constant exposure to death for Jesus’ sake is the divine manner in which the life of Jesus is manifested in our mortal bodies.

2 Corinthians 4:12 NASB95

12 So death works in us, but life in you.

Paul and his team’s physical suffering allowed for spiritual life to be delivered to the Corinthians.

Are you facing difficulties in your life? Do you feel pressed in, doubtful that God could use your circumstances for anything good? Then you are the perfect vessel for God to use. Your suffering will enhance your ministry for Jesus, and your suffering has purpose that can be used to bring spiritual life to the lost around you.

You will be able to say with Jeremiah:

Lamentations 3:19–24 LSB

19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and gall. 20 Surely my soul remembers And is bowed down within me. 21 This I will return to my heart; Therefore I will wait in hope. 22 The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.”