This Treasure in Jars of Clay

SCRIPTURE

2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 MSG

7 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us.

INTRODUCTION

We are jars of clay. Fashioned by the Creator of the Universe. God formed the first man Adam of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of God and man became a living soul. Mankind was originally created in the image and likeness of God. However, sin has marred the image of God in us. Apart from God’s grace, we are ordinary, fragile, jars of clay. We are broken | empty | hopeless.

But as disciples of Jesus Christ, God has done something miraculous in us. He has placed within these ordinary, fragile jars of clay a treasure. A treasure that is more valuable that anything else in the universe. A treasure that has the power to transform broken lives. A treasure that has the power to fill the emptiness of our lives. A treasure that has the power of give hope beyond anything this world has to offer. A treasure that has the power over sin. A treasure that has the power over sickness and death. A treasure that can take an ordinary, fragile jar of clay that has been marred and broken, empty, and is not fit to be used for anything, and place it in the Potter’s hand, the Creator of the Universe, and He makes it new! No longer broken. No longer empty. No longer hopeless.

Today, I want to tell you about this wonderful TREASURE IN JARS OF CLAY. What is it? What do we do with it? What does it do for us beyond this life?

Let’s take a step back and go back to the beginning of 2 Corinthians 4.

MESSAGE

THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL

2 Corinthians 4:1–7 NKJV

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

It shines where the enemy blinds.

It reveals Christ, not ourselves.

It turns weak vessels into carriers of glory.

THE POWER OF GOD IN OUR WEAKNESS

2 Corinthians 4:8–12 NKJV

8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.

Pressed, but never crushed.

Knocked down, but never destroyed.

Our cracks become channels for Christ’s life.

THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE

2 Corinthians 4:13–18 NKJV

13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Faith speaks because resurrection is sure.

Present pain is producing eternal glory.

We endure by fixing our eyes on the unseen.

CALL TO ACTION

As we stand before the truth of 2 Corinthians 4, God invites us to respond—not as spectators, but as surrendered vessels.

Receive the Light of the Gospel.

If the Gospel is the treasure, then open your heart to its light. Let Jesus shine into the dark places—your fear, your guilt, your hidden struggles. Say, “Lord, let Your light fill my life again.”

Rely on the Power of God in Your Weakness.

Stop trying to patch the jar yourself. Bring your cracks, your pressure, your confusion, your weariness—and lay them at His feet. Say, “God, be strong where I am weak.”

Rest in the Hope of Eternal Life.

Lift your eyes from what is temporary. Let the unseen shape the way you live, give, suffer, and trust. Say, “Lord, fix my eyes on what lasts forever.”