Treasure in Clay Pots
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Illustration: Taking Abi to the Doctor for First Shots
Illustration: Taking Abi to the Doctor for First Shots
Verse 6
Verse 6
We have been transformed.
Flesh this out.
Dead to life.
Why?
Bad Heart Now New.
Enemies now reconciled.
How?
He has shone in our hearts.
Hearts that were once bad.
Hearts that were once dark.
Hearts that were once dead.
All these things are true because of the Gospel.
The Gospel has come and enlightened our hearts.
Why?
Grace- getting what I do not deserve.
Mercy - not getting what I do deserve
We call this the Great Exchange. I get the righteousness of Christ
For what purpose?
To see the Glory of God.
To enjoy the Glory of God.
Think about this for a moment. God has chosen to share His glory with us.
To give us knowledge of the glory of God.
The only way this knowledge comes is through the face of Jesus Christ.
He is the channel of this grace and mercy.
All the grace I get, comes from the face of Jesus Christ. He graciously reveals the glory of the Father.
The reason I get mercy is because of Jesus.
This all happens in what is often called the Great Exchange.
I get the righteousness of Christ, and Christ takes my sin and absorbs the righteous wrath of God on the cross.
So…
What will happen one day if I stand before God and he asks “Why should I let you into heaven?”
My answer will not be like those of .
“But lord, look what I did for you..”
“But Lord, ....”
No.
My answer has to be, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.
This is what God has done for us.
This is the treasure he is talking about in verse 7 when he says...
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
The treasure we possess is none other than the hope within us because of Jesus Christ.
The treasure is the Gospel. The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We have that treasure.
But look at what its in.
earthen vessels
Basically clay pots.
Clay pots were not known in this ancient, nor are they known now for their strength.
We use them today for flower pots.
They used them for common buckets.
Essentially they used them back then to carry waste.
These vessels were useful, but weak.
temporary and yet easily replaceable.
When he says, “we have this treasure is earthen vessels, he is referring to our bodies.
Our bodies are weak.
Physically, emotionally, and spiritually we are weak.
But theres a purpose in this.
We hold this priceless treasure in weak vessels. Why?
Look at the end of verse 7.
This is the way God works.
He uses what is seemingly weak to shame the strong.
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
He desires receiving glory.
He places the glory within us a clay pot, and its when we get broke, that the glory of God comes pouring out.
its when pressure hits thats God’s glory gets revealed.
This is what he is speaking of in verses 8-9
we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Afflicted- not crushed
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
Perplexed- not despairing
persecuted- not forsaken
struck down- not destroyed
Why?
How?
Not because of how strong we are. Its because of the treasure thats within us.
Thats the only reason we hold up.
Example: i love talking to Older saints who even though they are going through the weakness of age and sickness, but they are ready to see their Jesus. That hope is still there.
We see this same hope and strength echoed in the voice of martyrs who stand firm in the middle of persecution because they know God will not forsake them.
We see this same hope in the husband or wife or child who is confused as to why it has to be them to bear the burden of cancer and yet they continually worshipping god through the pain.
Thats the hope this verse is talking about.
In fact, its when we suffer and suffer well that we look most like Christ.
Paul, of all people, can relate.
Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death.
Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;
I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.
Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.
Bless his heart, he went through it.
But God used Paul to help build his church and God used the circumstances in Paul’s life to help build Paul.
God has a corporate and a private purpose in our suffering.
Verses 13-14 are both look with anticipation to when Jesus will make all things right for the church and for Paul.
He desires that
verse 15
As the church grows and I would add that the church grows through hard times.
One of the church fathers Tertullian said that persecution is the seed of the church.
Dr. Danny Akin says “We don’t fight for victory. We fight from victory.”
And even though the war has been won. There are still battles to be fought.
and its through these battles, that these weak vessel are tested and the Gospel that is within us holds us together.
Therefore, verse 16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
We don’t lose heart.
Though the vessel is weak and grows weaker and weaker with age, the Gospel remains constant. The strength within us remains unbroken.
The suffering is hard. But it is not meaningless.
Suffering hurts, but its not meaningless.
Some things we should know about suffering.
The suffering we endure is momentary.
It will only hurt for a moment.
it wont be like this forever.
This is what I remind people I visit.
The suffering we endure is light.
We pastor, it doesn’t feel light.
Its my pleasure to tell you, it will when you get to heaven.
its light,
Its doing something for us.
eternally.
APPLCIATION
VERSE 18.
Abi story.