Sermon Tone Analysis

Series Review

Hope is thrilling when we see the wonder in our perseverance

day-to-day living possesses wonder.

Wonder = a sense of expectation, excitement and joy

We recapture the wonder in our day-to-day living

by seeing beyond ourselves.

See God in His holiness and majesty, and therefore living to reflect His holiness in our living

This week, we will consider another angle....another perspective to aspire to possess so we can see the wonder in our perseverance

2 Corinthians overview

Paul had founded the church in Corinth, and to say this particular church had its ups and downs would be an understatement.

One issue was that it had a tendency to prioritize outward appearance… worldly measures of success, especially when it came to their leaders

Corinth was an important city on Greece.

The book of Acts tells us that Paul labored many months to plant a church in this city

Sometime after leaving, Paul received word that there were problems.

People weren’t getting along and there were factions.

Paul wrote one letter (1 Cor.), went to visit the church again, but it did not seem to have any effect.

Then he wrote a second letter (severe letter - we have no copy of this letter), and that seemed to have an impact and produced some changes.

Then Paul wrote 2 Cor.

Structure

1-7: Paul defends his ministry

8-9: Describes the collection Paul wants to take for some poor Christians, most likely, in Jerusalem

10-13: Paul defends his apostleship

We will be in chapter 4 today, and this chapter is in the section in which Paul is defending his ministry.

And fundamental to his defense is to point out that it is God’s power that is fueling his ministry, not his own eloquence or any other impressive ability.

Paul points out his own weaknesses and his own suffering to demonstrate that it was God at work in and through him.

And so with this in mind, let’s go to our text:

Introduction

FCF: We can loose sight of the fact that our outward reality is not a mirror image of our inward reality.

Main Idea:

Our inward reality is our superior reality

What makes our inward reality superior to our outward reality?

We will seek to answer this question by answering 3 additional questions I find raised in this text.

We will ask the question, observe several responses to those questions we see in the text and then provide a bottom line answer.

Who are we?

(7)

There is a paradox in the first part of v. 7. (paradox = a self contradictory statement).

We have a treasure in jars (vessels) of clay).

Privileged guardians

We have: We have the treasure but we do not own the treasure.

We are trustees.

we will deal with the role of a trustee

Joseph is an example of being a trustee of treasure.

The people of God have been made trustees over something far more valuable than the riches of Egypt.

Far more privileged than 2nd in command under a king.

Being a guardian means we have a responsibility

We are also

Fragile ministers

Don’t let this privilege go to our heads

jars of clay: earthen vessels - lit.: baked clay or made from clay

the imagery here is meant to convey these jars or vessels or not particularly impressive, special or valuable.

This is where the paradox is really made clear: although the container is relatively worthless, the contents are priceless.

But what’s the treasure?

What’s so valuable?

Of what are God’s people fragile ministers and privileged guardians?

It’s seen in one other answer to the question, who are we?

Gospel stewards

What does v. 7 tells us we have in jars of clay?

This treasure: something specific.

What is this treasure?

Consider what Paul said in the first 6 verses of this chapter:

Whether it is the knowledge of God’s glory in v. 6

Or the glory from the gospel in v. 4

or the ministry of the gospel in v. 1

It seems to me that this treasure in v. 7 is referring to the gospel itself.

The children of God have the most precious treasure.

Given this treasure to be trustees… stewards.

Understand it

Live according to it

Proclaim it

Bottom Line: We are the entrusted keepers of the most precious treasure in the world.

So when it comes to our outward reality.

Our lives, bodies, frustrations, disappointments, trials, temptations, persecutions - all of it- our outward reality - just remember our inward reality, that we are keepers of the most precious treasure in the world is the superior reality.

This is the wonder in our suffering.

But there’s another important question we need to ask:

What is our purpose (7)

As keepers of the most precious treasure in the world, what is our purpose?

We see the answer in the 2nd half of v. 7

So Paul tells his readers that they have this treasure, the gospel, in jars of clay TO show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

The word to is a word used to indicate purpose.

God has a purpose in making His people keepers of His gospel.

How do we think through this purpose?

The people of God have been made keepers of the gospel:

To point to the source of divine power

The surpassing power belongs to and comes from God and not any person.

The paradox makes this point: The fact that the proclaimers of the gospel are in themselves frail and fragile, not particularly impressive points to the fact that the power of what they are proclaiming comes from God and not them.

We are not keepers of a knock-off gospel

Whats the genuine gospel?

We need to proclaim as Paul did:

Any gospel that marginalizes sin, or fails to point people to the fact that our sin required payment, and that the only payment sufficient was Christ on the cross, is a knock-off gospel.

And when we preach a knock-off gospel, we do not point the the source of divine power.

We presume we are the source of power that people need.

We’re not.

The surpassing power belongs to God, not us.

But the people of God have also been made keepers of the gospel

To demonstrate the need for divine power

Paul understood something about himself.

In addition to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and a minister of the gospel, he was living proof that he needed God’s power to do what God called him to do.

Consider what Paul said earlier in this letter:

This is true of God’s people today.

God establishes us, God anoints us, He puts His seal on us, He gives us His Spirit.

We need this from God, His power, to do what He has called us to do.