2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-15
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; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our body.
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. So death works in us, but life in you. But
having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I BELIEVE,
THEREFORE I SPOKE," we also believe, therefore we also speak. Knowing that
He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us
with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is
spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to
the glory of God (NASB).
INTRODUCTION
Guidepost September 95 published the story of Jim Stovall,
who became completely blind at age 29. While he still had partial vision, he
volunteered at school for the blind. He was assigned to help a four-year-old
boy, blind and severely handicapped. Stovall spent considerable time trying to
convince the boy he could tie his own shoes and climb stairs in spite of his
limitations. “No, I can’t!” the boy insisted. “Yes, you can,” Stovall replied.
“No, I can’t!” The verbal battle went on.
Meanwhile, Stovall fought his own limitations. Because of
his deteriorating vision, he decided he had to quit his college courses. On his
way to withdraw from college, he decided to resign his volunteer position as
well. “It is just too tough,” he explained. “I can’t do it.” “Yes, you can!”
said a little voice beside him. It was the four-year-old who refused to tie his
shoes. “No, I can’t!” said Stovall with conviction. “Yes, you can!”
Stovall realized if he did not continue the child would
give up too. Therefore, Stovall stayed in school and graduated three-and-a half
years later. The same week he graduated, his little friend tied his shoes and
climbed a flight of stairs. Philippians tell us we “can do all things through Christ
who gives us strength.” I would like to share with you on the topic: “A
Remarkable Come Back.”
I.
THE MANIFEST PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN
EARTHEN VESSELS VV. 7-10
Earthenware vessels were a common place in virtually
every home in the ancient Middle East. They
were inexpensive and easily broken. Unlike metal vessels, which could be
repaired or glass ones, which could be melted down, and the material reused,
once broken earthen vessels had to be discarded. They were thus cheap and of
little intrinsic value.
The conjunction “But”
in verse 7 introduces the startling contrast between the splendor of which
Paul has just been speaking and the poor vessels in which it is contained. The
treasure in question is “the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God” (v. 6). The false teachers who were the
enemies of Paul had maligned and contemptuously described his bodily appearance
as weak and his speech as of no account (10:10;
10:1; 11:6; 12:7). These false teachers were using invectives to discredit
Paul’s authority as an apostle. Paul uses verse 7 to demonstrate that precious
metals or treasures are usually concealed in the least suspected vessels. In
the ancient times it was customary to hide treasure in clay jars, which had
little value or beauty and did not attract attention to themselves and their
precious contents. I remember when I was a boy, I saw my grandfather kept his
precious jewels in the least suspected jars. The reason he did that was, if a
thief broke into the room to steal something he might steal the beautiful jars
made of glass or metal. He would not touch the ugly looking jar. After all, who
would hide a treasure in an ugly looking jar or vessel? That is the way humans
think. However, God on the other hand, conceals His treasure in frail and least
suspecting vessels. That is why Jesus said, “I
praise You O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these
things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes” (Matt.
11:25). The Apostle Paul
also said, “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, and the base things
of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He
might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God” (1
Cor. 1:27-29).
Despite Paul’s apparent human frailty, God chose him to
bring the light of the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles of which Corinth was a part. The
supreme valuable message of salvation message of Jesus Christ has been
entrusted by God to frail and fallible human beings. As unworthy and frail as
Paul was, Christ saw fit to choose him to carry the light of the gospel to
those who were sitting in the darkness. The absolute insufficiency of man
reveals the total sufficiency of God. Human weakness presents no barrier to the
purposes of God. Indeed, God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
When you read the Bible carefully, you will find out that God used the least
expected people to accomplish His purposes. For example, Moses, a failure and a
wanted man, who was hiding at the backside of the desert in Media. Moses was
the least expected man to be used to deliver the children of Israel from
captivity in Egypt.
Samuel, just a boy but God chose him to be a prophet and a judge and David a
teenage shepherd that became a king of Israel. Who would appoint a
shepherd as the second king of Israel?
Probably no man would have done that, but God did. Amen. Joseph, sold into
slavery, serving jail term, an ex-convict, yet God chose him to become the
Prime Minister of Egypt. His brothers thought that they had gotten rid of him
and his dream, yet the dream happened. Peter, who had denied Jesus three times
and had gone back to his fishing business, yet Christ pursued him, restored
him, and made him the leader of the apostolic team. Paul, the least likely
figure, the one who held the clothes of those who stoned Stephen to death; the
one who went to towns and cities and hunted Christians men and women, yet
Christ saved him and called him as the flaming apostle to the Gentiles. The
list can be endless. Paul knew that he was the least qualified candidate to be
chosen by Christ. That was why he was ever grateful to God for His grace. Are
you one of those who think that you deserve to be saved? Are you one of those
who think and behave as if God owes you something?
The life of Paul reveals to you and me that the
transcendent power of God belongs to Christ and not to His servants. Paul knew
himself. Paul knew who he was, and to whom he belonged. Do you know yourself
very well? Do you know to whom you belong? In verses 8-9, Paul states that he
endured “suffering everyway, but not
crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down,
but not destroyed.” These verses describe the vulnerability of Paul, his
missionary team, and the power of God, which sustained them. Here, Paul is
speaking from experience and this is more of constant experience. Here Paul
uses the language of Greek Gladiatorial games to describe their ordeal. He says,
"We go through affliction but not crushed." Sometimes Satan uses
affliction to crush the spirit of the believer. He does that to win the victory
over you. Paul says, "Yes we sometimes wonder, we are perplexed but not
despairing." To despair means to lose hope. Brothers and sisters, the
moment you lose hope in the Christian life, the very moment you lose hope in
Christ, the battle is ended. If you lose hope in Christ, Satan has won the
spiritual warfare. Paul says, “We do not
despair.” A person can live without food for sometime. A Person can live
without water for sometime, but you cannot live without hope. Hope in Christ,
in His death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming is what keep us going.
Never give up hope. The moment you give up hope, you are like a boxer who won
the title but "threw in the towel." Paul says, “We are persecuted but not forsaken.” The devil is real. He is the archenemy
of Christ and Christians. However, he uses people to do his sinister work for
him. Persecution of Christians is always the work of people who have become the
slaves of Satan. Paul says we are being
hunted. Paul knew the agony of being hated and pursued like an animal by
his fellow men, but he also knew that, no matter how savage their hatred, he
was never forsaken and left as a prey to his enemies. The sad thing is that the
people who claimed to be Christians and boasted of their power and spirituality
became the tools in the devil’s hand to persecute Paul. If the secularist, the
unbeliever, and the pagan persecute you as a Christian, you can understand. However,
when one who claims to be a believer becomes your persecutor, it is difficult
to endure. Sometimes Satan uses those who are close to you to persecute you. See
how Saul persecuted David. A King that David had rescued from humiliation and
possibly death; Saul became a tool of Satan to persecute David. David’s own son
Absalom rose up against him. The good thing is that God did not forsake David.
Read how both Saul and Absalom died. Paul says, yes we are persecuted but not
forsaken. God has given His unchanging promise to all His faithful children. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb.
13:5). Paul was fully conscious of the power and presence of Christ in his life
that he was not worried even when his companions forsook him (2 Tim. 4: 10, 16).
Paul then asserts, “We
are struck down, but not destroyed.” This is a picture of a wrestling
match. It is also like a boxer who has been knocked down, but not knocked out.
Have you watched a boxing match where a boxer who had been knocked down came
back to win the fight? The Apostle Paul says, yes Satan might have knocked us
down but we are not knocked out. We are not knocked out because our champion
Jesus Christ has already won the fight. He won the fight over 2000 years ago.
Glory be to God. King David the Psalmist says, “The steps of a righteous man are ordered by the LORD: And He delights
in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; because the LORD is
the One who holds his hand” (Ps. 37:23-24). Many of the faithful servants
of God had suffered in the hands of the agents of Satan. Among the list
includes Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John who became the Bishop of
Smyrna. This courageous man of God was burned at the stake. William Tyndale
whose only crime was a determination to obey his call from God to translate the
Bible into the English language was literally hunted like a prey from place to
place until he was eventually martyred on October 6, 1536. They may destroy this decaying
body, but they cannot destroy the soul.
Paul also states, “We
carry about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be
revealed in our body.” The frailty of Paul’s humanity is evident in the
constant hardships and persecutions he suffered for the sake of the gospel
through which he shared in Christ’s suffering. You became the target of Satan
the moment you opened your heart to Christ. When you said yes to Jesus you died
to self, Satan, and the world. Nevertheless, Satan would not let you go without
a fight. Paul was hunted and struck down by the enemies of Christ who went from
Antioch and
Iconium and pursued him to Lystra. They stoned him, dragged his lifeless body
and left him for dead, but he was miraculously raised up and restored to
strength (Acts 14: 19ff.). Not only was Paul restored but he also returned to
Lystra to minister there again (Acts 14:21).
Perhaps many of the enemies who had sought his death had died. Satan and his
cohorts knocked Jesus down. Like a game of boxing, the umpire was counting. The
umpire started counting on that fateful Friday after the crucifixion. The Devil
and his demons were jubilating on Friday and Saturday. The umpire was about to
count his last on Sunday morning, when all of a sudden Jesus rose up and sent a
crushing blow to Satan and his demons. The game was over. Jesus had staged a
remarkable come back to win the title. And since Jesus has won the victory over
sin, Satan, and death, you and I who are in Him are more than conquerors. On
the outward, it appears as if we are losing the battle, but in reality, we are
winning because we are fighting from victory unto victory. Praise the Lord.
Glory be to God.
II.
THE MEANING OF FAITH AND THE ASSURANCE
OF THE RESURRECTION VV. 11-14
Paul reminds us that though we may be at the end of
our rope, we are never at the end of hope. Our perishable bodies are subject to
sin and suffering, but God never abandons us. Because Christ has won the
victory over death, we have eternal life. All our risks, humiliations, and
trials are opportunities to demonstrate Christ’s power and presence in us.
In verse 11, Apostle Paul recaps his previous statement. In
essence, he says that human weakness provides the occasion for the triumph of divine
power, and daily “dying” magnifies the wonder of daily resurrection life. God
is not looking for strong people to use. You know why? They would rely on their
natural strength. God is looking for weak people so that He alone can get the
glory. The reason why we do not experience the power and the presence of God in
our lives today is that we rely on our human potential and strength. To live
and serve God in human strength alone is to be defeated, but to live and serve
in total dependence on the risen Christ is to live in victory. Are you
crucified with Christ? The Apostle Paul could say, “I am 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 delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Some Christians want to experience the resurrected power and presence of Christ
in their lives, yet they refuse to surrender their lives to Christ. The
Christian life is a life of faith in Christ. It is a life of complete
submission and reliance on Christ. There are some who want Christ to save them,
and yet want to live independent of Christ. In effect, they are saying, “Christ
save me but let me control my life.” My friend you cannot come to Jesus and
dictate the terms of operation. Jesus is the Christ, He is the Savior, He is
the Lord, and you are the servant. A servant does not dictate the terms of
operation; the Master does. You cannot have the resurrected power of Christ
without going through some of the sufferings that He endured.
Apostle Paul’s experience was a constant exposure to forces
leading to death but he also knew that Christ had not abandoned him. In his
exposure to forces leading to death, the life of Christ was greatly magnified
in him, not only to sustain him, but also to work through him to bring life to
others. Today you and I are the beneficiaries of the gospel of Jesus Christ
through the Apostle Paul and others who risked their lives for Christ’s sake.
In verse 13, quoting from Psalm 116:10 Paul says, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we
also believe and therefore speak. Paul is saying the threat of death through
persecution by misguided men cannot silence us from sharing Christ. Persecution
cannot seal our lips from declaring to others the redemptive work of Christ.
This is the life of unquenchable faith in Christ. Paul continued to operate in
the spirit of faith in Jesus Christ despite his afflictions. Do you continue to
live for Christ when you go through suffering? Do you continue to share Christ
with others in spite of persecution? Satan uses suffering to intimidate
believers and to silence us, but that should not be the case (Acts 3 & 4Peter
and John).
III.
THE MAGNITUDE OF GOD’S GRACE EXPERIENCED
THROUGH THANKSGIVING V. 15
In verse 15, the Apostle Paul is telling the
Corinthians that they should not allow the false teachers to unsettle their
faith in Christ. Why? Because the persecution and affliction which Paul and
others endured for the name of Christ was a benefit to them. I must say that
Paul’s writings have been a constant source of encouragement to me in trying
times. The Psalms of David, which you turn to in times of difficulty, were
mostly written in the crucible of sufferings. Paul says that God is using their
hardships to spread the grace of God, which comes through the gospel to many
people. When this happens, gratitude overflows in the heart of many people to
the glory of God. Many Christians shun adversity and persecution because they
are shortsighted. They do not have the big picture. They do not think of the long-term
effect of what God does with their consistent faith in Christ in the midst of
suffering. Many of Paul’s writings that have brought comfort and solace to many
believers were written not from a palace but from prison in Rome. John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrims Progress from jail in England. Probably besides the Bible,
the Pilgrims Progress has affected
more people’s lives than any other book. As you face great troubles, it is easy
to focus on the pain rather than on the ultimate goal. As we labor with Christ
through suffering, when many lost people come to Christ, they are prompted by
the Holy Spirit to give thanks to God and glorify His name.
