Treasures – Reasons to Celebrate!
Posted by Sandy in Attitude, Christian Living, Confidence in God, dancing, Faith, God's Faithfulness, God's power, Praise, Trials, tags: 2 Corinthians, Psalms7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7
Not many people carry treasures in old, dirty clay pots. Treasures are meant to be kept in special places and displayed with care for others to see. Yet Paul wrote to the Corinthians that they carried their treasure around in old, dusty, jars of clay. Wait a minute! Let’s back up – what is “this treasure?”
Chapter 3 and the first part of Chapter 4 make it clear that “this treasure” is our incredibly awesome relationship with God and the equally awesome ministry of sharing that relationship with others. The most prominent word in the passage is glorious! And yet we carry that treasure around in clay pots. Why? So that no one mistakes the glory for our own, but so it is clear that “this all-surpassing power is from God.” Halelujah!
Reading 2 Corinthians 3 through 4:7, one would think Paul lived on Cloud 9 all the time! The verses that follow make it clear he doesn’t:
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
As I was preparing to preach this passage recently it occurred to me that how we read it makes all the difference. It can be easy to fall into the trap of reading it like this:
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (emphasis mine)
That’s not how Paul wrote it, though. Sometimes it requires an act of our will to read it as Paul wrote it:
8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (emphasis mine)
How are you responding to the difficult issues in your life today? Are you focusing on the fact that they are not crushing you? Are you resisting being in despair? Do you know that you know that you know that you are not abandoned? And are you confident that you will not be destroyed? That’s where God wants us to live – in full confidence that He has overcome the world and, living inside us, He will enable us overcome it. It’s what Paul says just a few verses later:
13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:13-15
Verse 13 threw me a bit until I learned that the first half of it is taken from Psalm 116. The Psalmist begins in confidence:
1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
Psalm 116:1-2
Continuing to read the Psalm, we learn that the psalmist was near death when he called to the Lord and God rescued him. He spends several verses telling of God’s great love, compassion and power. Then he writes “I believed; therefore I said…” (v10). The Psalmist continues with his dismay in this world and finishes with complete confidence in God. Why does he have confidence in God in light of the condition of his world? Because God has already responded to his cries for mercy, because God has already rescued him, he is full of faith that no matter what he faces God will save him.
Paul was identifying with the Psalmist when he wrote the 2 Corinthians passage –
13…With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:13-15
In other words, it is with the same confidence that the Psalmist wrote about that we speak, because we know that God, who has already demonstrated His power when He raised Jesus from the dead, will one day raise us with Jesus and to present us in His presence. Wow! Already it’s easier to put the emphasis on the correct phrases in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. I am not destroyed! I am not crushed or abandoned!
All this is reason for us to overflow with thanksgiving to the glory of God. It is the Summer of Praise and God has given us more than enough reasons to praise Him. When we are hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down, we can know that there is a greater purpose in it – for God to be glorified as others see Christ being developed in us. We can also know that He will one day raise us up to be with Him. Two wonderful reasons to celebrate and persevere!
Finally, Paul puts the finishing touches on the passage:
16Therefore [because of all of this] we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
I die a little each day – outwardly, that is. My physical body crested the hill of life and is on the downhill slope toward death. I’m still somewhat near the top of the hill, but the slope seems to grow steeper with each passing year. Yet Paul writes that despite what is happening outwardly, we do not lose heart – we are not discouraged – because inwardly we can be renewed each day. That renewal comes when we have everything in focus – looking not on what is seen, but on what is unseen; not on what is temporary, but on what is eternal. Because what is eternal has a glory that far outweighs them all. Hallelujah! Bring to mind the most magnificent thing you have seen here on earth. It is like muddy water compared to the glory of heaven. Don’t focus on the muddy water! Focus on the glorious truth that the God who raised Jesus from the dead will one day raise up with Him. Hold on to the confidence that He will rescue you, just as He has promised and as He has done so many times before.
We carry around the treasure of our awesome relationship with Christ and all that He is to us and for us, and we carry it in our bodies of clay so that there is no question that it is Christ in us, the hope of glory.
Lagniappe: If you like worship dance and/or Whitney Houston’s singing, check out this video of Whitney singing the song “I Love the Lord” based on Psalm 116. Watch the video below or here.
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