“Treasure in Earthen Vessels”

 

For it is God who said, "Out of darkness Light shall shine;" who shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us; in every way having been troubled, but not having been hemmed in; having been perplexed, but not utterly at a loss; having been persecuted, but not having been forsaken; having been thrown down, but not having been destroyed; always bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus in the body, so that the life of Jesus also might be revealed in our body.           (2Co 4:6-10 MKJV)

  

First, let me begin by giving you a concise paraphrased version of the passage, “God planted the unbelievable truth and hope of the gospel in a highly fragile and susceptible container, one subject to breakage, wear, abuse, and neglect. This He did so the power of the hope of the gospel could show itself sufficient to overcome such, despite the vessels susceptibility. This all to point to something deeper within, which would serve more powerful than those elements that work to eventually destroy the vessel itself. Therefore the vessel knows well its susceptibility, yet never gives up hope, because of the hope this message provides it!” JMMV

Several things come to mind here, first is how common the vessel God deposits the hope of the gospel in, really is. One thing I have always noticed in near eastern archeology at the various sites was the immense number of clay chards that litter the ground, they are always in the thousands and tens of thousands. Nothing appears to be more common or more breakable in ancient times. Anyone who has been around a clay vessel knows how easy they are to break. At a time when the bronze and iron ages were flourishing, Paul reminds us of how common and fragile we are. Secondly, Paul reminds us that God created the vessel fragile on purpose. Today we can add certain ingredients to strengthen the integrity of the vessel, but in Paul’s day it was basically clay, the same clay interestingly enough that God formed man out of, in the Book of Genesis. Once dried, it was sometimes fired to give a bit more strength, but at best, it was still quite fragile. One interesting characteristic of theses fragile clay vessels, was that once they were damaged they were pretty much good for nothing and so they were discarded. If a piece was found large enough, sometimes they became surfaces to write upon, but other than that, they were useless. Paul reminds us here that God put us into fragile vessels on purpose, vessels that have the potential to be rendered utterly useless when damaged. This brings me to the third thing worth mentioning, and that is, Paul alludes to the fact that though the vessel be scattered in pieces on the ground, somehow it can remain intact! Paul gives the picture of a shard that maintains the integrity of the whole vessel. How can that be? You see we have a vessel, but the vessel isn’t all there is. The vessel contains something that cannot be destroyed, something that is reacting and responding to what the vessel outwardly experiences. It is what is in the vessel that God adds the hope of the gospel to! There is a very powerful lesson for us to learn here and that is you cannot control what happens to the earthen vessel, but you can control the integrity of the vessel when the outer shell is shattered! Paul tells us that the only thing that can allow us to maintain the vessels integrity when the vessel is damaged, is the hope that Christ brings. You see when the vessel is damaged on the outside, sometimes it is irreparable, and the damage is obvious to all. The question now becomes, what can hold the remaining pieces together and still allow the vessel to find usefulness and purpose somehow? Paul tells us, that what gives strength to a vessel that would otherwise crumble is Jesus! Jesus is the invisible glue that miraculously holds all the broken pieces in place. Paul also tells us that when we see the vessel intact, although it has been badly damaged, we will know the source of its strength is God, and not ourselves! This is why it is so important to deposit the hope of the gospel in every vessel before they crumble entirely.

Rev. Joel M McDuffie Jr.

3/19/2015

c2015