II Corinthians 4:1-16 - Treasures in Jars of Clay

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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If you have a Bible with you in some form, you'd open to 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

We're stepping out just for this Sunday of our journey through the Gospel of Luke, which

we will return to next week.

But I want us to look at this section of 2 Corinthians in some way as a follow-up on a

sermon that I preached here several weeks back from Psalm 67.

But let me read now for us from Paul's letter, second letter to the Corinthians, beginning

of verse 1 of chapter 4.

We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.

We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's Word, but by the open statement

of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience and sight of God.

And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.

In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from

seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants

for Jesus' sake.

For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the

knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

Perplexed, but not driven to despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken.

Struck down, but not destroyed.

Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,

so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written,

I believed, and so I spoke.

Look, we also believe, and we also speak,

knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus

and bring us with you into his presence.

For it is all for your sake,

so that as grace extends to more and more people,

it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.

So, we do not lose heart.

Though our outer nature is wasting away,

our inner nature is being renewed day by day.

For this slight momentary affliction

is preparing for us

an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

as we look not to the things that are seen,

but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient,

but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Let me pray for us as we approach this portion of God's word.

Father, we need you.

We need what your word says.

We need to understand what your word says.

But we need what your word says

to penetrate down into the depth of our hearts,

not just our minds.

So, would you come?

As we study your word,

would you give us that gift,

that working of your Holy Spirit

to move away the things that would distract us?

Would you clarify the things that we need to focus on?

Would you make our hearts receptive

to what you would say?

And then lead us to glory.

Lead us to your glory.

Lead us to a deeper knowledge of your glory.

So that we will value it above all things.

So come, do your work in us,

we pray in the great name of Jesus.

Amen.

Now, a few weeks ago when we were,

when I was here,

we were talking about Psalm 67,

and we really,

that sermon was all about

what I would call the flow of grace.

And it's how that

the more we enter into the knowledge

of all that God is

and what God has done for us

and this grace that He has poured out for us,

the more we experience this relationship

that He has now given and restored

for us in Christ,

the more it's going to naturally

flow from us

into the rest of the world around us.

You know, the Father,

in His effusive joy,

because of this joy,

sends His Son

into the world

to share this joy

with those He has created,

and then the Son

then calls us

to go do the same.

So as we experience that joy,

it flows from us,

and we fulfill the calling

that He has given to us

by sharing that joy

with those around us.

And really,

and since that's what this passage

also is talking about,

but when we look at this passage,

there's this phrase

that kind of gives us pause.

And it's a critical phrase.

One of the lessons

that we need to learn

when we study the Scriptures

is that when you read

sections of Scripture,

you look for those

repeated phrases.

And there's a repeated phrase here

that kind of sandwiches

in this whole chapter.

And that is the phrase,

we do not lose heart.

You see it in verse 1,

and you see it down again

towards the end.

And if the gospel

is such good news,

and if it's such a glorious thing

to experience,

and if it should be flowing

freely from us,

why would we lose heart?

Well,

proclaiming the gospel

when we've experienced it deeply

is a natural thing.

It is also

a costly thing.

And losing heart

is very,

very easy

to do.

When the cost

becomes

and begins

to seem heavy

to bear,

we lose heart

and we wonder

whether

it's worth

continuing

to proclaim

and to communicate

to this

world

that is lost

in their blindness.

We wonder

if it's worth

keeping going.

You know,

Will spoke of this

last week,

I think,

the last two weeks.

Spoke very well

of this.

When we come

to Christ,

it is glorious.

It's also costly.

So we particularly

in the Western church

really find

this concept

difficult.

You know,

we sometimes,

you know,

we talk about

and even

those of us

in our circles,

we ridicule

preachers

who proclaim

what is known

as the prosperity

gospel.

And I'm not going

to mention

names.

You know who

some of these

people are.

But

it is a gospel

that simply says

that,

you know,

when we come

to Jesus,

if we're faithful,

then we're going

to,

we should expect

to enjoy

all the good

and the pleasures,

the wealth

and the benefits

and health

that this life

has to offer.

And we know

in our heads

that's not true.

That's not

what the Bible

teaches.

We sort of

know that.

but I think

even

in our own

circles,

we live

by the principle,

I mean,

our very country

was founded

on the principle

of life,

liberty,

and what?

The pursuit

of happiness.

And unfortunately,

we expect that

out of our religion

as well.

we make,

you know,

we love sermons

that are uplifting

and positive.

We like music

that makes our toes

tap and that are,

it's uplifting

and encouraging.

And it's when

the pain

and the hardship

and of just life

or that pain

and hardship

which comes

because of

our involvement

in the ministry,

when that

begins to encroach

on our

lives,

we can be shaken

and begin

to ask questions

like,

wait a minute,

does God

really love me?

If He loved me,

would He be doing

this to me?

And,

you know,

our level of suffering

really doesn't have

to be that great.

I could go

into a hotel room

with lousy pillows

and complain

at the wazoo.

He says,

how am I supposed

to live

with a pillow

this flat?

What did I do

to deserve this?

You know,

when we were overseas

doing mission work,

it was easy

to have a mindset

that life

was not going

to be comfortable,

cushy,

cozy,

though in a lot

of ways

our lives were.

But you have

this mindset

to, oh,

I'm now

in the mission field.

I'm supposed

to have a hard time

and that's okay.

But as soon

as we came back,

all of that ended.

I mean,

I was very grateful

to enter back

into the good life

of SUVs

and Starbucks.

The problem

with the prosperity gospel

is not just

that it's not true.

It basically

diminishes

what the gospel

is.

because it makes

the gospel

just something

that I can have

the good life

comfort here

and now.

And that doesn't

give us a whole lot

of impetus

to proclaim it.

But what Paul

is doing here

in this text

is he's doing

a couple of things.

He's telling us

about the reality

of what it means

to live in Christ

and proclaim the gospel

but he's also

telling us

about a gospel

that is worth

everything

it'll cost us.

And so I know

in your bulletins

you don't have

a printed outline

so we'll put it up

here on the screen.

I'm basically

going to look at

I want us to look

at three things

from this text.

And it's all

about glory.

First off,

we're going to see

the gospel

of glory.

And then we're

going to look

at the vessels

of glory

and then the pathway

to glory.

First,

let's look at

the gospel

of glory.

You know,

when you read

these passages

of scripture,

again,

the whole thing

of repeated

phrases and words

and if you read

this chapter,

I don't know

if you picked up

on it,

the word,

the term glory

shows up in here

five times.

We see it up there

in verse 4

where he's talking

about the gospel

of the glory

of Christ.

You see it in verse 6

where he talks

about the knowledge

of the glory

of God

in the face

of Jesus Christ.

You see it down there

in verse 17.

We're talking about

the eternal weight

of glory.

The gospel

is not

just about

freedom

from the fear

of hell.

The gospel

is not

just about

my ticket

to a better place

once I die.

The gospel

is about glory.

It is all

about glory.

The good news

of the gospel

is that

we again

can know

glory.

Back in the fall

when man

sinned in the garden

among the things

the consequences

that happened

to that

there were two

major

repercussions

of our

disobedience.

And the first

was that

the glory

that man

knew

initially

being created

in the image

of God

was now

brought down

to shame.

What was the first

thing that Adam

and Eve did?

They ate

of the apple.

They looked

at each other.

They saw

that they were

naked

and they started

covering up

in their shame.

They lost

this sense

of glory

that they

were created

to know

to experience

to own

and it was

gone.

And we've been

living in hiding

in shame

ever since.

And you know

this shame.

You live in hiding.

I live in hiding.

I'm going to tell you

something about myself

that I'm going

to pay for

after this

but I do

not dance.

It's not

because I can't.

It's not

because I don't

have rhythm.

Oh I do.

It's just

dancing

is this

self-expressive

thing

that you do

out there

in front of

people

that terrifies

me.

The people

are going

to watch

me.

They're going

to see

me.

See what

I do.

And then

I'm going

to get

their attention

and that's

not where

I want

their attention.

I'm going

to do

something dumb.

I'm going

to look

silly,

foolish,

and so

I would

just as soon

sit,

tap my toes,

and enjoy

the music.

It's

safety.

Now,

why,

if I'm

so self-conscious

about how

I am

perceived,

why would

I stand

in front

of 400

people

and talk

for over

half an

hour?

That

is the

worst nightmare

for many

of you.

Because,

see,

these situations

expose us.

They expose

us in ways

where we're

not,

we don't

feel safe.

We don't

want that

kind of

exposure.

There is

shame that

is driving

and controlling

so much

of what we

do.

I stand

up here

because this

is something

I feel

confident in.

In fact,

this is a

way I

hide my

shame.

But,

see,

some of

us,

we know

that shame

in a lot

of different

ways.

Some of

you would

never leave

the house

if you

were

dressed

out of

style.

I mean,

some of

you are

terrified

just by,

again,

speaking in

public,

some of

us use

humor in

our words,

again,

to cloak

and to

hide from

other people

so that it

won't get

close.

We are

all hiding

from shame

because we

know that

there's

something

deeply

flawed.

We are

not

right.

And I

don't want

you to

see it.

I've

lost the

glory.

But there's

something else

that we've,

consequence of

that first

obedience.

The second

impact

was

that I

couldn't

know the

real

glory.

sin.

And that

isn't from

the face

of God.

Because one

of the first

consequences

of that

sin is

that Adam

and Eve

were driven

out

away.

They were

separated,

in some

ways

excommunicated,

where they

were created

to know

God deeply

and intimately

and personally.

There is

now this

chasm

between

them

and him

that they

cannot

overcome.

And we

were made

for this.

There was

this

relationship

and it's

something we

were constantly

forever longing

to restore.

We want

to know

glory.

Glory is

something that's

remarkably

beautiful.

It's something

we're so

attracted to.

It's something

we so much

want.

It's like

when you

see this

glorious sunset

out there.

You cannot

take your

eyes off

of it.

It just

draws you

in to

stare and

to linger

because it's

just beautiful.

And we

long for it,

attracted to

beauty.

We are

drawn towards

beauty.

But the

ultimate

beauty in

all of

the world

is now

off limits

because of

our own

sin.

But this

is where the

gospel comes

in.

The

gospel

restores

glory.

thing.

The gospel

covers

my

shame.

Yes,

in and of

myself,

there's

something

deeply

flawed,

but I

am now

clothed

with

beauty,

the

righteousness

of Christ,

with Christ

himself.

And the

one who

is the

most beautiful

and glorious

looks at

me and

sees it

all and

does this.

That's my

boy.

The

creator

declares

me

beautiful.

And

then

the

creator

invites

me

in.

Invites

me to

himself

to

where I

can now

see

and

behold

the face

of glory.

I love

these verses

from the

previous

chapter up

in the

end of

chapter

three

where he

says,

and we

all

with

unveiled

face

beholding

the

glory

of the

Lord.

That's

the

gospel.

That's

what

Christ

has

come

to do

to

restore

glory.

And

that is

good news.

So

much

better

news

than

what we

so often

hear.

glory.

But

now we

come to

really

the

vessels

of

glory.

And

this is

where

Paul

begins

to get

a little

bit

dicey.

And

this is

the part

that we

really

wish he

wouldn't

have put

in here.

Because

how does

God show

his glory

to the

rest of

the

world?

well

I mean

that is

his

intent.

His

intent

is to

he has

shown

in us

the

light

of the

glory

of

himself

you know

in the

face of

Christ

and we

reflect

that

glory.

But

what

now is

the

means

of

of him

projecting

that

glory

to the

world?

Well

he does

it

very

differently

than

we

do.

You

know

on

August

20th

the

people

of

Hungary

are

going

to

celebrate

one

of

their

great

national

holidays.

It's

kind of

like

our

fourth

of

July

but

it's

called

St.

Stephen's

Day.

And

what

they

do

is

kind

of

the

high

point

of

St.

Stephen's

Day.

They

have

this

big

parade

and

procession

through

the

streets

of

Budapest

from

Ishwan's

Cathedral.

I don't

remember if

it goes

from there

to there

but what

they do

they bring

out their

most holy

of relics

and parade

it through

the streets

and that

relic

is a

hand.

It is

supposedly

St.

Stephen's

right hand.

How they

know it's

his right hand

I'm not sure

but it's

just

it's a

hand.

It's

in this

beautiful

box

that it's

golden

it's got

glass

sides

there's

really

gorgeous

red

velvet

inside

and it's

a really

really

beautiful

box

and it's

a good

thing

because

that

hand

is over

a thousand

years old

and it's

not looking

good.

It's just

kind of

curled up

you know

like this

but that

is the

hand of

their very

first king

you know

a saint

now

to the

people

of Hungary

and so

they parade

this through

but it's

got to

have this

beautiful

box

and so

really the

beauty of

this relic

they had

to create

and put

around it

to take

something that

really was

pretty ugly

to make

it

beautiful.

well

that's

kind of

the way

we do

it.

That's

the way

we work.

We are

very cognizant

of the

fact

that

when we

look in

the mirror

we don't

see beauty.

You know

we look

in our

hearts

we don't

see

beauty.

It's

that whole

shame

thing

again.

It's

our

brokenness.

So

we are

very hard

in the

work of

beautification.

And we

do that

through

exercise

through

fashion

through

makeup

through

performance

through

all these

other things

that we

do

to decorate

to make

what we

see as

ugly

into

something

that's

quite

attractive

that's

glorious.

glorious.

But

this is

you know

it's just

like God

he does

things just

the opposite

of the way

we do

it.

His

way

is

first

his glory

is beautiful

in itself.

And so

it doesn't

need a

beautiful

box.

it needs

the box

to get

out of

the way.

And so

that's

exactly

what he

does.

He

says

basically

we need

to remove

your

pitiful

attempts

at glory

so that

my glory

is on

display

alone.

this is

what he

says in

verse 7

of our

chapter

he says

but we

have

this

treasure

in

jars

of clay.

Why?

To

show

that the

surpassing

power

belongs

to God

and not

to us.

Life

is not

about me.

And it's

not about

you.

Ministry

is not

about me.

It is

not about

you.

It is

about

the gospel

and the

gospel in

and of

itself is

glorious.

glorious.

And I

have been

given the

glory of

God to

dwell in

me in

the way

the world

sees it

is when

I become

nothing.

Just a

common

old

clay

jar.

And that's

what God

does.

He takes

those of

us who

thinks

we're

beautiful

and

replaces

our

pitiful

attempts

at glory

with the

real

thing.

Because

the gospel

of His

glory is

far better

than ours.

Which

leads us

to the

last point

the whole

pathway to

glory.

glory is

going to be

a hard one.

Because see,

we like glory.

We like our

own.

We are not

convinced

that we

can come

out and

be exposed

and be

okay.

glory is

today.

But God

says,

no,

it's

my glory.

And so

what He

does

is

He gives

us

over

to death.

Paul

says in

verse 11,

these are

some pretty

sobering

words.

So we

who live

are always

being given

over to

death for

Jesus'

sake,

so that

the life

of Jesus

may also

be manifested

in our

mortal flesh.

God's

not the

most encouraging

words.

But this is

God's process.

That we

would be

given over

to death.

That we,

our glory,

our significance,

our position

of being front

and center

dies.

so that

the real

glory of

the Savior

might be

put on

display.

Look also

at verse 17.

He speaks

of this

momentary

slight

affliction.

We need

to put that

in context.

Because

the way

He talks

about

momentary

slight

affliction

is not

the way

I talk

about it.

If you

move on

over to

chapter 6

He begins

to list

out

what

He means.

He talks

about this

momentary

light

affliction.

Well,

He says

in verse 6

this includes

being lost

at sea.

It includes

being beaten

multiple times.

It includes

being imprisoned.

It includes

being starved

and on

and on

and on

and He

experienced

that

for His

whole

life.

So much

for momentary

or slight.

This was

the course.

The

hardship

and suffering

that Paul

mentions.

His

suffering

was

experienced

because

of His

taking the

gospel to

places.

But it

might also

be the

suffering

that we

experience

just in

normal life

that God

might use

disease,

it might

use injury,

He might

use

just

experiences

to bring

us down

and get

us out

of the

way

so that

His glory

would be

put on

display.

His

suffering

works

in this

way.

And that

suffering can

come from

two different

sources.

One,

it does

come to us

involuntarily.

It comes

from just

living our

lives in

this broken

world,

but it

does come

when we

choose

Christ

above all

things,

and we

experience

the payment

then that we

have to pay

because of

that.

If I'm at

school and

there are

other kids

and I am

encouraged

to engage

in,

let's just

say,

sexual activity

or other

things,

and I say

no,

that is

going to

bring on

me a

heap of

pain

and

ridicule.

If I

am in

an employment

and I am

asked to

do something

contrary

to the

standards by

which the

kingdom calls

me to

live,

I might

lose my

job.

If I

go talk

to my

neighbors

and tell

them I

love Jesus

and they

need to

love him

too,

that may

be the

last party

I'm ever

invited

to.

Some

parts of

the world

we start

talking about

Jesus and

you lose

your head,

literally.

You lose

your family.

You become

an outcast.

And so

part of it

is that we

choose to

stand with

Christ in

the kingdom

but we're

going to

pay for

that.

Some of

it might

be voluntary.

we proclaim

the glory

of God

not just

when we

accept

the hardship

for standing

with him,

we proclaim

the glory

of God

when we

voluntarily

choose

to

enter

into

a harder

life

because

the kingdom

is so

valuable to

us.

that I

would

choose to

live at

a lower

standard

of living,

that I

would choose

to live

in a

place

that's

not easy,

that I

would choose

to live

maybe in a

neighborhood

that is

even

dangerous,

that I

would,

I mean I

know

missionaries

who move

their families

into a

city that

was so

polluted

you fly

into a

cloud

50 miles

out,

this thick

red cloud

and they

took their

children

there

because

they

thought

the

kingdom

was

rivet.

So the

suffering,

the hardship

can come

either way

but why

is

suffering,

why is

hardship

so

integral,

so

important

and I

say

essential

for the

proclamation

of God's

glory.

It's

this,

when I

choose

to endure

pain

or hardship

or deprivation

or loss

because

I think

Christ

is more

valuable

than what

I would

gain

otherwise.

I

proclaim

that

Christ

is my

ultimate

worth.

I

proclaim

His

ultimate

value

and

that

proclaims

His

glory.

When I

choose

to do

without,

when I

choose

to give

up

what I

could

have

because

the

kingdom

of Christ

is a

more

valuable

to me,

I

proclaim

boldly

the value,

the glory

of that

kingdom.

kingdom.

And I

think Paul

would say

that's

the only

way.

The way

of the

kingdom,

the way

of glory,

the way

of following

Christ

is going

to

take us

through

hard

places.

Jesus.

So how

can we

go there?

How can

we not

lose

heart?

It is

because,

again,

of what

He has

said

here.

It is

because

we know

that there's

a resurrection

from the

dead.

It is

because we

have tasted

His grace

and goodness.

It is

because we

have seen

His death

that He

would pay

the ultimate

price for

us.

That we

have seen

and tasted

the kingdom.

And when

we've

tasted it,

nothing

else

can compare.

because we

have found

the ultimate.

The ultimate

love,

the ultimate

beauty,

the ultimate

glory.

And whatever

it costs

to gain

that

is no

sacrifice.

It's a

joy.

It's a

joy.

joy.

It's a

joy.

It's a

joy.

It's a

joy.

Because to

give up

this which

I cannot

keep,

to gain

something so

glorious

that I

could never

lose.

Duh.

What choice

is that?

What choice

is that?

don't lose

heart.

Come,

let us

come

to Christ

who is the

ultimate of

light,

ultimate in

beauty,

ultimate of

value,

the ultimate

in glory.

Let us

run to

Christ

in His

grace.

let us

run to

the one

who has

bought us

and has

made us

His own

and has

given us

His

glory.

It's

worth

every

cent.

It'll

cost you.

Let's

pray.

Father,

grant us

grace

to see

all we

see

sometimes

we're

very

short

sighted

and all

we see

is what's

here in

front of

us.

Would

you give

us eyes

to see

Your glory?

Would

you give

us eyes

to see

the realities

of this

world?

Give

us eyes

to see

clearly

so that

we would

invest

ourselves

in that

which is

worthy.

Encourage

us

that we

would not

lose

heart

though the

journey

seems long

and the

cost

heavy.

Give us

eyes to

see the

goal of

the prize

of the