Jars of Clay

Reading:  2 Corinthians 4:7-15
    
    Given how glorious the gospel is, it is shocking that God would entrust it to weak and flawed human beings.  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us”(2 Cor 4:7).  A great treasure is encased in a fragile container when the gospel is placed in human hands.  Yet our weakness serves to remind us that “the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us,” a lesson we struggle to learn.  Paul then speaks to his apostolic work:  “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”(2 Cor 4:8-10).  At every turn Paul’s weakness is exposed, but he is never quite defeated.  There is the constant looming specter of death, but even death connects us to Jesus and points toward his resurrection life.

    All of this serves to embolden Paul’s work.  “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe, and so 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”(2 Cor 4:13-14).  Paul reveals his deep motivations for his preaching.  It stems from faith rather than obligation.  He speaks because he knows that God will raise him just as he raised Jesus; he speaks because he knows that God will reunite Paul, the Corinthians, and all believers in the presence of Jesus.  

     “Jars of clay” shines a spotlight on our human frailties.  While we are often tempted to downplay our struggles, distract ourselves from the fact that we will die, and focus on our successes, there is tremendous value in acknowledging that we are weak.  Our weaknesses are not reasons for despair, but constant reminders that “the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”   

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One Thing to Think About:  What situations am I facing where I need to speak from my conviction?

One Thing to Pray For:  A heart to increase God’s glory rather than my own
 

Let There Be Light

Reading:  2 Corinthians 4:1-6
    
    Paul declares that the glory of the gospel message buoys him through the difficulties he faces as he preaches it.  “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart”(2 Cor 4:1).  He will say much more later about the hardships he has endured (2 Cor 4:8-12, 16-18; 7:5; 11:23-30), but here he stresses that his work is too important to be derailed.  Yet he anticipates that some will take his statements about the “veil” on the hearts of unbelieving Jews (2 Cor 3:15) as if he is obscuring some part of the gospel.  “But 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 in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing”(2 Cor 4:2-3).  The gospel is far too important for Paul to tweak or hide parts of it.  

     The veil—the stubborn determination some (even Jews) have not to believe in Jesus—does not come from Paul.  “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”(2 Cor 4:4).  Their blinding is Satan’s work; as they refuse to turn to the Lord (2 Cor 3:16), they continue to be hardened.  But Christians are different:  we see both the truth and glory of Jesus.  “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”(2 Cor 4:6).  Just as God once declared “Let there be light,” so now he has opened our eyes to see the full-force glory of Jesus.  The veil is removed and God’s plan and greatness are clear.

     Bible authors frequently use light as a metaphor for truth, righteousness, goodness, and knowledge.  Before we knew Jesus, we could glimpse these things occasionally, but never with their full force.  Now God has declared “let there be light” in our hearts, allowing us to understand and experience his awesomeness.

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One Thing to Think About:  Why is it so important to preach the gospel honestly and sincerely?

One Thing to Pray For:  God’s light to shine in my heart
 

The Spirit and Freedom

Reading:  2 Corinthians 3:12-18
    
    Paul insists that Christian hope promises greater glory than Moses alone.  This has some other effects:  “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end”(2 Cor 3:12-13).  Moses veils his face so that the Israelites will not be blinded by the way his skin shines, yet Paul sees a deeper meaning.  Moses could not be bold and let them see the full dazzling brilliance of God’s glory.  This veiling continues.  “For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.  Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.  But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed”(2 Cor 3:14-16).  Paul, himself a Jew, asserts that Jews cannot see the full glory of the Mosaic law until they come to Jesus.  By remaining under Moses’ Law, they remain enslaved to condemnation.

    Christians are not so.  “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”(2 Cor 3:17).  Following Jesus means following the Spirit, not the Law (see v. 6).  This means that there is “freedom” from basing our hope on our own perfect law-keeping and the resulting condemnation.  “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another”(2 Cor 3:18).  Now we see clearly (no veils), beholding Jesus’ glory, and are remade into someone more like him.  Now we are bold (v. 12).  Now we are free.  

    “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  Many Jewish Christians in the New Testament write that the Law of Moses was a restrictive and difficult master (Acts 15:10, Gal 4:1-5, Rom 7).  God wants to set us free.  The goal of freedom is not to eliminate rules, but to escape condemnation, slavery, and death due to sin.  The Spirit does this in a way that no amount of rules or works could do—by empowering us to resist sin (Rom 8:13) and making us into the image of his Son (Rom 8:29, Gal 5:22-23).

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One Thing to Think About:  What are some ways I have seen the Holy Spirit transforming me?

One Thing to Pray For:  The freedom God’s Spirit brings
 

Exceedingly Glorious

Reading:  2 Corinthians 3:7-11
    
    From the perspective of an insider to both covenants, Paul contrasts the Mosaic system and the Christian system.  While he is hard on the Law of Moses—he calls it “the ministry of death”(v. 7) and the “ministry of condemnation”(v. 9)—he also acknowledges that it was wonderfully glorious.  “Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?”(2 Cor 3:7-8).  Paul takes us to Mt Sinai, where Moses descended from the mountain with a glowing face after receiving the law.  He has been in the presence of God himself.  The glory of the Lawgiver shines even on its human mediator.

     Yet if Moses’ Law held glory even though it led to death, “will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?”.  Not only does Jesus’ law come through the Spirit, but it also results in “righteousness” instead of “condemnation”(v. 9).  Paul is using shorthand for the argument he develops at greater length in Romans:  Moses’ Law identifies sin but does not deliver us from sin’s power.  What we find in the Law is merely a deeper awareness of our sinfulness.  Yet Jesus saves us from sin and breaks our slavery to it, resulting in righteousness rather than condemnation.  More, Jesus’ work is with us forever:  “For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory”(2 Cor 3:11).  Moses’ ministry was glorious; Jesus’ ministry is exceedingly glorious because it is “permanent”.

    Glory speaks to the majesty and divine perfection of God’s work.  God was at work to teach, guide, and sanctify Israel through Moses, so there was glory.  But God is at work in far greater ways in Jesus—bringing true transformation, renewing our minds, and delivering us from death.  We may not see it yet, but the traces of God’s handiwork in Jesus are exceedingly glorious.

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One Thing to Think About:  Why do we struggle with taking blessings (such as the new covenant) for granted?

One Thing to Pray For:  Gratitude for the “ministry of righteousness” that has blessed my life
 

A Letter from Jesus

Reading:  2 Corinthians 3:1-6
    
    Paul has some enemies in Corinth who appear eager to take his words in the worst way.  So when he insists that he and his companions are not “peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity”(2 Cor 2:17), he is aware concerned that even this will appear self-serving.  “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?  Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?”(2 Cor 3:1).  Paul is not tooting his own horn.  He also wonders if, despite their long association, he now needs a recommendation from some other source before they will respect him.  “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.  And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts”(2 Cor 3:2-3).  The Corinthians’ faith and service to Jesus are all the recommendation Paul needs; they are evidence of his faithfulness to God.  Corinth itself has become a “letter from Christ delivered by us.”

    Being Jesus’ messenger makes Paul bold (2 Cor 3:4).  Yet this boldness is not his natural confidence:  “not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant”(2 Cor 3:5-6).  God has equipped Paul and his companions, making them equal to the tasks he has given them.  Now they are “ministers of a new covenant” which supersedes the Mosaic covenant.  Now God’s message is on tablets of heart rather than stone (v. 3) and focuses on the transforming work of the Spirit, not merely following written laws (v. 6).

    Paul’s credibility does not originate in what others say about him, but in the reality of his work with God’s people.  This work—evidence of God’s transforming power in people’s lives—becomes a “letter from Christ” that teaches the world in his physical absence.  What does my life—my family—my church—communicate to the world about Jesus?

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One Thing to Think About:  How have I seen Christ work through me to bless others?

One Thing to Pray For:  Purity of heart and motive