2021-03-07 – 2 Corinthians 4:7-4:18 – Unseen Treasure Inside
2021-03-07 – 2 Corinthians 4:7-4:18 – Unseen Treasure Inside
Good morning everyone. It is so nice to be able to spend some time with you all in fellowship with the Lord. Thank you and God bless you for being with us today.
“It’s A Bobby Dazzler” – Anyone know where this quote comes from? It is a show about treasure hunters. Do you think they will ever find that treasure??
In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.
Today we are going to talk a little about treasure; but a different kind of treasure, not shiny Bobby Dazzlers, but according to God’s word, priceless treasure indeed.
Please turn now to 2 Corinthians 4:7, page 1025 in your pew Bibles, which is the Inspired, Infallible and Living Word of God. Prayer..
The Curse of Oak Island. If you have watched this series on the History Channel, then you know how sometimes the lure of treasure becomes something of a curse to those who seek it. Oak Island is a small island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Since the 1790’s, rumors of buried treasure on that island have attracted many treasure seekers. A sunken area was discovered in the middle of the island, and stories began to fly that something was buried there. The stories ranged from Captain Kidd’s treasure to Marie Antoinette’s jewels. Over the years, hundreds of people have dug there, and sadly a few have even been killed trying to find that treasure. It is an intriguing long series of shows to say the least, but the only significant treasure they have “discovered” thus far is our attention.
In our Bibles today we will read a little about some other hidden treasure in this second book of Corinthians. My prayer is that each of you will also find some treasure here today. Starting at chapter 4 verse 7, I felt it would be good to first read our text in its entirety, then break it down and dissect it in sections so we might better understand what it all means and how we might apply it to our lives.
In that, the apostle Paul wrote:
7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.
10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Now let us break these verses down a bit. [SLIDE] Right off the bat Paul wrote that we already have treasure and it is stored in clay jars.
7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.
Coincidently, Some of the oldest surviving copies of the Hebrew Bible were found stored in clay jars. [SLIDE]
I saw these myself a couple years ago. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947, thousands of parchment scrolls more than 1,800 years old. A treasure indeed.
But again, here in these first verses, Paul says we already have a treasure in Jars of Clay. In that, he is inferring that our bodies are the clay jars and God, or more specifically the Holy Spirit is the treasure. One thing we know about clay jars is they are extremely fragile, and we are fragile too. And also interesting is that clay jars are made from dirt. Well, according to God’s word, we too were made from dirt. And some of us maybe has more dirt than others, lol, but we are all made by God. “He is the potter, I am the clay” as it says in Isaiah 29 and 64, Jeremiah 18 and Romans 9. God made Adam from the dirt and then He breathed His spirit into Adam. So effectively we have both the elements in us from the least valuable (dirt) to the most valuable or priceless (Holy Spirit) within us.
Paul continues this thought in saying though that “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed”. So although we are like fragile jars of clay, we are also resilient when tested, because God is holding us together. We may not look so good, we may be imperfect, but we are tough.
I am just a cracked pot, and sadly so are you. We have been marred, we have been dropped. We probably should have been thrown away a long time ago. But here we are, Paul says “we are afflicted in every way, but we are not crushed”.
Paul also says here though that we will sometimes become perplexed. I think we all can identify with that comment at times, amen? Especially when it comes to our understanding of How God is working in our lives. So many things in life are confusing, but Paul then says as Christians we do not despair, and the reason we don’t despair is that we know that we are not forsaken, God has us in His grip. Even though this world at times can be dangerous and evil, we also know that God considers us priceless and He will never let us go. I find peace in that idea.
You might be going through some things right now. Maybe some financial struggles, some family crisis, or maybe some physical pain even. But these challenges can also be considered opportunities to show the reality of Jesus working in our lives. They are opportunities to show Christ to the world better than anything else we could do. But in order to be effective in that regard, we have to show our humanity while at the same time pointing to God’s grace and love. It isn’t an easy thing to do, but God has equipped you for this task.
Paul continues now at verse 10. He wrote:
10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.
First notice here in this section and in the previous, Paul uses the words we and us a lot, and not the words me and I. That’s right, WE are in this ministry together to do the work of the church. I am a minister and that is true, but in reality, you all are ministers as well if you are a Christian. Yes, I might have the title and position as a minister, but the verb form of the word minister simply means, to attend to the needs of someone or something. I was talking to Ryan the other day and I told him that he isn’t just the treasurer, he is also the finance minister as he “administers” the finance for this church. You too are intended to be caretakers or ministers for what ever tasks God puts you on as well. In this church we have many rolls like kitchen stewards, we have team leaders and team members of various ministries that keep this church going. You all are ministers of that area of concern that you chose to be part of. So, I want to make that clear, that Paul is speaking to all of us in these passages. We are the “We” in these passages, and We are all in this together, amen?
Here Paul says we always carry the death of Jesus in our bodies. In that, as Jesus died for our sins, we too must choose to die to our sins as well. Paul also wrote in Philippians 1:21 – “For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain”. And in Galatians 2:20 he also wrote, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”.
I also love what Peter wrote in this regard in 1 Peter 2:21-25, [SLIDE]
21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Here is the main principle. Out of death, comes life. So, what ever your ministry is, you must now realize that because of Jesus’s death and subsequent resurrection, and because of your new-found faith in Him, we too have died in our old ways and we now live in Christ, and on purpose for His glory. Have you accepted that calling on your life yet? Are you still trying to hang on to that old dead self while you are striving to live for Christ? That is a struggle that Paul and Jesus does not want for you. May I suggest that you Let go and Let God. Amen?
Paul continues now at verse 13:
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written,
I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. [SLIDE]
16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
I love, love, love that charge Paul gives us here, “Therefore we do not give up”.
I think we need that slogan on our church someplace here. “We do not give up”. Now this comes from a man who has been beaten many times, stoned, left for dead, imprisoned, and was constantly hunted down. But yet he calls it a “momentary light affliction”. I don’t know about you, but that understanding really humbles me. We all have our trials, but seldom do I find anyone who goes through the challenges that Paul faced. Paul is looking at his life experiences from the lens of eternity. Paul knows and believes in the blessings that he has yet to receive when he goes to heaven. Everything pales in comparison to the glory and blessings we have yet to receive. Paul acknowledges several places in scripture that this time he had left is nothing compared to that of eternity. Paul also reflects, that the trials and challenges he faced also made him a better person as a result. Those challenges made him a stronger person, so that he would be better prepared for what yet lied ahead.
When I look back on my own life, and think about some of the trials I had faced,
I would never wish that God would take them away, because those challanges lead me to a life that was enviably much more rich and blessed than what I could have ever imagined. And I now have a hope in Christ, and in a future that is in heaven with Jesus. And that my dear brothers and sisters, is absolutely priceless.
What Paul, and effectively I, are encouraging you to do today, is to not to forget the past trials and challenges you faced in life, but to look past them. Recognize that although somethings in our past may not have been pleasant, they however had a purpose. We may not understand that purpose this side of heaven, but we shouldn’t get stuck in the quagmire of remorse and regret. Like Paul, we need to let those negative thoughts die and look past them to the present hope and our blessed futures in heaven with Jesus.
Again, Paul closes this section of verses by telling us “not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”. Paul is speaking about seeing “the unseen” things through the eyes of our faith. The writer of Hebrews would agree as Hebrews 1:11 defines faith as being “the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see”. As for now, the things of heaven can only be seen by us through faith. And faith, in my opinion, is what we all could use a whole lot more of these days.
The title of this message today is “Unseen Treasure Inside”. As fellow “Jars of Clay” we hold inside us the promise of God’s forgiveness, God’s mercies, and God’s endless grace. Although they may be unseen, they are truly priceless treasures indeed.
[show metal detector] I can only imagine how thrilling it would be to find a buried treasure. (Personally, I get pretty excited when I find a nickel in the parking lot.) Jesus and Paul is telling us that our REAL treasure is in heaven…not silver or gold, not Captain Kidd’s pirate treasure or Marie Antoinette’s jewels, not Bobby Dazzler or whatever is at the bottom of the money pit…but the ultimate treasure is to be in Heaven with the Lord. It doesn’t matter if His throne and the streets are made of gold, paved with diamonds and rubies. What matters is what no treasure can possible buy – is to be in the loving presence of the Lord for all eternity. Let us lay up our treasures in Heaven, for the Lord loves each and every one of you. We are RICH in that regard.
Let us now stand together in prayer