I.
INTRODUCTION
Paul was one of the New Testament ministers who had suffered much for the
sake of Gospel of Christ. During his mission days the hardship he endured were
considered by many as unbearable. Yet Paul did not give up and he even went
further to martyrdom for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. What made Paul
willing to go through all these pains in life was his faith in the resurrection
truth of Jesus Christ. Many of us might not be encountering what Paul had
encountered, yet we have our own sets of troubles and obstacles to deter us to
move further for God. Be encouraged by Paul’s life example and his eschatological
views found in 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 towards this earthly journey. In the midst
of heartaches and afflictions he was never beaten even though he suffered
rejections and oppositions from the very church, the Church of Corinth which he
had pioneered and nurtured.
What kept Paul continuing in his high calling of God without deviating
from his mission were the following truths and principles he had grasped and
understood. Keeping these in mind will help us to grow from strength to
strength in the Lord:
II. PRINCIPLES WHICH KEEP US
GROWING FROM STRENGH TO STRENGTH
A. WHAT IS HEAVENLY PREVAILING OVER WHAT IS EARTHLY
(2 Cor 4:7 NIV) But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Paul’s
apostleship was greatly in challenge among the Corinthians because they saw him
to be inadequate comparing with other apostles or itinerary preachers of their
days. Firstly, Paul was ineloquent in his speech and the Corinthians were overly
obsessed with the splendor rhetorical styles of those Greek philosophers. To
them Paul was plain and unattractive and his teaching was shadow, harsh and uninteresting.
Secondly, Paul did not practice what other itinerary preachers practiced in
receiving financial support from the Corinthians and they considered this as
Paul’s self understanding that he was unworthy to be in equal status of an
apostle. Thirdly, they could not comprehend how such lowly earthly vessel, which
had suffered many hardships could represent Jesus Christ, whom is the King of
the glory. Fourthly, they perceived Paul as a double-minded man who broke his
promise and did not visit Corinth as he intended and told them so before.
The
Corinthians have a misconception of how should an apostle or a teacher of the
Word be. They failed to experience the power of God and His glory through His
unfailing living Word preached to them. In the midst of accusations, despises
and critical remarks, Paul was willing to humble himself and acknowledge his
lowliness before God and the Corinthians. He compared himself to be a common antique
vessel, a jar of clay, which was cheap and could be found everywhere in the
marketplaces of his day. Clay is a fragile material which is easy to be broken,
yet some of these jars of clay were used to store up expensive and precious
jewels and gold in those ancient days.[1] Philip E. Hughes in his
commentary of 2 Corinthians quoted T. W. Manson’s understanding of the treasure
in the jars of clay as “the earthly vessels of small pottery lamps, cheap and
fragile, that could be brought in the shops of Corinth.”[2] Out from the cheap and
fragile pottery lamps shine forth the light which pierces through the darkness
at nights.
Paul
tried to emphasize the contrast between the infinite precious treasure of the
Gospel and the human bearers[3] by telling the Corinthians
that though he was plain, temporal, frail and even considered cheap, breakable
and perishable in this earthly body, yet God has stored within him the
“knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ”[4]. Paul was not ashamed to
boast about his weaknesses and fragility so that the strength and power of the
glory of God could be manifested and revealed through him. He was an ordinary man,
yet God bestowed within him unsearchable glory with the knowledge of Christ. It
was this knowledge of Christ radiating from within the apostle, just like the
light shines forth from the pottery lamp, which made Paul outstanding.
Paul’s
example serves as a reminder for those ministers who are either prideful or
inferior with their calls and ministerial roles. We are workmanship of Christ
and we have to see ourselves from the eyes of God. Romans 12:3 exhorts us to
think about ourselves with sober judgment in accordance with faith given by
God. If we recognize that all gifts and knowledge are from God and it is indeed
by His grace that we are chosen to be His ambassadors, we will be humble like
Paul to acknowledge that we are merely earthenware meant to be of low value and
common. It is what inside of us, the treasure of the gospel of Christ endowed
by God that makes us outstanding, valuable and honorable. Without the treasure
in the jar of clay, we are indeed nothing.
For those ministers who are
constantly opposed, despised and marginalized, Paul’s illustration encourages
us to keep on keeping on in our ministry. We may not be glamour in terms of our
background, education and career achievements. We may not be gifted or talented
and we find ourselves in unfavorable or competitive environment which we might
seem to be the loser or of less privilege. We might be facing questions and
doubts towards our ability or capacity. Yet we need to be aware who we are in
Christ. We are His representatives with the gospel of Christ within us. We are
a vessel through whom the supernatural work of Christ will be released, so that
the abundant grace of God may be manifested. The Gospel is the power of God and
we are called to preach it faithfully and boldly without shame and dilution. Thus
Paul confidently declared in Roman 1:16 that, “For I am not ashamed of the
gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who
believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
B. WHAT IS INNER OUTGROWING
WHAT IS OUTER
(2
Corinthians 4: 8-9, 16) We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by
day.
Paul
and his fellow workers encountered constant hardships and persecutions, both
from the believers and the non-believers. The situations around them were like
high-pressured cookers and they could not have gone through it victoriously
without the grace of God. According to Paul, they were hard pressed on every
side. Their enemies seek to crush and to destroy them, yet they were neither in
despaired nor abandoned by God. The circumstances they had gone through indeed
strengthened their inner beings, making them to be tougher in their character,
more persevered during their sufferings, more courageous against their
adversaries, more hopeful in their perplexities etc. Our moral qualities will
be enhanced through this process.
We
have to remember that God uses circumstances to mould His chosen vessels. The inner
quality of a servant is what God looks for and He will ensure that we undergo
trials and testing to make us stronger in character, purer in faith and deeper
in love with Him. It is through all these sufferings that we learn to rely on
the grace of God and yield to Him completely, trusting for His helps and
deliverance and not to depend on our own might and power. We will tend to
develop our trust in God during those tough times, for in all impossibilities
we see the God of possible.
The
purpose of God’s trial and testing is always aiming to make us a better weapon or
vessel in His mighty hand. Unless we are well trained through such challenging
hours and moments, we will not be able to comprehend the greatness and the
goodness of God and we will not be able to be His channel of blessings. James
tells us to rejoice in the midst of the trials and testing, for these will
mature and complete us, and those who preserve shall receive the crown of life
promised by the Lord (James 1:1-4,12). God promises us His presence whenever we
are weak and in need of helps, for Jesus had truly gone through all kinds of
temptations and testing that we might have gone through yet he did not sin throughout
his sufferings (Hebrews 4:15-16). It is through the triumphant act of Christ
over sin and darkness on the Cross that we are assured of our victory over all
challenges.
It
seems to many people that we are losing our position, our prestige, our
possession, our freedom and even our lives for the sake of gospel, yet we are
never the losers. The pains and hurts in life can be as our assets which in
turn will work for us and for those under our care and in needs. It will flow
like the stream or river of comfort to those who seek for comfort.[5] For Paul, to live is for Christ
and to die is gain. There is no loss but gain for the servant of Christ. For
whatever we might lose materially or physically we will gain it spiritually and
eternally. Our faith will grow afresh and our relationship with Christ will be
renewed when in crisis we learn to lift up our eyes unto Him and not unto the
outer circumstances. The incorruptible seed in us through faith in Christ will
testify to the world of Christ’s ultimate victory. Nothing of this world is
able to withstand the power given to us by the risen Christ.
C. WHAT IS DEAD IN SELF GIVING
BIRTH TO WHAT IS LIFE IN CHRIST
(2 Corinthians
3:10-12) We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the
life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are
alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life
may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at
work in us, but life is at work in you.
As
Christians we are called to die. This death is not of physical death but of a
death of our “self”, which is dying to our own desires, agenda, dreams and will
etc. Jesus has told us specifically that only when a kernel of wheat falls to
the ground and dies shall it produce many seeds. There is no life we can gain
in Christ without dying to ourselves. Only when we learn to die to self that we
are able to live in Christ and live for Christ. Our own sinful life has to die
in order for a new spiritual life to birth within us. The journey of a
Christian is indeed a process of dying to self.
Paul
had experienced such death to his flesh when he chose to deny his own will and
allow the will of God to rule and reign over his life. He was willing to die to
himself so that Christ’s life could be revealed through him. He was fully aware
of his apostleship and it meant to him dying to his old sinful nature, his
Pharisees’ inheritance, his prestige and his past achievements and to forsake
all for the sake of Christ. For Paul had perceived a future with Christ which
meant much more meaningful, purposeful and wonderful for him. He knew that
through dying to self, he had indeed enabled Christ to live in those people
that he ministered to. God always demands a servant who is willing to give all
of himself to Him, so that His Spirit can work through such man to bring forth
His glory.
If
we have the mind of Christ and understand His heart, all the pressures and the
perplexities of this life will indeed serve as great opportunities for us to
further the death of our old sinful nature and to foster the growth of our new
nature in Christ. We will grow in our knowledge of Christ both in His death and
His life, and we will experience such growth in our spiritual walk as well[6]. It is in difficult
moments of our Christianity walks that our true sinful nature will either
surface and magnifies or be suppressed and minimized.
When
a Christian refuses to die, the old will always prevail and manifest. The flesh
will dominate and hinder his or her spiritual walk with God and ministry. The
strong “self” will always take precedence over the Spirit in all his decisions,
his speech and his actions. People will not be able to see Christ in such
person and it will be very hard to witness Christ through one’s life and
testimony.
But
when one is willing to surrender his rights and wants, and allow the Lord to
guide his step and direct his path, he lives a life that is bringing praises
and glory to the name of the Lord. The divine life which birth through death towards
self will bear fruits of eternal [7]that will witness the power
and the majesty of Christ and the Gospel.
What is meant to live for Christ? R.V. G. Tasker
puts it as one’s “readiness to suffer physically and mentally for His sake; it
meant being hatred for His sake, and it carried with it the liability of being
put to death for His sake.”[8]
D. WHAT IS ETERNAL
OUTWEIGHING WHAT IS THE TEMPORAL
(2
Corinthians 4:14, 17-18) because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an
eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not
on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but
what is unseen is eternal.
The Bible informs us that our physical
existence in this world is temporal and passable and we have eternality to
spend with our Lord Jesus Christ. Apostle Peter told us that we are merely
aliens and passengers on this earth and our home is of heaven. We are living
between the tension of now and eternity. Michael Baughen presents Christians as
“pilgrims to the promised land but walk through the heat of the world’s desert
on the way”[9].
Though this world seems to be endless desert which we thirst and lost most of
the times, like the Israelites in the Old Testament, we have a destination promised
by God. Therefore whatever we have on this life is temporary and it will pass
away. The eternal is assured of for us in heaven.
Paul’s
eschatological understanding and perception enabled him to endure the troubles
as light and momentary. He was confident of the eternal glory which would
outweigh all the sufferings on this earthly journey. What was seen is temporary
and what was unseen is eternal. Therefore he strived to live for the unseen
which is eternal. Michael D. Goulder concludes that the apostle’s daily dying
only makes sense in the context of the future resurrection[10]. What motivated Paul was
the eternal glory of God even though he had to endure afflictions. The same
will be for us as ministers of God.
We
need faith from God to spur us on along this journey as we are in nature easy
to be diverted and misled by the worldly temptations. As ministers of Christ we
need to possess such eschatological view and mentality so that we will not fix
our eyes on temporal things. Many ministers fail when they shift their heart
and their focus from heavenly vision to earthly gains and prosperity, or they
simply cannot bear the sufferings for the sake of the name of Christ. If we see
our home and our destiny ultimately to be in heaven, we will work for and
accumulate our treasure which will be eternal and which will not be stolen or
rotten. We will be willing to endure the hardships which are light and
momentary and place our hope in the promise of God. The riches of this earth
will not entice us and divert our faithfulness and loyalty towards our Lord
Jesus, nor will any hardships or suffering lure us away from Him. When we fix
our eyes on the hope ahead of us, we will have less concern about the
difficulties and lacks in this life. For we know of the rewards we are to
receive from Him who is faithful and who promises us eternal glory and peace. We
have the courage too to endure in whatever circumstances. John Calvin said
that, “A moment is long if we look at the things around us; but once we have raised
our minds to heaven a thousand years begin to be like a moment.”
III.
CONCLUSION
As
disciples or followers of Christ, we are foretold by Jesus that we will suffer
for His name. We are called to endure afflictions for the sake of Gospel. If we
choose Christ we will definitely come to a point where we have to forsake the
world in order to pursue Him, His Kingdom and His righteousness. We need to
prepare ourselves to be willing to avail as His holy vessels, so that the power
of God can manifest through us who are ordinary beings. We can be uncommon and
valuable jars of clay if we have the Gospel of Christ in us. The good news of
Christ shall shine forth like bright morning stars in the midst of the darkness
in our community.
We
have to settle in our hearts too to be willing to yield our lives to Him and to
allow His death and His life to work through us, so that we can be transformed
in the glory and power of God, that the old world will past in its existence
subjecting to decay and the new humanity will be instituted by Christ with
constant renewal[11].
What we lost in this life we gain in eternity. So set our hearts in heaven and
work towards the rewards we are going to receive in Him. There is a race to
run, and we each have to strive until the end to receive such crown and glory
given by Him.
BIBLIOGRAPH
Barrett, C. K. A
Commentary on The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. London: A.
And C. Black
(Publishers) Limited, 1979.Baughen, Michael. 2 Corinthians: A Spiritual Health Warning to the Church. London:
Marshalls Paperbacks, 1982.
D.D. Hodge, Charles. Commentary on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians.
Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970.
Goulder,
Michael D. Paul and the Competing Mission
in Corinth. Massachusetts:
Hendrickson
Publishers, 2001.
Guynes,
Delmer R. The Human Side of the Ministry.
Kuala Lumpur: Friends of
Delmer and
Eleanor guynes, 1988.
Hafemann,
Scott J. The NIV Application Commentary:
2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2000.
Hughes,
Philip E. The Second Epistle to the
Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 1979.
Luck, G. Goleman. Second Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Press, 1959.
Tasker, R.V. G. The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978.
Thrall, Margaret .E. 2 Corinthians 1-7: International Critical Commentary. London:
T & T Clark International, 2004.
[1] G. Goleman
Luck, Second Corinthians (Chicago:
Moody Press, 1959), 43.
[2] Philip E.
Hughes, The Second Epistle to the
Corinthians (Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979), 135.
[3] C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on The Second Epistle to the
Corinthians (London: A. And C. Black (Publishers) Limited, 1979), 138.
[4] Scott J.
Hafemann, The NIV Application Commentary:
2 Corinthians (Michigan: Zondervan, 2000), 182.
[5] Delmer R.
Guynes, EdD, The Human Side of the
Ministry (Kuala Lumpur: Friends of Delmer and Eleanor guynes, 1988), 298
& 304.
[6] Michael
Baughen, 2 Corinthians: A Spiritual
Health Warning to the Church (London: Marshalls Paperbacks, 1982), 49.
[7] Charles Hodge,
D.D., Commentary on the Second Epistle to
the Corinthians (Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), 96.
[8] R.V. G. Tasker,
The Second Epistle of Paul to the
Corinthians (Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 74.
[9] Baughen, 2 Corinthians: A Spiritual Health Warning to
the Church, 42.
[10] Michael D.
Goulder, Paul and the Competing Mission
in Corinth (Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2001), 256.
[11] Margaret .E.
Thrall, 2 Corinthians 1-7: International
Critical Commentary (London: T & T Clark International, 2004), 350.
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