But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us. (2 Cor. 4:7)
From the very beginning, man was formed into a living soul when God breathed Himself into the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7). Without God’s breath, we are nothing but dirt. In man’s fall, we were separated from the source of life, and our earthen lives became heavy, burdened by our concerns and desires for the physical world around us — bound by dirt. Yet, according to 2 Corinthians, there is actually a treasure related to us as physical, earthen beings. In the earthen vessel is a treasure! And that treasure is divine and eternal, something God purposed to put into this clay from the very beginning, when He breathed Himself into us. Today, because of Jesus Christ, that very breath can fill our beings once more, bringing divine purpose to our earthen, human vessels.
Oftentimes, we like to consider this verse in 2 Corinthians from the angle of the vessel: that we as weak human beings now are able to overcome earthen affairs and be free from physical ties to the world. Yet this picture that Paul presents of the treasure in earthen vessels in verse 7 is not about either one separately, but the two — the treasure and the earthen vessel — organically mingled together for the fulfilling of God’s desire. The treasure, which is Christ, is victorious in His accomplishment for redeeming man, so that man may be an earthen vessel purified and made fit to contain, express, and represent Him (Gen. 1:26). This desire of the Creator is eternal, unchanging, and has been there from the very beginning.
How do we as earthen human beings receive this treasure into our vessels? And how do we fulfill His desire? This treasure — who is Christ, a Person! — is not separate from us. When we open our vessels to receive Him, He shines into our heart and illuminates something divine in us: “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Christ is the fullness and expression of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3), and He lives — illuminated, with an expression — in you! And so we are not just a container but an abode, a territory, a specific domain for this divine, two-become-one relationship to be experienced and expressed. We are where He dwells and is expanded, shining out a living glory (2 Cor. 4:4-6) as the gospel to all the earth, to all those still bound and tied to this very physical world.
Today, our human life will never satisfy us without Christ as our treasure living in us and through us. We have a relationship in and for glory — all from Christ in us. Do you desire a meaningful life? You need a living relationship with that treasure shining in you, shining out of you. A vessel is meaningless on its own; when it is filled, it can satisfy its purpose to dispense and flow out. The point of our very existence, the point of our transformation process, is that through this relationship of shining, we as believers become ministers — we shine out the gospel of the glory of Christ. This is the purpose of the treasure in the earthen vessel. This is what makes both us and our Lord truly satisfied.
(Above are notes of fellowship taken from gatherings on 9/22/24 and 9/29/2024, not reviewed by the speaker.)