“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
2Corinthians 4:7
Again and again the Apostle Paul reminds us of our precious Possession. For the authentic believer, Christ who dwells in us is in sharp contrast to the container. We are a vessel, make like a piece of pottery, destined to again return to the dust. There is nothing about us that warrants the indwelling Christ. It matters not how great we may think we are, a drop of contaminated water or a breath of bad air can kill us. We are frail and easily destroyed. The earthen vessels are not just our frail bodies, but weak, suffering, perishing people.
Paul contrasts the visible means and the effects produced as proof that the sufficiency is not in us, but in God. Any propensity to pride is quickly dispelled by the reality of this contrast between the vessel and its Possession. God designed us in this fashion so that the power in spreading the gospel should be recognized as His. He chose humble instruments so that all could know that the power of the gospel could not have been produced by our own ability.
Life surrounds us with infirmity; Christ surrounds us with glory. The infirmity is ours; the glory is God’s. The simplicity of our vehicle calls attention to the glory of the Occupant.
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