Treasure in Jars of Clay

I received a gift from Jesus The Only Redeemer Church for speaking on their 18th anniversary. The church gave me fruits, two towels, one t-shirt, a certificate, and 5,000.00 PHP worth of cash.

The theme for their anniversary is based on 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 where the apostle Paul spoke about a "treasure in jars of clay."

In my introduction, I utilized two articles I published on my son's account about a book written by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp where they talk about the "gospel gap" and "replacements" in the Christian life:

• A Big Hole In Our Home

• Things that Fill the Hole in Our Lives

After completing my introduction, I asked them why am I mentioning these “gospel gaps” and “gospel replacements”? This is because their chosen passage talks about a “treasure in the jars of clay.”

My first task as an exegete and as an expositor is to identify what the apostle Paul meant by the word "treasure." Carefully reading the whole chapter to see its literary immediate context, a reader will come up with a conclusion that the apostle was referring to the “ministry” (v. 1), the “word of God” (v. 2), the “gospel” (v.3), the “glory of Christ” (v.4), “preaching Jesus” (v. 5), and the “death of Jesus” (v.10). The apostle used different terms to describe the same thing that help us understand what he meant by “treasure” in verse 7.

Now if by treasure, the apostle Paul meant the gospel or the ministry of the word, what does he mean then by “jars of clay”?

Though the book of Job is far distant from the time 2 Corinthians was written, I believe that the idea of a man living in “houses of clay” had an established meaning in the Old Testament that formed the background of Paul’s use of the term. In Job 4:18 and 19, we are told:

If God places no trust in his servants if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!

This text tells us the reality of human frailty because we came from dust. Humans are inherently imperfect and prone to error and should therefore not presume to be beyond reproach or immune from mistakes. I think the apostle Paul had this idea in his mind when he described him and Timothy as merely “jars of clay” entrusted with the “treasure,” which is the ministry of the gospel or the glorious gospel of Christ.

In contrast to “super-apostles” who boasted about themselves and their achievements, the apostle Paul is exalting the mercy of God by narrating about the trials and sufferings he endured for the sake of the gospel of Christ.

Now, not many today see the ministry of the gospel as a treasure in jars of clay. Hence, the reason for the existence of so many replacements, even replacing the “treasure” with the “jars,” that is, exalting the greatness of man instead of the greatness of Christ.

And so the central question I answered based on the above passage is this:

Why do many Christians today fail to see the ministry of the gospel as a treasure? Why many today don’t see the glory of Christ as a treasure? Why many seem to be ashamed of the death of Christ?

Generally, many will deny that the above question is relevant for Christians who consider the ministry of the gospel as a treasure. That could be the initial impression. However, as we reflect deeper into the daily life of many Christians today, just like the couple in the "big hole" article, the existence of "gospel replacements" tells us that the actual case is different. Of course, Christians would give lip service that they consider the gospel as a true treasure, but the gospel trap or the holes in our lives tell the truth otherwise. The good thing is that the apostle Paul clarified this matter based on the chosen passage of JTOR Church.