Heavenly Treasure in Earthen Vessels
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us.
(2 Corinthians 4:7)
We who serve the Lord under His new covenant of grace live with heavenly
treasure in earthen vessels. We are “earthen vessels.” Though we are born again
through faith in Christ, we still have the same physical body that we had in Adam. “For
we know that if our earthly house, this tent [that is, our natural human body], is
destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands [that is, our
glorified, heavenly bodies], eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). Though we are
new creatures in Christ, we still live in the framework of ordinary human lives. “The life
which I now live in the flesh [that is, in flesh and bones humanity], I live by faith in the
Son of God” (Galatians 2:20).
Yes, we are “earthen vessels.” We are frail, vulnerable, inadequate. We were
originally fashioned from dust. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the
ground” (Genesis 2:7). We could be likened to “clay pots.” “Remember, I pray, that You
have made me like clay” (Job 10:9 ). We are like common clay flower pots. This is
humbling. However, it is good to be humbled, for “God gives grace to the humble”
(James 4:6). Furthermore, the Lord fully understands our makeup. “He knows our
frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). It is also liberating to realize
that we are vessels of clay. The Lord does not expect us to perform as though we were
anything other than clay pots. He just wants us to be what a vessel is created to be - - a
container for its intended contents.
The intended contents of the vessel is a heavenly treasure. “But we have this
treasure in earthen vessels.” A few verses later the treasure is specified. It is Christ
Himself: “That the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2
Corinthians 4:11). The will of God is that Christ would come to dwell in, and be
expressed through, the earthen vessel of our humanity. “To them God willed to make
known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Lord Jesus wants to be the
heavenly blooming flower in the clay pot of our lives. “For we are to God the fragrance
of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2
Corinthians 2:15). God’s plan is to put extraordinary heavenly treasure into ordinary
earthen vessels, so that the attention will go to the contents, not to the container: “that
the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
Creator God, You have made me to be a vessel in whom Christ might dwell and be
seen. Please remind me of this great plan. Help me to remember that the heavenly
treasure is to be the focal point and the hope of my life, Amen.