Digging Deeper Days
Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
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The Questions
2 Corinthians 4:7-18
Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Original Intent
1) What does it mean to have “treasure in clay jars?” (verse 7)
The Greek word for clay jars comes from the word ostrakinos, which means earthenware. The dishes used in most ancient homes were plain, cheap, serviceable clay vessels. The apostle Paul refers to them in 2 Corinthians 4:7, when he writes, “we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.” Paul had spent about two years leading the church at Corinth, and he was writing to them after his departure because false teachers had come into the church trying to spread lies. According to author John MacArthur, “in order to be heard, they had to dethrone Paul. And so, they started an all-out assault on Paul.” Macarthur further explains, “they assaulted him on the basis of his physical blemishes, his human weaknesses, the way he looked, the way he spoke.” To defend himself and keep the church from following false teachers, Paul chose to acknowledge those weaknesses he was charged with and emphasize the power of God in his imperfections. As John MacArthur states, Paul was “strongest when he was weakest, because therein the power of Christ took over.” The apostle Paul marveled that God chose to use ordinary, unremarkable people to share the treasure of His love and salvation to the world, and he expressed this in the metaphor of God putting His treasure in simple, homely jars of clay.
2) Why did the Apostle Paul say, “we carry the death of Jesus in our body?” (verse 10)
Once Paul accepted that Jesus Christ was the Son of God on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-20) his life was drastically changed. Not only was he no longer persecuting Christians, He was one, and He was trying to convert others to Christianity. Almost immediately, the Jews started plotting to kill him. He, and other Christians, were persecuted and jailed countless times throughout their ministry. When Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:10, “We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body,” he was referring to the fact of being constantly subjected to the kind of severe treatment Jesus suffered. Albert Barnes notes that this statement is “a strong energetic mode of expression, to denote the severity of the trials to which he was exposed, and the meaning is, that his body bore the marks of his being exposed to the same treatment as the Lord Jesus was.” Author David Guzik suggests that not only did Paul compare his sufferings with those of Jesus, but he also believed them necessary. Guzik writes, “Paul, like any Christian, wanted the life of Jesus evident in him. But Paul knew this could only happen if he also carried about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. There are some aspects of God’s great work in our lives that only happen through trials and suffering.” Paul recognized that suffering like Jesus helped him share the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
3) How can I keep from giving up when I am afflicted and struck down?
In 2 Corinthians 4:15-16, Paul writes,” Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.” The apostle Paul had endured intense persecution, yet he did not give up. Why did he persist in proclaiming Christ, even when it brought him ridicule and bodily harm? He continued so his life would bring God glory. In fact, he focused on the fact that he was growing in Christ when he suffered for Christ. Author David Guzik explains that Paul does not give up because “though all his suffering takes a toll on the outward man, yet the inward man is being renewed and blessed.” Guzik also notes that Paul believed his “death-like trials made for more effective, life giving ministry for the Corinthian Christians. Knowing this made him not lose heart in the midst of trials and suffering.” Paul could continue his ministry without giving up because he knew he was becoming more like Christ, strengthening the church, and bringing glory to God.
Everyday Application
1) What does it mean to have “treasure in clay jars?” (verse 7)
There is nothing like the optimism of a new teacher brimming with new methods and ideas. And there is nothing like an unruly bunch of junior high students to make her scour the want ads every night five weeks into the first semester, looking for a new gig. As a first-year teacher, I quickly recognized my shortcomings and asked God why He entrusted this “clay jar” (2 Corinthians 4:7) with the call to teach when He was so well aware of my imperfections? Author John Piper answers this question when he writes that God “puts the treasure of his gifts and his gospel in clay pots like you and me. Your ordinariness is not a liability; it is an asset, if you really want God to get the glory. No one is too common, too weak, too shy, too inarticulate, too disabled to do what God wants you to do with your gift.” God had given me the gifts of teaching and compassion, and He was calling me to share them with my students the best way I knew how, even though I didn’t do it perfectly. The more I failed, the more I had to rely on God for help and strength. It was tempting to pretend like I had it all together rather than trust in God because, as John Piper points out, “The world stresses the classy container, not the glory of God in human weakness.” But if we let God’s strength be made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9) we can bring Him glory while we carry out His work and share His Good News. As a teacher, I found as I relied on Him, He helped me improve and make an impact on my students.
2) Why did the Apostle Paul say, “we carry the death of Jesus in our body?” (verse 10)
I have heard it said that having a child is like carrying your heart on the outside of your chest. It seems like an apt description to me. It perfectly describes the feeling of vulnerability and love that arrives when your first bundle of joy is born. I think something like that happened to Paul when he became a Christian. He seemed to carry with him an intense identification with Jesus and an ardent love for the cause of Christ. He was frequently bruised, ridiculed and persecuted for his dedication to the Lord. John MacArthur explains that Paul’s sufferings were “simply carrying about in [his] body the dying of Jesus. And so, he elevates his suffering to this marvelous level.” Author David Guzik asserts that for Paul, “the death of Jesus was not only a historical fact, it also was a spiritual reality in his life.” For Paul, he saw the suffering that came with being a Christian as another way to point people to the marvelous work of the cross. He taught that “we carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body (2 Corinthians 4:10) The trials I face may not leave me bruised and shackled like Paul, but they do remind me that Jesus suffered and died so that I could live free from sin and shame. I want to allow the suffering I encounter to lead others to life in Jesus.
3) How can I keep from giving up when I am afflicted and struck down?
In the past, when adversity came, I endured because I believed God was in control and had a purpose in the pain. Scripture tells us our “momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17) But there came a time of extended difficulty where I had trouble seeing beyond the daily struggle to recognize God’s hand in the situation. Complications from a surgery resulted in a two-year hospitalization for my mother while my sister and I struggled to help my dad care for her, their house, and their other responsibilities along with caring for our own homes and families. The daily stresses were relentless and exhausting. I wanted to give up, and I was mad at God for not intervening. God lovingly revealed what should have been obvious to me all along: He was with us in every aspect of this ordeal. My mom nearly died multiple times, but she survived. I could almost feel myself buoyed up on the prayers of my church family, who covered us in prayer daily. There were meals provided and free childcare and divine appointments in hospital waiting rooms. There was grace to handle each day, even if the day wasn’t going how I wanted. God was maturing me as I relied on Him when I ran out of my own strength. (2 Corinthians 12:9) I was able to keep going during that two year struggle, not knowing when it would end or what the outcome would be, because I had the grace of God to sustain me as the trials strengthened me. Paul wrote that he looked forward to the “eternal weight of glory” that is being produced by our afflictions. (2 Corinthians 4:17) We don’t give up because we know that God’s blessings and purposes are greater than any troubles we may face; His grace is enough to help us endure and grow.
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Digging Deeper is for Everyone!
1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!
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Why Dig Deeper?
Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.
In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!
Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.
Study Tools
We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.
Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!
Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))
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“We don’t give up because we know that God’s blessings and purposes are greater than any troubles we may face; His grace is enough to help us endure and grow.”
Loved what you wrote and shared about how the Lord sustained you and your family through such a difficult season. He is always faithful, and it is so encouraging to read the testimony of how He worked in your life!
Thanks, Merry. He is faithful!