Temporal versus eternal ministry
Key Verses: 4, 6, 7, 13, 16, 17, 18
Non-believers without the Spirit working in them cannot understand the Gospel in a way that brings salvation. It is not something that can be understood apart from the Spirit. Paul says the object of his preaching is Christ, and then he says something shocking. He says that he is their servant. When was the last time your pastor, or any pastor you know demonstrated a servant attitude with action? When was the last time you met anyone who was your servant like this? Paul did this so that people would see the light, knowledge and glory of God that Christ showed. He did not want people to focus on him.
We are just clay pots, after all. But God chooses to put His treasure in clay pots. We recognize this reality and then people can see the treasure we carry. But when we begin to think our clay pot is something special, we spend our lives focused on the clay pot and not on Christ. What happens to the clay pot really doesn’t matter. It is just a clay pot. But the treasure we carry is beyond value, and continuing to focus on the treasure means that we must die to the idea that our clay pot is important. Focus on the treasure, Christ. But it is hard to live day by day in our clay pot and not think we are something special. We must die to this idea of self-importance.
Paul believed what he said, that he was not important, that Christ was. From this stance of faith, Paul had confidence that Christ’s resurrection would have effect on him as well. He too would be raised from the dead. Verse thirteen gets pulled and stretched way beyond its context in some churches circles. The people who do this think they can create reality with their words, rather than what Paul is talking about, the dying to self and the exaltation of Christ. Paul says death is at work in him, so that Christ can be seen. The clay vessel will always be a weak, vulnerable thing, weathering over time.
I notice the weakness of my body more and more as I age. It takes me much longer to recover from life than it did when I was 20. But Christ in me grows stronger and stronger. The more I focus on Christ, the less important the daily struggles seem. Paul considered all the persecution he went through as light and momentary troubles. Wow!
Are you willing to die to self? Are you willing to focus on the eternal rather than the temporary? Then fix your eyes on Jesus. Make him the object of your pursuits. In everything, acknowledge Him.
The Arnold Journey 