Over the years I have often spoken to groups of ministers on the ministry to which God had called them. I have often used the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians to reflect upon the challenge which ministry brings. For that reason in this blog I am going to expound 2 Corinthians 4, where in the context of defending himself and the ministry he had received from God, the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4 introduced the themes of death and resurrection, of weakness and of power.
Paul wrote: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians, 4.7) – or as the GNB puts it: “We who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots to show that the supreme power belongs to us and not to God”. The “jars of clay” Paul had in mind were small pottery oil lamps to be found in any home, while the “treasure” is the light of Jesus shining in the hearts of his people (2 Corinthians 4.6). The cheapness of the clay lamps represents the ordinariness of those who preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and makes a striking contrast with the infinitely precious “treasure” of the Gospel. The fragility of the clay lamps represents the frailty and weakness of those who preach the Gospel and makes a striking contrast with “the all-surpassing power of God”.
Paul acknowledged that he, as a bearer of the Gospel of light, was in one sense nothing more than a common clay pot. Did Paul use this picture reflecting the contrast the Jews of his day made between the Torah and those who taught it? According to a Jewish commentary on Deuteronomy 11.12: “As it is not possible for wine to be stored in golden or silver vessels, but only in one which is least among the vessels, an earthenware one, so also the words of the Torah can be kept only with one who is humble in his own eyes “ (Sifre, Deuteronomy 48). Similarly the teaching of rabbi Jehoshua ben Hanaiah, whose unattractive outward appearance was likened to “glorious wisdom in a repulsive vessel” (b.Ta’an, 7a). Perhaps Paul was conscious that his opponents criticized him for being an unimpressive figure (see 2 Corinthians 10.1,10).
By contrast, God’s power is “all-surpassing”. No other power can compare with it. God’s power has no rivals. This is the power that God displayed in the resurrection of Jesus. Yet paradoxically it is also the power displayed in the Cross of Jesus. As Paul wrote: “We preach Christ crucified… the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1.24,25). This power is not limited to Jesus, but is available to his followers.
Contrary to Paul’s charismatic opponents at Corinth, this power had not been displayed in “signs, wonders and miracles” (2 Corinthians 4.7), but in trouble, adversity and difficulty. In a series of four contrasts Paul went on to show how he not only preached the resurrection of Jesus, but also lived out the resurrection. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4.8,9). Yet as Paul reflected on these difficulties, he did not act as a Stoic, because for him ministry is not a matter of ‘grinning and bearing it’. Christian ministry is about experiencing the power of Christ in the midst of human weakness.
Paul continued to develop his theme of power in weakness and of resurrection in the midst of death. He wrote: “We always carry around in our body the death – more accurately, the ‘killing’ (nekrosis is the Greek word) – of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our life” (2 Corinthians 4.10). Paul felt that his sufferings were almost ‘killing’ him. Life for Paul was a constant (“always”) experience of crucifixion, yet in the midst of the dying he also experienced the resurrection “life of Jesus”. The resurrection “life” of Jesus was “revealed” (ephanerothe is the Greek word) in Paul’s body. It is perhaps significant that the same word was used of the appearance of the risen Jesus in John 21.4. This suggests that the power that Paul experienced was not a subjective experience, for others too noticed the difference.
Later in 2 Corinthians 4 Paul wrote that these sufferings are “for your benefit” and as a result God’s “grace” reached “more and more people” (2 Corinthians 4.15). The NIV translation refers to “more and more people” coming to faith. Alternatively, Paul may have been speaking not so much of numerical growth as of spiritual growth taking place in the church. However, whether more people join the church or grow in grace, the result is the same: an increase in “thanksgiving” to God which in turn redounds to his “glory” (2 Corinthians 4.15).
To sum up, Christian ministry is never easy, and yet at the same time it is rewarding as we ministers see people coming to faith and growing in their faith.