But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.—2 Corinthians 4:7–12

Introduction

The Creator and the Counterfeiter

Last week we saw the war between the Creator of Light and the Prince of Darkness. One of the interesting things in this war is how pathetic Satan is. He does not have the power to create anything; he can only counterfeit the real thing. He goes around twisting and distorting everything that God has done. Therefore, one of the ways that he wages his war against God is by distorting and warping the word of God.

A War of Words: Satanic Scripture-Twisting

Last week, we saw that Paul does not practice cunning or distort the word of God (2 Corinthians 4:2). We looked at how the false teachers’ cunning showed that they were servants of Satan, because Satan’s craftiness already shows up at the beginning of the story (Genesis 3:1). What may not have been as clear is that they also follow in Satan’s footsteps when they twist the word of God. Satan was the first in the story to do so.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”—Genesis 3:1–5

This was a war of words—specifically, will humanity believe God’s word in its pure form or Satan’s twisted version? Notice that the pure word from God is full of provision ("every tree") and protection ("lest you die"). It is stated positively with only one exception: “you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Genesis 2:16–17). Satan made the exception the exclusive focus. “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:2).

Satan also quoted and twisted Scripture in the temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:1-13). Jesus refuted his Scripture-twisting by showing how one wields the word rightly. Now the same battle has come to Paul and the Corinthians just like it was at the beginning between Eve and the serpent. Did Paul really see it that way? Yes, that is what he says later in 2 Corinthians.

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.—2 Corinthians 11:1–3

Then, later in the chapter, he shows that Satan does not appear in some form made popular in movies with horns, a pitchfork, and a pointy tale. He stands back in the cover of shadows while his servants do his dark, dirty work.

And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.—2 Corinthians 11:12–15

But the main question before us then, is how we do battle with the schemes of this ancient foe. Paul reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the dark powers and principalities and cosmic forces of this darkness (Ephesians 6:12). Paul reminds us that God has given us his armor. Other armor is defensive, but one is a weapon of attack: the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Look at what Paul says he does with it in 2 Corinthians 10:3–5:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Counterfeit Freedom and Love

The ancient battle has come to us today as well. We have to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. We tried to do that last week as we took on our culture’s counterfeit concepts of freedom and love. I just want you to note that this is not a new thing. There is nothing new under the sun. Satan still uses the same old bag of tricks. The apostle Peter had to address the same thing as a steward of the word against the Scripture-twisting of his opponents.

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.—2 Peter 2:18–19

They promise freedom, but they can only give what they have—which is slavery to corruption. Remember that when you watch movies and music videos. They are trying to sell you sweet, candy-coated chains of corruption. I hope I have convinced you that this is a huge problem. If your eyes have been opened to see the danger of deception, the question begging to be asked is, “What other tricks does he have up his sinister sleeve?

Counterfeit Care (God does not love you if you are suffering)

I am glad you asked. Do you remember the book of Job? Satan told God that if suffering came into Job’s life, then he would see that God did not really care about him and he would curse God (Job 1:11). God gave Satan permission (he is on a chain) to test Job through suffering (Job 1:12). He is at it again in 2 Corinthians. He is at work again through his servants in Paul’s day to twist Paul’s suffering. He is using a half-truth of suffering that only looks at the bad side of it. But it has a good side so that suffering can be a gift.

God’s Power, Suffering, and Keeping in Step With Christ

I am going to pray that our eyes would be open to see God’s design in suffering through three points: (1) God’s Power in Cracked Pots, (2) The Two-Sided Coin of Suffering, and (3) How Suffering Causes us to Keep in Step with Christ. 

1. See God’s Power in Cracked Pots (v.7)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

There are four things we need to see in this verse. The first comes in that phrase “jars of clay.” It is extremely important to understand. “Jays of clay” refer to a certain type of jar. They were not fancy, expensive ones that would last for a long time. They were the weak, fragile jars made out of clay. These jars were cheap, and they would chip or break easily. When they broke, people would just throw them away because it was cheaper to buy new ones than to fix the old ones. 

Why would God compare us to cracked pots? The point is not to denigrate us in our weakness, but to elevate his surpassing power. You need to see that so you do not buy the lie that weakness is a bad thing. If we are like cheap, easily chipped pots then maybe we are dispensable. Maybe we are trash that should just be thrown out. Is this verse saying that we are jars that cease to be useful? If they are useless, then they can be trashed, right? No, we are supposed to see love. He loves us not by dressing up the container. He does not make it ironclad or gold-plated so that we are invincible people that are a treasure to behold. No. He makes sure that through us, people can behold the real treasure: the contents we are carrying. It is a loving thing to show people that we are not the treasure. It is a loving thing to allow us to be a container that carries the treasured contents. What is the treasure?

That is the second thing we need to see in this verse. What is the treasure? The treasure is the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ. That is the thing that shines in the context so brightly and so fully. This gospel of Christ’s glory shines in the new covenant of the Spirit. Paul has been laboring to describe this great gospel all the way through 2 Corinthins 3:1–4:6. 

The third thing we need to note is that Paul describes this treasure as that which has “surpassing power” (4:7). It should come as no surprise that Paul portrays the gospel according to its power. Power to do what? Power to save. This is the same Paul, remember, who wrote Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” This gospel is so powerful that it can save anyone at any time. That was certainly his point in the previous verse in 2 Corinthians 4:6. The Father of Lights can overcome the blindness caused by the Prince of Darkness with one little phrase: let there be light! And salvation comes because of his new creation power.

Now that leads to our fourth observation about this verse. Those three things (the cheap pots, the beautiful treasure, and the surpassing power) all show us the purpose of cracked pots. Now we understand why the pots have to be cracked. The container is cracked so everyone can see the contents of the container. If the pots were ironclad and impenetrable, how would people see the beautiful light shining in them? They can only see light shining in them if the light can find a way to shine out of them. They need to be cracked. If the pots were not cracked, then they would conceal the treasure. Weak, cracked pots reveal the treasure—perfect pots without cracks would conceal the treasure.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of your cracked pot because we are not ashamed of the gospel treasure that we carry. We want people to see the treasure we carry (and not fixate on us) because the power to save comes from God, not us. What should people see when they see us then? Paul says that people should see in him both weakness and strength, both death and life. As we transition to point two, look for the ways that you see both weakness and strength as well as death and life as two sides of the same coin in the next two verses. 

2. See the Two-Sided Coin of Suffering (vv. 8–9) 

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

There is a way to talk about the suffering we experience in our weakness that falls prey to the sinister half-truth of Satan. What is the sinister half-truth of suffering? You could make one half of the equation the only thing. I think the servants of Satan want the Corinthians to put all the stress on the first half of each sentence. The apostles are afflicted in every way; we are perplexed, we are persecuted, we are struck down. Yes, do you see (they would say)? Look at all this suffering and weakness. How could God approve of it? It is so utterly unimpressive.

It is certainly not impressive in and of itself. All of those are true statements, but do you see the cunning of the evil one? They are all true statements, but none of them are complete statements. It is easy to see death and suffering, but those things can blind us from seeing the life that rises up in suffering like a flower that blossoms in the dry ground of the desert. Paul is calling them not to despise the desert flowers, but to smell them and appreciate their beauty against the backdrop of dryness.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.– 2 Corinthians 3:8–9 

We have to be able to give up control of our lives in order to let God define what life looks like. He ordains suffering, and thus if we define the good life as a life free from suffering, then we are not thinking God’s thoughts. The good life in this fallen world consists not in the absence of suffering, but the presence of resurrection life in the midst of suffering.

We should not be surprised when we suffer. This is a fallen world—it is bent and we are broken. This is an evil world because Satan is the god of this world. We should not be surprised by persecution. Did you hear that? Let me say it again. Our protection from persecution in this country could turn on a dime. Are you ready?

But does suffering only help others see the power of God through resurrection strength and life? I think there is far more. Suffering does not only help others see the power of the treasure; it helps us treasure the power at work in us. Look at what God is producing in you through suffering. Let me explain what I mean in point three: we need to see how suffering helps us keep in step with Christ, our treasure.

3. See How Suffering Keeps Us in Step With Christ (vv. 10–12)

Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. 

I want to make three points of observation on these verses among many that could be noted. First, Paul uses a unique word for “death” in verse 10. You can here our English word “necrosis” comes from this Greek word. Necrosis is a form of cell injury that results in the premature death of cells (this is like a process of decay). This modern example is a fitting parallel. What we carry in our bodies is the prolonged process of death. Like verse 11 says, we are being given over to death. This is not a one-time thing like our physical death. This word does not focus on the state of death, but on the process of death. Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15.

Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!—1 Corinthians 15:30–31

Second, did you notice how many times in these three verses you see the phrase “of Jesus” (three times)? The dying experienced by Jesus is what Paul means by the phrase “the death of Jesus” (v. 10). The “life of Jesus” is the life that belongs to Jesus by virtue of his resurrection, but it is also the life that the resurrected Jesus gives. All of this is “for the sake of Jesus” (v. 11). Death and life have no meaning apart from Christ. We understand the treasure we carry when we see that we are being conformed to Christ and we are following in his steps. Peter says the same thing.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.—1 Peter 2:21

God wants us to cherish the greatest treasure in the universe: his Son. He helps us treasure the treasure through his poetry of providence. He writes the stories of our lives. Why would he write a story that includes the pain of suffering? Answer: the gospel is his best story. He loves us and wants us to live this best story.

Third, Paul takes a step higher in the argument as he comes to his main point in verse 12: "So death is at work in us, but life in you." Remember that he is still defending his apostleship. Paul is the one suffering and experiencing life, and in turn the Corinthians receive life and comfort. The apostolic calling is a calling of death (death is at work in us), and through apostolic suffering and comfort, life is at work in the Corinthians. We are back to 2 Corinthians 1:3–7 and the cycle of comfort. It comes through Paul’s suffering and Paul’s comfort, and then it comes to the Corinthians as life and comfort. How do we move from Paul to applying this passage to ourselves? How do we come into the picture?

Application

Torpedos of Truth

We need suffering to be like a smart bomb that blows up our strongholds of pride and shows us the lies we believe behind our pride. Those who are suffering are not weaker than the rest of us, they are simply more aware of how weak we are all. Suffering takes what everyone knows (we are weak—surface knowledge) and brings it home to us viscerally far beneath the surface (we feel we are weak—deep down). We could call it surface weakness and deep weakness. So suffering is like a smart bomb that explodes the stronghold of counterfeit strength and sufficiency and exposes the lie of counterfeit comfort.

We are susceptible to this lie of self-sufficiency and counterfeit strength because we want to believe it. We are a proud people. Our pride makes us bent on believing that we are strong and self-sufficient. This embrace of counterfeit strength and sufficiency means that we comfort ourselves with the idea that we can outrun or outsmart or outlast any danger that we face. It is time to torpedo those lies that are coming at us like Satanic ships ready to lay siege upon our souls. I have six torpedos of application. I pray that they will hit home and blow those Satanic ships right out of the water. 

1. The Counterfeit Comfort of Unbelievers: Running From Suffering 

Suffering helps expose what our hope is. Have we set our hope on health? Have we set our hope on self-sufficient strength and our ability to outrun or outsmart or outlast pain? Look at all the things that the world highlights as ways to escape the dangers around us. We have ways to escape the effects of the fall. Is your body losing its shape? We have plastic surgery and vitamins and pills and energy drinks and exercise equipment. Are we vulnerable to danger? We have security systems at home, and we have homeland security. All of these things are good things but not God things. They can be the modern day equivalent of horses and chariots. We can use them–we just don’t trust them. God is our true source of security. In running after other sources of security, you are running away from him. He is to be your refuge and sanctuary–run to him by faith and be saved. The cross shows you that he will not cast out any that come to him.

There are also two forms of Counterfeit Comfort that stress our strength

2. Counterfeit Comfort: Stressing the Strength of Our Faith

Some so-called professing Christians teach a form of false teaching that says it is always wrong to suffer. The health, wealth, and prosperity gospel is really no gospel at all. They say that God would not call a son of God to suffer. What do they do with the call of the Son of God to suffer? He learned obedience through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8). Don’t despise the school of suffering. If Jesus needed suffering to learn obedience when he was perfect, how much more do we need it? If God says that we need it, then what shall we think of those who teach others that they don’t? They say it while claiming to speak for God. They beat people up in God’s name by telling you that suffering is your fault because it is not God’s plan. If suffering comes into your life, then you are to blame. You don’t have enough faith. We hate false teaching that hurts people, distorts the word, and dishonors God.

3. Counterfeit Comfort: Stressing Our Stoic Strength (Impervious to Pain) 

Some would want you to pretend that faith will not remove suffering, but it will make us stoic when we suffer. In a crude form, this teaching would say that if you have enough faith, then pain doesn’t hurt. What a stupid thing to say. Pain hurts. All forms of suffering sting. The thorn in the flesh that was a messenger of Satan in Paul’s life to torment him was not a picnic for Paul. He pleaded with God three times to take it away. But he didn’t lose heart, because God gave him a different revelation than the previous ones that were puffing him up. He was showing Paul his weakness so that Paul would rejoice in the strong sufficiency of God’s grace (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). Heart hurt might be the worst hurt of all. Don’t lose heart in suffering by having people tell you that you have to be impervious to pain in suffering.

Please do not smuggle the high bar back into your life during suffering. Law-based suffering always asks how well you are doing in handling the suffering. The problem with this is that it starts to sound like something you are performing or achieving. Aaron Davitch taught on the difference between a "do Christian" and a "done Christian" at an Family Discipleship training seminar. This is really important to nail down in suffering. Are you busy doing? How am I doing? Am I doing enough to show I am strong enough?

Wait a minute. Are you supposed to focus on your strength in weakness? Isn’t that precisely the opposite of the point you are supposed to reach? Gospel-based suffering does not want you to look at what you do in suffering, but at what God has done in Christ’s suffering. It is finished. He did the work. Rest! You can rest knowing that God is still at work in suffering. He is working out his good pleasure in your life. You can stay tuned to his strength instead of trying to be strong yourself. He is more than strong enough for both of you! He has given all that you need—he will keep giving it. He will bring you through. Being in touch with your weakness and mess makes it easier for you to call out for grace and strength and then not to embezzle praise by plagiarizing his strength as your own.

4. Disappointment in Suffering that Causes Us to Doubt God’s Love

Faulty expectations lead to disappointment and doubt towards God. False teaching makes suffering your fault. Dealing with this disappointment leads to doubt, in which you make suffering God’s fault. People in pain cannot see a smiling God because all they see is the frowning providence of pain. Please do not stare at your suffering. Let your suffering cause you to fixate on Christ.

5. Embrace Who Christ Is Through Suffering

Our weakness helps us see who is really strong. We see our desperate need for grace. And that glorifies God because he delights in being desperately needed. We have a Savior who does not despise bruised reeds. He is near to the crushed in spirit. Spiritual beggars do not get spare change when they ask the King for his help. They get the King crucified and risen. They get their debt paid. They get the treasure of his righteousness. We, who are weak, are enabled to claim a strength that comes only as a gift of grace through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ.

6. Embrace Who You Are Through Suffering

Quit trying to polish your cracked pots. Quit trying to cover the cracks. Quit answering every question about how you are doing with answers like "Fine," "Better than I deserve," or "I'm doing okay." We can be real. If it hurts, say it. Embrace weakness. Paul said he actually started boasting gladly of his weaknesses so that the power of Christ would rest upon him (2 Corinthians 12:9). If people think you are weak, you can boast in weakness instead of trying to bury them in your backyard. Someone sees a weakness, and we say, “that is nothing—you don’t know the half of it. I would be a basket case without Christ.” That will make Bethlehem a place of gospel safety for the weak. Our embrace of weakness also creates a certain type of engagement with our culture. Let me read a welcome that I wrote for our disability ministry: 

"We, the weak, welcome you to Bethlehem Baptist Church. The world uses a sliding scale that esteems the strong and scorns the weak, but the church values the weak because the church itself consists of the weak made strong only by grace. We are not a gathering of the self-sufficient. We don't have it altogether. We give you permission to not have it altogether. We are the insufficient who love to proclaim that we have found Him who is all-sufficient. The church of Jesus Christ testifies to the counter-cultural truth that God loves those who desperately need him because God delights in being desperately needed. Therefore, in our desperate need, we exult in the truth that he is rich in mercy to meet our needs (Ephesians 2:4)."

If you want to read the rest, you will have to get the brochure! The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life—even a life without suffering or disability. As our vision for disability ministry states, life with a disability and with Jesus is infinitely better than a healthy body without him.

Conclusion

God Gives the Strength Through the Struggle 

We need to put to death any idea that God designs suffering so that we can earn something from him by how well we perform in suffering. We don’t earn anything in suffering (merit points); God produces something through suffering. He gives us two things: (1) strength through our struggle and (2) conformity to Christ. 

First, when we suffer, we are kind of like baby chicks hatching out of an egg. We tend to think of it as a cute thing because we think baby chicks are so fuzzy and tiny. Hatching out of an egg—like any birth for that matter—is not a pain-free, Precious Moments kind of thing to watch. The chick pecks away at the egg and then passes out from sheer exhaustion. This process repeats itself over and over. Peck, peck, peck, pass out. Some of you can relate to that paradigm right now! Some city slickers watch it and wonder why people don’t just mercifully crack open the eggs for the chicks. Spare them the pain and the passing out! It feels like torture to watch. But every time they do that, the chick dies. Why? God ordained that it would be the struggle that would give their little lungs and bodies strength to survive.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.—James 1:2–3 

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.—James 1:12

Second, the struggle of suffering also has a refining power. It refines us towards greater conformity to Christ. This Christlikeness should cause rejoicing.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.— 1 Peter 1:6-7

How does the refiner know when the process is complete? When he can see his reflection in the metal. Christlikeness is not a glib concept. It involves pain. The Refiner’s fire is hot and it hurts. But when we treasure Christlikeness we say, “I will take whatever it takes to make me like Christ.” Take away the security of health or safety, but don’t take away Christ. He is my ultimate treasure—my ultimate security. Whatever it takes, give me more of him.

And God does. He uses the struggle to give you strength and to make you shine like Christ. One day the process will be complete. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, it will be over. You will be changed. Every tear will be wiped away. We will shine like stars with the bright reflection of Christ. Take heart. He is our treasure and he has overcome. “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart (the opposite of losing heart); I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Take heart. Look at the cross and the empty tomb. He has overcome the world. In death by love, the fallen world was overcome. Look at the scars. He wears the scars of our freedom. We are conformed to his death so we will set our hope in his resurrection and his return.

Take heart, turn from false comforts and counterfeit hopes. Look at what will be after suffering. Suffering has an expiration date, but Christ’s promised presence does not! Endure to the end and take courage again because he is coming again. Are you ready?

Closing Song: "Take Heart"

Discussion Questions

• A commitment to the word of God means that we should engage culture and expose the lies of the evil one by expounding and interpreting the word and our world. We sometimes err by seeking to escape the world altogether or to embrace the world altogether. On which side do you fall into most often?
• What lies do you struggle to fight? That is, what counterfeit messages are you most vulnerable to believing? How can those around you come alongside of you to help speak truth to you and support you in the struggle?
• Can you share an example of experiencing the truth of God’s design and love in suffering?