II Corinthians 4:5-12
5 For we
do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as
your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who said, “Let
light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this
treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary
power belongs to God and does not come from us.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed,
but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck
down, but not destroyed; 10
always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may
also be made visible in our bodies. 11
For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so
that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but
life in you.
II
Corinthians 4: 5-12 contains parts of two segments. Verses 5-6 concludes a
section that began in verse 3, completing the remarks Paul is making regarding
apostolic boldness that he began in 3:12-13. Paul is making these remarks as he
continues the defense of his ministry that he will not complete until 7:1. Such
controversy drives Paul back to the positions he has taken in his life. As we
will see, the trip is worth taking for Paul and for us, when controversy comes
our way. The stress involved in controversy can stimulate us to review our
language, imagery, and actions. It can cause us to review that for which we
stand. It can cause us to clarify. While controversy can make us defensive, it can start us on a
journey of creativity. Paul shares some of the reasons for the challenges the
church of his time encounters in its ministry.
5 For
we do not proclaim ourselves; a statement that may suggest his opposition is
preaching themselves, we proclaim Jesus
Christ as Lord, the simple confession of faith in the early church, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’
sake. We should note the close connection between apostolic proclamation of
the gospel and apostolic commission. Apostolic ministry is a gift and a task,
not personal accomplishment and thus not a reason for self-congratulation. The
result of responding to the gospel is to become a slave or servant. Paul lived
his life as a servant among them. Paul's assertion underscores the depth of his
conviction regarding this matter. Extending the metaphor in which he identifies
himself and his ministry partners as "slaves," he implicitly regards
the Corinthian disciples as their masters, thus diminishing their own standing
in deference to them. One might have expected, in keeping with the spirit of
this age, that a glorious gospel would have marvelous benefits for those who
receive it. Rather than power, prestige, wealth and the like, responding to the
gospel means continuing the ministry of servanthood rather than
lordly domination that Christ himself had already begun. We might say that some
people accept the standards of this world. Paul says the standards of this
world blind them. The result is that they will not see the glory of the Lord or
his ministers whose slaves are serving the needs of others. In our secular
culture, a primary value is that of liberating the self from external
constraints of authority, especially if that authority derives from tradition.
Yet, we have often exchanged the wisdom and insight that derives from tradition
for the authority of an ideology, usually political, as our new master. The new
master does not have the benefit of time-tested truth. Rather, the new master
reveals the shallow quality of much of our thinking about that which ultimately
concerns us, about social, political, and economic arrangements, and morality
of our choices. Yet, Paul, his team, and many followers of Jesus through the
centuries, can testify to the genuine joy they find in serving something
greater than self. Parents serve their children. Children serve aging parents.
The rich serve the poor. The healthy serve the sick. The strong serve the weak.
Many people have found their deepest and most joyful experiences in serving. This is a hard thing for
most of us to wrap our minds around because ambition and achievement have
carefully schooled us. Ambition is a wonderful thing. We do well to encourage
our children to be ambitious, to work hard, and to make a success of
themselves. Yet, for the follower of Jesus, the point of life is letting Jesus
shine through. This approach to life will require humility. Humility needs to
precede, accompany, and follow everything we do. To think of it in a physical
way, humility needs to be ahead of us so that we can focus upon it, beside us
so that we can lean upon it and behind us so that pride will not sneak behind
us and rob us of the joy of humility.[1] 6 For it is the God, as opposed to the false god of this age, who said, showing that the human
situation is not hopeless, “Let light
shine out of darkness,” (rather than “in” darkness, suggesting a reference
to creation in Genesis 1:3). This true God has
shone the light in our hearts in
order to give to others the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. The light has come to the apostles so that
they may enlighten others. Such a notion has firm Old Testament roots. After
all, people who lived a deep darkness have the experience of light shining upon
them (Isaiah 9:2). The people of God can have their light rise in the darkness
if they feed the hungry and minister to the afflicted (Isaiah 58:10). When the
prophet sits in darkness, the Lord will be a light to him (Micah 7:8).[2]
We may justly ponder if Paul offers us a reflection on his personal experience
of conversion and calling to apostleship.[3] The gospel of Jesus is,
in essence, an unveiling. God has removed a barrier between God and humanity in
the gospel. Light shines into darkness. God grants access to the divine to
those whose rebellion forbade it. What one needs is
to lift the veil and allow the light to reach those who are perishing is a new
creation, a new age that will free them from the influence of this world-age.
Therefore, the God who brought light to the primordial darkness has shined in
our hearts. Those whom God enables to see the light of divine glory shining
through the human Jesus and his ministry have the veil lifted from their eyes
that would obscure the truth of the gospel, and so are saved from perishing.
The theme of
4:7-12, beginning a segment that continues to 5:10, is the hardship and hopes
of apostleship. The polemical issue raised is that some believe the suffering
of Paul and his associates is reason to invalidate his apostleship. Paul is reminding them that a life of faith
is not always a life of ease or comfort.
In verses 7-12,
Paul offers a list of hardships. 7
However, we have this treasure, the
gospel or the splendor mentioned in 4:1-6 (not the soul), in clay jars (amphorae). Controversy
leads Paul to point to the value of the disposable container. Clay jars or
earthen pots are to the point. They are not of lasting value and are therefore
expendable. They were the mass-market beverage containers of the ancient
world -- distinctive, two-handled clay jars used by Greek and Roman merchants
to transport wine. Workers glazed and intricately decorated some amphorae,
intended for use by the upper classes. Most were not, workers fashioning them
from plebeian red clay. The typical amphora when full weighed about 100 pounds.
Sailors would stack them by the dozens in the holds of their ships, lacing
ropes through the twin handles to stabilize them in rough seas. Once ships
delivered the amphorae to their destination and their contents consumed, no one
bothered shipping the empties back to their point of origin. It was not
economical to do so, for amphorae were cheap and plentiful. It was easier just
to smash them. There is a hill in Rome, near the River Tiber, called Monte
Testaccio. It is more than 100 feet high and nearly a kilometer in
circumference. It is not a natural hill at all. It is an ancient trash heap,
composed of the fragments of nearly 53 million amphorae! Disposable beverage
containers have long been with us. The container is of little consequence, for the
contents hold the most interest. By analogy, mortal existence is subject to time,
adversity, and decay. The reason this is the case is so that it may become clear to others that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from
us.
How can the
weakness and frailty of a clay jar display the power of God? I share a story
and a song.
A mother wished to
encourage her young son's progress in playing the piano. She bought tickets for a concert of Ignace
Paderewski. The seats were near the front. It was not long until the mother was talking
with a friend. The boy slipped
away. At 8:00 pm the lights went out and
the spotlight shown on the stage where the Steinway piano was. It was only then that people noticed the boy
on the bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star." The mother was embarrassed
and started to get him. Then the master
pianist appeared on stage. "Don't
quit, keep playing," he whispered to the boy. Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with
his left hand and began filling in a bass part.
Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child,
to add a running obbligato. Together,
the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.[4]
If
this is not a place
where tears are understood
Then
were shall I go to cry?
And
if this is not a place
where my spirit can take wings
Then
were shall I go to fly?
So
if this is not a place
where my questions can be asked
Then
were shall I go to seek?
And
if this is not a place
where my heart cry can be heard
Where,
tell me where,
shall I go to speak.
(refrain):
I
don't need another place
for tryin' to impress you
With
just how good and virtuous I am,
no, no, no.
I
don't need another place
for always being on top of things.
Everybody
knows that it's a sham,
it's a sham.
I
don't need another place
for always wearin' smiles
Even
when it's not the way I feel.
I
don't need another place
to mouth the same old platitudes.
Everybody
knows that it's not real.
So
if this is not a place
where tears are understood
Where
shall I go, where shall
Paul will then
list some of the hardships, which we can compare to I Corinthians 6:4c-5,
11:23b-29, 12:10, Romans 8:35, II Corinthians 4:9-13. Whatever difficulty he encountered, God
sustained and rescued Paul so he could continue to share the treasure God had
given to him. Nevertheless, here, their weakness discloses God's power. This teaching has some similarity to Stoic
doctrine, yet Paul's presuppositions are different. For Epictetus, the difficulties reveal what
is inside people. For Paul, they reveal
God's power. 8 We receive affliction in every way, but it does not
crush us. Life perplexes us, but does not drive us to despair. 9
The world persecutes us, but God
does not forsake us. Life strikes us down, but does not destroy us.
10 In fact, we always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may also become visible in our bodies.
We see here an example of how the new eschatological life is life in
the full sense, in comparison with which earthly life is life only with
reservations.[6] How can Paul
still claim to be an apostle from God while yet experiencing such
hardship? The accusation is that his
hardship shows he is failing. Yet, as happens in controversy sometimes, Paul
turns the accusation around to suggest that the weakness they see as a sign of
a failure is actually is a sign of continuing the ministry of Jesus. The
weakness of the apostles relates to the weakness of Christ, while they rely on
God's power. 11 For while we
live, circumstances seem to always
give us up to death for Jesus' sake, so that our mortal flesh may make the life
of Jesus visible. Paul views suffering as a continuing aspect of
apostleship. Suffering is not just an occasional experience for the apostle. He
views apostolic service as participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Unlike Ignatius later, the suffering of the
apostles is not an imitation of the passion of the Lord but is a working out of
Jesus' own suffering in their ministry. 12 Therefore, death is at work in us, but life in
you. Controversy has led Paul to
reflect upon the notion that he is indeed a dying man, and he will take glory
in that process as he continues the ministry of Jesus. To be sure, some may
suppose that Paul's afflicted, perplexing, persecuted and battered ministry
indicates God's disapproval and its impending demise. Despite appearances,
though, the irony is that God reveals the glory of the risen Lord through the
ministrations of these fragile "clay jars" -- persons in whose mortal
bodies "death is at work" in order to offer "life" to all
whom God calls. Paul can write
dramatically of his vulnerability, weakness, and abandonment as an apostle and
Christian. Here, Paul defines the “earthen vessel” as one that is troubled,
perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. He is referring to external pressures
that oppress him, inwardly appropriating the external pressure, so that he can
describe the totality of it as a repetition in his own person of the dying of
Jesus.[7] In this sense,
death for the believer is not ahead of us, but behind us, as we bear the marks
of the death of Jesus.[8] We see here
that hope of eternal life is a consequence of fellowship with Jesus Christ in
general, but especially with his death.[9]
Paul's
understanding of their mission as evangelists demands serious consideration by
all who feel God is calling them to take up a similar role. Ministers, pastors,
and other church leaders are trustees of an inestimable treasure, and as clay
vessels, are to reflect "the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ" rather than seek their own glory.
We often hunger for more
in life. Such a hunger can have a positive dimension in that our hunger can
drive us to new pursuits. Yet, it has a darker side with which most of us are
all too familiar. I share a story of a humble barber who was passing by
a tree that turned out to be haunted. From out of the tree, the barber heard a
voice: "Would you like to have seven jars of gold?" Looking around,
he saw no one. He could not imagine where the voice was coming from. However,
the voice aroused the greed already in him. He shouted eagerly, "Yes, I
certainly would." "Then go home at once," said the voice.
"You will find them there." The barber ran all the way home, and it
turned out to be just as the ghostly voice had promised. There, sitting by the
hearth, were seven jars, six of them filled to the brim with gold -- and the
seventh, which was only half-full. Of course, the barber was delighted with the
unexpected gift, but something bothered him. He could not bear the thought of
having a half-filled jar. He knew that, somehow, he had to fill it. If he did
not, he could never be happy. Therefore, he took all his wife's jewelry, and
begged his family and friends to loan him theirs. He threw them into the
half-filled jar. However, the jar was enchanted. No matter how much treasure he
threw in, it remained half-filled, as before. He saved, scrimped and starved
his family, but he could never bring the level of that seventh jar any higher.
One day, he asked for an audience with the king and demanded that the king
double his salary. The king agreed, but still it was no good. The jar devoured
each piece of gold he flung into it. When the king summoned the barber to cut
his hair, he noticed how desperate and unhappy the man looked. "What is
wrong with you?" he asked. "You used to be so happy when your salary
was smaller. Can it be that you have been given the seven jars of gold?"
The barber was astonished to hear this. "Who told you about that, Your
Majesty?" The king laughed. "I know the symptoms. The ghost once
offered the jars to me. When I asked if I could ever spend the money, or if I
must merely hoard it, he vanished without a word. Take it from me: you will
never spend that money. It only brings with it the compulsion to hoard. Go and
return the seven jars to the ghost this very minute. You will be a happy man
once again." So he did and so he was.[10]
[1] The way to Christ is first through humility, second
through humility and third through humility. If humility does not precede and
accompany and follow every good work we do, if it is not before us to focus on,
if it is not beside us to lean upon, if it is not behind us to fence us in,
pride will wrench from our hand any good deed we do at the very moment we do
it. --Augustine.
[2] Isaiah 9:2 The people who
walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep
darkness-- on them light has shined.
Isaiah 58:10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the
needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your
gloom be like the noonday.
Micah 7:8 Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall
rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.
[3] Pannenberg, Systematic
Theology Volume 2, 354.
[4] (Leadership, Spring 1983, 92)
[5] (by Ken Medema, "If This is Not a Place"
1977)
[6] Pannenberg, Systematic
Theology Volume 2, 347.
[7] Barth, Church
Dogmatics IV.3 [71.5] 633.
[8] Barth, Church
Dogmatics III.2 [47.5] 621-2.
[9] Pannenberg, Systematic
Theology Volume 3, 211.
[10] The Song of the Bird, Anthony de Mello
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