◄ 2 Corinthians 4:7 ►
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.
Study Bible
Now we have this treasure in jars of clay

The treasure is the gospel and the knowledge of God’s glory revealed in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4–6). Paul and his fellow ministers carried this life-giving message in mortal, weak bodies. Clay jars were ordinary, inexpensive vessels, easily cracked or broken, making them a fitting picture of human frailty. God entrusts the riches of Christ to humble people so that no servant of the gospel may claim credit for its saving effect. Christ Himself took true human flesh in humility, and His servants bear witness to Him amid weakness, suffering, and death.

2Ti 2:20-21 A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver……
2Co 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in…
1Co 1:27 But God chose the foolish things of the world……

to show that this surpassingly great power

The extraordinary power belongs to God, who sustains His servants under affliction and works through their testimony to bring light to those blinded by sin. Paul’s endurance through persecution, hardship, and danger demonstrated that the gospel was not upheld by natural resilience or human wisdom. God’s power continues to preserve believers, transform lives, and advance the message of Christ beyond what human ability can accomplish.

Eph 1:19-20 and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe.…
Eph 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all…
1Co 2:4-5 My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words…

is from God and not from us.

All fruit in ministry, perseverance in suffering, and spiritual life in believers come from God’s grace. The fragile vessel does not diminish the treasure; rather, human weakness makes God’s strength more visible. Apart from Christ, His people can do nothing of eternal value (John 15:5), but God is able to accomplish far more than they ask or imagine through His power at work within them (Ephesians 3:20).

2Co 3:5 Not that we are competent in ourselves…
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me…
Jhn 15:5 I am the vine and you are the branches…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 2 Corinthians, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth to encourage and instruct them in their faith.

2. Corinth
A major city in ancient Greece, known for its wealth and diversity, but also for its moral challenges. The church in Corinth faced many issues, including divisions and misunderstandings about the gospel.

3. The Corinthian Church
The recipients of this letter, they were a group of believers struggling with various issues, including understanding the nature of true spiritual power and authority.

4. Jars of Clay
A metaphor used by Paul to describe human frailty and the humble vessels through which God's power is displayed.

5. The Treasure
Refers to the gospel and the knowledge of God's glory, which believers carry within them.
Teaching Points
Human Frailty and Divine Power
Recognize that our human weaknesses are not a hindrance but an opportunity for God's power to be displayed. Embrace your limitations as a platform for God's strength.

The Value of the Gospel
Understand that the true treasure is the gospel itself, not the vessel that carries it. Prioritize the message of Christ over personal accolades or achievements.

Humility in Service
Serve with humility, acknowledging that any success or impact is due to God's power, not personal ability. This perspective fosters a spirit of gratitude and dependence on God.

God's Sovereignty and Purpose
Trust in God's sovereign plan, knowing that He chooses to use imperfect vessels to accomplish His perfect will. This encourages perseverance and faithfulness in ministry.

Living as a Witness
Live in a way that reflects the surpassing power of God, allowing others to see His work in and through you. Your life should point others to the source of true power and hope.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding our role as "jars of clay" change the way we view our weaknesses and limitations?

2. In what ways can we ensure that the "treasure" of the gospel remains the focus of our lives and ministries?

3. How can we cultivate humility in our service to God and others, acknowledging that the power is from Him and not from us?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to demonstrate God's power in our daily lives, especially in times of trial or weakness?

5. How can the metaphor of "jars of clay" encourage us to persevere in sharing the gospel, even when we feel inadequate or unworthy?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 2:7
Relates to the creation of man from the dust of the ground, highlighting human frailty and dependence on God.

Isaiah 64:8
Describes God as the potter and humans as clay, emphasizing God's sovereignty and our role as His creation.

Philippians 3:21
Speaks of the transformation of our lowly bodies, connecting to the idea of our current frailty and future glorification.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
Discusses how God uses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame the wise, aligning with the theme of God's power being made perfect in weakness.

Ephesians 3:20-21
Highlights God's ability to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, through His power at work within us.
Sermons
Divine Power Illustrated by the Triumphs of the GospelJ. Innes.2 Corinthians 4:7
Earthen VesselsE. Hurndall 2 Corinthians 4:7
Heavenly Treasure in Earthen VesselsR. Tuck 2 Corinthians 4:7
Spiritual TreasureJ.R. Thomson 2 Corinthians 4:7
The Gospel TreasureMatthew Henry.2 Corinthians 4:7
The Gospel Treasure in Earthen VesselsJ. Alexander.2 Corinthians 4:7
The Gospel Treasure in Earthen VesselsJ. Sherman.2 Corinthians 4:7
The Lamp in the PitcherD. Fraser 2 Corinthians 4:7
The Treasure in Earthen VesselsW. Syme.2 Corinthians 4:7
Ministers in Their Weakness and StrengthC. Lipscomb 2 Corinthians 4:7-18
People
Corinthians, Galatians, Paul
Places
Achaia, Corinth
Topics
All-surpassing, Belong, Belongs, Clay, Earthen, Exceeding, Excellence, Excellency, Fragile, Greatness, Jars, Order, Originate, Ourselves, Power, Surpassing, Surpassingness, Transcendent, Treasure, Vase, Vessels, Wealth
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Corinthians 4:7

     1105   God, power of
     4315   clay
     5445   potters and pottery
     5457   power, human
     5591   treasure
     8813   riches, spiritual

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

     5916   pessimism
     8027   faith, testing of

2 Corinthians 4:7-12

     5109   Paul, apostle
     5597   victory, act of God
     7944   ministry, qualifications

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

     5024   inner being

Library
The Winsome Jesus.
The Face of Jesus: Jesus drew crowds, men, women, children, bad people, enemies--His personality--face--impress of experiences--the glory of God in that face, 2 Corinthians 4:6. Hebrews 1:3. The Music of God in the Voice of Jesus: the eye--Jesus' eyes, Luke 4:16-30. John 8:59. 10:31. 7:32, 45, 46. 18:6. Mark 10:32. 9:36. 10:13-16. Luke 19:48.--His voice, Matthew 26:30. personal touch, Matthew 8:3, 15. 9:29. 17:7. 20:34. Mark 1:41. 7:33. Luke 5:13. 22:51. (John 14:16-20). His presence irresistible. …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Looking at the Unseen
'While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.'--2 COR. iv. 18. Men may be said to be divided into two classes, materialists and idealists, in the widest sense of those two words. The mass care for, and are occupied by, and regard as really solid good, those goods which can be touched and enjoyed by sense. The minority--students, thinkers, men of ideas, moralists, and the like--believe in, and care for, impalpable spiritual riches. Everybody admits that the …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Heart of the Gospel
Let me give you a parable. In the days of Nero there was great shortness of food in the city of Rome, although there was abundance of corn to be purchased at Alexandria. A certain man who owned a vessel went down to the sea coast, and there he noticed many hungry people straining their eyes toward the sea, watching for the vessels that were to come from Egypt with corn. When these vessels came to the shore, one by one, the poor people wrung their hands in bitter disappointment, for on board the galleys …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

In the Bitter Cold of Winter the Trees Stand Bare of Leaves...
1. In the bitter cold of winter the trees stand bare of leaves, and it seems as if their life, too, had departed for ever, yet in the spring time they put forth new leaves and beautiful flowers, and the fruit begins to show itself. So was it with Me in My crucifixion and resurrection, and so it is with my faithful cross-bearers (2 Cor. iv.8-11; vi.4-10). Though they seem to be crushed and dead beneath their cross they still put forth the beautiful flowers and glorious fruits of eternal life which …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

Clairvoyance
"We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."--2 COR. iv. 18. "Everything that is, is double."--Hermes Trismegistus. "LOOK not at the things which are seen." How can we look not at the things which are seen? If they are seen, how can we help looking at them? "Look at the things which are not seen." How can we look at things which are not seen? Has religion some magic wishing-cap, …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

Conclusion.
NEBICULA est; transibit,"--"It is a little cloud; it will pass away." This was said first, I believe, by Athanasius, of Julian the Apostate who, after a short reign of intense hostility to Christianity, perished with his work, "leaving no wreck behind."[97]97 The same may be applied to all the recent attempts to undermine the faith of humanity in the person of its divine Lord and Saviour. The clouds, great and small, pass away; the sun continues to shine: darkness has its hour; the light is eternal. …
Philip Schaff—The Person of Christ

Meditations of the Blessed State of a Regenerate Man in Heaven.
Here my meditation dazzles, and my pen falls out of my hand; the one being not able to conceive, nor the other to describe, that most excellent bliss, and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. iv. 17; Rom. viii. 18)--whereof all the afflictions of this present life are not worthy--which all the elect shall with the blessed Trinity enjoy, from that time that they shall be received with Christ, as joint-heirs (Rom. viii. 17) into that everlasting kingdom of joy. Notwithstanding, we may take a scantling thereof. …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Out of the Depths
Heinrich Suso 2 Cor. iv. 17 "O Father! not my will, but Thine be done!" Thus with my lips I say; Yet lags the heart, the while the lips would run-- My heart, it sayeth "Nay." "Be comforted, O child of My delight, Though yet thy heart complain; For I would have thee suffer when I smite, Or pain would not be [g]ain. "Were it a chastening if it were not grief? Yet for a moment tears-- Then glows the spring where fell the yellow leaf, Of Heaven's eternal years. "For sorrow is the sorrow of an hour, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Light of a Stone Most Precious
P. G. 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7 God in heaven hath a treasure, Riches none may count or tell; Hath a deep eternal pleasure, Christ, the Son He loveth well. God hath here on earth a treasure, None but He its price may know-- Deep unfathomable pleasure, Christ revealed in saints below. Christ, the light that fills the heavens Shining forth on earth beneath, Through His Spirit freely given Light of life midst shades of death; Down from heaven's unclouded glory God Himself the treasure brought, Closing thus …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The Council of Nicæa.
An ecumenical council was a new experiment. Local councils had long since grown to be a recognised organ of the Church both for legislation and for judicial proceedings. But no precedent as yet prescribed, no ecclesiastical law or theological principle had as yet enthroned, the General Council' as the supreme expression of the Church's mind. Constantine had already referred the case of the Donatists first to a select council at Rome under bishop Miltiades, then to what Augustine (Ep. 43) has been …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Memoir of John Bunyan
THE FIRST PERIOD. THIS GREAT MAN DESCENDED FROM IGNOBLE PARENTS--BORN IN POVERTY--HIS EDUCATION AND EVIL HABITS--FOLLOWS HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS AS A BRAZIER--ENLISTS FOR A SOLDIER--RETURNS FROM THE WARS AND OBTAINS AN AMIABLE, RELIGIOUS WIFE--HER DOWER. 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'--2 Cor 4:7 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.'--Isaiah 55:8. 'Though ye have lien among the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Preaching (ii. ).
For Thy sake, beloved Lord, I will labour in Thy Word; On the knees, in patient prayer; At the desk, with studious care; In the pulpit, seeking still There to utter all Thy will. I pursue the subject of attractive preaching, taking still the word attractive in its worthiest sense, and again laying stress on the necessity of attractiveness of the right sort. We have looked a little already at some of the external requisites to this end; now let us approach some which have to do with matter more …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Fourth Sunday after Trinity Consolation in Suffering, and Patience.
Text: Romans 8, 18-22. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to vanity not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Religious Joy.
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."--Luke ii. 10, 11. There are two principal lessons which we are taught on the great Festival which we this day celebrate, lowliness and joy. This surely is a day, of all others, in which is set before us the heavenly excellence and the acceptableness in God's sight of that state which …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Patience of Man, which is Right and Laudable and Worthy of the Name...
2. The patience of man, which is right and laudable and worthy of the name of virtue, is understood to be that by which we tolerate evil things with an even mind, that we may not with a mind uneven desert good things, through which we may arrive at better. Wherefore the impatient, while they will not suffer ills, effect not a deliverance from ills, but only the suffering of heavier ills. Whereas the patient who choose rather by not committing to bear, than by not bearing to commit, evil, both make …
St. Augustine—On Patience

Edwards -- Spiritual Light
Jonathan Edwards, the New England divine and metaphysician, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703. He was graduated early from Yale College, where he had given much attention to philosophy, became tutor of his college, and at nineteen began to preach. His voice and manner did not lend themselves readily to pulpit oratory, but his clear, logical, and intense presentation of the truth produced a profound and permanent effect upon his hearers. He wrote what were considered the most important …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

Faith in General.
"Through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."--Ephes. ii. 8. When the judicial act of the Triune God, justification, is announced to the conscience, faith begins to be active and expresses itself in works. This leads us to call the attention of our readers to the work of the Holy Spirit, which consists in the imparting of faith. We are saved through faith; and that faith is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. It is very specially a gift of the Triune God, by a peculiar …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Concerning Christian Liberty
CHRISTIAN faith has appeared to many an easy thing; nay, not a few even reckon it among the social virtues, as it were; and this they do, because they have not made proof of it experimentally, and have never tasted of what efficacy it is. For it is not possible for any man to write well about it, or to understand well what is rightly written, who has not at some time tasted of its spirit, under the pressure of tribulation. While he who has tasted of it, even to a very small extent, can never write, …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Lastly, Let us Hear the Lord Himself Delivering Most Plain Judgment on this Matter. ...
23. Lastly, let us hear the Lord Himself delivering most plain judgment on this matter. For, upon His speaking after a divine and fearful manner concerning husband and wife not separating, save on account of fornication, His disciples said to Him, "If the case be such with a wife, it is not good to marry." [2066] To whom He saith, "Not all receive this saying. For there are eunuchs who were so born: but there are others who were made by men: and there are eunuchs, who made themselves eunuchs for …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

He Severely Reproves Abaelard for Scrutinizing Rashly and Impiously, and Extenuating the Power Of, the Secret Things of God.
He severely reproves Abaelard for scrutinizing rashly and impiously, and extenuating the power of, the secret things of God. 17. This is the righteousness of man in the blood of the Redeemer: which this son of perdition, by his scoffs and insinuations, is attempting to render vain; so much so, that he thinks and argues that the whole fact that the Lord of Glory emptied Himself, that He was made lower than the angels, that He was born of a woman, that He lived in the world, that He made trial of our …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Strength and Indwelling.
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that …
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

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