Christ, who is the image of God

 

Christ, who is the image of God

 

(2 Corinthians 4:4-7)In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Chapter 4 follows from Chapter 3, and Paul explains that the glory of God is not in the law or in man, but only in Jesus Christ. Those who opposed the Corinthian Church with misunderstandings of Paul's teachings and ministry were those who insisted that the law be kept according to the Jewish tradition. They were still guilty of incest in the open culture of Corinth, without a proper understanding of Christian norms (food, sex, marriage, legal proceedings, etc.), bound to the law. He made a second visit to the Corinthian church.

 Although no one recorded it in Acts, it can be inferred that there was a heartbreaking visit by referring to it as the third visit in 2 Corinthians (12:14; 13:1-2). In particular, because it was a heartbreaking visit to Paul, it was the car that had even decided not to go to Corinth again. As a result, the apostle Paul tried to solve the problem by sending Titus to the church to learn more about what was happening. Paul, who wrote 1 Corinthians at Ephesus, went to Troas and waited to hear Titus' news. When Titus' arrival was delayed due to a prostrate, Paul moved to Macedonia and waited. Eventually, he met Titus in Macedonia and heard the news of the solution to the problems in the Corinthian church and the conversion and repentance of those who opposed Paul. .

『Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.』 Office means to serve or to serve. Therefore, office is a mission given to those who are favored by God's mercy. When he becomes the master of grace and office, it is a lie. This obscures the Gospel, obscures the heart, and prevents the splendor of the Gospel of the glory of Christ. That is why Paul firmly defines the purpose of the office. 『For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.” Through this, Paul makes it clear that the master of grace and office is God, not man.

Second, 『But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.』

Earthenware is a bowl made of earth. Rather than referring to something like ceramics that are well-baked and expensive, it refers to a container made for continued use in everyday life. However, there is a treasure in this earthenware. Firstly, "we" means Paul and his co-workers. However, it can be said that this includes not only them, but also all Christians who have received “this office”. First, from a human point of view, Paul seems to be merely an expression of humility to refer to himself as an earthen vessel. Although Paul learned a lot, had passion, and had a good background to be recognized in the Jewish community, he had his own weaknesses. His enemies accused Paul of writing well, but not having power in words. Paul did not specifically refute it. His lack of power in speech would have meant that he was not particularly good at the eloquence that was recognized at the time. By their standards, Paul's preaching was poor.

Those who were trying to shame Paul were well aware of this, and thus condemned and attacked Paul. Regarding that, Paul did not say it was not. He rather admitted it all. He admitted that he was an earthenware. People could not hold the treasure in the earthenware, so he attacked that Paul had no true treasure. Paul was an earthenware. We are also earthenware. We are not strong and we are not wise. We are humble, despised, and have nothing to boast about. We are those who fall into sin. Paul says that we, such earthen vessels, have a treasure.

This treasure, in verse 4:1, Paul said, "We have received this office." In other words, this treasure is this position we have received. The reason this office is a treasure is that it is the office of the glorious new covenant. The new covenant is glorious because it allows us to see the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord is the glory of God. After all, this office is precious because it is the light of knowing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that is, the light of the Gospel.

God has placed treasures in earthenware. The reason is why we are weak. 『That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.』Through the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit, a person is saved and his life is changed. Those who rejoice in sin and live as slaves to sin now hate sin, and those who have died to God become new creatures. Paul describes it as a very great power. This ability is the ability to change people. This is the ability to save the dead. This is the ability to let light shine in darkness. When we see the work of this amazing ability, we naturally come to think of the source and source of that ability.

Since God has power, we do not need someone capable of making up for that need. God already has all the power to save people. The question is how to reveal it. God reveals the power of God by placing treasures in his earthenware. It is the very great power of God that no one can doubt. He is that God used Paul's weakness like that, used other advanced people of faith, and used our weakness.