Passage Explorer

2 Corinthians 4

Setting the scene
Who wrote it
Paul
Who it was for
The church in Corinth
What was happening
Treasure in clay jars: the light of Christ, and a ministry that does not lose heart
Read the full background in the book overview

What’s happening

"Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don't faint." Paul has renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness or handling God's word deceitfully; by the open statement of the truth he commends himself to every conscience in the sight of God. If the gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, "in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them." They do not preach themselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and themselves as servants for Jesus' sake. "For it is the God who said, 'Light shall 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." But "we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves." Paul describes being pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, pursued but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in their body. "So then death works in us, but life in you." Quoting Psalm 116, "I believed, and therefore I spoke," they believe and speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise them too. Therefore they do not lose heart: though the outward person is decaying, the inward person is being renewed day by day. "For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we don't look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen."

Why the setting matters

The clay jar was the cheapest, most ordinary household container in the ancient world, used for storage and easily broken, and valuables were sometimes hidden inside (the Dead Sea Scrolls were kept in jars). Paul's image is that the treasure of the gospel is carried in fragile, unimpressive people, so that no one mistakes the source of the power. That is a direct answer to opponents in Corinth who impressed people with eloquence and credentials. The list of hardships in 4:8-9 follows a style common in Greek writing, where a wise man's troubles proved his character, but Paul reverses it: his troubles show that the power belongs to God. "The god of this world" (literally "of this age") is usually taken to mean Satan; some commentators read it as a more general power of the present age. The sentence "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus" is not about masochism but about the way Paul's suffering matches Jesus' and so makes the life of Jesus visible.

Read 2 Corinthians 4 (World English Bible)

Who’s in this chapter

Paul

Describes the treasure and the clay jar.

Jesus

The image of God and the light of the knowledge of God's glory.

The believers in Corinth

The ones for whom Paul's affliction brings life.

Talk it through

  1. "We have this treasure in clay jars." Why does Paul think a fragile messenger is part of the plan?
  2. Paul lists four pairs: pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing, and so on. Which pair speaks most to your own experience?
  3. What does it mean that the "inner person is being renewed day by day" while the outer one is decaying?
  4. "We look not at the things which are seen but at those which are unseen." How does that change how we weigh trouble?

Read 2 Corinthians 4

World English Bible

1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint. 2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying, 4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. 5For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake, 6seeing it is God who said, “Light will 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.

7But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves. 8We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; 9pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed; 10always carrying in the body the putting to death of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12So then death works in us, but life in you. 13But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, “I believed, and therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and therefore we also speak; 14knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

16Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, 18while we don’t look 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.

Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources