2 Corinthians 4 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence

On my first Sunday here at Tyrone, Pastor Walter Lorenz preached from a portion of this chapter and reminded us numerous times that we are merely clay pots.  In fact, he said those words, “clay pots,” so many times, that I can still hear them reverberating in my head even now as I write this.  Indeed, we are merely clay pots; from dust we came and to dust we shall return.  But for those of us indwelled by the Spirit of Christ, we are more than just clay pots, for inside us is a treasure more valuable than we can even imagine.  The God who created all things in heaven and on earth lives within these clay pots; therefore, there is within us great wisdom from beyond the grave, great power that surpasses anything we are capable of, and great love that would astound all those around us if we did not so often grieve the Holy Spirit and break fellowship with Christ.

And the longer we walk with Christ, the greater opportunity we have to tap into this treasure and to put it on full display for the world to see.  Even for those superannuated Christians who are too old for anything else that this life has to offer them, there is still much opportunity for spiritual renewal and deep growth in the Lord.  In v.16, Paul says, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”  That is why the psalmist can say in Psalm 92:14, “They will still bear fruit in old age.”  Obviously, he is not suggesting that any senescent Christian woman will once again be able to have children, but that she will continue to bear much spiritual fruit, regardless of her age.

In the same way, the prophet can say in Isaiah 40:29-31, the Lord “gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Obviously, he does not mean that we should expect to see Christian octogenarians competing in the Olympics.  Here, again, he is not referring to physical strength, which is waning, but to spiritual might, which is waxing continually for those who are abiding in Christ, even for those who are suffering much affliction in their earthly bodies.

Of course, this doesn’t happen automatically, which is why we still see many older Christians who act like mere babes in Christ.  It is only those who continue to look to the things that are unseen that have this kind of growth and display this kind of treasure.  In the previous chapter, Paul said in verse eighteen, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”  In order for us to go from strength to strength as the psalmist says, we must be transformed from glory to more glory and that can only be done by beholding the glory of the Lord himself, Jesus Christ, that hidden treasure in clay pots.

So whether you are young or old, today is a new day.  Don’t let this day pass you by without beholding the glory of the Lord in God’s Word that you might reflect that glory more today than you did yesterday all to the honor and praise of God Most High.