[soc.religion.christian] The Treasure In Earthen Vessels -- Part III

ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (10/03/90)

                       The Treasure In Earthen Vessels
                                 PART III

              II Corinthians 1:8, 9;  4:7-10;  6:8-10;  12:7-10

I love to recall the prayer of the early church for Peter's deliverance
from the hands of wicked men.  When Peter returned and knocked at the door,
the believers said it was his angel.  Do you see?  There was faith there,
true faith, the kind of faith that could bring an answer from God;  but the
weakness of man was still present, and that weakness was clearly manifest.
Today the faith excercised by many of God's people is greater than that 
excercised by the believers gathered in the house of Mary, the mother of 
John Mark.  And they are so positive about it.  They are certain that God
will send an angel, and every door in the prison will swing open.  If a gust
of wind blows, there is Peter knocking at the door!  If the rain begins to 
patter, there is Peter knocking at the door again!  Those people are too 
credulous;  their faith is not the genuine article.  In Christianity the earthen
vessel is always in evidence, though the question is never one of the earthen
vessel but of the treasure within it.  In the life of a normal Christian,
just when faith rises positively to lay hold of God, a question may 
simultaneously arise as to whether he perhaps might be mistaken.  When he is 
strongest in the Lord, he is often most conscious of inability;  when he is
most courageous, he becomes aware of fear within;  when he is most joyful,
a sense of distress breaks upon him.  This paradox is evidence that there is 
treasure in the earthen vessel. 

                  GOD'S POWER IS MANIFEST IN MAN'S WEAKNESS

Paul tells us that he had a thorn in the flesh.  What that thorn was I do not
know, but I do know that it was a weakening factor and that Paul prayed 
three times for its removal.  But God answered: "My grace is sufficient 
for thee, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  How can the Lord's power
be manifested to perfection in a weak man?  Christianity is that very thing.
Christianity is not the removal of weakness, nor is it merely the manifestation
of divine power; it is the manifestation of divine power in human weakness.
Christianity does not bring in a marvelous new order of angelic beings, but 
human being in whose weakness the divine power is displayed.  Let me use an 
illustration.

I was once seriously ill.  During a period of two months I was x-rayed three
times, and each time the report was very grave.  I prayed, and I believed.
I had hoped that God would heal my sickness, but though several times I 
experienced a great increase of strength, the root of the trouble remained,
so the possibility of relapse was always present.  I was annoyed.  What was
the use of a temporary increase of strength?  One day, as I was reading the 
Bible, I came to the chapter in II Corinthians where Paul prayed three times
that God would remove his "thorn."  God would not do so, but said:  "My grace
is sufficient for thee."  Because of the presence of the thorn he was granted
an increase in grace.  Because the weakness persisted, grace was added.  
I saw--This is Christianity!  I prayed for a clearer seeing, and the thought
came to me of a boat that could not pass because of a boulder jutting out five
feet from the river bed.  I had been praying in effect:  "Lord, if it please
thee, remove the boulder."  Now a question arose within:  Would it be better
to have the five foot boulder removed, or to let the Lord raise the level 
of the water by five feet?  I answered:  It would be better to have the level
of the water raised.  From that day many of my difficulties were gone.  I dare 
not say that I was never tempted;  but, praise God, I discovered that he 
has resource to deal with difficulties other than by their removal. 
Christianity is not a matter of removing boulders, but of raising the level
of the water.  Have you difficulties?  Yes.  Have you weaknesses?  Yes, we 
all have.  But do bear in mind that what the Lord is after is not, on the
negative side, the removal of our weaknesses; nor is it even, on the positive
side, the indiscriminate bestowal of strength.  All the strength He gives
is manifest in weakness.  All the treasure we have is in earthen vessels.

                MAN'S WEAKNESS DOES NOT LIMIT GOD'S POWER

It is cause to great gratitude to God that no human weakness need limit the
divine power.  We are apt to think that were sadness exists, there joy cannot
exist;  that where there are tears, there cannot be praise;  that where weakness
is present, power must be absent; that where there is doubt, there cannot 
be faith.  But let me proclaim this with a clear voice, that God is seeking 
to bring us to the point where we recognize that all that is of man is only
intended to provide an earthen vessel to contain the divine treasure.  
Henceforth, when we are conscious of depression, let us not give way to
depression, but to the Lord;  and the treasure will shine forth all the more
gloriously because of the earthen vessel.  I am not theorizing here;  I know 
what I am talking about.  Herein lies the the glory of Christianity, that God's
treasure can be manifest in every earthen vessel.  Christianity is a paradox,
and it is as we Christians live this paradoxical life that we get to know
God. The further we go on in the Christian life, the more paradoxical it 
becomes.  The treasure becomes increasingly manifest, but the earthen vessel
is the earthen vessel still.  This is very beautiful.  Just look at the 
divine patience in a man who by nature is impatient, and compare the sight
of that with a man whom nothing can ever move. See the divine humility in
one who by nature is haughty, and compare that with one who is always of a 
retiring disposition.  See the strength of God in a person of weak
temperament, and compare that with a naturally strong character.  The difference
is trememdous.

People who are naturally weak are always apt to think they are no good because
of the earthen quality of the vessel;  but there is no need for dejection,
since the treasure within the vessel is of such a quality as to shine forth
with added splendor from within such a vessel.  Brothers and sisters, let me
say once again that the whole question is one of the quality of the treasure,
not of the quality of the vessel that contains it.  It is folly to stress 
the negative aspect;  our concern is with the positive.  The Lord is able to
manifest Himself in the life of every one of us, and when that comes to pass
many will behold the treasure.

From "The Treasure in Earthen Vessels" by Watchman Nee.

-----
Robert W. Johnson
Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland
robert@kontu.utu.fi 	(InterNet)
robert@firien.bitnet    (BITNET)

The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer.