ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (10/03/90)
The Treasure In Earthen Vessels
PART II
II Corinthians 1:8, 9; 4:7-10; 6:8-10; 12:7-10
Here is man who is afraid, yet he is strong; he is encompassed by foes,
yet he is not bound; he looks as though he is overcome, yet he is not
destroyed. You can see he is weak, yet he declares that when he is weak
he is strong. You can see that he bears in his body the dying of Jesus,
yet he says the life of Jesus is also manifested in his body. You hear his
"evil report," but you also hear his "good report." He appears to be a
"deceiver," nevertheless he is "true." He seems to be "unknown," yet he is
"well known." He is as one "dying" and still he "lives." He is "as
sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing: as poor, yet making many rich: as having
nothing, yet possessing all things." Here is a Christian!
A SPIRITUAL PARADOX
Do you realize what it means to be a Christian? To be a Christian is to be
a person in whom there is a fundamental inconsistency. A Christian is one
in whom there is an inherent paradox. This paradox is of God. Some people
concieve of Christianity as being all tresure and no earthen vessel. If
they meet the earthen vessel anywhere, they feel that things are all wrong.
But God's conception is totally different from man's. Here is God's thought:
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels." So it is not a hopeless case
if the earthen vessel is in evidence. God'd purpose does not nullify the
earthen vessel; it puts the treasure there. It is always in the earthen
vessel that the treasure is found.
Let me say that there is not a soul whose earthen vessel is so earthen that
the treasure cannot appear in it. The beauty of the treasure is enhanced
by the earthen vessel in which it is placed. Paul was a man, a real man,
but the life of the Lord shone out through his life. He as not an automaton;
he had feelings. And he was neither invariably sorrowful, nor was he
invariably glad. At the very time when he was sorrowful he was also glad.
It is characteristic of Christianity that even while the tears flow the face
can relax into a smile.
We keep hoping that when we meet Christians we shall see no trace of the earthen
vessel, yet when we meet some of the Lord's truest children we immediately
recognize their distinctive personalities. We recognize what kind of persons
they are in themselves and also what kind of persons they are in the Lord.
I knew a sister that had a very quick temper. She was quick at everything--
quick to speak, quick to write letters, and quick to destroy the letters that
she wrote. You could see at once what sort of person she was, yet at the same
time you could see the Lord in her. You could see her suffering under trial,
but at the same time you could see her spiritual wealth. You could see the
treasure in an earthen vessel.
Many people tell me that they have prayed for a certain thing; they affirm
that they have faith in God and are absolutely certain He has heard their
prayer and granted their request. Yet nothing happens. Why? Because their
faith is too wonderful. The treasure is not in an earthen vessel.
Many other people have come to me and told of their fears and misgivings
even while they sought to trust the Lord. They made their requests, and
they laid hold of the promises of God; yet doubts continually arose unbidden.
Let me tell you that true faith cannot be killed by doubt. The treasure of
true faith appears in an earthen vessel of doubt, and the earthen vessel
does not nullify the treasure. In such an environment the treasure shines
forth with enhanced beauty. Do not misunderstand me, I am not encouraging
doubt; but I do wish to make this clear, that Christianity is not a matter
of treasure only, but of treasure in earthen vessels.
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.
Part III will follow on Monday, the Lord willing.