It’s not About the Vessel
It is not About the Vessel
2 Corinthians 4:6–7
“For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (NASB 2020)
God spoke light into being. Apart from Him, there is no light. Scripture makes this abundantly clear saying things like, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5b and “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’” John 8:12 and “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” John 9:5 (NASB 2020)
But it doesn’t stop there, Saint. Scripture also says, “You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14a (NASB 2020)
This is true because the Light has been placed within you. You contain the Light and the Light emanates from you. As the passage says, He shines in your heart so that the Light of the knowledge of God and His glory can be seen by others in the face of Christ.
Saint, you are a member of the body of Christ. You might hear that you are His hands and feet, and there is truth in that, but you are also His face. You are what Christ looks like to the world. That might sound presumptuous or maybe scary, because you may think that you present a poor image of Him.
Our passage goes on to address that very thing. It says that this treasure is held in “earthen containers.” You know, like rough pottery. No matter how you look, no matter your faults, cracks, and chips, you contain a very great treasure. You contain the very Light of God.
It reminds me of the earthen pots used for ceremonial washing that Jesus used to provide the best wine for a wedding that once took place in Cana of Galilee (see John 2:1-11). It also reminds me of the many containers of oil that came from one small container supplying the needs of a widow and her son (see 2 Kings 4:1-7).
It is not about the vessel. It's about His never-ending all-sufficient supply. It's about the power of God that you carry around in your unremarkable body. What treasure you bear. What blessing you bring.
