Carrying Around Death - Vineyard Christian Church of Crystal Lake

Carrying around death (2 Cor 4:7-12)

2 Cor 4:7This treasure is the glorious good news about Christ. “Treasure” here refers to the Gospel.
Then Paul compares the gospel minister to a piece of Palestinian pottery.
To be God’s “vessel” is to be his instrument in carrying out a specific service—in this case, the gospel ministry.
The verse ends with “to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us”
The only way this Gospel message can be carried in earthen vessels is because of God’s all surpassing power and not human strength.

Verse 8 Paul now goes on to use an accepted literary device of the day called res gestae, or “cataloging of deeds.”

Normally when this literary device is used it is a positive list of accomplishments. Sort of like a resume
- In American substantive law, it refers to the start-to-end period of a felony.
Here Paul highlights four exploits that would not normally be considered impressive or desirable.
Let look at this list of hardships.
First, he is hard pressed on every side, but not crushed.
The verb hard pressed means “to press in hard against someone,” or we might say today, to squeeze the life out of a person,
But then, the term not crushed indicates that the pressure never got to the point where there was no escape or way out for Paul.
Then, as the verse continues, perplexed but not in despair.
In the Greek There is a play on words here that the English misses. Homonym.
The first word translated as ‘Perplexed” means to be at a loss of how to act, while the second word which sounds similar in Greek means to be utterly at a loss (i.e., in extreme despair).
So he is confused about how to act, yet he is not in extreme despair.

Verse 9 The Greek verb translated as “persecuted” here means “to pursue” with the idea of tracking a prey or enemy.

Yet, despite that, God never abandoned
Then, he is struck down by the enemy but not destroyed.
The word struck down here in the Greek means to throw to the Ground.
- It is also an ongoing verb form. Continuing to happen.

Verse 10 I think this is where Paul finds the hope in all his hardships.

The expression here of ‘Carry around” refers to the itinerant life of the gospel preacher.
- And refers back to the earthen vessel.
And when he says “Always: he is pointing out the commonness rather than exceptional nature of these experiences. These experiences he just listed are always happening to him, not just rarely.
Now here is something really important to see, The death of Jesus is actually “the dying of Jesus”—a term that stresses the ongoing nature of the process.

Verse 11 Sound like a contradiction. We carry death so that we can reveal life.

The wording, “Given over” used here is the same legal term used in the Gospels of Jesus’ being handed over to the authorities.

There is a vey real sense here that the gospel ministry is being pictured as a “delivering up into death’s custody.
The verb is present tense: “constantly delivered up.” Or given over. Some translations use the word “continually” . . . Continually given over or delivered up to death.
we are continually being surrendered into the hands of death” captures well the sense.
“For Jesus’ sake,” makes clear he is not referring to the aging process or to the normal trials of everyday life.
Paul is thinking of the hardships and troubles that he experienced as a result of carrying out his ministry of the Gospel.
But this is why Paul likens the gospel minister to the expendable, perishable clay pot.
- to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
People need to see the power of Jesus and the Gospel working in us, especially in times of persecution.

Verse 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Because Paul allowed death to be manifested in himself through suffering, the Corinthians now have life in Christ.
- He carried around the death of Christ so that the Corinthians might have life.