2 Corinthians 4: Jars of Clay

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Although Paul has an unshakable belief in an afterlife (see 1 Corinthians 15), he does not prepare for the next life by sitting around all day waiting for it to arrive. Paul works as hard as anyone has ever worked, but with a new purpose: "So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it" (5:9). He seeks to do God's will on Earth just as it is done in heaven.

Paul's hope for the future, however, keeps him motivated when the crush of life tempts him to lose heart. He is writing this letter just as an intense struggle with the Corinthian church is coming to a head, and as a result, this letter reveals the apostle in one of his lowest, most vulnerable moments. He has, barely, survived hardships "far beyond [his] ability to endure" (1:8)

In his typical style, Paul uses a word picture to express his inner thoughts: "treasure in jars of clay." In his day, jars of clay are nearly as common- and as disposable- as cardboard boxes are today. You would not expect to store valuables in a container that, in essence, consists of baked dirt. Yet, Paul also recognizes that God has chosen to entrust the "treasure" of the gospel to ordinary people such as himself, people who in some ways resemble breakable jars of clay. At this point, beset by difficulties, Paul feels about as durable as one of these jars.

Reflection

Amazingly, God continues to choose mere humans as his personal representatives. Paul is determined to draw attention to the treasure inside him, not to himself. As he writes, "what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Everything we own in life can crumble like a clay jar, but the one treasure that we all have- God's grace- is rock solid.

2 Corinthians 2: A Mysterious Visit

For we are to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Those who try to piece together Paul's life story from fragments in the two Corinthian letters and the book of Acts usually come away puzzled. Paul, addressing friends who knew that history intimately, saw no need to review every stage of their relationship. Yet for us, reading centuries later, some chronology would help explain his allusions and his emotional state. Many scholars believe that two events occurred to which Paul refers only in passing: the "painful visit" and the letter written "out of great distress."

In the first two chapters Paul explains a change of plans whereby he has decided not to visit Corinth because he doesn't want to make "another painful visit." What visit was he referring to? During his first visit to Corinth, spanning 18 months, the church took shape (Acts 18:11). Paul probably would not have described that time as a "painful visit," for his initial relationship with them was basically positive. Evidently he made a second visit to Corinth, not recorded in Acts, that included a painful confrontation. Paul planned a third visit to Corinth, but postponed it because he didn't want to stir up the conflict. Later, he wondered about rescheduling that third visit. (12:14; 13:1)

Second Corinthians also mentions a letter written out of great distress and with many tears (2:4; 7:8). This letter, coming after Paul's unsettling second visit, contained such strong wording that he feared the Corinthians' response. He fleetingly regretted having written the letter. Had it ruptured their relationship? While he preached in the seaport town of Troas, Paul anxiously awaited some report of their reaction, through Titus.

One can imagine Paul rushing to the dock as ships from Macedonia came to unload, fervently scanning the vessels for some sign of Titus. Finally, unable to find peace of mind, he left his ministry in Troas to seek out Titus in Macedonia.

News from Titus at last calmed Paul. The Corinthians had indeed repented (7:7-9) and now wanted to restore ties with him. Feeling encouraged, Paul contemplated a third visit as he wrote 2 Corinthians. He used the letter to rebuild his relationship with them and to spell out his reasons for coming.

Reflection

I think most of us at one time or another have experienced a tear in a relationship like the one described here in Paul's letter. We can find ourselves wondering aloud whether or not we have been too hard on someone while at the same time acknowledging our own lingering pain. The key is how we find healing in the damaged relationship. And like everything in life, Christ can lead us to a reconciliation.

1 Corinthians 15: the Last Enemy

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

Much of 1 Corinthians centers on issues of personal behavior involving rambunctious church members. After tackling each of those problems, Paul turns his attention to a question of doctrine, one that looms before him as the most important issue of all. People are challenging the Christian belief in an afterlife. Death, they say, is the end.

Throughout history, many people have taken such a position. In Jesus' day, a Jewish sect called Sadducees denied the resurrection from the dead. Doubters persist today, such as Buddhists, Marxists, and most atheists. Some New Age advocates present death as a natural part of the cycle of life. "Why resist it or consider it bad?" they ask.

The Corinthian church soon learns not to voice that opinion around the apostle Paul. To him, life after death is no fairy tale, but rather the fulcrum of his entire faith. If there is not afterlife, he thunders, the Christian message is a lie. If there is no afterlife, he has no reason to continue as a minister, Christ's death is merely wasted blood, and Christians are the most pitiable of all people.

The Bible presents a gradually developing emphasis on the afterlife. Old Testament Jews had only the vaguest conception of life after death. As Paul points out, Jesus' resurrection from the dead changed all that, giving the world decisive proof that God has the power and the will to overcome death. Chapter 15 weaves together the threads of Christian belief about death. With no hesitation, Paul brands death "the enemy," the last enemy to be destroyed.

Reflection

This chapter often gets read at funerals, with good reason. As people gather around a casket, they sense, as if by instinct, the unnaturalness and sadness of death. To such people, to all of us, this passage offers words of hope. It shows how death is finally conquered and becomes not an end, but a beginning.

1 Corinthians 13: The Highest Spiritual Gift of All

If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

During one of the most stressful times of his career, Paul makes his first visit to the Greek city of Corinth (Acts 17-18). Lynch mobs chased him out of Thessalonica and Berea. The next stop, Athens, brought on a different kind of confrontation, with intellectual scoffers. Paul arrives at Corinth in a fragile emotional state.

Soon opposition springs up in Corinth too. Jewish leaders become abusive and haul Paul into court. It seems the harassed apostle will have no rest from his enemies. But in the midst of this crisis, God visits Paul with a special message of comfort: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” (Act 18:9-10).

These last words must have startled Paul, for Corinth is known mainly for its lewdness and drunken brawling. The Corinthians revere the goddess of love, and their “worship” practices resemble orgies. Corinth seems the last place on Earth to expect a church to take root. Yet, exactly that happens. A Jewish couple opens their home to Paul, and for the next 18 months he stays there to nurture an eager band of converts.

In his letters to the church in Corinth, Paul must deal with the many controversies that arise in such a diverse congregation. His intimate concern for them produces some of his most memorable writing. This chapter, “the love chapter,” endures as one of his most famous. The vision of love Paul describes contrasts sharply with that familiar to most Corinthians.

Reflection
I love the translation found in the Message…

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end

1 Corinthians 12: Lessons from the Human Body

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

Can you get along in life without eyes? Of course, but you must make adjustments. You must rely more on other senses and depend on friends, or perhaps a seeing-eye dog, for extra help. Regardless of what adjustments you make, however, your body will remain incomplete without eyes. You will miss out on color and design and all the visual delights this world offers.
An eyeless body can cope, but a bodiless eye is unimaginable. The most beautiful eyes in the world, when detached from a body, are lifeless and worthless. Eyes need a body that will bring them blood and receive their nerve impulses.

In chapter 12, Paul gives a clever anatomy lesson, with a purpose. By comparing members of the church of Christ to parts of a human body, he neatly explains two complementary truths the Corinthians have failed to comprehend. Any part of a body, he says- such as an eye or a foot- makes a valuable contribution to the whole body. Whenever a single member is missing, the entire body suffers. And, he continues, no member can survive if isolated from the rest. Alone, an eye is useless. All parts must cooperate to form a single, unified body.

Paul relied on body images to explain both the diversity and unity of god’s followers. The body analogy fit so well that he referred to it two dozen times in his various letters. It became his favorite way of portraying the church.

A church as diverse as Corinth knew about the differences among various members, so Paul’s letter to them stressed the unity party of the analogy. How can diverse people work together in a spiritual body? He answered that question with the famous lyrical description of love in chapter 13. After that eloquent statement, he went on to discuss the Corinthians’ various spiritual gifts.

Reflection

Chapters 12-14 address issues that troubled the Corinthian church and that still disturb our church today. I think the solution, in our time as well as Paul’s, is for each person to respect other members of the body and to take direction from Jesus Christ, the head.

1 Corinthians 7: When Everything Goes Wrong

"What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short...for this world in its present form is passing away."

"If anything can go wrong, it will." This tongue-in-cheek principle, known as Murphy's Law, is cited by economists, sports team owners and big-city mayors. Human nature somehow guarantees that nothing turns out quite the way it's supposed to. And the church at Corinth provides a darkly shining example of Murphy's Law.

To be sure, Corinthian Christians started out with the odds stacked against them. Imagine a church composed of converted idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, thieves, drunkards and swindlers. (6: 9-11). The church made up of people from such backgrounds soon encountered a thicket of problems. Paul faced a huge challenge: For one thing, he had to convince these people of the immorality of sexual activities that had been a part of everyday worship under their old religion.

First Corinthians is Paul's careful response to that rash of problems, some of which had been posed to him as questions in a letter (7:1). Many of his answers relate directly to Corinth's local situation. In that culture, as in Muslim countries today, whether or not to wear a veil was a major issue for women. (11:3-10). Eating meat sacrificed to pagan idols also disturbed some new Christians (10:18-33).

Reflection

Many problems discussed in this letter turn up in every culture: divisions in the church, lawsuits, immorality, the single life, the extent of Christian freedoms, differing views of worship and the place of tongue-speaking and other spiritual gifts. Not every breakdown in Corinth will recur in churches today, but Paul's principles apply to our own unpredictable experiences with Murphy's Law.

1 Corinthians 4: An Angry Letter from Home

I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children.

No other letter in the New Testament reveals such a wide range of Paul's emotions. At his own financial expense, he had invested 18 risk-filled months in Corinth. But afterward his rebellious "children" had launched personal attacks against him. Paul reacted like any parent first informed of his child's shocking behaviour. His moods in 1 Corinthians bounce from anger to shame, from sorrow to indignation. In short, this letter equates to an intimate, well-deserved scolding from a grieved parent.

Chapter 3, for example, begins with a stern lecture to "mere infants in Christ." This leads to biting sarcasm (4:8), which melts into the tender pleas of a spiritual father. Six times in chapter 6 Paul asks, "Do you not know...?" Finally, in chapter 7, he gets to the practical questions that have prompted his letter in the first place.

The apostle Paul was a superbly educated logician who could skillfully weave together history and philosophy. But he also brooded over his missionary churches like a parent. He asked the Corinthians pointedly, "Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?" (4:21). In this letter, we see a little of both.

Reflection

It can be a rather humbling experience whenever a parent, teacher, boss, or pastor tries to "straighten you out." I think human instinct drives us to automatically become defensive and utter words like..."what, I'm not doing anything wrong!" I loved Pastor Larson's three questions that he posed to us the other day when we are faced with a moral dilemma- especially in the gray areas: Does it serve God? Does it hurt others? Does it hurt myself?