The heavens are telling of the glory of God, And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Here is how King David described God's creatorial splendor: The sheer magnitude and magnificence of the physical universe we humans inhabit are mind boggling. The 'glory of God' has been defined as 'the outshining of God's presence.' That presence can be detected in the marvelous creation God brought into being by the word of His power. The earthenware vessel is the Christ follower, and the treasure is found in verse 6 of 2 Corinthians 4:įor 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. Paul's use of contrast is clear: On the one hand you have an inexpensive earthenware vessel, but on the other hand you have a treasure of inestimable worth. True enough, then and now it can be sculpted into something beautiful, not to mention practical, but the material itself and the ordinary vessels crafted out of clay are simply not in the same category as, say, precious or semi-precious stones. In Paul's day, as in ours, clay was not a precious commodity. Now, on to the apostle Paul and the pericope in question. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

The missionary martyr, Jim Elliot, who died in 1956 (along with four other missionaries) attempting to bring the gospel to a barbaric tribe in the heart of the Amazon forest, paraphrased Jesus' statement as follows: My favorite one (if you'll indulge me) comes from Jesus, and it is included in all three Synoptics:įor whoever wishes to save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it (Matthew 16:25 NASB Updated).įor whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it (Mark 8:35).įor whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it (Luke 9:24). The power of paradox is found primarily in stark contrasts and apparent contradictions. The Bible is filled with paradoxes, and Paul's analogy in which he compares our human bodies to vessels/jars of clay is one such paradox.

Leisure vessel meaning