Jars of Clay Prepared for an Eternal Weight of Glory
February 22, 2026
Preached by Ron Smith
Sermon Discussion Questions
Reflect on being a jar of clay. How does that make you feel? How does that push you to God?
How have you seen God preserve you in your walk with him?
What are you currently going through that you need to remember his sustaining power?
How has God used you to share the gospel with people that seem very distant to the gospel?
What are the afflictions that you are going through? What promise from this passage do you need to hold on to?
What scales are you using to weigh your life? Do you have the eternal weight of glory in view? If not what needs to change in you?
Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 4:7-18
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
You might not realize it but coming up with a sermon to preach on a Sunday morning can be a struggle. It can be a struggle for various reasons. Sometimes it is simply because the passage is difficult to understand. It takes more time to study in order to make sure we understand it correctly. Three weeks ago, Noah preached one of those passage – the last half of chapter 3. There was a little more effort put in to try and understand what Paul was getting at. We had discussions throughout the week about it as he would run things past us to get our opinion or simply share what he was learning. Then there are weeks like this week. The content from these verses is pretty straight forward. Not difficult to understand. But the struggle I had was how do I take all of this content and put it into one cohesive sermon. I came up with several preaching outlines throughout the day on Wednesday, and just could not get it dialed in.
Both of these struggles are similar in that we have a glorious message, the glorious Word of God that reveals the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ and we want to communicate it correctly and well. When we bump up against these struggles we are bumping up against our inadequacies. We have limited knowledge, we have limited resources, we can feel insufficient for such an important task.
All in all, I think this maps on well with what Paul is saying so far in 2 Corinthians. He has made it clear that he has bumped up against his weakness numerous times as he has shared the good news of Jesus around the world. He even says in the beginning of chapter 3 that he is not sufficient, he is not adequate to be God’s minister. It is only because his sufficiency comes from God that he is able to do what he does.
And yet, there has been success in ministry. As we saw last week, God is able to speak light into the darkness and cause blind people to see the light of the gospel of the glory of a Christ. It’s powerful. It’s glorious.
There is a tension. Our weakness and God’s glory and power. The question that is weighing on me as I approached the verses we have before us today is how does our weakness go together with God’s power and glory (oil and water)?
You feel this same tension as well. As you go and minister to the people around you, you might feel helpless, you might wonder how it is even possible. “How do I open the blind eyes of my colleague who wants nothing to do with the Jesus? How do I help my children grow to love Jesus? How do I turn wayward children back to the cross? How do I encourage someone who is dying?”
How does our weakness go together with God’s power and glory?
Well, from these verses I would like to propose three answers, plus one more. Like a bonus, and it’s a doozy. The three answers are: we are jars of clay, we are persevered by God, and we will be raised. And then we will get to the +1.
We are jars of clay
First, we are jars of clay. Look with me at verse 7.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
“This treasure,” Paul says, but what is “this treasure?” In our modern world that puts an emphasis on the high view of self, we might think that we are the treasure. But no. We are the jars of clay.
This treasure refers back to what Paul said in the verses just above ours. Namely, the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ. It is that light that shines in our heart “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (vs 6)
This glorious treasure is placed in jars of clay. Weak, fragile, jars, made out of dirt. Now we don’t use jars of clay that much these days other than to put our plants in. But in Paul’s time they were used quite a bit. One such use was as lamps. You have probably seen them in museums. Small clay pots that look like they are in the shape of a pitcher. They would put oil in it and a little string and light it up.
They were common and cheap. They broke easily and couldn’t be repaired.
“We have this treasure in jars of clay” Paul says. Doesn’t make sense. Why on earth would you put a treasure in a jar of clay? Let’s put diamonds in a paper bag. Let’s haul our computer around in a plastic shopping bag. Doesn’t make sense.
But there is a reason: to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
If vessels of gold and silver contained the treasure, the attention might be taken away from the treasure inside. We might confuse the treasure for the vessel. But by placing the treasure of the gospel in a jar of clay we are continually reminded that it’s not about us. It’s not up to us to open people’s eyes so that they can see the beauty of Jesus. Only God has the power to do that.
Let that encourage you. In your feelings of inadequacy, that you are not prepared as you should be, or that nagging self-doubt that no one will listen to you, it’s OK. God is the power. God is the power in the limited and sometimes weak words you use. You don’t have to be able to stand up here and give a sermon to tell people about Jesus. You don’t have to be a good debater or be an extrovert. Even if you are good with your words, it’s not dependent on your giftedness or your talents. The power belongs to God. You just need to share the simple message of the gospel. God does the work.
We are weak, fragile jars of clay that God has placed a treasure in. The power belongs to him.
We are preserved by God
The second thing we see as we read through these verses that help us understand how our weakness and God’s power and glory go together is that we are preserved by God.
Look with me again at verses 8 and 9.
8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
These verses have a distinctive ring to them with the four quick couplets shot out in rapid fire. They all work together to encompass the whole of the Christian experience of living for Jesus in a world that wants nothing to do with him. The word afflicted has the idea of being pressed in against. Just like we are being surrounded by attacks all-around of all different types and we have nowhere to run. But we are not crushed.
Then Paul includes the mental anguish we can go through. We are perplexed. We are bewildered, confused, at a loss. “What is going on?” But we are not driven to despair.
We are persecuted. We are mocked, made fun of, attacked verbally and physically simply for our faith. When you are in those kinds of situations you can feel alone. But we are not forsaken. What a great promise to hold on to.
Finally, as a summary, we are struck down. We feel that we have been hit so hard that we are knocked down. But we are not destroyed.
This doesn’t make sense. We just said we are jars of clay. What happens when a jar of clay is pressed in on with extreme force – it’s crushed. What happens if you knock a jar of clay to the ground – it’s destroyed beyond repair.
But that’s not our story. God sustains us. That power of God that works through us to reach the lost, is at work in us to protect us, to keep us, to preserve us.
That’s how our weakness doesn’t ruin the whole operation. God preserves us.
We will be raised
Last of the three answers. We will be raised. Let’s read verses 10-15.
10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Going through all the suffering Paul just mentioned – afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down – is like carrying in the body the death of Jesus. In some way, in the difficulties we face for the sake of the gospel, we share his death. Don’t just think of the final death on the cross. But also, the dying process. The beatings and insults that Christ endured leading up to the cross. That was part of the dying. Our suffering here in the US is not that extreme, thank the Lord. But we do feel the shadow of death surrounding us when we go through hardships for Jesus.
Now in some countries, Christians face the threat of death. Churches are burned, missionaries are kidnapped, Christians are killed. This is the 70th anniversary of the death of the 5 missionaries killed in Ecuador as they attempted to bring the gospel to a remote tribe in the jungle. Two of them in particular seem to be more well known – Jim Elliot and Nate Saint. They had this treasure they wanted to share. This glorious treasure of how this tribe could come to know the living Jesus; the God who created them and who loved them. And these five missionaries shared this treasure at the cost of their life.
In all of Paul’s sufferings, there were several times he was on the doorstep of death. Stoned so badly one time, that they left him to die. What keeps you going in times like that? Whether it is the sufferings that don’t necessarily lead to death or the threat of a real physical death. Why would someone become a missionary to place so hostile that it might cost you your life?
In one word, faith. Faith that God will raise us up. Faith that on the last day we will be raised to life. We believe that this treasure really is a treasure. It is the supreme treasure. The ultimate treasure. The most valuable treasure in the universe. This life is not the end of the line. Being put 6 feet under is not it. We will be raised.
So, Paul quotes Ps 116. “I believed, and so I spoke.” In Psalm 116 the psalmist is recounting his experience of great suffering. Death had surrounded him, but the Lord delivered him. It is a Psalm of thanksgiving to the Lord for his deliverance from death. The Psalmist never stopped believing even when he was in the middle of his affliction.
Paul takes that and applies it his situation. He believes so he speaks. His faith in Jesus is so strong he has to proclaim to others the glorious riches of this treasure. Even if it costs him his life, it’s ok. He knows, he believes, God will raise him up.
All of the suffering Paul goes through he says is for them, for the benefit of the Corinthians. Death is at work in him, but life in them. This process of death, the suffering he is going through means that grace will abound to more and more people causing an increase of thanksgiving as people come to know Jesus. And in it all God is glorified.
Do you have faith like that? Do you know that you know that you will be raised on the last day together with all the saints? If Jesus is your treasure, then you do. Death might be at work in you, but life is coming to those around you.
How does our weakness go together with God’s power and glory? In God’s infinite wisdom he has chosen to put his treasure in jars of clay to keep the focus on him, all the while he preserves us even though we are weak and fragile, and through faith we know that whatever this life brings us it’s not the end of the line because God will raise us up with Jesus forever. All of this works together to spread the gospel to others and bring all glory to God.
That’s the three answers in one sentence – we are jars of clay, we are preserved by God, we will be raised. Now, what about that 4th answer, that bonus answer. The +1 more.
God is working on us.
Up until now we have seen how God works through us to reach others. But now we make a sharp turn. I want us to see that God is working on us. If we want God to work through us to reach others, something needs to change in us. God needs to do a work in our hearts.
Let’s read verses 16-18.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
Even though you face difficulties in this life, hardships of numerous kinds for the sake of the gospel (loss of friendship, family that pulls back from you, people who constantly challenge your beliefs; a culture that constantly challenges biblical standards, people who make fun of you, the shear deep seated burden that you feel for loved ones to come and know Jesus, the fear you deal with when you feel the Holy Spirit compelling you to share the gospel, the torment you feel when loved ones walk away from the Lord; or even just trying to make sense of the fragility of life from a Christian perspective – physical struggles, sickness, death, living out Christian principles at work, parenting, figuring out singleness from God’s perspective, just dealing with sin all around you) whatever those hardships are for you, Paul describes it as our outer self wasting way. How appropriate. That’s what it feels like. Like our flesh is wasting away. That we are coming to nothing.
But what does he say? Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. In all the wasting away, there is a divine renewal project that God is doing. And when God sets out to do a project, there are no delays, he doesn’t run over the budget, there are no setbacks. He brings it to completion in perfect timing.
You might say, “how’s that? Sure seems like there is a delay. Sure seems like he is making it up on the fly. Sure seems like there are lots of obstacles.” The pain we go through for the sake of the gospel is real. The emotional turmoil alone that we experience is suffocating. How do we make sense of all of this?
I think the key comes in verse 17.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Affliction is light and momentary. Doesn’t feel that way, does it?
Notice the contrast here. Paul sets this contrast up like scales. Scales that God uses to weigh what is truly valuable. On the one side you have the afflictions we face. They are light weight. They are momentary. Even if they last for years, they are just a blip on the screen, one star in the vast expanse of outer space. On the other side we have glory. It is weighty. It is valuable. It’s like heavy bars of gold. And it’s eternal. Not going to fade. Not going away. Not going to end. The comparison is not even close. Glory wins. The scale is hitting the table it’s so heavy.
The mystery here is that these light momentary afflictions that we face in some way get us to glory. Paul says they are preparing us for the eternal weighty glory to come. There’s a purpose in the affliction. They prepare.
Non-Christians laugh about this, mock us even. You might even be here today and hear something like that and think, “how convenient, there is a ‘purpose’, a big purpose that is supposed to explain all the suffering we go through.”
Yes. There is. But we don’t see it because we use the wrong scales. We don’t use God’s scales, we use scales that substitute the eternal weight of glory with something else. It’s just what we do. And there are lot’s of substitutes. Lots of things we think will bring us ultimate satisfaction and happiness.
What happens when you place the opinions of others, what others think about you, in place of the glory? If that is your treasure, you will be crushed. It will never happen. You’ll be devasted. Trapped in the cycle of people pleasing. Aimlessly trying to get people to like you to see you as a vessel of gold and silver when you are a jar of clay.
What happens when you place your career in place of glory? Things might go good for a while. But when you are passed over for the promotion you’ll be perplexed and driven to despair.
What happens when you place your children in the place of glory? You’ll turn to anything but the Bible to give you wisdom in how to raise your child. If they don’t turn out the way you have envisioned, when they turn their back on you, when they don’t appreciate all your sacrifices you made for them, you will be knocked down and destroyed.
We could go on and on. The scales are limitless that we could use instead of using God’s scales. And until we surrender and use his scales, the affliction will never be light, we won’t see how it is momentary, we won’t have an understanding of how God is working on us in the midst of all the hardships. All we will see is that our outer self is wasting away.
But God is working on us. He is renewing our inner self. He is preparing us for glory. We are jars of clay being sustained and preserved by God who will be raised to life because God is using all of the affliction we suffer in this life to prepare us for the glory to come. Our weakness goes together with God’s power and glory because there is a divine purpose, a divine hand that is guiding it all and holds it together.
And this is exactly what we see in Jesus himself. Even though he is the source of glory, possesses infinite power, he came to this earth and became a jar of clay like us. Endured the most horrendous sufferings all because there was a purpose, he had planned to use his death on a cross to bring salvation to all who believe in him. To put his treasure in us. In Jesus God’s power and our weakness come together in perfect unity. There is more to this life than the light and momentary afflictions. There is glory waiting. Will you take hold of it?