Bethany Bible Church Sunday Sermon Message
August 31, 2025
2 Corinthians 4:7-10
Theme: God allows the precious treasure of the gospel to be proclaimed by frail people like us to show the greatness of His power.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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Over the past few weeks, we’ve been studying together from 2 Timothy—and from the apostle Paul’s encouragement to Pastor Timothy to endure in the faith and to protect the precious message of the gospel.
In 2 Timothy 1:8, for example, he told Timothy,
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God … (2 Timothy 1:8).
Paul himself suffered greatly for the preaching of that gospel. In fact, as he wrote those words, he was awaiting execution because of it. But he considered the protection and proclamation of the gospel very much worth what it was costing him. In verse 12, he wrote,
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (v. 12).
And he wanted Timothy to feel that same sense of the tremendous worth of the gospel. It’s the only message in this world—the only one—that has the power to save the human soul. It transforms the lives of those who believe it and are saved by it, and secures them for eternal life in heavenly glory. It must be faithfully proclaimed and the integrity of its truth diligently protected. That’s why he urged Timothy—in the passage that we’ve looked at last week,
Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us (vv. 13-14).
So; that’s what we’ve been studying together. But this morning, I ask that we look at a different passage from a different one of Paul’s letters. The theme is the same. It too has to do with the precious value of the gospel that we—in our own Christian lives—are to protect and proclaim. But this other passage focuses on us—the frail and weak stewards that God has chosen to entrust with this mighty message. We carry this precious gospel around in weak and frail containers. As the apostle Paul put in our passage this morning—in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10,
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body (2 Corinthians 4:7-10).
The immeasurable power of the gospel that we carry forth to the world doesn’t mean that we—the ones who bear it—are ourselves powerful. In fact, we are far from powerful! But that just goes to show that the greatness of the power of the gospel to transform human lives doesn’t have its source in human strength, or human wisdom, or human persuasiveness. The greatness of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is found in God Himself; and our weakness and frailty in bearing this gospel only helps to make the greatness of God’s power all the more obvious.
So; as we’ve been studying about the precious value of the gospel that has been entrusted to us, it’s also very much worth our while to study the greatness of its power in light of our own weakness. As these words from Paul show us, God, in His wisdom, allows the precious treasure of the gospel to be proclaimed by frail people like us in order to show the greatness of His power.
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Now; as you know, dear brothers and sisters, we’re living in a time when that precious and powerful message that we proclaim—the message of the gospel—is considered irrelevant by the people who most need to hear it. They don’t recognize its value or its power. They look to other solutions to solve their problems. They choose instead to define their deepest problems according to whatever it may be that fallible human wisdom says they are—and not in the way that their Creator defines them in His holy word. They try to solve their problems by human efforts and plans and resources—and not in the way that God’s word says that they must be solved; which only leads to making those problems worse and the results more painful. They try to find non-spiritual solutions to spiritual problems; or they try to find alternative ‘spiritualities’ in order to justify their problems; or—as is happening more and more—they simply redefine their problems so that they no longer seem like problems at all. The solution that God has offered to them in the gospel of Jesus Christ just doesn’t come into consideration.
And so; how can the people of this world be convinced of the power of the gospel that they need so desperately to hear? How can we persuade them to hear? You’d think that God would have chosen to give His mighty gospel to the most powerful of people. You’d think that such a valuable message would be delivered through powerful human preachers and evangelists that never have any problems—who always have it together—who are perfect human instruments that would impress the needy people of this world with their strength—who would be impressive containers of the gospel that couldn’t help but persuade the people of this world of the goodness and nobility and life-changing power of His life-transforming gospel.
But that’s not who He has chosen to proclaim this message. Instead, look at what Paul wrote about us as Jesus’ followers in this world. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, he wrote,
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).
Instead of doing what we would have thought He would do, God instead chose to entrust His powerful message to the world through weak and frail instruments like us, who are seemingly unimpressive and fallible—not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble.
There may be times when you and I feel quite inadequate for this significant job. We may at times feel as if we’re the wrong people to be entrusted with such a powerful message. We may at times feel as if the Lord should have displayed it through ‘perfect’ people—people who are successful, and brilliant, and noble, and highly educated, and influential in the sight of this world. But no. It turns out that if you and I feel weak and frail and inadequate to the task, then we’re the very people that God wants to use. He wants to show the world that the power of the gospel can’t possibly be because of us … but rather only because of Him.
This is because the gospel we declare isn’t just a wonderful philosophy or worldview. It’s the good news about a wonderful Person!—Jesus Christ!—the Son of God! We’re inviting people to get to know Him, and trust Him, and enter into a personal relationship with Him, and become fully saved by Him, and partake of His power in their lives; because He’s the one who is powerful to save them and change their lives.
And that’s why our wise heavenly Father has chosen to entrust this glorious message to weak and frail people like us. It’s so that Jesus will shine through all the more powerfully.
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Now; let’s look at 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 in more detail. You can divide it up into three parts. In it, you’ll find first ‘the principle’ in verse 7; and then, ‘the experience’ of this principle in action in verses 8-9; and finally, ‘the outcome’ of this principle when it accomplishes the work God has intended in verse 10.
In verse 7, then, Paul first sets before us …
1. THE PRINCIPLE.
The principle is that our weakness shows forth the gospel’s power. Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to put it this way: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
I made an interesting discovery from the original language of Paul’s words. The word that is translated “treasure” is the Greek word thāsauros. You recognize that word, don’t you? That’s the word from which we get the English word thesaurus—which is a book that contains a large ‘treasure’ of words. And that’s what this Greek word thāsauros means—a precious treasure. And what is this treasure? It’s what Paul referred to in verse 3 as “the gospel”. And more, the treasure is also the privilege of being able to proclaim that gospel in this world. It’s what Paul described in verses 5-6 when he wrote;
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (vv. 5-6).
It’s the greatest treasure anyone can carry around or have responsibility for. It’s the most life-changing force in this world. To proclaim it is the greatest privilege that anyone can have. And yet, look where this precious treasure is kept. We’re told that we have this treasure in—of all things “earthen vessels”.
If you read that phrase “earthen vessels”—or “jars of clay”, as it is sometimes translated—and end up thinking of our frail earthly bodies, you’d be thinking correctly. These mortal bodies of ours are weak and frail. But that phrase can imply much more than just the physical frailty of our bodies. It also suggests to us the idea of the whole of our being. We’re certainly frail of body; but we’re also of mind and of heart. We encounter circumstances of daily life that are beyond our abilities. We often grow weak, or discouraged, or fearful, or confused. We feel the temptations of sin; and we all too often stumble and fall. We find ourselves limited by circumstances or trials or lack of resources. And our mortal bodies are—indeed—also prone to sickness and frailty and death. And yet, God has ordained that this precious treasure—the life-changing gospel—be carried about in this world by earthen vessels like us! It almost seems as if God chose to keep the precious Hope Diamond inside a McDonald’s Happy Meal box.
And yet, this is by design. Paul says that this is so that the “excellence of the power” of the gospel to change lives—and the surpassing greatness of it—may be shown clearly to be of God, and not of the weak people like us who bear it in this world.
I love what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:8-10. He wrote these words while he was in prison. In fact, he was facing execution at the time, and knew that he would not be in this world much longer. That’s how weak and frail he was in his own person and resources. But it only ended up showing how mighty God is through the gospel. Paul wrote to Timothy and said;
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:8-10).
Our frail bodies can be chained up, but the gospel that we preach can never be kept in confinement. We can be put to death in our bodies, but the gospel that we preach will keep right on going forward and giving eternal life to everyone who hears and believes it. We carry this precious treasure out to the world in earthen vessels, and all so that the greatness of the power of that gospel will be known to be of God—and not of us. Our weakness shows forth God’s power through the gospel—and also God’s power through us.
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Now; that’s the principle that this passage teaches us—that our weakness as mere earthen vessels makes the gospel’s power all the more obvious. And now, second, notice …
2. THE EXPERIENCE.
Paul goes on to give examples from his own experiences and those of his co-laborers. Their experiences showed that they, too, were weak and frail as bearers of the gospel, but that God was at work mightily in them through the gospel that they preached.
First, Paul proved that this is so in trials. In verse 8, he wrote, “We are hard-pressed on every side …” The word that Paul used, in the original language, basically means to be ‘pressed in’ or ‘squeezed’. The pressures that he felt from preaching the message of the gospel in this world were severe. A world system that is hostile to the message of the gospel constantly applies pressure to those who preach it—demanding that they be silent, or that they conform to the world’s values and priorities, or that they say only the things that make them happy about their sins. But as much as he felt pressed, Paul added that he and his co-ministers were “yet not crushed.” To be ‘hard pressed—yet not crushed’ … this was obvious proof that the message of the gospel is the proclamation of truth in this world, and that God Himself works through it.
Then, Paul proved that this is so in distresses. Paul wrote, “we are perplexed …” And the word that Paul used here means to be ‘without means’. There were many times in his ministry when he felt that there weren’t the resources necessary to do the work. Or there were times when he and his co-laborers in the gospel felt themselves caught in distressing situations from which they had no human way of getting free. They felt themselves to be without any clear ‘means’ of escape. Humanly speaking, they didn’t know what they could do or where their help could come from. And yet, even then—as he went on to say—they were “perplexed, but not in despair”. They did not suffer ‘perplexity’ to the uttermost. I like how one Bible commentator put it—that Paul and his co-ministers were “confused, but not confounded”. They were ‘perplexed’; but were not sunken down into complete ‘perplexity’. God always made a way for His message to go forward and to reach those who needed to hear it. God even uses the perplexing distresses of life to advance that gospel further; so that truly ‘all things turn out for the furtherance of the gospel’.
Paul said that this principle—that God’s power in the gospel was shown even through weakness—was at work even while in persecutions. Do you know what the word translated as ‘persecute’ really means? It means to be ‘pursued’; and in this case, it meant to be pursued with malicious and hostile intent. Many sought to take Paul’s life. He was a man who was in constant danger. In 2 Corinthians 11:26, he said that he was
in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren … (2 Corinthians 11:26).
And yet, though he and his fellow preachers were often persecuted, he affirmed that they were “not forsaken”. The Lord Jesus, who sent him to preach this gospel in a hostile world, never left Him and kept on giving him the power to say what needed to be declared.
Paul even said this all held true in defeats. I’m not sure how else to put the idea, but as “defeats”. Just the word ‘defeat’ makes it sound as if it’s all over. Paul spoke of his sufferings for Jesus almost as if they knocked him down and killed him. He said, “struck down”; which meant to be cast down and laid out prostrate. There was a time when he preached the gospel in one particular city; and in anger, its citizens took him out of the city and stoned him with stones and left him for dead. That would almost seem like it was the end of the gospel. But Paul said that he and his co-laborers were “struck down, but not destroyed”. When Paul was stoned and left for dead that day, he rose up with the help of God and—amazingly—walked right back into the city. That would have communicated to everyone that he spoke a powerful message from God. When God sends someone out to preach His gospel—until such a time as their work is done—they are truly indestructible. That’s because the greatness of the power is of God, and not of them.
Later on in 2 Corinthians 2—in 6:4-10—Paul wrote this:
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things (2 Corinthians 6:4-10).
It’s true that not every preacher or missionary or evangelist has always been physically delivered from trials or distresses or persecutions or defeats in the way that Paul so often was. Many of them have had to pay the price with all that they had. Even Paul himself eventually laid down his life. But it’s always been true that the gospel that they preached kept right on going—even if they did not; and that people were saved by it—even if they weren’t always there to see it.
That’s because our weakness as bearers of the gospel in this world only shows forth the greatness of the power of God at work through it—and through us.
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So; that was the principle, and those were the experiences of it. And now, thirdly, notice …
3. THE OUTCOME.
When we take this powerful gospel of Jesus Christ out into the everyday marketplaces of this world; and when our frailty as the bearers of it ends up showing forth the power of God at work through it, then the life of Jesus Christ ends up being the thing that is manifested in us. In verse 10, Paul wrote that he and his co-laborers in the gospel were “always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
What did it mean to always be ‘carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus’? It meant that these preachers followed Jesus’ own example. When our wonderful Lord Jesus came into this world to redeem us, He didn’t come in mighty power and glory. He came in weakness and frailty. He took the form of a servant; and humbled Himself to the point of death—even the death of the cross. And so; when we take up our cross and follow Him—even to the point of being ‘hard-pressed’, and ‘perplexed’, and ‘persecuted’, and ‘struck down’ in this world—then His life becomes manifested in us. He proves His power in us by the fact that “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; … perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed …” As Paul wrote in the very next verse—in verse 11—
For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh (v. 11).
The best commentary we can find on this is what Paul himself wrote near the end of this letter—in 2 Corinthians 12. He had an infirmity of some kind—’a messenger of Satan’, as he called it. It plagued him and hindered him; and he asked God three times to take it away.
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
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So then, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; as we’re thinking about this precious gospel that we are called upon to protect and proclaim, let’s also remember that it’s by our weakness and frailty that God works through us to show forth its life-transforming power. Truly, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”
Let’s never get discouraged in our call for the gospel. In spite of all our frailties and imperfections, let’s faithfully and confidently proclaim this mighty gospel wherever God places us—knowing that He entrusted it to weak vessels like us in order to show forth His power.
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1Much of this message was adapted from a sermon first preached on November 15, 2020, during a series in 2 Corinthians.
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