Treasures in Jars of Clay
1Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
Dig Deeper
As I was preparing to write this section, I looked up at the television for a few minutes. There was a some sports reporters sitting around talking about an NFL wide receiver. They were analyzing him, but really they were taking shots at his character. They were claiming him to be arrogant and all about promoting himself. As evidence of that, they showed a clip of the player talking about his many accomplishments on the field, despite the not-so-impressive record of his team. The critics were having a field day but they were not being exactly straightforward about what was going on. What had actually happened was that sports reporters had spent weeks criticizing this player and putting him down for everything imaginable. Finally, the player shot back in an interview and defended himself, pointing out that he was pretty good and had been doing everything in his power to win. His defense of himself, then, was taken out of context and he was criticized for being arrogant and self-promoting.
In a like fashion, Paul had critics in Corinth who were constantly charging him with all types of bad motives and bad intentions. At a certain point, Paul felt it necessary to defend his ministry so that believers and potential believers would not be led astray. When Paul did defend himself, though, his critics jumped on that and said that Paul was nothing more than a self-promoting huckster who was peddling the gospel based on his own invented experience of God’s glory on the road to Damascus.
In verse 1, Paul sums up his argument from chapter 3 and restates verse 12 in a slightly different way. He says that he doesn’t lose heart, which is another way of saying his will, because he is convinced that he has received the ministry of the Messiah; the ministry that is far superior to the ministry of Moses under the Old Covenant. God has made His mercy accessible to Paul both through the general revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the special revelation of Jesus Christ as he appeared to Paul on the Damascus road.
Because he has been given this ministry of the gospel, he doesn’t need to resort to the shady type of practices that his critics have claimed. If his revelation of Jesus Christ was imagined or fabricated then he might need to use those sorts of practices. He hasn’t done this though. He might even consider turning to techniques of salesmanship or the latest marketing strategies in order to be successful, but Paul never had time for such things. He was called to preach the simple gospel of a crucified and resurrected Messiah and would do nothing more and nothing less than that.
The fact that he has boldly and openly proclaimed the Word of God, is in itself proof that he is an authentic minister of the Messiah. Paul is so confident in this that he appeals to the conscience of anyone who cares to consider it. If they consider him fairly and really let their conscience speak, they will know that Paul is truly a representative of the Messiah. Yet, he realizes that man’s conscience is the not the highest authority, nor is it the final court of arbitration. So, he quickly moves to the highest court, the sight of God. Not only is Paul blameless as a minister of the gospel before men, he also feels that he is blameless before God.
Paul wants to say that the gospel is clear, open, and accessible to any and everyone. Yet, he knows that if he makes that statement that the next argument lodged against him will be, if the gospel is so open and clear, why isn’t everyone turning to it and becoming a follower of the Messiah? So, Paul counters this argument before it can be made. The message of God’s glory in the Old Covenant was veiled by God for the protection of mankind, for if they entered into God’s full glory, it would have brought destructive judgment upon them. If the New Covenant gospel is veiled, it is being concealed to those who are already on their way to judgment and death, not those who actually desire God’s presence and glory.
The next obvious question is, if unbelievers are veiled from the gospel and God’s not doing it, then who is? The answer, of course, is the god of this age, Satan (which literally means ‘the accuser’). It is not that people reject the gospel and become blind. It is that they reject the gospel because they are already blinded. We are all blind at one time. The issue for each of us, comes when we are exposed to the light of the gospel. How will we respond to it? Will we accept if humbly or reject it and remain blinded by the god of this age? The way Paul chooses to word this, of course brings up images of his own encounter with the Messiah, which was a literal light and a literal, physical encounter. This is no accident. Paul is explaining what happens to all people, while at the same time legitimizing, once again, his experience with the risen Messiah. It may have been quite unusual, but it is, in its essence, really no different from what everyone else experiences.
The gospel that Paul preaches includes the declaration that the Christ is the very image of God. This is significant if we remember that Paul believes firmly that what is true of the Messiah is true of His people. In the beginning, God created man in His image, but that was lost due to sin. Now, that can be restored in the new creation (see 2 Cor. 5:17) as men are remade in the image of God by entering into the life of Christ (Col. 3:10).
Paul, in fact, is the minister of that new creation, and that’s what it is all about. His ministry has never been about him. To think that is to demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the gospel. Paul believes he died when he entered into Christ, so whenever he talks about things Christ has accomplished though him, or he defends the fact that he is, indeed, a minister of the gospel, he is not boasting about himself. Rather, he is boasting in the grace and glory of God. When Paul says ‘light’, he is talking about the manifestation of God’s presence on earth. If God has been made manifest at all in the life of Christ, then it is not about Paul. It is completely about God. The same God who spoke light into existence (Gen. 1:3), and who shines out in the darkness which is unable to dispel the light (John 1:5), is the God who is bringing His new world into existence through the life of Jesus Christ. The glory of God, made known in the face of Christ is available to each one of us who is willing to lay down our dark realities and enter into the life of light.
Devotional Thought
The true image of God is available to those of us who have entered in to the life of Christ. This is incredibly exciting and humbling. Take some time today to reflect about just how well you have been reflecting that light. Then take even more time to praise and thank God for the incredible mercy He has shown in making the life of the Messiah available to you.
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