Will you take your Bibles and turn to Second Corinthians chapter four, we are going to be looking at verses seven through 15. As we continue to make our way through this epistle, I've been titled by discourse to you a "Priceless Treasure in Earthen Vessels." Before we look at the text may I say that in a world drowning in a cesspool of wickedness, it is always a wonderful thing to see the saints come together who long to see the glory and the greatness of God, who long to hear his word, who are willing to humble themselves before the word. May I remind you that God is always looking for hearts in which to dwell, that have a passion for his word. And certainly I've seen that here at Calvary Bible Church. In fact, in Isaiah 66 and verse two, we see how God promises to focus intently and bless those who are humble and contrite of spirit, and who tremble at his word. So I'm deeply humbled to be able to minister the word of God to such a group of believers as that. Those of us who were all debtors to his grace.

Now, before I read this text, and we look at it closely, may I say that this is a very personal passage of scripture for the apostle Paul. It’s one that reveals just some of the very core longings of his soul and some of the things that he's excited about. And I might say that this is a passage that is that is deeply moving, as we look at it--to each of us. It’s also one that is very encouraging. Now remember, Paul is defending himself against the scurrilous slander of the false teachers. He's not doing this out of personal ambition or pride to somehow just defend himself; he's concerned about the gospel. Because if these people are able to discredit his apostolic authority, and therefore discredit his message, then they will be allowed the freedom to proclaim their deceptions and propagate their lies. So in humility of heart, what's really fascinating here, in humility of heart, rather than refuting their claims about the apostle--that he's ugly, that he's unimpressive, he's imperfect, and all of those things--rather than refute those things, he agrees with them. It's really an amazing thing. He gives God all of the glory for whatever virtues are there, and whatever success in ministry. And what is really remarkable is that his humble acknowledgment of personal weaknesses, not only become his greatest asset, but also the most convincing proof of his apostolic authority. And that's what we're going to see play out here. And as we will discover his testimony of God's grace in his life and God's power in his life, even though he is feeble, and he's flawed, becomes just a profound encouragement to all of us who are likewise predisposed.

So let me begin in verse seven, Second Corinthians four verse seven. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we were afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body, the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith according to what is written, 'I believed, therefore I spoke,' we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God."

As we read ancient history, we discover that included in a Roman general's triumph--included within that procession of a conquering general--would be a number of things, but especially several large carts of clay pots filled with all of the spoils of war, all of the beautiful diamonds and emeralds and rubies and golden bracelets and silver and all of those things; fabulous treasures of a conquered empire. All of them concealed in fragile, ugly, worthless, disposable clay pots. Well, I think you know where we're going here, right. Paul uses this as the perfect illustration of the treasure, of a transformed soul, the soul of the redeemed, concealed in human flesh. The soul of those of us who by God's grace have been transformed, we're transformed image bearers, and we're housed in the earthen vessels of these bodies; the priceless treasure of those whom He has revealed, according to verse six, "the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." That's what's inside these earthen vessels. Those of us who have been united to God by the gospel, whose inner man now reflects the glory of the Triune Godhead, whose soul now is the habitation, the temple of God. And o, dear Christian never lose the wonder of this. Christ in you, the what? "The hope of glory;" in you and your soul, the soul that never dies, that lives eternally because it is united to Christ.

Later in verse 16, Paul speaks of the profound importance, yea, the mystery of the believer's soul, he calls it our "inner man." Notice what he says in verse 16. "Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our inner man our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day." In verse 18, he says, "we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen, are eternal." Folks, take a moment, just look at your hands. Look at your hands, look at your arms, look at your body. Look at those around you. Look at all that you see here in this worship center. You realize all of these things are going to disappear one day, none of these are going to last. It's only the things that we cannot see that are eternal. And who knows what we can't see, I'm sure there are angelic beings all around us, we can't see them. Another thing that you cannot see is my soul or your own soul. But the priceless treasure of a redeemed soul, a soul that has been made partakers of the divine nature, the soul that has been given, as Paul says, the "Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" that is eternal. Oh how we should cherish the new nature that has been wrought within our soul by the power of the Holy Spirit. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? Think of it dear Christian, your soul, biblically is forever hidden in Christ Jesus. I mean, these things make your head explode, right? I mean, we believe them by faith, and we can experience some of the reality of this, but it's amazing to think that that our soul is housed in a body that is getting weaker and weaker. Now, if you're young, it's going to get stronger and stronger for a while, but trust me, you know, you're going to reach a point where all of a sudden it's going to start doing this and then seems like it gets steeper and steeper, you know as it goes right. But though we're growing weak and frail, and someday we will return, you know, to the soil--ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I mean, though we were fashioned from the dust of the ground, and we were cursed by God, because of sin, because of that, we're going to experience death, we're going to experience decay and, and one day we'll return to the dust. Nevertheless, the soul belongs to God. It's an amazing thing. It has been renewed into the likeness of God and it's gradually being more conformed to express the glory of Christ. It's the very temple in which the Triune God lives forever. And it is the glory, dear friends, of this magnificent arrangement that Paul addresses here in this passage, and thus the title of my exposition, "Priceless Treasure in Earthen Vessels."

And here we learn why God has done this, let me give you four reasons, four little categories, that will kind of help us frame our thoughts as we go through this passage. He has done this, number one, to demonstrate the power of God. Secondly, to manifest the life of Jesus, number three to embolden gospel witness, and finally, to multiply God glorifying worshipers. And I trust God will impress these great truths upon your heart today. Now let's look closely at the text in verse seven. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels." Now, some would say that this treasure is the gospel. And at some level that is true, but I believe it's much more than that. The "treasure" is the human soul that God has renewed by the power of the gospel; that soul that has been given as he says in verse six, "the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." That soul that now reflects that same glory through a human body. That is, according to Romans 12 one, "a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God." That inner nature that is being renewed every day, that inner man that causes the outer man to redound to the glory of God.

But notice, this priceless treasure is concealed. He says, in "earthen vessels;" literally, clay pots; perishable earthenware, that's what he's referring to. And the analogy here is obvious. The human body is relatively worthless in comparison to the soul, in comparison to the priceless treasure that it contains. Like a clay pot, we are fragile, we are unattractive, some of us more so than others. And we are disposable, right? O the glory that resides within. Now, remember the context here. Paul is agreeing with the accusations of the false apostles. Yes, I am weak, I am ugly, I am unimpressive. I am expendable. I'm of little value whatsoever. But know this, I am the trustee of a glorified soul; a priceless treasure. For within me resides the Triune Godhead. Within me, resides "the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." Therefore I will preach it, come what may. And why? Why is it in there, in this is clay pot? The end of verse seven, "so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves." Now he doesn't say this, but I'm sure in the back of his mind, and consistent with the with the context, he's saying, unlike you pompous, self-righteous emissaries of Satan who receives your power from the father of lies and your own flesh. So the priceless treasure is concealed within the earthen vessel of this body number one to demonstrate the power of God.

Beloved, we have no power in and of ourselves. None whatsoever, even physically, I mean, we grow strong for a season then we begin to wither and we begin to die. I mean, think about it. There's this microscopic, little demon floating around called a Coronavirus. And we can get that and it can cause all kinds of problems, for some people it could be fatal. There's accidents, right? We're frail, it doesn't take much to destroy this body. And, frankly, we're homely, you know? I mean, I don't want to be crude here. But if we look at ourselves without our clothing, without our makeup, without our hair coloring, without all that we realize, ew, you know, we're not exactly the most beautiful creatures on the planet. So a clay pot is a pretty good analogy. But folks, we are equally weak spiritually. I mean even though the Spirit dwells within us, there's this constant battle, right-- Galatians, five. I mean, the flesh and the spirit, it's always in enmity with one another. Jesus said, apart from me, you can't do very much. No, no, he said, You can't do anything. Right?

I recall what was going on with Timothy, you may remember, his spiritual knees were buckling under the weight of persecution, he was afraid all the things going on at the church at Ephesus. And Paul said to him, and Second Timothy two, one, "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." That's where we get our strength. Also, in First Corinthians two, beginning of verse three, Paul said, "I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." Where does he get that power? It's from within the soul. It's what resides within that clay pot. And remember the extreme weakness that Paul experienced as a result of that thorn in the flesh, that that emissary of Satan, that messenger of Satan, that false teacher that was trying to destroy him; remember, he asked the Lord three times to remove that thorn. And what did the Lord say? No, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness."

You know, I love to reflect upon the ways God is. God proves himself powerful on our behalf. I think that over the course of my life, he has always used just ordinary, flawed people just like me to do extraordinary things. And you think about it, he chose 12 ordinary men to be his apostles. Four of them were Galilean fisherman. One of them was a tax collector. The other guys were just ordinary guys. And later, he had chosen the apostle Paul. Even though he was a brilliant rabbi, he was also a persecutor of the church. Prior to his conversion, in fact, in First Corinthians 15, nine, he said, "I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church." First Timothy 1:13. He says, "I was formerly a blasphemer, and a persecutor and a violent aggressor." But God saw him said, I'm going to turn that man around and use him for my glory. Second Corinthians 10:10. His critics said his "personal appearance is unimpressive and his speech contemptible." And he admitted that he was unskilled in speech, Second Corinthians 11 six. And apparently he had some kind of a repulsive eye condition that caused people to kind of want to back away from it. We read about that in Galatians four. Nevertheless, he said in First Timothy 1:12, God "considered me faithful, putting me into service." You know, when I think about that, I rejoice and I can say, Boy, there's hope for all of us, right? There's hope for all of us. His life and ministry was so God honoring that he was even able to exhort others to say, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ," First Corinthians 11:1. And in Second Corinthians 11 six, that :even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge." Again, over the course of my life, and I'm sure you will agree with this, as I look back over the years and see the type of people that had a gospel impact on my life, they've always been simple, ordinary people, unimpressive in the eyes of the world. In fact, I can safely say is that some of the most godly, humble, yet spiritually powerful people, that exist on the planet are a part of Calvary Bible Church, and other churches like ours. That's the way God likes to do it, right? It's an amazing thing. And yet, the world will never know those people. If they did know them, they would scoff at them. And yet one day, these are the very saints that are going to rule with Christ in His kingdom. And yet today they are nobodies. In fact, they're considered fools for Christ's sake. I think about this often--people driving by this church right now, lots of times on the way to church, I'll see, you know, people, you know, they've got their boats and their jet skis and all these things, and they're getting ready to go out and have a great day. And I think my, they're living for the now rather than for eternity, and they could come right down the road. And there's a little church here in rural Tennessee, that could give them the keys to the kingdom of God through the gospel, that they might be saved. And yet they want nothing to do with it. They want nothing to do with these obscure kind of odd people who actually believe that Jesus saves and he's coming again, do you realize how utterly ridiculous that is to the world? And yet how true it is.

First Corinthians one, verse 26, and following, Paul said, "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world ashamed, the things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So that just as it is written, 'Let him who boasts," what? "boast in the Lord." Boast in the Lord.

You know, some of you, I'm sure are struggling in some significant ways in your life, it's just part of being in a fallen world, right? Things are difficult for you. But I would encourage you this morning to remember that you have this treasure in this earthen vessel. The treasure of a transformed redeemed soul that will one day be glorified. A priceless treasure. One, a soul that has been renewed by God, an invisible temple of the Triune God, that the world cannot see. An eternal soul that is forever hidden in Christ. A soul that is alive to God, but dead to sin; the opposite of the world. If you were to look into the soul of the unredeemed, you would see a corpse. You would see a person that is dead in their trespasses and sins; alienated from God. But "we have this treasure in earthen vessel, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves." When people see Christ, they don't say, "Wow, isn't that because of this great man or great woman?" No, it has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with the one who dwells within me, and who dwells within you.

Now Paul gives some examples of some of his own struggles. And he does this through a series of paradoxes. In verses eight through nine, actually, you might say that there are four balanced antitheses that summarize his life and ministry. Notice what he says in verse eight. "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed." "Afflicted", carries the idea of being distressed by severe difficulties. But he's not crushed. In other words, he's not hopelessly distressed. Now, why is that? How can that be? How can a person be afflicted and yet not crushed? Well, the answer is clear. It's because of the "surpassing greatness" of the power of God within the soul. I mean God's grace is always sufficient, right? He goes on to say, he says, we're "perplexed, but not despairing." "Perplexed" literally means "filled with confusion." Sometimes you just don't know which way to turn, but you're not despairing. You're not losing your emotional and mental composure. How can that be? Well, it's because of the "surpassing greatness" of the power of God within the inner man. I think of Isaiah 26 three, "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You." Folks, serenity and hope is always anchored in our faith in God.

He goes on to verse nine and he said, we're "persecuted, but not forsaken." "Persecuted," it's an interesting term. In the original language it is one that refers to just a systematic attack on a person because of their belief. But we're not forsaken. In other words, even though that's happening, we're not abandoned. We don't feel neglected here. Well, how can that be? Because of the "surpassing greatness" of the power of God within the inner man. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. He goes on to say in verse nine, we're "struck down" a term that literally carries the idea of being knocked to the ground by a severe blow. Sometimes we feel that way, right? We've just feel like somebody just taken a baseball bat and hit us and we're just on the ground looking up. He said we're struck down at times, but we're not destroyed. In other words, we're not irreparably damaged. Well, how can that be? Because of the "surpassing greatness" of the power of God within the soul. I mean, he has promised to never tempt us beyond what we are able, right? First Corinthians 10:13, "but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that we may that we may be able to endure it." Folks, remember, all of the sufferings that we experience in life, are merely ways that the Lord uses to conform us into the likeness of Christ. With every wound, he chisels away at the relics of corruption that continue to cleave to our unredeemed humaneness. He's fitting us to be placed in the temple of God in the New Jerusalem.

I was thinking about this, you may recall in the Old Testament record, it is revealed that that King David was given the plans for the temple. And he gave it to Solomon. And part of those plans included the importance of precutting and prefitting every stone that would go into the temple. To do that in the quarry, and then take it in to the temple so that there would be no sound of chisel when the temple was erected. And this of course, was done to basically underscore the solemnity of their task and the perfections of holiness that that would symbolize. Can you imagine? I've seen these temple stones? I mean, they are just mammoth. Can you imagine cutting them that precisely and when you look at them, the way they're fitted together, it is astounding. First King six, seven, "The house," referring to the temple, "while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built." Great Puritan Thomas Manton wrote this, "The present life is an incurable disease, and sometimes attended with that sharp sense that death is desired as a remedy and accepted as a benefit." He went on to say "Here, the living stones are cut and wounded and made fit by sufferings for a temple unto God in the New Jerusalem. But as in the building of Solomon's temple, the noise of a hammer was not heard. For all the parts were framed before with that exact design and correspondence that firmly combined together. They were hewn in another place, and nothing remained but the putting them one upon another in the temple. And then, as sacred, they were inviolable. So God, the architect, having prepared the saints here, by many cutting afflictions, places them in the eternal building, where no voice of sorrow is heard. Beloved, what a joy to know that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus and he's working on us right now.

But not only is this priceless treasure in earthen vessel there to demonstrate the power of God but secondly, to manifest the life of Jesus. Notice verse 10, he says "always," not occasionally, but, "always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." I mean, this is why he experienced the hardships described in the previous verses. He is saying to them, Look, despite what these phonies are telling you, I'm not experiencing hardship, because there's some secret sin in my life, that God is somehow punishing me. I'm merely submitting to the will of God who has ordained my afflictions, who has ordained by sufferings, so that the power of Christ would be manifested in my life, so that my life and my ministry would be a purposeful sacrifice. This is why he said in First Corinthians 15:31, "I die daily."

Now, as we look at verse 10, there's a key here that's interesting, the word "dying." Normally in Greek, in the New Testament, the term "thanatos" would be used; the word used to describe the actual event of a death, but here, it's "nekrosis." The prolonged process of dying, that includes the events that lead up to death. In English we have the word "necrosis" from that; it describes the death of cells in an organ or tissues or whatever. So Paul's life for Christ here, I'm sorry, Paul's love for Christ in his life manifested by obedience to Christ, was part of what was gradually destroying his outer body, because of all of the persecution. And because the world hates Christ. it hated him and hates all of us. So Paul denied himself, he was willing to take up his cross daily and follow the Lord. And of course, when you do this, Satan and his minions are going to attack you.

Verse 11, "For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." But why? Why is this happening? So God can prove himself powerful on our behalf. And so others can see the power of God put on display in our life. Think of those that you have known over the years who have taken a stand for Christ in a hostile environment. People watch the response of that. Sinners had been converted because of the response of godly people who have suffered. I think of Stephen. Remember in Acts six. We read how he was full of grace and truth. And in verse 10, we read that "they were unable to cope with his wisdom and the Sirit with which he was speaking. So they secretly induced men to say, 'We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.'" Well, that was just pure baloney. That was just slander. So what did they do? They took him out they and they stoned him. They were going to kill him. And then they did. In fact, we read that the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. Isn't that interesting? We read the Stephen called upon the Lord and said, "'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! And falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold a sin against them!' And having said this, he fell asleep." Folks, take a stand for Christ and watch what happens. You are going to experience the hostility of the world. Put biblical truth on facebook, watch the reactions you'll get. You will experience just the venomous, malicious attacks of the ungodly, but also you will see how it will soften the hearts of the redeemed. And when you do this, you will be "carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in your body."

You know, satanic persecution is always certain proof that you're penetrating the kingdom of darkness, right? And one of the best ways to determine a godly man or a godly woman is by identifying their friends as well as their enemies. Jesus said, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way." So again, in verse 12, "So death works in us, but life in you." Folks, evangelism comes with a cost. Have you ever thought about the sacrifice that others have made in your life over the years so that you could hear the truth of the gospel? The great English theologian and seminary professor at the University of Oxford, John Wycliffe, stood against the heresies of Roman Catholicism in the 14th century. And among many things that he stood against one of the things that he stood for was the translation of the Bible, from the Latin Vulgate into the common vernacular so that people could actually read the Word of God. Of course, the Roman Catholics didn't want that at all. So he was hated, and he was hunted. He, by the way, was one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. He had to flee for his life and eventually, he worked himself to exhaustion, he died of a heart attack. And then it's interesting, 41 years after his death, the Roman Catholic Council of Constance declared Wycliffe, a heretic on May 4, 1415. They hated him so much that they banned his writings and excommunicated him retro actively. The council decreed that Wycliffe's work should be burned, and his bodily remains removed from consecrated ground. and the order was confirmed by Pope Martin the fifth. it was carried out 1428. And so what did they do? They went to Wycliffe' grave, and they exhumed his body, they burned what was left, and they took the ashes and cast it into the River Swift. That's how much Satan hates those that follow Christ. And we could recount 1000s of similar stories of people who were willing to die for Christ so that others could experience life in Christ. But folks, the priceless treasure of Wycliffe's soul was in glory, right? It was beyond the reach of their venomous malice. You want to ask yourself, "To what extent am I willing to sacrifice?" I'm thankful for parents that I had when I was a little boy that would read Bible stories to me. You know, I still remember a lot of those. I remember they brought me a set of books called the Book of Life. And it was kind of age appropriate, up through, you know, maybe high school and I remember looking at those pictures and reading those stories. I'm thankful that my parents took me to the churches where the truth was taught, I'm thankful for especially godly older women that taught me as a young little boy. We used to have flannel graphs. I know that's ageing me, but some of you shake your head, you know what flannel graphs are, I still remember those stories. I'm thankful for godly pastors that taught me. I'm thankful for godly youth leaders that gave themselves, that I might know and live the truth; that took me on campouts and canoe trips up to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota and on and on and on it goes. They sacrificed. Romans eight verse 36, that we read earlier, Paul says, "Just as it is written, 'For your sake, we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But," and I love the word "but" there, "but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us,." Folks, the trials may be great, but the victory is infinitely greater. You must remember that.

And while languishing in a Roman prison cell, Paul wrote to the saints at Colossae, in Colossians 1:24. He says, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh, I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions." You see, he understood that suffering is a grace-granted privilege; in that in our dying, the church may receive life. As we give of ourselves, the Gospel goes forth, and men and women and boys and girls come to saving faith in Christ. And by enduring persecution intended for Christ, he was, as he says, "filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction." You see, you might put it this way, He was the lightning rod for the world's unending hatred of Christ, a hatred that was not fully meted out at the cross but will continue throughout eternity with the blasphemies of the damned, as we read in Revelation 16. And like Christ, Paul was happy to endure an extra measure of suffering, as a willing substitute on behalf of the church, and perhaps even sparing the church some of the heartaches of that suffering, while at the same time putting the glory of Christ on display, so that they could look at him and say, wow, look what look what God can do in the life of his redeemed. And in Paul, they could see Christ. But again, how could such a frail and humbly man have such an impact on so many? How could a man press on in the midst of all of this persecution with such vitality and such joy? Well, the answer is in the text, it's because a priceless treasure was concealed within an earthen vessel, that treasure of that renewed soul.

So dear ones, God placed this priceless treasure of the gospel redeemed soul in these earthen vessels, to demonstrate the power of God to manifest the life of Christ. And thirdly, to embolden gospel witness. Think about this, despite the inevitable hostility that the gospel produces, Paul would never compromise. Verse 13, "But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed, therefore I spoke,' we also believe, therefore we also speak." He is quoting by the way, Psalm 116, verse 10, "I believed, when I said, 'I am greatly afflicted.'" The idea here is, despite the magnitude of his troubles, even as the Psalmist said, he was confident that God would deliver him. You see, folks, faith not only survives, but it transcends suffering. It transcends persecution, sorrows, fear of death, and all of those things. That's why Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. He knew that it was the power of God unto salvation. And that's why he said in First Corinthians 9:16, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel." Because he knew that's the only message that will save. And that is why dear friends, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to preaching the gospel, and not get off in all of these other tangents--oh, the gospel is all about giving you a purpose driven life, or oh, the gospel is all about making you happy, and healthy and wealthy, or the gospel is all about promoting social justice and racial equality. Folks, none of that is true. None of that is in Scripture. That is not what the gospel about. The gospel is all about reconciling sinful man to a holy God. And once you move away from that, you have nothing more than the foolish rantings of man. Useless in preventing the decay in this world. The salt loses its saltiness in the church. And that's what we've seen today.

By the way, we see this most markedly in the new evangelical obsession with improving the social and economic problems in the world. But folks, if you will excuse just a very brief digression. When the gospel focus becomes humanitarian, rather than redemptive, you have no gospel at all. It's just another form of human wisdom that God calls foolishness. Paul knew the saving, transforming truth of the gospel, so he preached it without compromise, regardless of the costs. You might say, "well, yes, but Pastor, I struggle with fear." Join the club, don't we all? Paul did. Remember Ephesians 6:19. He said, "Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness, the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." But concealed in that frail, fearful earthen vessel was the infinite power of the Triune Godhead.

Back to verse 14, "knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you." Oh Child of God, will do well to remember this passage of Scripture, when you find yourself trembling in fear, standing before maybe even just a few people in your family, as you present them the gospel, realize that the very power that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within your earthen vessel, in your soul. We must always remember the implications of the resurrection, and glorification of Jesus Christ exceed, indeed, that exceeded the importance and power of all other events in history. I would say only the act of creation rival to this, because within the resurrection body of Jesus Christ, in whom we have been forever united, existed the supernatural power source of eternal life in God's everlasting kingdom. For this reason, Paul prayed for the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:19 that they would know what is the "immeasurable greatness of His power in us who believe, according to the working of his might, which he accomplished in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places." Folks, this is a prayer that we should pray often for each other, for our family.

So indeed, God placed this priceless treasure of a renewed soul in an earthen vessel, to demonstrate the power of God manifest the life of Jesus, and embolden gospel witness. And finally, as we close this morning to multiply, God glorifying worshipers, Well, isn't that what we all want? Don't you wish the whole world would worship Christ? You know, one day we're going to see that happen at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. The glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters fill the sea; amazing thought. Notice what Paul says here in verse 15, "For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God." Oh, dear friends, what a testimony we have here of selfless, selfless love. His passion was to see men and women and boys and girls come to saving faith in Christ; not only for their eternal good, but for God's eternal glory. He wanted to see more and more clay pots, if you will, filled up with the glory of God and the souls of his redeemed. Saints that will one day join in the heavenly choir and sing "Worthy is the Lamb." Earthen vessels that will one day burst forth with the effulgence of the glory of God even as we saw in the Transfiguration of Christ on the mountain. In fact, the prophet Daniel says in Daniel 12, in verse three, "those who have insight will shine brightly, like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Oh, how I long to see all of you in the company of the redeemed when these earthly vessels will be exchanged for a glorified body; one that is suited to exist in the presence of the glory of God, one that is suited for eternal worship, in the presence of our thrice Holy God. When according to First Corinthians 15, verse 54, "this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written 'Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh Death, where is your victory? Oh, Death, where is your sting?' The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore," Paul says, "My beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." Well may these truths animate your heart to further praise and motivate your will to obedience and service to the one who deserves our utmost. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for these eternal truths. We are so humbled by them. They are beyond our ability to even fathom, but by the power of Your Spirit that dwells within us, we are we are able to comprehend at least a portion of that which you would have us understand. And in so doing, we find our souls being lifted up into the heavens, as we are able to, perhaps a new way, even this morning to set our mind on things above and not on the things of this earth. Encourage each of us as we reflect upon what you have done in us what you're doing through us, and what one day you will do for us in the presence of your glory. For it's in Christ's name that I pray. Amen.