In this message we are still on what Christ is in His person to the believers.
We have seen that to the believers Christ is the One living within them so that they may live Him, that He is being formed within them, that He is making His home in their hearts, that He is the One magnified in them, and that He is the One empowering them. If we experience Christ in this way, we shall regard Him as most precious, as a treasure of excellent power.
Second Corinthians 4:6 and 7 say, “The God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts for the illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” The phrase “this treasure” in verse 7 refers to verse 6. Because of the shining in our hearts, we have this treasure, a treasure that is wonderful, precious, and marvelous. God’s shining in our hearts brings into us a treasure, the Christ of glory, who is the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9) to be our life and our everything. But we who contain this treasure are earthen vessels, worthless and fragile. A priceless treasure is contained in worthless vessels. This has made the worthless vessels ministers of the new covenant with a priceless ministry. The excellence of the power, the divine power in resurrection, is surely of God and not of ourselves.
The indwelling Christ as our treasure is the divine source of the supply of the Christian life. By the excellent power of this treasure the believers are able to live a crucified life so that the resurrection life of Christ may be made manifest. Thus, the believers manifest the truth for the shining of the gospel.
The shining reality of Christ is the treasure in us, the earthen vessels. Outwardly we are earthen vessels, but inwardly we have a priceless treasure. This treasure is Christ as the embodiment of the processed Triune God to be in us as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit. This treasure has a power, and this power is excellent. Christ as the life-giving Spirit in us is the One who shines and works. This is the treasure we have in us.
The Greek word translated “excellence” also means transcendence, surpassingness, exceeding greatness. The fact that we are earthen vessels proves that the excellence of the power is of God and not of us. In ourselves we do not have the power to shine forth the glory of the gospel. The excellence of this power is of God. Although we are earthen vessels, God has shined Christ as a precious treasure into us. Now this treasure has become the source of the power energizing us and enabling us to shine forth God’s glory and to manifest the truth. Therefore, as believers we have Christ operating within us as a living and active treasure. This treasure even constrains us to do certain things. This is Christ in His person as the treasure of excellent power.
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