In 2 Corinthians 4 we see that we may express Christ as vessels.
In 2 Corinthians 4:10 Paul speaks of “always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus.” Here the expression the putting to death of Jesus refers to the killing, the deadening; it also refers to the working of death, the working of the cross, which the Lord Jesus suffered and went through. When the Lord was on earth, He was daily under the killing. Day by day He experienced being put to death. The apostles also experienced this. Daily they were under the killing; daily they were being put to death. In our experience this is a kind of suffering, persecution, or dealing that comes upon us for the sake of Jesus, for the sake of the Body of Christ, and for the sake of the new covenant ministry. This does not refer to sufferings and troubles that are common to all human beings in the old creation, such as illness or calamity, or to punishment, correction, or discipline suffered because of sins, mistakes, or failure to fulfill one’s responsibility. This putting to death of Jesus consumes our natural man, our outward man, our flesh, so that our inward man may have the opportunity to develop and be renewed (v. 16). To be put to death is to be put into a situation of constantly being killed. This kind of daily putting to death will eventually cause the resurrection life to be manifested. This is the living that we ought to have.
The putting to death of Jesus in our environment cooperates with the indwelling Spirit to kill our natural man (our outer man), comprising our body and our soul. The indwelling Spirit works to kill us. The Spirit is the Killer, but He needs an instrument, a “knife,” to kill us. The “knife” may be our spouse, our children, or certain brothers and sisters in the church. A certain saint can become a “knife” which the Spirit uses to kill us.
We all want to have a nice environment where everything is smooth, peaceful, sweet, and nice. But instead, we are under an environment of sufferings and pressures which works with the Spirit to kill our natural man. The putting to death, the killing, in 2 Corinthians 4 is through the environment. In speaking about the application of Christ’s death, Romans 8 refers to the indwelling Spirit, whereas 2 Corinthians 4 refers to the outward environment. The outward environment cooperates with the inward Spirit to carry out the killing of our natural man.
In 2 Corinthians 4:10 Paul goes on to say, “That the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” The killing of the cross results in the manifestation of the resurrection life. This daily killing is for the release of the divine life in resurrection. Here the life of Jesus refers to the resurrection life, which the Lord Jesus lived and expressed through the working of the cross. This portion shows us that the termination of the cross eventually causes the manifestation of the resurrection life. The putting to death of Jesus destroys the natural man, the outward man, and the flesh in order that the inward man can be given the opportunity to develop and be renewed to live out the resurrection life.
The resurrection of Christ is the manifestation of the divine life. Resurrection is the life of Jesus manifested through His death. Paul wrote the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians fully from experience. He described how the apostles lived out the crucified life and manifested the resurrection life.
The continual daily grinding works for a specific purpose: that the life of Jesus might be manifested in our body. This life is resurrection life. The Lord Jesus lived resurrection life even before He was crucified. The life that He lived on earth was a life of resurrection.
The death for Jesus’ sake is the glorious, wonderful, loveable death of Christ. The life of Jesus is resurrection. The death that takes place in Adam is ugly, but the death that takes place in Christ is lovely. Adam died, and Christ also died. However, with one the death was ugly, but with the other the death was lovely. With unbelievers, no affliction is good, but with us, the believers, all afflictions are very good. If persecution befalls us, it is wonderful, but if it befalls an unbeliever, it is terrible. All the negative items in 2 Corinthians 4:8-12 are different aspects of the death of Christ. We may call them sufferings, but according to Philippians 3:10, sufferings are a part of Christ’s death. Philippians 3:10 says, “To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” The fellowship, the participation, of His sufferings is the participation in His death. To participate in His death is to be conformed to His death. Every day we are afflicted, perplexed, cast down, and persecuted, and our outward man is decaying, being consumed. These are different aspects of Christ’s death. When we are suffering these things, Christ’s death is being applied to us. Through this death the life of Christ is manifested.
A sister may love her daughter very much but only with her natural emotion. If God desires this sister to grow in spirit, He must stretch out His hand to deal with her natural love for her daughter. This is a putting to death, a killing. We also may be very clever, relying on our mind in everything that we do, rather than relying on our spirit. Consequently, God will raise up one situation after another to kill our cleverness. This is a genuine experience, and it may be not only painful but also long lasting. Paul says that the putting to death of Jesus operates in us so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body.