In 2 Corinthians 4:12 Paul says, “So then death operates in us, but life in you.” When we are under the killing of the Lord’s death, His resurrection life is imparted through us into others. The impartation of life into others is always the issue of our suffering the killing of the cross. While we are dying, others are being made alive. Our dying infuses life into them and makes them alive. For us, it is a matter of being put to death; for them, it is a matter of the impartation of life.
The work of the apostles is the work of death operating in them so that life may operate in the believers. It may not sound pleasant to us to hear of death operating in the apostles. But the issue, the result, of this operation of death is wonderful—it is life in others. This is the real work of the new covenant ministry. It is not a matter of working; it is a matter of dying. In the Lord’s recovery we need to die so that life may work in others. Hence, our dying is our working. The Lord does not need us to accomplish a work for Him. He needs us to die. If we die, life will work in others. We will minister life to others by dying. The apostles were not followers of a great person but of a small man, Jesus of Nazareth. Furthermore, instead of being exalted, they were always being put to death so that the life of Jesus could be manifested in their mortal flesh. Death operated in them so that life might operate in the believers. Christ’s death was always killing them. 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.
In verse 7 the apostle Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.” We know that the expression earthen vessels refers not merely to our body but to us; we are made of clay and are earthen vessels. This treasure refers to God and His life, that is, Christ and His life. We have this treasure in earthen vessels means that we have Christ in us, that is, in our inner man. In fact, our inner man is Christ; our outer man is we ourselves. Hence, verse 16 says, “Though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” This means that while we are being broken by God, Christ is being built up in us.
On the one hand, Christ is the treasure, and we are the earthen vessels to contain Him. On the other hand, we need to be broken, consumed, and reduced so that Christ as the treasure can be manifested from within us (vv. 8-12, 16-17). After we allow Christ to come into us, we as vessels need to be broken in order that Christ as the treasure might be expressed.
God’s shining in our hearts brings into us a treasure, the Christ of glory, who is the embodiment of God 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. This has been accomplished by the divine power in resurrection. The excellency of the power is surely of God and not out of us. The ministers of the new covenant were earthen vessels to contain the Christ of glory as the excellent treasure (v. 7). These vessels are like today’s camera, into which Christ the figure enters through the flash of God’s shining (vv. 4, 6).
This treasure, the indwelling Christ, in us, the earthen vessels, is the divine source of the supply for the Christian life. It is by the excellent power of this treasure that the apostles as the ministers of the new covenant were capable of living a crucified life that the resurrection life of Christ, whom they ministered, might be manifested. Thus, they manifested the truth (v. 2) for the shining of the gospel.
Earthen vessels containing a treasure is a metaphor used to describe the ministers of the new covenant and their ministry. Second Corinthians 4 leads us into the real experience of Christ’s death and resurrection. We are the earthen vessels, yet we have a treasure in us. This demonstrates the excellency of the power of the treasure in death and resurrection. Christ’s power is not only manifested in resurrection but also in death. The four Gospels show us how Christ passed through a long journey of death while not being put down by death; the many aspects of death could not restrain Him. He had the power to overcome death. In death the power of Christ was greatly manifested. In His resurrection His power was also manifested. There was no way to subdue Paul because as an earthen vessel he had Christ as the treasure within him. In this way, the excellent power of the treasure was manifested. This was not of man but of God. We also are vessels to contain Christ as the treasure. Day after day we may express the all-inclusive death of Christ and the resurrection power. How much of this treasure we have in us is indicated by how much we express Christ in His all-inclusive death and resurrection.