2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10 Lesson 345

2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10
Lesson 345

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

Paul continues the defense of his ministry.

Treasures in clay pots (4:7).
Christians look forward to heaven (5:1-8).

Verses 4:10-12, 4:16, and 4:17 comfort us when we seek peace.

Chapter five is the perfect passage for those who fear death.

Study Tip:

Pray as you study the Bible and trust your informed interpretations.
God will open your heart and pour in more truth as you're ready to receive it.

The Second Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Corinthians

The King James Bible

2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10
Preserved in trial

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

18 While 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.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Earthly verses heavenly

1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Margin notes:

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels." (4:7) - "We have a treasure (our spiritual self) in clay pots (our bodies)."

"The excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (4:7) - "The power comes from God, not from us."

"Not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." (4:9) - Regardless of how challenging our lives may be, God will not abandon us or allow us to fall.

"Bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." (4:10) - "Carrying the body of the dying Lord Jesus." This means we share in the suffering of Jesus (2 Timothy 2:11; 1 Peter 4:13).

"Made manifest in our body." (4:10) - "Seen in our body."

"That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (4:11) - "So the life of Jesus might be seen in our dying bodies."

"So then death worketh in us, but life in you." (4:12) - Paul faced death to help the Corinthians find life.

"As it is written...have I spoken." (4:13) - Paul is quoting King David from
Psalms 116:10.

"He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also."(4:14) - "God, who resurrected the Lord Jesus will raise us, too" (Romans 8:11).

"All things are for your sakes." (4:15) - Means all things are learning experiences.

"Redound to the glory of God." (4:15) - "Abound to the glory of God."

"Our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (4:16) - Our physical bodies (the outward man) age and die. But our spiritual self (inward man) never dies. Our spiritual self is renewed whenever we spend time with Christ.

"Our light affliction, which is but for a moment." (4:17) - Our problems on earth are minor and fleeting when compared to our time in eternity. Remember, our afflictions have a purpose; they remind us of how Christ suffered, keep us humble, and show our faith in God.

"Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (4:17) - Our trials earn us eternal glory, as promised in Isaiah 54:7.

"The things which are seen are temporal." (4:18) - 'The things which we see now are temporary." This life is fleeting, but our next life is forever.

"Tabernacle." (5:1) - Means tent; tents are a fragile, temporary dwelling and, as used here, a metaphor for our earthly bodies.

"We have a building of God." (5:1) - Another metaphor for our bodies. While a tent is a temporary dwelling, buildings are permanent. We have eternal bodies, made by God, waiting for us.

"House not made with hands." (5:1) - They are built by God and thus eternal.

"We shall not be found naked." (5:3) - We will not be without bodies. Our spirits/souls will have new bodies in heaven.

"For we that are in this tabernacle do groan." (5:4) - "For we that live in this tabernacle (temporary body), groan (under the strain of life's temptations, illnesses, trials, and disappointments)."

"He that hath wrought us." (5:5) - "He that has prepared us."

"The earnest of the Spirit." (5:5) - "The promise of the Spirit."

"Whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:" (5:6) - "While we live in our (earthly) body, we are not with our Lord."

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." (5:7) - We cannot see God. We trust in Him out of faith.

"We are confident." (5:8) - "We have courage."

"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him." (5:9) - Make pleasing God your daily goal. Everything else will flow from that.

"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." (5:10) - We will all be judged (Ecclesiastes 3:17; Matthew 16:27; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

Read 1 Corinthians 15:46-58 (lesson 338) to learn more about our future bodies.

New Living Translation

2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10
Treasures in clay jars

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.

12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, so I spoke."

14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.

15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10
New Bodies

1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.

2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing.

3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.

4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.

5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.

7 For we live by believing and not by seeing.

8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.

10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. Why does Paul call our bodies "earthen vessels?" (4:7)

Strengthen your relationship with God, study the Bible every day.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Paul calls our bodies "earthen vessels" (clay pots) because they are weak, fragile, and temporary. Our "earthen vessels" are not what God considers valuable. It is the contents of the vessel.  It is our spirit, our eternal soul (the real us), that God holds dear and places great value on. Everything that our "vessel" experiences here on earth is merely preparation for our permanent life with God.




Application thought for the day:

While it's sensible to plan for our financial future, it makes even more sense to plan for our spiritual future.
We are on this earth for a short time (4:16), so constantly renew and grow your relationship with Christ.
Just as a student prepares for the future, we should secure our heavenly future by studying the word of God.
The honor students reward is a successful forty-year career, your reward will be eternal.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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