- 142. Excellency of the power
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
God shining in our hearts is a treasure; this treasure resides in our frail human bodies, compared here to “jars of clay, earthen vessels.” Our bodies, even our very selves, are weak and very easily broken. But hidden inside these “cracked vessels” is a treasure; the treasure is a surpassing power. Making the comparison between clay jars and treasure allows us to clearly see to whom the surpassing power belongs.
The power hidden within our weakness is the power of God, the Creator of the universe. It should be obvious that we have absolutely no power. Without the Holy Spirit we do not even have the power to make the right choices; we could not even say, “Jesus is Lord” without the Holy Spirit. It should be clear to us that we can take no credit for thinking, deciding or doing anything good. That hurts our pride, but that’s a good thing because pride needs to be cut down. It is hard to admit that we can do no good thing, and hard to admit that God gets the credit for any good work that is done by us. I do not like to admit that I can add nothing to my salvation or good works, but it is true.
Jesus gets the credit for every good work done, but by His amazing grace He applies His credit to us. Now we are accounted righteous and now, with Jesus in us, we have to ability (surpassing power) to do good works. We are glad to admit that it is of God and not of us. In everything, He will do a much better job than we ever will.Trust the excellency of His power. Life is much easier when we trust God, but simple trust does not come so easily. But this is the power of the Gospel: the Gospel gives us ability to trust God. The simple message of the crucified Christ is stronger and wiser than anything in the world or in us.
It is a good thing to admit weakness, for then He is strong. Since I can’t do what God can do for me and in me I will take up my cross and follow Him. I happily shout, “The excellency of the power is of God, and not of me.”