2 Corinthians 4.7-12
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may
be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come
from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not
driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not
destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always
being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made
visible in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
The second letter to the
Corinthians, which may be two letters put together, picks up some of the same
themes we find in 1 Corinthians. It seems that Paul visited the Corinthians
between the writing of the letters, and that the visit didn’t go well. They
prefer a Gospel which looks strong and in control, what would now be called a “prosperity”
Gospel. But God doesn’t necessarily work like that, says Paul. Worldly success
isn’t necessarily a sign of God’s blessing. Sometimes God works through
apparent failure and suffering, as he did in Jesus’s death on the cross. Paul
has faced much hardship but he sees God at work in this too, and hopes the
Corinthians might see it in their lives.
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