But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God

and not to 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 manifested in our bodies. 2
Cor. 4:7-10
Items of value could be kept in them, and clay jars were especially popular for storing liquids
because the pottery hindered evaporation and kept the contents cool at the same time. Even
broken pieces of pottery, or "shards," found a use as writing material for notes, receipts and
messages.
In verses 7-15 Paul compares the gospel minister to a piece of Palestinian pottery. We have
this treasure in jars of clay (v. 7). This treasure is the glorious good news about Christ (vv. 16). Jars of clay is actually "earthenware vessels". So to be God's "vessel" is to be his
instrument in carrying out a specific service--in this case, the gospel ministry.
The marvel of Paul's statement is not to be overlooked. The gospel minister is a vessel made
of common, run-of-the-mill clay--fragile and easily broken. And yet God has entrusted
the treasure of the gospel to such a vessel, just as Palestinians stored their valuables in
common clay pots. Why does God do this? According to Paul, he does it to show that this allsurpassing power is from God and not from us. God uses what is fragile and yet serviceable
so that there might be no mistaking the origin of the gospel minister's power.
First, he is hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. The verb hard pressed means "to
press in hard against" someone, or, as we say today, to squeeze the life out of a person, while
the term not crushedindicates that the pressure never got to the point where there was no
escape or way out.
Second, he is perplexed but not in despair. There is a play on words here that the NIV misses.
To beaporoumenoi is to be at a loss how to act, while to be exaporoumenoi is to be utterly at a
loss (i.e., in extreme despair). Although Paul may have been at a loss about how to proceed,
he never--as we say--went off the deep end.
Third, he is persecuted but not abandoned. The Greek verb means "to pursue" and is
commonly used of tracking a prey or enemy. Paul was pursued from city to city by hostile
Jews. But through it all, God neverabandoned him. The idea here is that God did not leave
Paul behind or in the lurch for the enemy to pick up.
Finally, he is struck down by the enemy but not destroyed. Paul was not only pursued by
hostile Jews, but when they caught up with him, they stirred up trouble whenever they could.
He may also be thinking of the time he was stoned at Lystra and left outside the city for dead.
Yet he lived.