Have you ever purchased something that came from the store wrapped in a spectacular package? I sometimes feel as though some products may be a little less expensive if companies did not place so much value and emphasis on the wrapping. After all, it is the product inside that is really what is important. For the most part, the package, once the item is removed, is simply discarded. Why? Because it is all about the product not the package that houses the item.
Significantly, the same is true spiritually speaking. To a congregation that sometimes got caught up in the packaging (1 Corinthians 1:10ff), Paul reminded, “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:5-7 KJV). Notice carefully that the emphasis in Paul’s life and ministry was on the product (Christ) and not the packaging (men)! Let’s examine this concept more closely.
Paul’s preaching was all about Christ. “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…” (2 Corinthians 4:5). Someone has correctly said, “You can gauge the effectiveness of a sermon by how long it takes for Jesus to show up.” Like the Greeks of antiquity, our plea must be, “Sir, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21). When the apostles in the first century preached, they unashamedly and daily heralded, “…in the temple, and in every house…Jesus Christ.” When Philip arrived in Samaria, “he preached Christ unto them” (Acts 8:5). Paul preached seemingly everywhere, but his message was always the same, “…we preach Christ crucified…” (1 Corinthians 1:23; see also 1 Corinthians 15; Philippians 1:15-18; Colossians 1:28; et al.). The church’s message has not changed in any way at all today! Our message must be all about Christ. It must never be about the package but the product in our preaching and practice as God’s people.
Paul’s piety was all about Christ. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Paul was clear about the fact that God’s light shined in him so that he could “give that light” to others. Paul did not live in such a way to draw attention to himself, but rather he lived a life to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The so called “good” that we accomplish as God’s children is never about us. Christians live life piously in order to cause others to look at the Savior. Focusing upon self was exactly what condemned the self-righteous Pharisee of Luke 18. The actions that the Pharisee mentioned (pious living, fasting and giving) are certainly all correct actions for any child of God. However, as many of the religious people in Jesus’ day, their piety was simply “to be seen of men” (Matthew 23:5) and not to point others to Christ. Quite the opposite was seen in Paul. “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death” (Philippians 1:20, emphasis added). Jesus clearly stated that we should shine brightly so that men will “glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our piety in life is never about the package but about the product we carry!
Paul’s power was all about Christ. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). The very idea of an “earthen vessel” causes us to think of something fragile and breakable. Sometimes God’s people get discouraged and feel overwhelmed given the condition of the world in which we live. Sometimes it seems like a lost cause. That would be true if the power were in the packaging, but the power to change lives does not reside in us! The power to change this sinful world is in the divine product from Heaven. The Gospel is still God’s power to save today (Romans 1:16). God is still using the power given us to ward off the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:10). Our power in life never rests in the package, thank God, but is solid and securely evident in the heavenly product.
One day these packages (i.e., earthen vessels) will return to the dust (Ecclesiastes 3:20), but the amazing treasure we carry will not (Matthew 24:35). Let us live in such a way that the world may see Jesus, for He is the amazing product that everyone needs. Sometimes our focus becomes blurred, but as we refocus, we realize it is all about the product!
