I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' Acts 26:17-18
"If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone 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 jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Corinthians 4:3-7
The Christian community throws around many words and sayings in regards to salvation like “Believer, born again, faith, repent, once saved always saved, backslider, give your life to Jesus, come forward and give Jesus a chance, accept Jesus, Christian, confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, or say the sinners prayer”. But what really constitutes a Christian? What makes for a true convert to Christ? Is becoming a Christian merely a decision? Is it like signing on the dotted line a sales agreement? Can a person think he is a Christian and be lost? What does it mean to be saved? Born again? What is does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? What part does God play and what part does man play in the salvation process?
Today many biblical terms have lost their meaning in the light of 21st century misunderstandings. We live in a day surrounded by unconverted people outside the church and within the church who say and think that they believe in Jesus. Our responsibility is to pierce the hearts of those who are unconverted with biblical truth. How? In Acts 26, the apostle Paul is telling King Agrippa about his conversion and his call to the ministry. He reports the spectacular encounter with Christ he had on the Damascus Road (Read Acts 9). Then he reports the commission that Christ gave him. It’s the words of the commission that are so amazing and relevant for us.
Paul tells us tells us in verses 15-17 what Jesus told him: ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you.” Now listen carefully to what Jesus says he is sending Paul to do in his ministry. Verse 18: “I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Here is what Christ aims to accomplish to save sinners through the means of the witness of His people. There are several things I see in this verse:
I. God sends ordinary men and women as His instruments- “I am sending you…"(verse 18a) God told Paul that He was sending him. When Paul thought about being sent by Jesus and the task of proclaiming the gospel he writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Paul describes himself as a jar of clay with a powerful treasure inside. He says we have “this treasure.” What is this "treasure"? He describes it in the verse before, 2 Corinthians 4:6, “The knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” Or, 2 Corinthians 4:4, “The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” In short: We have the gospel with its light-giving power.
Think about this statement: “We have this treasure in jars of clay.” Jars of clay are a reference to us. We are the jars of clay. That is, compared to the treasure that is within us, we are clay. This means that in the wisdom of God, He ordains that those who feel and are are weak, fickle, average, below average in your ability and worthiness to share the gospel treasure, you are blessed by God and living close to this truth. Paul wants us to realize that we all are clay pots when it comes to containing and sharing the gospel. It is so valuable and so powerful that any thought of its container being something special is foolish.
So what’s the point of being a clay pot? Back to 2 Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” God’s aim is that His own power through the gospel be honored, not us. The glory of God shines brightest through the lives of flawed saints. This means that if you feel average or less than average in your sense of ability to tell the gospel, then you are the person God is looking for; a flawed, weak, clay pot, who simply shares the treasure of the gospel.
Paul makes a similar statement in 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Spurgeon said, "We give God much glory when we receive from Him much grace."
Consider Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1:25-31, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
It is of paramount importance to understand the very root of God's working out His purposes in converting lost sinners: The means of conversion is God sending out flawed saints carrying within themselves a gospel treasure to bring glory to God. John Piper writes, “God ordains that we gaze on His glory, dimly ministered in the lives of his flawed servants. He intends for us to consider their lives and peer through the imperfections of their faith and behold the beauty of their God.”
God wills to do his work through the gospel, carried in flawed Christians, and the surpassing power will belong to him and not to us. Be encouraged, ordinary Christian. You are appointed, precisely in your ordinariness, for the greatest work in the world: proclaiming the greatest news in the world: the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To be continued...
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