2 Corinthians 4:7-11 NKJV
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
Give God The Glory
We who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives still live in flesh bodies (earthen vessels). But we are no longer to
walk (in conduct) according to the flesh, living for selfish and sinful
desires. We who are followers of Christ are now to be being conformed to the likeness
of Jesus Christ by God working in our hearts and minds to make us to be more
like Jesus. For we are now clay in the hands of our Potter God who is making us
and molding us into the likeness of Christ, as we cooperate with his work.
And in this way, all that is of God in our lives should be
shown that it is of God, and not of human flesh. And we who are serving the
Lord in ministry should be giving all the credit and all the glory and all the
honor to God who is working in us and through us for his glory. And we should
not be taking the credit for ourselves for that which is of God. For we should
be working for the Lord for his purposes, to lead people to Christ and not to
ourselves. And so we make it our goal to please our Lord in every area of our
lives.
We are Hard-Pressed
If we are serious about our walks of faith in obedience to
our Lord in doing what God requires of us, and what he has called us
individually to do for his purposes and for his glory, this will not be without
trials and tribulations. We will be faced with many difficulties, hardships,
and persecutions for the sake of our faith in Christ and for his gospel. And we
might lose friendships, and we might be asked to leave gatherings of “the
church” because of our strong convictions which are of God and of his Word. So
we need to be prepared.
We must not let these trials, which test our faith,
dishearten us or get us to back down and to back away from what we know God has
called us to do. We must not let persecutions and rejections lead us to despair
and to the destruction of our faith. We must be conquerors through Christ who
loves us and who gave his life up for us so that we can now serve him with our
lives in obedience to his commands and to his callings on our lives. So when we
are hard-pressed we must look to God to give us the strength to endure.
Always Delivered to Death
Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, the second person of our
triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – gave his life up for us on that
cross in order to put our sins to death with him. And he rose victorious from
the grave in victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell, on our behalf, all so
that we, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, might now die with him to sin
and to self, and that we might now live for God in walks of obedience to his
commands, in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives on this earth.
But this death which we die is death not only to sin and to
self but to fleshly desires which are contrary to the will of God. And daily we
keep dying to sin and to self so that we might walk in obedience to our Lord in
purity of devotion to him and to his will for our lives. For we are crucified
with Christ in death to sin so that we might now walk in his righteousness, in
living holy lives which are for his glory and praise and for the salvation of
other people’s lives, too. And this is the process of salvation which God
intends for us all.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
To Be Like Him
Based off Scripture
An Original Work / March 16, 2014
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Crucified you are
with Jesus.
To be like Him, oh,
you’ll be,
Because He died at
Calv’ry,
So from sin you’d be
free.
Oh, what joy He
brings into your life,
Giving life with Him
endlessly.
Oh, what plans He
has for your life.
Share the gospel
faithfully.
Show the people He
loves them.
Now His witness
you’ll be.
Tell the world of
sin about Jesus,
How He died for them
on a tree.
Purifying hearts, He
saves them,
Who believe on
Christ, God’s Son.
Turning now from
their idols,
New lives they have
begun.
Jesus saves from
sin; we’re forgiven.
Over sin, the
vict’ry He won!
When He comes again
to take us
To be with Him
evermore,
There will be no
more crying.
Gladness will be in
store.
Heavens joys will
now overtake us:
We’ll be with our
Lord evermore.
This Treasure in Earthen Vessels
An Original Work / June 17, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
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