While most Christians are able to say unquestionably that they are indeed saved and are destined for an eternity in Heaven where they will receive perfected bodies and be finally free from the encumbrances of the Old Nature, many are not so sure how all this is affecting, or is supposed to affect, life on Earth.  Either they live in serious confusion about what their life on Earth is supposed to look like, or condemnation because they feel they are not as good, normal, healthy or mature as they believe they should be.  The rest of us just live in denial (and we all will deny this). 

The truth is, we really do have some apparent discrepancies in our life to try to reconcile.  We are told to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48).  John tells us that “anyone born of God does not sin” (1Jo 5:18).  And Heaven knows we are far from that. 

“So we no longer regard anyone from a human point of view” (2 Cor. 5:16)

I think we (at least I) have tended to view ourselves according to an incorrect view of who we are (the human point of view) as well as an incorrect view of salvation and how that applies to our life on Earth.  When we read Paul discuss the battle between our old nature and our new nature, we identify that with our present life, as it seems to coincide often with our internal moral struggles[1].  We still have our old sinful nature, which is usually quite apparent (even though it supposedly was crucified with Christ), and our new nature, which we have to accept by faith (and which we often view as sinful as well). 

We believe that in spite of being saved, we are still defective, which colors how we see everything, including how we see the “new creation” that we are.  In other words, we view our new nature from a human point of view.  An easy thing to do, considering that we are, after all, human.  As Paul tells us that we now no longer view anyone from a human point of view, that raises the logical question, “What, then, is God’s point of view?”

Lately, as I have read Paul’s writings, it has become apparent to me that in contrast to how I see things, Paul had a rare understanding of eternity that put everything else in perspective for him.  He was a man with a purpose that went far beyond accomplishing anything – even his apostolic ministry – on Earth. His desire to get to Heaven appeared to be greater than any desire he had to see the world saved.  He remained here only because God wanted him to, not that he didn’t enjoy his life – he just loved Heaven more (Phil. 1:21-23).

As I am sure you have heard before, the Church, especially in this country, has been affected by life in a fast-food, quick-fix world.  The word “comfort” has taken on a completely different meaning than the word used in translating Paul’s 2^nd letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 1:3-7).  When comfort is used there, Paul is talking about “easing the pain.”  However, when we use the word today, we have in mind a world without pain.  Obviously, there is a big difference in viewpoints. 

“to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21)

God's point of view, then (presuming Paul reflected God’s point of view), appears to be one which places life on this Earth in the context of eternity.   Again, this is not in accordance with our instant-cash society[2].  I remember when I was younger hearing sermons and reading books which used the term temporal, meaning temporary, or that which does not last past this life.  I was raised in the Midwest, where – as I am fond of saying, and only half jokingly – suffering was a way of life.  The concept of temporal, to us, was (as it was for the early Church) a comforting thing.  It meant that the limitations of this life were not forever.

Eternity should still be a comfort to us, but we have worked so hard to make this temporal existence such a pain-free, comfortable place to stay that we hate to leave, even for Heaven.  When we are occasionally faced with the reality of life in a fallen world, we think there is something wrong (like’s it’s a demonic attack on us personally).  There is something wrong, of course; but we must remember that God’s plan for salvation presumes the fact that something is wrong, both with the world and with us.  If something weren’t wrong, we wouldn’t need a Savior. Most of us have come to terms, at least to some extent, with that fact that the world is a fallen place – however, dealing with ourselves as fallen-but-saved creatures is often confusing, if not downright depressing.

Some of us have this picture in our minds of God looking down on us, only Jesus is standing in front of us so the Father can’t see how sinful we are.  Jesus somehow accepts us, but the Father only accepts Jesus, so we need to keep “hidden” in Christ so that we can make it to Heaven, or so that God will hear our prayers.  While this image may give us hope that we will make it to Heaven someday, it doesn’t inspire me to “boldly go before the throne” (Hebrews 10:19-22).  The writer of Hebrews, of course, invites us into the Holy of Holies because we have been made pure, even though we don’t really grasp it.

Many do, of course, have a more of a grace-oriented view of our relationship with the Father. Although there is still often a discrepancy (explained either in obscure theological terms or some other rationalization) as to why our reality of who we are doesn’t match with the reality we have been taught God sees.  We can hold to this rationalized view for a while, but sooner or later we fall into the dark chasm that exists between these realities.  The problem, as I see it, is that we perceive that there are two different realities.

I am coming to believe that the reality that God sees is our reality, pure and simple, and that we can see and live that same reality. God’s reality is our reality, not just some theological concept that only God can see.  If, then, we can discover the reality of who we are and begin to understand how God accepts us, then maybe we can begin for the first time in our lives to accept ourselves.  With that out of the way, we are free to experience the Christian life (which is simply the beginning of eternal life) as it was meant to be.

“For we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7)

I think we can all agree that a part of us is temporal (that is, not existing past death) and part of us isn’t.  That other part of us is eternal, existing after death.  The key is to understand which is which, and to accept it for what it is.  I believe that God accepts our temporal self, which would include our old sinful nature, which is already legally dead, having been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20), for what it is.  Our Old Nature is defective, doomed to failure, and doomed to death.  It’s supposed to be[3].  God doesn’t expect it to be perfect; he has given us a life that is eternal, that is perfect. This eternal life – the New Creation – is the treasure we have in earthen vessels.

I have in the past presumed that earthen vessels referred to our bodies, as that seemed the most obvious conclusion.  However, I think that earthen vessel refers to more than just our physical body, but also to our old nature or temporal self, that which is not expected to live forever.  Within the self that we see and deal with on a daily basis, God has placed the treasure of new life, which we now also can deal with on a daily basis.

The problem we have, of course, in dealing with our “earthen vessels” is that first of all, we don’t like them, and secondly, we think they are supposed to change.  We believe that, somehow, new life in Christ will transform clay pots into fine china.  This is a constant source of frustration, as can be expected.  Reality, of course, is that earthen vessels are essentially functional; they exist purely to serve a purpose.  Their purpose is not for beauty, nor is it to last forever. Their purpose is merely hold something.  The earthen vessel is not the treasure. 

“. . . but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2)

The question now becomes, “then what part of us is being transformed?”  I think there are perhaps at least three parts to the answer.  One is that our “treasure” – that New Creation that we have become – does not need transforming in the sense of changing from “bad” to “good.”  It is, after all, “Christ who lives in [us]” (Gal. 2:20). However, as with any new life, it requires maturing.  Immaturity is not a defect, it is just reality.  No one in his or her right mind gets angry with a baby for not being an adult.  That is just not living in reality.  As with the development of a child, every tiny bit of growth of the New Life inside us is an exciting, joyful experience – to someone with God’s point of view.

Second, while earthen vessels are not intended for eternity, they still have a purpose to serve on Earth, and some patching may need to be done in order for them to continue to be useful.  If the bottom falls out, for example, it can’t hold the treasure.  So, I believe that we can expect some healing and change to occur to our temporal selves, both to our physical bodies as well as to old negative behaviors.  However, we must be careful not to make this the prime focus of our lives.  This is falling back into a human point of view.

Paul’s focus, as we have said, was on eternity, not on the present.  He states that he was able to be content in whatever state he was in, whether in abundance or in need.  However, he was obviously still concerned things relating to his life on Earth; for example, he still sought relief from his thorn in the flesh (which by Paul’s use of “flesh” we can presume it was something affecting his temporal self only).  Paul’s attitude about the present is impressive because he was able to put it in context of eternity. 

God’s concern is both for our eternity and for our present.  Although God knows better than anyone that our earthly lives are a drop in the bucket of eternity, He still is concerned about us in this life and has promised to take care of us in this life.  Jesus did not go around just forgiving sins, he also spent a large part of his time healing and feeding people.  He cared for the earthen vessels, because although the treasure will someday be taken out, for a relatively short span of time the safety and well being of the treasure depends to a great deal upon the condition of the earthen vessel. 

Finally, there is the eternal us – the soul, that exists past this life whether we are destined for Heaven or Hell.  This is not the earthen vessel, as the soul is eternal as opposed to the temporal old nature.  But neither is it the treasure.  Here I am going way beyond the Biblical imagery, but it seems to work: think of the soul as not the clay jar, not the treasure in the clay jar, but the person holding the jar with the treasure in it. The unsaved soul is left holding an empty clay jar; he is essentially bankrupt.  The jar is not even nice to look at.  Christians, on the other hand, have been given the treasure of Eternal Life – a wonderful gift, they just have to temporarily hold it in a clay jar.

The soul holding the jar does not have the capability of changing himself, even if he gold plates the jar.  The jar’s destiny is still eventual destruction, no matter what kind of temporal improvements are made (“If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.” Lev. 11:33).  In God’s economy, the soul is still bankrupt, and actually shares more or less the same destiny as the jar he holds.  However, the presence of the eternal treasure – Christ in us – transforms our soul into His image by the renewing of our mind.  Where we once shared a common identity and destiny with the clay jar, our identity has been separated from that of the jar, and we now have been forever joined to the treasure in the jar.  Our soul’s destiny can never be separated from the destiny of the treasure, no matter what happens to the jar.

In other words, should someone come up and criticize our “earthen vessel,” we no longer have to take that as a personal affront, because it is not “us” anymore; it has been reckoned as dead. In fact, we can agree joyfully with the criticism, responding, “Oh yes, I know.  But just look at this treasure it holds!”

“My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9) 

As we all know, our temporal selves – our earthen vessels – are imperfect, and it is this imperfection which has many of us in an ongoing state of depression and shame.  However, this life from the human point of view.  God’s point of view is that it is those very imperfections in us that allow His perfection to show.  

The phrase “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” brings to mind the following picture: there is a clay jar, which has at some point in the past been broken to pieces and glued together.  As you would expect (for any of you who have actually attempted to repair a broken vase) the pieces don’t fit together the way that they should.  There are gaps in places where the seams don’t quite match, and there are a few holes where smaller pieces smashed beyond use or lost are missing.  There is a candle inside, and a cover on the jar.  Can you see it?  In daylight, certainly, the jar is not much to look at.  However, when placed in a dark room, light is visible only through the holes and cracks in the clay jar.

Does God heal our temporal selves?  Obviously, as we have seen, He does to some extent.  However, if God is more concerned with the light inside the jar coming out than the appearance of the jar itself (which is going to be disposed of soon anyway), why would he want to patch the holes in the jar?  Our pieces have been picked up and glued together so that we now can function as a place to hold the light (i.e. the Treasure), but to patch all the holes would be counter-productive to God’s primary purpose, which is to allow His light to shine out of us.  Again, it is our weakness – our cracks and holes – which allow God’s light to be made perfectly clear to those around us. 

“I am crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Jesus Christ within me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God of loves me and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20

From our human point of view, we are shamed because our cracks and holes are made so clear to the world around us, and we cry out for God to heal those imperfections.  We have been cursed from birth with this sense of shame about our defective condition.  Many of us continue to live with this sense of shame, in spite of that fact that the Law that held us accountable for our defective condition has been cancelled, our temporal self has been pronounced dead, and we have been given a New Life in Christ.  However, from God’s point of view the beauty of the jar – our ability to perform – is less than worthless, as it distracts from the treasure that God has placed within us. 

If we are ever to step out of our human point of view of shame and defectiveness and accept ourselves as God accepts us, we need to accept the reality of how God sees us.  God has not been somehow “fooled” into thinking that our earthen vessels are holy and acceptable.  Rather, He knows full well how broken and defective our temporal selves are.  He accepts us as we are, not only because he knows it is only temporal and that it is the treasure inside he cares about, but also because it only functions according to God’s plan for salvation if it is broken. We can pray that God will bring change to our temporal selves, but we need to be aware that the change God brings to the clay jar is often to make more holes in it, so more light can come out.

The temporal self has no power to change itself, or to provide any life to our eternal being.  It has, in fact, been declared dead.  It is useless as an agent of change.  The only hope we have for change is our New Life in Christ.  Our old behaviors, rooted in our temporal self, just have to be ignored.  Rather, we need to recognize (perhaps simply by faith) the New Life inside of us, which will cause us to become transformed into the image of Christ.

“changed . . .  from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18)

In colder climates, grass dies in the fall.  No matter how much you water it, care for it, etc., it will turn brown and stop growing (and look really ugly). You can try to make it look more presentable, even to the point of painting it green.  But in reality, there is nothing you can do to bring new life to that grass.

Now, do you live in shame that your front yard looks ugly?  Are you embarrassed and try to cover it up, or only invite people over after dark?  Or, do you accept the fact that it has no further use, and knowing that every other yard is in the same state.  This is simply reality.  It’s the way it’s supposed to be.  Is this the good news?  No.  The Good News is that under the ground, there is new life growing that will appear in the spring.  The old dead lawn is acceptable only because it is supposed to be an old, dead, rotting lawn, providing food for the new growth.

The process of being renewed in our mind (which is something that God does as the New Life grows within us) is allowing God to refocus our thinking from the temporal to the eternal.  In other words, learning to recognize the new creation and rejoicing in that, rather than being shamed by something which is first of all dead, and which has purpose only if it is broken.

“From now on we regard no one from a human point of view . . .” (2 Cor. 5:16)

The next step, but perhaps the easier step, is to begin regarding others from God’s point of view.  This means laying aside judgment of their “earthen vessel” and accepting it for what it is – a broken clay jar whose only value is that it has the capability of holding great treasure.  However, that capability in itself makes every earthen vessel priceless.  Viewing others from God’s point of view also means recognizing that, if they are Christians, God’s spirit has indwelled them and He has birthed within them a New Creation which is absolutely perfect (although perhaps immature), and which will exist for eternity.   Can you imagine what Church would be like if we all could “regard no one from a human point of view” and begin to relate to one another as the New Creations that we are?

The potential is mind-boggling.