Now let us go into the state of disequilibrium in discipleship from here. Verse seven will be our anchor scripture on this. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Imagine there is a flat object standing on a pillar, imagine two weights placed on each side of the flat object, if either of the wights placed on the flat objects becomes lighter than the other side, it means that side with the lighter weight would come down, while the other side would go up. This also is applicable to the other side as well.
But in a situation where the weights are the same and are placed on the flat object on the pillar, then it means they will be on the straight line. That simply explains to us a state of balance. Now in this contest, state of balance is not good for us. Have you
ever seen water that flows on a straight course? If you have a perfect plain land, can water flow in a way that you would say this is a river? What would simply happen when you pour water on a perfect plain is that the water would be moving everywhere, perhaps at equal rate. You will just know that the water is expanding until it is no longer existing at the centre. Now if you want to really have a real flow, it then means that one side must be higher than the other. No wonder God did not make the earth to be flat, but spherical in shape and that shows that there can be movement across the earth.
Now imagine the weight on each sides of the flat object to be the Spirit of God and the Flesh of man. By that scripture in verse seven of 2 Corinthians 4, it is expected that the Spirit of God side of the weight is expected to be weightier than the flesh side of man, so that the excellence, the supremacy may be of God and not of the flesh. By that, it already shows imbalance. It shows disequilibrium. When there is an equilibrium between us and God, it means there cannot be a flow from Him to us. If we elevate ourselves to be at par with God, He simply cannot flow to us. So, because of this, God is expected to have His way in us and not us superimposing on God. God must be the one that has the final say.
"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."
2 Corinthians 4:8-10
The verses above paints a picture of the life that should be lived. A life that is not trying to be sufficient of itself, but rather sufficient in God. A life that depends and feeds on God, a life that would rather go down so that God can increase. We are pressed on every side, we are persecuted, things are breaking us. We are being reduced on a daily basis, we are going through difficult situations and each time we go through these things, we reduce and God increases in us. And that is a picture of what John the baptist said when he said "I must decrease while He must increase." That statement already shows disequilibrium. And the process of your decrease is what is documented in this scripture.
The first thing is that "you have this treasure in earthen vessel". If you refused to acknowledge this fact that the treasure is in earthen vessel, then you will consider yourself to be much more than who you are. What you will bring you to the state of self awareness is when you understand that this treasure is housed in an earthen vessel. Remember Ephesians 2:8 that says we are saved by grace through faith, and not of works lest any man should boast.
Apostle Paul was speaking at a time, he said "I labour much more than them all, yet not i, but the grace of God that was given to me." And so, i labour, but not with mine own power, but by the grace that was released unto me. That also shows you disequilibrium , isn't it? It is because of the presence of the grace, that was why Apostle Paul was able to labour more than the rest of the Apostles. The grace is higher than physical strength. That is why verse ten says " always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."
"So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:12-16
Another word for that perishing according to verse sixteen, is reducing. Now if you look at the way Apostle Paul said it here, you won't pity him. He was not saying it so that you can pity him, it was not an expression to attract our pity. It was a statement of life because he only stated the kind of life that he was living. In Galatians 2:20 he says "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
So, the kind of life you think I am living, is not my life. That my life has been crucified with Jesus, so, I am simply living for Jesus. Now if the life of Jesus is at par with your life, how will that life of Jesus ever find expression in your life? Let us think about it. And we should not forget the scripture that says without controversy, the lesser is blessed of the greater. Now if your life is at equilibrium with that of Jesus, can the life of Jesus find expression in your life? The reason why we struggle to live the life of Jesus is because as we week to know Jesus, we are also seeking to grow ourselves. We cannot continue to feed the flesh and feed the Spirit at the same rate. It would cause balance.
Balance is harmful, balance is dangerous. It makes us inaccessible to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God can't access and express Himself through us, this is what balance does,! We are so strong in the flesh, we are strong in the Spirit. We look like people who can both demonstrate both the flesh and the spirit, and so, when people look at us, they don't even know which one to really assess. There must be a supremacy and it must not be the flesh, fo your own sake, it must be the Spirit of God.
So, how do you measure someone spiritual maturity? Is he reducing to himself, or is he increasing in the Spirit? There must be a continuous decrease to self, continuous decrease to the flesh, continuous decrease of your own ambition and continuous increase of the will of God. Jesus was able to pull through because His spirit was higher than His flesh. He said "Not as I will, but as you will Lord." If it was the flesh that was in higher position than His spirit, His flesh would have prevailed. But Jesus said, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. That statement showed the kind of life Jesus was living, high in the Spirit, low in the flesh.
Being low in the flesh does not come accidentally, it comes by what Apostle Paul stated. These are things that men naturally would run away from, but these are the same things that he went through and he said, "we do not lose heart." What are the things that you are going through today that you are losing heart in? What are the things that you have been preordained to go through, that you losing heart in? Don't forget that it was not Apostle Paul that brought these things upon himself.
Now if you lose heart in persecution, there is likelihood that you will be crushed. You refused to lose heart knowing that it is the will of God that must reign supreme in whatsoever you are going through. And that is what makes the spirit to grow. The reason why many of us will not pray, will not fast is simply because we constantly tell ourselves, the ones we have done, what have we gotten from it? What you are supposed to continue doing, you stopped doing simply because you have lost your heart. And therefore the spirit is not able to grow in you, it is that flesh that continues to grow. Judas in John 12:6 chastised Mary, simply because she broke her box of Alabaster oil and poured it on Jesus' feet, and used her hair to also wipe it.
Judas, contemplating, said the oil perhaps should have been sold and the money given to the poor, he said this not because he loved the poor, because of the state of his heart. If he was a man of the Spirit, he was supposed to have understand what Jesus was perhaps doing at that moment in time. But he was thief, and he has been stealing from the Ministry's purse. He does not care for the poor, but about himself. I mean, why do thieves steal. Is it not to satisfy their own selves? There are things his hand cannot touch, but he is trying to get something to help him touch it. That is an expression of a man who wants to increase in self, and over self and increase around self…it is all about myself!
But Jesus painted that picture very clearly. You cannot at the same time seek yourself, and then grow in the Spirit. You can't even recognise the move of the Spirit when the only focus is yourself. And another scripture that supports this point is the story of Gehazi, in 2 Kings 5. Gehazi was not happy that his master Elisha, spared Naaman of all the goods that he brought after he was healed of leprosy. The Bible says he went after Naaman, and lied against his master and collected all the goodies. The master chastised him with words, and pronounced him leprosy after the order of Naaman.
So, there is a great challenge trying to comfort self, trying to be good to yourself, trying to enjoy your life. There is an issue with that. In John 12:24 it says "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." If the flesh goes up, it does not falls down and die, it remains alone. It is until it falls down, that is when the Spirit can flow into it. Mortal body without the regular flow of Spirit into it is a decaying substance. It decays, it deteriorate, it even self-destructs without the continuos flow of the spirit into it. That is why the flesh, which is a decaying entity must not be higher than the flesh.
Are you aware that so many rich people, as a result of their own riches, killed themselves? They consume all manner of things that they think will make them feel good and because of these things that they feed upon, with their own money, got them hospitalised, and some of them lose their lives in the process. The flesh indeed profits nothing. The beauty of the flesh by the way, is when there is a flow of the Spirit into it. If the flesh gets into a position that it becomes impossible for the Spirit to flow into it, the flesh will decay, deteriorate and then be useless. Have you not seen men and women who have died before, what is there movement in that dead state? No movement, no activity because the spirit has been removed. You need more of the Spirit into you, and you cannot get it if you have elevated your wish, your will or your ambition than that of God for your life. You must continuously submit yourself under God, that is how you can continuously and sustainably receive from God. You cannot receive from the one that you are higher than. You can only receive from the one that is higher than you.
We must submit ourself under God, we must allow the spirit to reign. We must die to ourself. There is no pain dying to the flesh. There is rather gain dying to the flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 tells us that what we are going through now are temporal. Verse seventeen tells us as well that our light affliction, which is but for a moment, are temporal. So, it does not have to be rosy before we survive, even that situation that looks not palatable, it is temporal, and God has a greater plan for us in it.
One of the things that we will never be able to do and at the same time please God is to run away from the situation that Gods leads un into. Jesus said "would you take this cup from me?" The cup was the will of God for His life. God could not save Him from the same cup He has brought Him into. If God brings you into an hour, God cannot save you from it because the purpose of the hour is to make you. Such hour(s) is for a work of God in us and over. And when God is done with us, the beauty of our lives will rise up.
We should never forget this, that we can only receive from the one who is higher than us, we cannot receive from the one that we are higher than. The only time you can receive in such situations is when you come to realise that what you need, the person that is higher than you has it, and you are looking for it. That is why the Scripture says "looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith." That tells you that Jesus is the one that keeps sourcing you and supplying your needs. He keeps feeding you with life and because you keep receiving His life, there is an excellence of the power of God in your life.
And so like Apostle Paul, when you are weak, you are then strong. We should never forget that we have this treasure in earthen vessel. It is not the earthen vessel that should reign over the treasure, we must keep in touch with God so that we can keep receiving that treasure from God and we can keep demonstrating the power of God on earth.
I hope you have been blessed!
