Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Corinthians 4:7

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;" — 2 Corinthians 4:7 (ASV)

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels.—The imagery here begins to change. The treasure is the knowledge of the glory of God as possessed by the Apostle.

It was the practice of Eastern kings, who stored up their treasures of gold and silver, to fill jars of earthenware with coin or bullion (Herod. iii.103. Compare also Jeremiah 32:14). “So,” St. Paul says, in a tone of profound humility, “it is with us. In these frail bodies of ours—earthen vessels—we have that priceless treasure.”

The passage is instructive, showing that the vessels of wood and of earth in 2 Timothy 2:20 are not necessarily identical with those made for dishonour. These words probably allude to the taunts that had been thrown out concerning his bodily infirmities. “Be it so,” he says; “we admit all that can be said on that account, and it is so that people may see that the excellence of the power which we exercise comes from God, and not from ourselves.”

The words that follow, contrasting sufferings and infirmities in their manifold variety with the way in which they were borne through God’s strengthening grace, show this to be the true underlying sequence of thought.