2 Corinthians 4:7

This treasure of the gospel is held in fragile 'clay vessels' so that the surpassing power is clearly seen to be God's, not ours. Human weakness magnifies divine power.

Cross-references · 28

• 2 Cor 3:5–6Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
• 2 Cor 5:1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
• Eph 2:8–9For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
• 1 Cor 1:28He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,
• Col 2:3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
• 1 Cor 2:3–5I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
• Lam 4:2How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
• Eph 1:19–20and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
• Col 1:27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
• 2 Tim 2:20A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
• 2 Cor 12:7–9or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
• 2 Cor 10:10For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.”
• Eph 3:8Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
• Matt 13:44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
• 2 Cor 4:1Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
• Col 2:12And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.
• Job 4:19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
• 1 Th 1:5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.
• Judg 7:13–14And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
• Gal 4:13–14You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
• 2 Cor 13:4For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. And though we are weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him to serve you.
• Judg 7:16–20And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.
• Eph 2:5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
• Judg 7:2Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
• Matt 13:52Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
• 2 Cor 6:10sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
• 1 Cor 4:9–13For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
• Job 10:9Please remember that You molded me like clay. Would You now return me to dust?

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