What is the backdrop for 2 Corinthians 4:7 when Paul says we have this treasure?
The backdrop is Paul’s travels after missing Titus at Troas: he went to Philippi in northern Greece, was gravely ill and near death there, then recovered, journeyed down, and later visited Corinth a second time. He wrote these verses while almost despairing of his life because of that severe sickness.
Les explains that Paul had missed Titus meeting him at Troas, so he went on up to Philippi in northern Greece, where he was evidently on his sickbed nigh unto death. After he got well, he made his way down and finally visited Corinth a second time. That is the backdrop for these next few verses, when Paul was evidently almost despairing of his life because of his tremendous sickness. Les then connects verse 7 to verse 6: the light that lighteth the whole world is already there for us to draw upon, and believers can have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Even though this knowledge is magnificent, God did not put it in angels’ hands but left it in the hands of mortal men. Paul was human like the rest of us, and it did not stop with Paul; others came along, and even today every one of us can share the Word. So “we have this treasure” is the light of God placed in earthen vessels—not a clay pot, but this body of flesh made up of the elements of the earth.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
More Questions
What is the treasure Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 4:7?
The "treasure" Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 4:7 is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God — the light that lighteth the whole world, which is already there for us to draw upon and which we who know the Lord can have.