Treasure in Jars of Clay: Reflections on the Books 1 and 2 Corinthians

"We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). No church Paul planted caused him more grief, or drew out more of his heart, than the one at Corinth - a congregation split into rival factions, tolerating open scandal, dragging each other into pagan courts, and confused about everything from spiritual gifts to the resurrection itself. Across two letters written within the same year, Paul confronts, corrects, and finally reconciles with this troubled church, along the way writing some of the most quoted passages in the New Testament: the "love chapter" of 1 Corinthians 13, the resurrection chapter of 1 Corinthians 15, and the "power made perfect in weakness" of 2 Corinthians 12. Treasure in Jars of Clay: Reflections on the Books of 1 and 2 Corinthians is the twenty-third volume in The Daily Quiet Time Reflections Series, continuing the same daily, one-reading-at-a-time approach used throughout - most recently in The Word Became Flesh: Reflections on the Gospel of John. Drawn from more than a decade of daily Quiet Time writing and Sunday School teaching at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Eugene Han walks through both letters across eight chapters, organized in two parts: Part One through 1 Corinthians' confrontation of division, immorality, and disorder in worship; Part Two through 2 Corinthians' meditation on the true nature of Christian ministry - carried out, Paul insists, not through impressive strength but through treasure entrusted to ordinary, breakable people. This is not a technical commentary written for seminarians. It is a layman's companion for ordinary believers who want to read these two letters slowly and be met by both their unflinching correction and their hard-won hope. Each chapter includes: - A close, readable walk through that day's passage, grounded in careful study but written for everyday readers- Honest engagement with 1 Corinthians' most debated passage - the head coverings of chapter 11 - laid out evenhandedly rather than resolved by fiat- A clear, well-reasoned treatment of spiritual gifts and tongues, read in context against both chapters 12-14 and the pattern of Acts- Reflection and discussion questions, ideal for personal devotion or small-group Bible study Whether you are reading through 1 and 2 Corinthians for the first time, leading a Bible study, or continuing the journey begun in earlier volumes of this series, this book offers eight chapters of careful, faithful reflection on a church learning - slowly, and at real cost - what it means to carry a treasure it never earned.