Treasure in Jars of Clay

"But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

Job 23:10

When a fast-growing new church exploded in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11), the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas, an incredibly gifted and discerning leader, to check on what was happening. After spending some time with the new church, and seeing the grace of God upon the work, he knew there was something he needed to do. 

Specifically, there was someone he needed to go find and recruit to help with the work there. He went to Tarsus to look for  Saul, the dynamic and controversial new church leader, Saul had persecuted the church and condemned a young preacher named Stephen to death. He was formerly an enemy of the church of Christ.

Because of this tension surrounding Saul, Barnabas went to the Jerusalem elders to endorse Saul (his Jewish name) as a legitimate kingdom leader and preacher who could help them make new disciples (Acts 9). Saul had already begun to preach the gospel effectively to both Jews and Greeks, and Barnabas saw Saul's raw gifting and powerful impact.

After some convincing, the leaders cautiously agreed to allow Saul to join the growing church movement called "Christians." This one event would change the world. 

Barnabas saw a treasure of gold inside Saul, or Paul (his Roman name) as we know him. Barnabas saw Paul's heart, courage, passion, character, humility and world class Hebrew training. He had been trained under the dignified Hebrew scholar Gamaliel. 

Barnabas saw that Paul was uniquely raised up by God to help the Antioch church grow and prosper. Together, Barnabas and Paul would team up to teach and disciple the leaders in Antioch for a year. In time, the Spirit would set apart Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:1-3) to take the gospel to distant people and lands, launching the missions era of the church.

What did Barnabas see in Paul? The Bible says this about the treasure in believers:

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

2 Cor 4:6-7

This verse teaches us that God makes the light of Christ shine to the world through the face of Jesus, which is seen in "jars of clay," the earthen vessels of human personalities. Put another way, Christ is put on display as He lives powerfully and lovingly by His Spirit through each believer. Every son and daughter of Christ has a unique shape to their jar of clay. Not two are alike. The combined brightness of that shining body of Christ brings the light of Jesus to new communities as the glory of God covers the earth (Eph. 4:11-16).

Our mission at The Fullness Group is to help each jar of clay shine the brightest and purest as they thrive in their God-given Identity and design. Thriving is the birthright of every believer (John 10:10b).  We want to partner with the Father to help His sons and daughters thrive biblically and shine brightly.

Barnabas saw the gold in Paul, before the Jerusalem elders, or anyone else, could see it.  God saw it, of course.  In His work of kingdom buildling, He is always looking for leaders who will "Mine for the Gold" in others: seeing the treasure they carry that reveals Jesus. 

Will you be one of those "mining for gold" leaders?

The mining for gold process takes spiritual discernment and a grace-filled love as we look past a person's past mistakes and failures to see the gold they carry. This requires that we see others the way Father God sees them--that we see them through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Only then can we discern their true eternal value and discover how they can help bring the gospel forward to the world. 

Thank God  Barnabas saw the gold in the apostle Paul. The world owes Barnabas a great debt of gratitude. Paul's life and writing are still transforming lives to this very moment.

Will you become a treasure seeker, like Barnabas, in the lives of others?!

Action Step: For ways to see the unique design God has placed in others, consider checking out this video course we created called, Free to Be Me: https://thefullnessgroup.freshlearn.com/