	Treasure in Jars of Clay
	The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:7: we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. The treasure that he is talking about is God’s good news through Jesus Christ. We are the jars of clay in which the treasure is kept. Paul himself achieved an astonishing amount in terms of the spread of the Gospel, yet he was aware that he was a fallible, weak human being. If we are to allow God’s all-surpassing power to work through us, then it is very important that we are aware about the reliability of the Bible. I want to emphasise in this article that we have some New Testament manuscripts that date from less than 100 years after they were written, and others that date from the next couple of centuries. They show just how reliable the text of the New Testament is. As for the Old Testament, until 1947 the earliest manuscripts dated from the early Middle Ages. In 1947 and the years that followed, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and studied. They included huge chunks of the Old Testament, for example the complete book of Isaiah. Those manuscripts, dating from the first century AD and earlier, show just how faithfully the Old Testament scriptures had been copied down the ages. From time to time there are attempts to show that the New Testament is unreliable. Many people thought that the hugely popular novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code did just that. In fact it did nothing of the sort. All the ideas in the novel are put forward by the characters in it, and they are obviously pure fiction. However, it is important that we have an answer when challenged about the reliability of the New Testament. The idea is put forward in The Da Vinci Code that Jesus was not worshipped as Lord until the beginning of the 4th century AD, when the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the empire. That is clearly nonsense, since Paul, writing to Christians in Rome in about 58 AD, says this: if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). That is just one place in the New Testament where we can see that from the very beginning of the Christian Church Jesus was worshipped as Lord. Those who want to support the half-baked ideas in The Da Vinci Code might well say that the New Testament was altered in the time of Constantine to suit his beliefs. Fortunately we have ample evidence (1) that the New Testament was substantially formed by the middle of the 2nd century (according for example to the Cambridge History of the Bible, 1970): and (2) that Christians were accused by their enemies and critics of worshipping Jesus as Lord long before the time of Constantine. Let us spell this out:	The evidence that that the New Testament was substantially formed by the middle of the 2nd century is very strong. In fact, the number of original manuscripts dating from the first few centuries of the Christian Church is astonishing. If you look at the bottom of page iv of the introduction to our pew Bibles (New International Version), you will find this statement: No other piece of ancient literature has such an abundance of manuscript witnesses as the New Testament. In fact, the earliest manuscript fragment found so far is part of John’s Gospel dating from about 130 AD, which may be seen in the John Rylands library in Manchester. Literally thousands of other manuscripts, dating from the first three centuries – parts of New Testament books, or whole books – are to be found around the world. As for the evidence of Jesus being worshipped as Lord, there are documents from outside the Bible. There is a famous letter from a Roman governor to the emperor Trajan in about 112 AD, asking what he should do about Christians. They refused to worship any statue of the Roman Emperor, because they said they could only worship Jesus as Lord. In fact many Christians were martyred for this reason. A very moving account exists of the martyrdom of Polycarp in 156 AD for his refusal to worship the emperor as Lord, since Jesus was his only Lord. As we–jars of clay–seek to share the treasure of the Gospel, let us be inspired by Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:1-7. Let us not lose heart (verse 1), but be confident about what we believe in; only use open ways in presenting what the Bible has to say, and allow it to speak for itself. Let us also remember that what we are and what we do is a vital part of attracting people to the message of the Gospel. That is what I understand by Paul’s words in verse 2: we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. present our message with humility as well as confidence. I think that it is particularly important in a secular context – such as a place of work, a hospital, a school and so on – to say This is what I as a Christian believe. I think our Gospel is much more likely to impress people if we don’t give them the message that we think we are right and they are wrong. They will know by looking at us whether we are communicating God’s truth or not. I believe that a lot of people are looking for the treasure that we have got. Let us increase our understanding of God’s love, and of the Bible that bears witness to it. Let that witness shine through us. Martin Collins
	Norbury Parish Church, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. Telephone: 0161-483 6325

Treasure in Jars of Clay

The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:7: we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. The treasure that he is talking about is God’s good news through Jesus Christ. We are the jars of clay in which the treasure is kept. Paul himself achieved an astonishing amount in terms of the spread of the Gospel, yet he was aware that he was a fallible, weak human being.

If we are to allow God’s all-surpassing power to work through us, then it is very important that we are aware about the reliability of the Bible. I want to emphasise in this article that we have some New Testament manuscripts that date from less than 100 years after they were written, and others that date from the next couple of centuries. They show just how reliable the text of the New Testament is. As for the Old Testament, until 1947 the earliest manuscripts dated from the early Middle Ages. In 1947 and the years that followed, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and studied. They included huge chunks of the Old Testament, for example the complete book of Isaiah. Those manuscripts, dating from the first century AD and earlier, show just how faithfully the Old Testament scriptures had been copied down the ages.

From time to time there are attempts to show that the New Testament is unreliable. Many people thought that the hugely popular novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code did just that. In fact it did nothing of the sort. All the ideas in the novel are put forward by the characters in it, and they are obviously pure fiction. However, it is important that we have an answer when challenged about the reliability of the New Testament.

The idea is put forward in The Da Vinci Code that Jesus was not worshipped as Lord until the beginning of the 4th century AD, when the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the empire. That is clearly nonsense, since Paul, writing to Christians in Rome in about 58 AD, says this: if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). That is just one place in the New Testament where we can see that from the very beginning of the Christian Church Jesus was worshipped as Lord.

Those who want to support the half-baked ideas in The Da Vinci Code might well say that the New Testament was altered in the time of Constantine to suit his beliefs. Fortunately we have ample evidence (1) that the New Testament was substantially formed by the middle of the 2nd century (according for example to the Cambridge History of the Bible, 1970): and (2) that Christians were accused by their enemies and critics of worshipping Jesus as Lord long before the time of Constantine.

Let us spell this out:

The evidence that that the New Testament was substantially formed by the middle of the 2nd century is very strong. In fact, the number of original manuscripts dating from the first few centuries of the Christian Church is astonishing. If you look at the bottom of page iv of the introduction to our pew Bibles (New International Version), you will find this statement: No other piece of ancient literature has such an abundance of manuscript witnesses as the New Testament. In fact, the earliest manuscript fragment found so far is part of John’s Gospel dating from about 130 AD, which may be seen in the John Rylands library in Manchester. Literally thousands of other manuscripts, dating from the first three centuries – parts of New Testament books, or whole books – are to be found around the world.
As for the evidence of Jesus being worshipped as Lord, there are documents from outside the Bible. There is a famous letter from a Roman governor to the emperor Trajan in about 112 AD, asking what he should do about Christians. They refused to worship any statue of the Roman Emperor, because they said they could only worship Jesus as Lord. In fact many Christians were martyred for this reason. A very moving account exists of the martyrdom of Polycarp in 156 AD for his refusal to worship the emperor as Lord, since Jesus was his only Lord.

As we–jars of clay–seek to share the treasure of the Gospel, let us be inspired by Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:1-7. Let us

not lose heart (verse 1), but be confident about what we believe in;
only use open ways in presenting what the Bible has to say, and allow it to speak for itself. Let us also remember that what we are and what we do is a vital part of attracting people to the message of the Gospel. That is what I understand by Paul’s words in verse 2: we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
present our message with humility as well as confidence. I think that it is particularly important in a secular context – such as a place of work, a hospital, a school and so on – to say This is what I as a Christian believe. I think our Gospel is much more likely to impress people if we don’t give them the message that we think we are right and they are wrong. They will know by looking at us whether we are communicating God’s truth or not.

I believe that a lot of people are looking for the treasure that we have got. Let us increase our understanding of God’s love, and of the Bible that bears witness to it. Let that witness shine through us.

Martin Collins

Treasure in Jars of Clay

Norbury Parish Church, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. Telephone: 0161-483 6325