The apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth concerning what is expected of one who would seek to be a witness to faith in Jesus Christ in this world. We continue in his second letter in chapter 4, verses 5-7: For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. There can only be one lord, and if that is not Jesus Christ in us it is we who rule our lives.
We alone must allow the light of Christ to shine forth from our lives—not just by what we say, but all that we do or do not do in the living of life. If we are willing to allow God to change us he can and will turn the darkness of our hearts into pure light: For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts; It is the glory of God others see when they look at us in our ministries—not us!
And we do not need to explain everything about this transition within us to everyone with whom we spend time—they will come to know that we serve the living God as we minister into their lives. Our Lord makes this possible as he seeks: to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. We will come to know our God in ways we have never expected when we commit to follow him.
Yet we are still human and we can choose to sin even in the face of God, but we become instantly aware that the connection with our Lord is broken, and quickly repent. The goal is to sin less and less day by day: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. It is the God we serve who gets the glory, and it is his power which delivers us from ourselves.