Summary of 2 Corinthians, Chapter 4

So, since he has this ministry by the mercy of God, Paul does not give in to weariness, but he rejects the things that are hidden and shameful. He does not live in such a way as to be willing to do just anything, unscrupulously, nor does he deform the word of God. Rather, he presents his credentials to every conscience in the sight of God, in the manifestation of the truth.

If the Gospel is veiled, it is that to those on the path to ruin, those in whom the god of this world has blinded their faithless thoughts, to keep the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ from shining for them -- Christ, who is the image of God.

Paul does not preach himself, but Christ the Lord; he is their slave through Jesus. For it is the same God Who once said "Let light shine out of the darkness," Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God reflected in the face of Christ.

We have the treasure of this assignment to preach in earthenware vessels, so that the wonderful power may be clearly God's and not ours. In everything when we are troubled, we are not at a loss; when we do not know which way to turn, we do not despair; we are persecuted, but we are not deserted; we are cast down, but not ruined. We always bear the death of Jesus in our body so that His life may appear in our body. For we the living are always being handed over to death for the sake of Jesus, so that His life may be shown in our dead flesh. Therefore, death is at work in Paul, but life in them.

Since he has the same spirit of truth as the sacred writer who said, "I believed, and so I spoke," he too has faith, and so he speaks. He knows that the One who raised Jesus will also raise us up with Him, and will put Paul near Him, along with the Corinthians. For everything is for their benefit, so that the abundant grace may bring even greater glory to God through the prayers of thanksgiving that the many will say.

So he does not get tired. Even though his outer man is wearing out, yet his inner man is being renewed day by day. That which is at present light and momentary in our tribulations is producing for us, beyond all measure, an eternal wealth of glory for us, for we do not look at the things that can be seen with the eyes, but the things that the eyes do not see. For the things that we see are for a time; but those that are not seen are eternal.

Comments on Chapter 4

Paul has his assignment of preaching in a mortal body (earthenware vessel). God's mercy has given this to him. Mercy does not always mean being kind to someone who deserves a penalty -- it can also mean a special favor in the external order. Paul used the word mercy that way in 1 Corinthians 7:25, in speaking of the grace of celibacy. In Romans 9:15 mercy means the special favor of full membership in the People of God, the Church.

Paul is not like the charlatans who will do just anything to achieve their goals (Greek panourgia means willingness to use any means, licit or illicit).

He spoke in chapter 3 of a veil on the hearts of those who reject Christ. Now he says that veil is the work of "the god of this world," that is, of Satan, who has such striking power in this world.⁵ In the opposite direction, if one lives vigorously according to what faith calls for, his spiritual perception gets ever deeper and keener. Those who are on the road to ruin have the opposite effect of increasing blindness.

The light of Christ is compared to the power of creation, to what God did in the beginning, when He said: Let there be light. This implies of course that Christians are a "new creation," for it was the Creator who said that. He made them into new beings, not just old corruption, with a white cloak of the merits of Christ thrown over it, as Lutheran theory would hold. Paul will also use the words "new creation" in 2 Corinthians 5:17. He used them too in Galatians 6:15. Grace transforms the soul, making it basically capable of the vision of God in the next life. So it really is comparable to a new creation.

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 he said that God chose the weak things of this world to show up the strong, so that it would be obvious that it was His power, not human ability that was at work. Similarly here Paul says he is an earthenware vessel, so that it may be obvious that the great power displayed is from God, not from men. As for himself, Paul says that no matter what happens, he is not dejected or cast down. He is glad that in this way, in his sufferings and weakness, the likeness of the death of Jesus may show in him, so that effects of the life of Jesus may also be manifested. Further, Paul's sufferings are a means of life for the Corinthians -- we think also of Colossians 1:24, where he says he fills up in his body what is lacking of the tribulations of Christ for His body, which is the Church. He then quotes the words of Psalm 116:10 (according to the Septuagint) saying that since he had faith, he also spoke. Paul does the same, he speaks out of his faith, that is, he keeps on preaching the Gospel in spite of everything. For he knows that resurrection day is coming, when he and they will be with Christ. (He uses the Psalm line out of context, as the rabbis so often did. But the meaning Paul attaches to it here is a true one in itself.)

Everything -- sufferings and joys -- is for the sake of the faithful. Let God be thanked abundantly for His abundant grace.

His physical nature is wearing out gradually, but his spiritual strength keeps on growing.

Then he adds a line that is magnificent for consolation in trials: Even little things that run only a little while, if accepted for Christ, bring a rich eternal reward. If that be true of the little and the momentary -- what of the hard and the long-running! It is good to think of this line 17 along with Romans 8:18: "I judge that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us!" To gain this, we must keep our eyes on the eternal things, which are seen only by faith -- for the things that our bodily eyes see are temporary and not very important.