2 Corinthians 4:7-18

2 Corinthians 4:7–18

Missionaries are only jars of clay who carry the treasure of the gospel

(The Lutheran Study Bible, pages 1985–1986)

Notes

Notes

Throughout his apologia on new covenant ministry to this point (2:14–4:6), Paul has spoken of the gifts of God to the Corinthians, including (1) the Spirit of the living God (3:3), and (2) the light God has shone in their hearts (4:4, 6). These blessings have come through “the word of God” (2:17), “the gospel” (4:4) by which they have the knowledge of Christ/of God (2:14; 4:6). But there is this problem: How could such glory be mediated by so inglorious an instrument, the suffering Paul?

The motif of the death and life of Jesus is prominent within this passage (vv. 10–12; cf. 2:16), in two closely connected respects. Within himself in the course of his ministry Paul experiences the death but also the life, or deliverance of Jesus (vv. 10–11). At the same time the death that is at work in Paul brings life to the Corinthians (v. 12).

Unpalatable as it may have been in Corinth,1 the truth was that God was leading his minister from place to place in humiliating suffering, replicating Golgotha wherever he went (2:14–15a). The message of Christ crucified, which brought them life, was, and must be (cf. 4:5), borne by one whose own existence was cruciform. Because the glory is God’s glory, the bearer must be dependent on God, which, indeed, Paul’s missionary sufferings caused him to be.

V.7

This passage, which is about suffering and death (vv. 7–12), stands in stark contrast with the theme of “glory” so brilliantly developed by Paul in 3:7–4:6, to which he also will return in vv. 16–18. Paul, God’s slave, the transmitter of the life-transforming, saving glory of God, is himself nothing more than a fragile “jar of clay” (v. 7). He is subject to afflictions, bewilderment, persecution, and being struck down (vv. 8–9). As mere “mortal flesh” who is constantly being “handed over to death,” his body is the bearer of “the dying of Jesus” (v. 10). “Death is at work” in him (vv. 1–12). Paul’s sufferings are “on account of Jesus” (v. 11), so that “life” may be “at work” among the Corinthians (v. 11). God’s apostolic “slave” models himself upon God’s ultimate slave, Christ Jesus himself (cf. Phil 2:7–8).

However, as we see the weakness of the apostle we also see the power of God. Here once more is the theme of power in weakness (1:3–4, 8–10; 2:12–15; cf. 11:29; 12:7–10). If Paul is a fragile jar of clay, he is also subject to the surpassing power of God, so that he is “not crushed … not in despair … not abandoned … not destroyed” (vv. 8–9). The resurrected “life” of Jesus is also “at work” in him (vv. 10–12).

Indeed, weakness in the apostle is precisely according to the purposes of God. Such power as may be at work in him must not be his own, but only from God (v. 7). Thus, in the midst of the his continuous difficulties of his ministry (vv. 8–9), the apostle is constantly subject to the “life of Jesus,” in anticipation of his resurrection (v. 14).

V.7

In this new passage3 Paul sets out to explain the paradox stated first in 2:14–16. Although his ministry imparts life (2:16), and brings the Spirit of God (3:3) and the glory of God (4:4, 6), in himself he suffers humiliation in God’s triumphal procession (2:14) and the basis of his ministry is that of a slave, the crucified Christ (4:5). Those things that the Corinthians and their new teachers disdain in him, that is, his missionary sufferings, he now declares to be fundamental to ministry that faithfully represents the Crucified One.

The human vessel bearing “this treasure” (= “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,” v. 6)4 is a mere “jar of clay.” But this is for a divine purpose—stated positively and negatively5—that the “all-surpassing power might be (1) “from God,” and (2) “not from us.” This “all-surpassing power of God” probably picks up—but so as to reverse—a reference to his sense of overwhelming debility that he made near the beginning of the letter (1:8).

These sentences are framed by “in every way,”22 a phrase that governs the four statements following, as well as “always” in v. 10. These universals also appear in the paradoxical triumph/antitriumph metaphor, with which the excursus on new covenant ministry began (2:14). Verses 8–9 represent the first of the “tribulation lists” (peristaseis23) found within 2 Corinthians (see also 6:3–10; 11:23b-33; 12:7–10; cf. 1:5–11; 2:14–17).

What follows is one of the more powerful rhetorical moments in the Pauline corpus,24 although comparable to similar antitheses in 1 Cor 4:10, 12–13 and 2 Cor 6:9–10. Each clause follows the same pattern: a passive participle expressing an aspect of suffering is contrasted by “but not,”25 followed by another passive participle cognate with, but more severe than, the first (e.g., “hard pressed but not crushed”). At the same time each of the two paired participles expresses a suffering more extreme than the corresponding participle in the line preceding it. Thus:

1. The first pair, “hard pressed” and “crushed,”26 are virtual synonyms in contemporary Greek. The former (“hard pressed”) is probably used first because of its significant and early use in 2 Corinthians (see on 1:4); the latter (“in a narrow space,” “constricted”) is found in the NT only in 6:12.27 The rhetorical context determines that the latter has the more severe meaning.

2. The next pair are a wordplay (paronomasia) impossible to reproduce in translation (aporoumenoi and exaporoumenoi,28 the second word an intensification of the first). Literally rendered it is: “at a loss but not absolutely at a loss.”

3. In the third pair,29 the first participle, “persecuted,” is used elsewhere by Paul for the specific assault on Christians, whether his prior hounding of believers (Gal 1:13, 23; Phil 3:6) or his own sufferings at the hands of others.30 The second, “forsaken,” has a rich background in the OT (LXX) for Yahweh’s determination not to forsake his people (e.g., Gen 28:15; Deut 31:6, 8; Josh 5:1).31 This is the word from the mouth of the Crucified, quoting Ps 22:1 (Mark 15:34). Here the word implies an eschatological intent; God will not abandon his chosen ones whom he has redeemed.32

4. The final pair33 reflect an extremity of suffering. The first passive—“struck down”—employs a verb not used elsewhere by Paul, but in contemporary literature it means “laid low” (as by a weapon), “bullied” or “stricken.” With it is contrasted “but not destroyed,” which like its corresponding predecessor (“but not forsaken”) has an eschatological thrust, “perishing” (cf. 2:15; 4:3). The suffering apostle will not be forsaken by God, nor “lost” from him.

The trend toward intensified suffering may be seen in the following table (my translation):

afflicted but not trapped

bewildered but not in despair

persecuted but not forsaken

felled but not destroyed

These words must be read against the background of the benediction at the beginning of the letter. While the first word in each line expresses vividly the “sufferings of Christ,” which “overflow into our [i.e., the apostles’] lives” (1:5), the “but not” followed by words for even more dire circumstances expresses the “deliverance” from distress by “the God who raises the dead” (1:10).34 This is the “comfort” God gives to his suffering messengers, which overflows from them to the people of God (1:6).

V. 10

The sentence is divided into two parts, the latter expressing the purpose40 of the former. The apostle always carries about in his body “the dying of Jesus”41 in order that “the life of Jesus”42 might also be revealed43 in his body. The “dying of Jesus” that takes place “in [Paul’s] body” is the affliction, bewilderment, persecution, and humiliation mentioned in vv. 8–9.44 The “life of Jesus,” on the other hand, is the deliverance represented by the four “but nots” of those verses. The former (the “dying of Jesus”) were endured precisely in order that rescue from them (the “life of Jesus”) might be experienced.45 There is a divine purpose for apostolic suffering, namely, that Paul might testify to God’s deliverance (1:11; 4:12–15). Paul sees God’s mercy in these present difficulties as of a piece with the eschatological deliverance of resurrection (cf. v. 14; see also 1:10).

This striking antithesis is derived from the center point of the Christian gospel, the “dying” and the “life” of Jesus, by which salvation was achieved (see also 2:15–16). It is not merely an analogy, however; the very “dying” and “life” of Jesus continue and are extended in time in the missionary sufferings,46 and deliverances from those sufferings, in the experience of the apostles. It is by this twin reality of suffering and deliverance in the lives of the slaves of the Slave (v. 5), and only by means of it, that the true character of Christ’s unique salvation was and continues to be manifested in the world and extended into history until the appearing of Christ. Paul’s words concerning power in weakness appear quite pointed in the light of the—as he saw it—naked triumphalism of the “peddlers” (2:14–17; cf. 11:5; 12:11).

V. 11

With a concluding sentence, connected by a “for” (gar) to what precedes, Paul explains v. 10 by basically recapitulating what is said there.47 Corresponding to its immediate predecessor, this sentence, too, is in two parts, connected by words expressing purpose.48 We who live are always being handed over to death on account of Jesus in order that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal bodies.

V.12

Here, once more, is the extension of the vicarious sufferings of Christ in the missionary labors of Paul (see on 2:14–15). Such sufferings, while real and serving the purposes of the gospel, are nonetheless of a different order from those of Christ and for a different purpose. Christ was “made sin” that sinners might be given righteousness (5:21), and, in consequence, reconciled to God (see on 5:18–21). Paul suffered as a messenger of that good news, that those to whom he came might have the “life” that Christ’s death made possible for them to have.

The unity of vv. 13–15 is indicated by the conjunctions “but … that … for.”2 These indicate (1) a new point of departure (“But having … we believe”—v. 13), (2) whose content, “knowing that …” (v. 14), (3) leads him to conclude, “for all things are yours” (v. 15).

Nonetheless, this passage is closely connected with its immediate predecessor, explaining how “life—the life of Jesus—is at work” in the Corinthians as a result of the apostle’s being “handed over to death” (vv. 10–12). At the same time v. 13 (“but having”) also brings to a conclusion the line of thought begun in v. 1 (“Therefore, having …”) Beyond that, however, Paul’s “we speak” (v. 13) goes back to the first paragraph in the excursus on new covenant ministry in which he contrasts his “speaking” with that of those who “peddle the word of God” (2:17). These elements from 2:17 and 4:1, which are repeated in v. 13, serve to “round off” the excursus at this point as an interim conclusion.

V.13

Paul now begins a new section3 explaining how “life is at work in you [Corinthians]” (v. 12), that is, by his speaking,4 an explanation he will amplify in v. 14 (God “will raise … you”) and conclude in v. 15 (“everything is for you”).

Paul now gives two motives for what he “speaks,” one eschatological (v. 14) and the other doxological (v. 15).

V. 14

This eschatological note is immediately sounded in the first part of what follows (A), “He who raised the Lord Jesus.” Significantly, the participle “raised”18 is in the aorist tense, indicating a completed act, in this context occurring in the past.19

A second part (B) uses the same verb “raise,” but in the future tense, with its object “us” (Paul, but speaking representatively). It is striking that to the words God “will raise us,” Paul adds “with Jesus,” as if to suggest the closeness in principle, if not in time, of the future resurrection of believers and the past resurrection of Jesus.20 This connectedness in resurrection of believers and Jesus may touch on the teaching in the first letter, where Paul sees the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of believers as belonging to the one eschatological event (a harvest), the former being the “first-fruits” of the latter (1 Cor 15:20).

The critical element in v. 14 comes in the third segment (C) with the use of the verb “to present,” which, like “raise” in the second, is in the future tense. Resurrection will be accompanied by presentation. To whom will God “present” Paul (representing other believers) and “you [Corinthians],”21 and for what purpose?

This verse is important in the flow of Paul’s argument. Whereas in 3:12, 18 he wrote representatively of the hope and transformation of all believers, between that latter verse and this he has written “we”/“us” as a literary plural, referring to himself as a minister of the new covenant. Now, however, he uses the first person plural pronoun for believers in general, a universality that is picked up in 4:16, dominating the passage 4:16–5:10, and in particular 5:10. That universality here relates to the future moment of the general resurrection with, by implication, universal judgment. This, in turn, establishes the critical moment of demarcation between the end of the present age and the beginning of the new upon which the antithetical eschatological dualism of 4:16–5:10 depends.

V. 15

Thus Paul is saying that his speaking and suffering are for the Corinthians, in order that the increasing grace of God, of which the speaking and suffering are an evidence, may overflow to the Corinthians through the thanksgiving of an increased number of people, to the glory of God.

V. 16-18

These highly rhetorical verses considered together form a closely argued unit, drawing together threads from previous verses in chapter 4 and beyond that from within chapter 3. Thus the rejection of despair (v. 16a) explicitly repeats v. 1, while the decay of the outer and the re-creation of the inner person (v. 16) summarizes—as well as extends—the thought of vv. 7, 10–12. The suffering (v. 17) echoes abstractly the listed specific hardships of vv. 8–9, though not now limiting them to the apostle3 but rather applying them to all believers, while the glory (v. 17) picks up that great theme from 3:11, 12, 18; 4:4, 6. The re-creation of the inner person is in prospect of the coming age of eternal, weighty glory, which the suffering of the present time is preparing for him, provided he does not focus on what may be seen but on what is not seen.

Look

Verse 7 “This treasure”—The treasure of the gospel is also called “the Spirit,” “the ministry of righteousness,” “the surpassing glory,” “the truth,” and “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Verse 10 “The death of Jesus”—This is a reference to the persecution and suffering Paul endured for the sake of the gospel.

Verse 13 “I believed, and so I spoke.” This quotation is from Psalm 116:10. The psalmist had three things in common with Paul, which may be why Paul chose to quote this psalm: Both the psalmist and Paul had just gone through a time of great affliction, were delivered from their affliction, and were thankful for God’s deliverance.

Discuss

1. Paul contrasted the glory of the preceding sentence (the glory of the gospel) with the wretched nature of its bearers (jars of clay). Why does the Lord put the gospel into jars of clay?

God wants to make it clear that success does not come from the minister but from God.

2. Contrast Paul’s weakness and his strength in the midst of that weakness.

• “afflicted . . . , but not crushed”

• “perplexed, but not driven to despair”

• “persecuted, but not forsaken”

• “struck down, but not destroyed”

3. As Paul was “given over to death for Jesus’ sake,” what became more and more visible in Paul’s life?

The life of Christ. This is evident in God’s acts of deliverance, in the comfort Paul received and reflected, in the joy and hope he had in God’s power now and on the day of judgment.

4. In verse 16 Paul repeated the thought of verse 1. Summarize Paul’s reasons for not losing heart. (verses 16–18)

Although he was wasting away, he was being renewed inwardly. Paul’s momentary afflictions were being used by the Lord to keep him on the road to eternal life. Paul continually focused not on temporary things but on eternal things.

5. What two goals did Paul have for his ministry? (verse 15)

That the Corinthians would be blessed and that God would be glorified.

Apply

6. Why can a Christian rejoice even in affliction?

See the answer to question 4 above.

Paul continued to describe the minister of the gospel. He is a jar of clay. But because of this, the success of his work must be attributed to God.