Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 4:10

10. The two illustrations in 2 Corinthians 4:8 refer to the difficulties of his position; the two in 2 Corinthians 4:9 to those brought upon him by his opponents. The fifth and last is different from both pairs. He shares in the dying, and also in the life, of Jesus Christ.

πάντοτε. First with emphasis, like ἐν παντί (2 Corinthians 4:8) and ἀεί (2 Corinthians 4:11): at all times (2 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 5:6; 2 Corinthians 9:8), to distinguish from ἀεί (2 Corinthians 6:10).

τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. This ‘making a corpse’ or ‘putting to death,’ as θανάτωσις (Thuc. v. ix. 7), is given here as a process leading to death or deadness, rather than as a result. In Romans 4:19 it is used of the result, the deadness of Sarah’s womb; comp. Hebrews 11:12; Colossians 3:5. Here, as in 2 Corinthians 1:5, the sufferings of the Apostle are identified with the sufferings of Christ, both being caused by the enmity of the world and endured for the furtherance of the will of God. As in the case of the Master, the Apostle’s body is in the end to be made a corpse. But, at the present, what he ceaselessly has with him is the suffering which leads to this result. As Christ’s Passion began long before Gethsemane, so the martyrdom of S. Paul began long before his condemnation to death. It is possible that ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέροντες keeps up the metaphor of the earthen vessels, but the expression is natural enough without that. For the verb comp. Mark 6:55; Ephesians 4:14; for the meaning Galatians 6:17; ‘go where he will (περι-), everywhere.’ The κυρίου before Ἰησοῦ (KL), ‘The Lord Jesus’ (A.V.), is certainly to be omitted (אABCDFGP); and note that throughout (2 Corinthians 4:10-14) Christ is designated by the name which He bore as man (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

ἵνα καὶ ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι ἡμῶν φανερωθῇ. The fragile body is charged with the sufferings which tend to deprive it of life, in order that the life of Jesus may be manifested in it. This perhaps means that S. Paul’s frequent deliverances from death were manifestations of the life-giving power of the risen Christ. Like Christ’s Resurrection, they were a witness to the truth of the Gospel, for they showed that Jesus is still alive and able to save. But ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ probably includes more than deliverance from physical death; and ἑν τῷ σώματι ἡμῶν does not limit us to what is physical. Even in the body the moral power of the living Christ may be manifested; as when Christians are enabled to endure prolonged suffering of the worst kind with cheerfulness. See Bigg on 1 Peter 3:18.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 4:10

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