CHAPTER IV. _St. Paul shows the integrity with which he had preached the_ _Gospel of Christ_, 1, 2. _And that, if it was unprofitable to any who had heard it, it_ _was because their unbelieving hearts were blinded_, 3, 4. _How he preached, and how he was qualified for the work_, 5-7. _The trou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:2. _BUT HAVE RENOUNCED_] απειπαμεθα. We have disclaimed _the hidden things of dishonesty_; τα κρυπτα της αισχυνης, _the_ _hidden things of shame_; those things which wicked men do; and which they are ashamed to have known, and ashamed to own. Dr. _Whitby_ thinks that the apostl... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:3. _BUT IF OUR GOSPEL BE HID_] κεκαλυμμενον. _Veiled_; he refers to the subject that he had treated so particularly in the conclusion of the preceding chapter. If there be a _veil on the_ _Gospel_, it is only to the wilfully blind; and if any man's heart be _veiled_ that hears... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:4. _IN WHOM THE GOD OF THIS WORLD_, c.] We see here that those whose minds are blinded, are they who believe not and because they believe not, their minds continue in darkness, and are proper subjects for _Satan_ to work on; and he _deepens_ the _darkness_, and _increases_ the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:5. _FOR WE PREACH NOT OURSELVES_] We neither proclaim our own _wisdom_ nor _power_; we have nothing but what we have received; we do not wish to establish our own _authority_, nor to procure our own _emolument_. _BUT CHRIST JESUS THE LORD_] We proclaim the author of this glor... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:6. _FOR GOD, WHO COMMANDED THE LIGHT TO SHINE OUT OF_ _DARKNESS_] The apostle refers here to Genesis 1:3. For when God created the heavens and the earth DARKNESS _was on the face of the_ _deep; and God said, Let_ THERE BE LIGHT; _and there was light_. Thus he caused the light t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:7. _BUT WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS_] The original, οστρακινοις σκευεσιν, signifies, more literally, _vessels_ made of _shells_, which are very _brittle_; and as the _shell_ is the outward part of a fish, it is very fit, as Dr. Hammond observes, to resemble our bo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:8. We are _TROUBLED ON EVERY SIDE_] We have already seen, in the notes on the ninth chapter of the preceding epistle, that St. Paul has made several allusions to those _public games_ which were celebrated every _fifth_ year at the _Isthmus_ of _Corinth_; and those games have be... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:9. _PERSECUTED, BUT NOT FORSAKEN_] Διωκομενοι, αλλ' ουκ εγκαταλειπομενοι. The διωκομενοι, _pursued_, is peculiar to the δρομος, or _race_, when one being foremost others pursue, and get up close after him, endeavouring to _outstrip_ him, but cannot succeed: this is the meaning... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:10. _ALWAYS BEARING ABOUT IN THE BODY_, c.] Being every moment in danger of losing our lives in the cause of truth, as Jesus Christ was. We, in a word, bear his cross, and are ready to offer up our lives for him. There is probably an allusion here to the marks, wounds, and brui... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:11. _FOR WE WHICH LIVE_] And yet, although we are preserved alive, we are in such continual dangers that we carry our life in our hands, and are constantly in the spirit of sacrifice. But the _life_-the preserving power, of Christ is manifest in our continual support.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:12. _DEATH WORKETH IN US_, c.] We apostles are in continual danger, and live a dying life while you who have received this Gospel from us are in no danger.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:13. _WE HAVING THE SAME SPIRIT OF FAITH_] As David had when he wrote Psalms 116:10: _I believed, therefore have I spoken: we also believe_ that we shall receive the fulfilment of all God's promises; and being fully convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, we _speak_ an... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 14. _KNOWING THAT HE WHICH RAISED UP THE LORD_, c.] And though we shall at last seal this truth with our blood, we fear not, being persuaded that as the body of Christ was raised from the dead by the power of the Father, so shall our bodies be raised, and that we shall have an eternal life wit... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 15. _FOR ALL THINGS ARE FOR YOUR SAKES_] We proclaim all these truths and bear all these sufferings for your sakes, thinking all our sufferings nothing if we can gain converts to Christ, and build believers up on their most holy faith. _THAT THE ABUNDANT GRACE_] Ἡ χαρις πλεονασασα· The _abou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 16. _FOR WHICH CAUSE WE FAINT NOT_] ουκ εκκα κουμεν. See note on 2 Corinthians 4:1. Here we have the same various reading; εγκακουμεν, _we do no wickedness_; and it is supported by BDEFG, and some others: but it is remarkable that Mr. Wakefield follows the common reading _here_, though the var... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 17. _FOR OUR LIGHT AFFLICTION_, c.] Mr. Blackwall, in his sacred classics, has well illustrated this passage. I shall here produce his paraphrase as quoted by _Dr. Dodd_: "This is one of the most emphatic passages in all St. Paul's writings, in which he speaks as much like an _orator_ as he d... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 2 Corinthians 4:18. _WHILE WE LOOK NOT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN_] μη σκοπουντων. While we _aim not_ at the things which are seen; do not make them our _object_; are not striving to obtain them; for they are not worthy the pursuit of an immortal spirit, because they are _seen_; they are obj... [ Continue Reading ]