ACC ~ 2 Corinthians 4 v7 - 12

OVERVIEW:

The power of God is most conspicuous when it performs mighty works by using lowly things (CHRYSOSTOM). The reference to earthen vessels is an allusion to the weakness of human nature, which can do nothing unless it receives power from God (ORIGEN, AMBROSIASTER, JEROME). Afflictions are permitted by God, not for our defeat but for our discipline (CHRYSOSTOM, AUGUSTINE, THEODORET OF CYR). In the suffering of martyrs Christ himself suffers (AMBROSIASTER). We carry in the body the death of Jesus daily (CHRYSOSTOM, PELAGIUS).

4:7a | Treasure in Earthen Vessels

THIS TREASURE. AMBROSIASTER: By treasure, Paul meant the sacrament of God in Christ, which is made manifest to believers but which has been concealed from unbelievers with a veil. Just as a treasure is put in a hidden place, the sacrament of God is hidden within a person, in his heart. The reference to earthen vessels is an allusion to the weakness of human nature, which can do nothing unless empowered by God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE SCRIPTURE’S HUMILITY. JEROME: We have a treasure in such vessels of clay. There are many who construe this last expression in reference to the body and to the Holy Spirit, meaning, of course, that we possess a treasure in earthen vessels. There is certainly that interpretation, but I think the better treasury-concept is that we have a most precious treasure in vessels of clay symbolizing the homely words of the Scripture. HOMILY 11 ON PSALM 77 (78).

THE SCRIPTURE’S DEPTH. JEROME: Every word of Scripture is a symbol all its own. These rustic words that persons of every age ponder over are packed full of mystical meaning. “But we carry this treasure in vessels of clay”; we have a divine treasury of meaning in the most ordinary words. HOMILY 20 ON PSALM 90 (91).

4:7b | Transcendent Power

THE TRANSCENDENT POWER BELONGS TO GOD. CHRYSOSTOM: Both the greatness of the things given and the weakness of them that receive show the power of God, who not only gave great things but also gave them to those who are little. He used the term earthen in allusion to the frailty of our mortal nature and to declare the weakness of our flesh. For it is no better than earthenware, which is soon damaged and destroyed by death, disease and even variations of temperature. The power of God is most conspicuous when it performs mighty works by using vile and lowly things. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 8.3.

THE DEPTHS OF DIVINE INSPIRATION. ORIGEN: But just as divine providence is not proved to be a fiction, particularly for those who are convinced of its existence, because its workings and arrangements are beyond the comprehension of human minds, so neither will the divine inspiration of holy Scripture, which extends through its entire body, be supposed to be nonexistent because the weakness of our understanding cannot discover the deep and hidden thoughts in every sentence. For the treasure of divine wisdom is concealed in vessels of poor and humble words, as the apostle points out when he says: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the greatness of the divine power may shine forth the more,” when no taint of human eloquence is mingled with the truth of the doctrines. ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4.1.

4:8 | Not Crushed or Despairing

AFFLICTED BUT NOT CRUSHED. CHRYSOSTOM: The afflictions come not only from enemies but even from our own households and friends. These things are permitted by God, not for our defeat but for our discipline. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.1.

GOD’S POWER REVEALED. THEODORET OF CYR: If none of these things ever happened, the greatness of God’s power would never be revealed. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 310.

FREEDOM IN AFFLICTION. ORIGEN: For God delivers us from afflictions not when we are no longer in affliction ( … Paul says “we are afflicted in every way,” as though there were never a time when we were not afflicted), but when in our affliction we are not crushed because of God’s help. “To be afflicted,” according to a colloquial usage of the Hebrews, has the meaning of a critical circumstance that happens to us without our free choice, while “to be crushed” implies our free choice and that it has been conquered by affliction and given into its power. And so Paul is right when he says, “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed.” ON PRAYER 30.1.

THE MYSTERY OF UNANSWERED PRAYER. ORIGEN: And unless we understand something that has escaped the notice of the many concerning praying not to enter into temptation, it is time to say that the apostles sometimes prayed and were not heard. How many thousand sufferings did they experience throughout their lifetimes with far greater labors, with far more beatings, with countless imprisonments, and often near death? Paul on his own received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one, was beaten with rods three times, was stoned once, was shipwrecked three times, was adrift at sea a night and a day. He was in every way afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down. ON PRAYER 29.4.

4:9 | Not Forsaken or Destroyed

PERSECUTED BUT NOT FORSAKEN. AMBROSIASTER: God was with them, like a shepherd, when they were in need. He looked after their interests, so that their enemies would not get the better of them. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

4:10 | Manifesting Jesus’ Life

JESUS’ LIFE MANIFESTED IN THE BODIES OF MARTYRS. AMBROSIASTER: Christ himself shares in the death of martyrs. Their sufferings are his sufferings. His life is made manifest in their bodies. Their sufferings are evidence of the fact that they are prepared to receive the life to come which Christ promised. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CARRYING THE DEATH OF JESUS. CHRYSOSTOM: What is the death of Jesus which they carried about with them? It is the daily deaths which they died, by which the resurrection also was shown. This is another reason for the trials, that Christ’s life might be manifested in human bodies. What looks like weakness and destitution in fact proclaims his resurrection. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.1.

4:11 | Given Up to Death

CHRISTIANS NOT AFRAID TO DIE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying that Christians are not afraid to die because they have the promise of resurrection. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FOR JESUS’ SAKE. PELAGIUS: We do not suffer because of doing wrong but for the sake of the body of Christ, which is the church. He suffered for us so that his life, which is eternal, might be made manifest in our mortal bodies, so that they too might become immortal. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 4.

4:12 | Death at Work in Us

RISKING DEATH. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying this because he and Timothy were being threatened with death for their sakes. By preaching to the Gentiles they had stirred up hatred from both Jews and Gentiles, risking even death. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

ENDURING DANGERS. CHRYSOSTOM: We bear about his dying that the power of his life may be manifest. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.1.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH 2 CORINTHIANS 4:13-18

OVERVIEW: Paul recalled the words of the psalmist when he was in great danger, from which there was no possibility of escape except through the power of God (CHRYSOSTOM). We have the same spirit of faith (NOVATIAN, AUGUSTINE, PELAGIUS, FULGENTIUS). All believers are made greater than death (THEODORET OF CYR) through the resurrection (POLYCARP). The body decays by being scourged and persecuted, but the inward person is renewed by faith, hope and a forward-looking will that braves those extremities (BASIL, AMBROSIASTER, CHRYSOSTOM). Our present afflictions are light because they are happening within time and space (ORIGEN, AMBROSIASTER, AUGUSTINE, CAESARIUS OF ARLES).

4:13 | The Spirit of Faith

THE SAME SPIRIT OF FAITH. NOVATIAN: It is one and the same Spirit who is in the prophets and in the apostles. However, the Spirit dwelt in the prophets sporadically, whereas he abides in believers forever. ON THE TRINITY 29.6.

ATTACKING CHEAP GRACE. PELAGIUS: Here Paul is attacking those who have believed in false apostles, who claimed that Paul was suffering because he had little faith. According to them, faith ought to guarantee that there will be no suffering at all. But Paul shows that, on the contrary, he has endured all things precisely because of his faith. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 4.

HEAVENLY WISDOM. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul reminds us of a psalm which abounds in heavenly wisdom and is especially fitted to encourage us in dangers. The psalmist uttered these words when he was in great danger, from which there was no possibility of escape except in the power of God. In similar circumstances, Paul says that we who have the same Spirit will be comforted likewise. Thus he shows that there is a great harmony between the Old and the New Testaments; it is the same Spirit at work in both. The men of old were in danger, just as we are. Like them, we must find a solution through faith and hope. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.2.

SAVED BY THE SAME FAITH. AUGUSTINE: Moreover, our Mediator, when revealed to us, wished the sacrament of our regeneration to be manifest. But for the just men of old it was something hidden, although they also were to be saved by the same faith which was to be revealed in its own time. For we do not dare to prefer the faithful of our own time to the friends of God by whom those prophecies were to be made, since God so announced himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, as to give himself that name forever. If the belief is correct that circumcision served instead of baptism in the saints of old, what shall be said of those who pleased God before this was commanded, except that they pleased him by faith, because, as it is written in Hebrews: “Without faith it is impossible to please God”? “But having the same spirit of faith,” says the apostle, “as it is written: I believed, for which cause I have spoken, we also believe, for which reason we also speak.” He would not have said “the same” unless this very spirit of faith was also theirs. For, just as they, when this same mystery was hidden, believed in the incarnation of Christ which was to come, so we also believe that it has come. LETTER 187, TO DARDANUS 34.

DIVERSE TIMES, A UNITED FAITH. AUGUSTINE: Those just men also were saved by their salutary faith in him as man and God. They, before he came in the flesh, believed that he was to come in the flesh. Our faith is the same as theirs, since they believed that this would be, while we believe that it has come to pass. Hence, the apostle Paul says: “But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written: I believed for which reason I have spoken: we also believe for which reason we also speak.” If, then, those who foretold that Christ would come in the flesh had the same faith as those who have recorded his coming, these religious mysteries could vary according to the diversity of times yet all refer most harmoniously to the unity of the same faith. LETTER 190, TO OPTATUS.

THE SAME SPIRIT OF FAITH. FULGENTIUS: Paul the apostle says that he has the same spirit of faith which the blessed David had, which the holy Moses received, just as he himself testifies, saying, “Since then we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: ‘I believed, therefore, I spoke.’ We too believe and therefore speak.” How did they have the one spirit of faith, if they believed differently concerning the faithful God? For the difference in belief is great if what Paul says, “There is no injustice with God,” differs from what Moses and David say, “There is no iniquity in God.” And if, as Paul says, he has the same spirit of faith which the prophets also had and yet his belief is different from their faith, let the apostle be declared a liar (God forbid), he who testifies that Christ speaks in him. “You are looking for proof of Christ speaking in me?” But since Christ has truly spoken in Paul, Paul is not a liar. And when he says that he has the same spirit of faith, he does not lie; the belief of each is in agreement so that what Moses and David have said. … This is also what Paul says. TO MONIMUS 3.5.7.

THE EXPANSION OF THE SPIRIT’S BLESSING. NOVATIAN: Accordingly the apostle Paul says: “Since we have the same spirit, as shown in that which is written: ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we also believe and so we speak.” Therefore, it is one and the same Spirit who is in the prophets and in the apostles. He was, however, in the former only for a while; whereas he abides in the latter forever. In other words, he is in the prophets but not to remain always in them; in the apostles, that he might abide in them forever. He has been apportioned to the former in moderation; to the latter, he has been wholly poured out. He was sparingly given to the one; upon the other, lavishly bestowed. ON THE TRINITY 29.5-6.

4:14 | Brought into God’s Presence

GOD RAISED JESUS. POLYCARP: He who raised Jesus from the dead will raise us also if we do his will and walk in his commandments and love the things which he loved, abstaining from all unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking and false witness. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.

GOD WILL RAISE US. CHRYSOSTOM: Once again, Paul fills the Corinthians with lofty thoughts, so that they may not feel indebted to the false apostles. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.2.

INTO HIS PRESENCE. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul believed that through the work of Christ he and all believers were made greater than death and that they would all be brought before the terrible seat of judgment. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 311.

4:15 | To the Glory of God

AS GRACE EXTENDS TO MORE AND MORE. AMBROSIASTER: God does not want anyone to be excluded from his gift. But because not everyone had received the word of faith, God’s apostle, who knew God’s will, was not afraid to suffer persecutions and perils as long as he could preach to everyone faithfully, so that more people might believe. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL. CHRYSOSTOM: God did not raise Christ from the dead for the sake of one person only but for the benefit of us all. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.2.

4:16 | Our Inner Nature Renewed

PERSECUTION ADVANCES THE SOUL’S MERIT. AMBROSIASTER: In times of persecution the soul advances. Every day it adds something more to its experience of faith. Even the damage done to the body becomes conducive to immortality through the merit of the soul. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE HOPE OF THE SOUL. CHRYSOSTOM: The body decays by being scourged and persecuted, but the inward man is renewed by faith, hope and a forward-looking will which braves those extremities. For the hope of the soul is in direct proportion to the suffering of the body. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.2.

EACH GROWS AT THE PROPER SPEED. AUGUSTINE: The renewal of humankind, begun in the sacred bath of baptism, proceeds gradually and is accomplished more quickly in some individuals and more slowly in others. But many are in progress toward the new life if we consider the matter carefully and without prejudice. As the apostle says: “Even though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” He says that the inner man is renewed day by day in order that he may become perfect, but you would have him begin with perfection. Would that you really did desire this! But you seek to lead the unwary astray rather than to uplift the weak. THE WAY OF LIFE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 1.35.80.

CARING FOR THE SOUL. BASIL: A man who has his own best interest at heart will therefore be especially concerned for his soul and will spare no pains to keep it stainless and true to itself. If his body is wasted by hunger or by its struggles with heat and cold, if it is afflicted by illness or suffers violence from anyone, he will pay little attention to it, and, echoing the words of Paul, he will say in each of his adversities: “but though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” … But, if a man would also have mercy upon his body as being a possession necessary to the soul and its cooperator in carrying on the life on earth, he will occupy himself with its needs only so far as is required to preserve it and keep it vigorous by moderate care in the service of the soul. HOMILY 21 ON DETACHMENT.

4:17 | An Eternal Weight of Glory

MOMENTARY AFFLICTION. ORIGEN: It was not a light, momentary affliction to everyone, but it was to Paul and to people like him, because they had the perfect loving affection of God in Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit poured into their hearts. COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS.

PREPARING US. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying that our present afflictions are light because they are happening within time and space. In return for this light tribulation, we shall gain a degree of glory beyond measure. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PRACTICE PATIENCE IN AFFLICTION. AUGUSTINE: The human patience which is good, praiseworthy and deserving the name of virtue is said to be that by which we endure evils with equanimity so as not to abandon, through a lack of equanimity, the good through which we arrive at the better. By their unwillingness to suffer evil, the impatient do not effect their deliverance from it; instead, they bring upon themselves the suffering of more grievous ills. But the patient, who prefer to bear wrongs without committing them rather than to commit them by not enduring them, both lessen what they suffer in patience and escape worse things by which, through impatience, they would be submerged. In yielding to evils that are brief and passing, they do not destroy the good which is great and eternal, for “the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared,” the apostle says, “with the glory to come that will be revealed in us.” And he also says: “Our present light affliction, which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure.” ON PATIENCE 2.

THE LOVE OF GOD RELIEVES OUR SUFFERING. CHRYSOSTOM: Such, after all, is the way with good people: when they endure something for his sake, far from attending to the appearance of what occurs, they understand the reason behind it and thus bear everything with equanimity. Likewise Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles, identified imprisonment, arraignment, daily peril, all those many unbearable hardships as light burdens, not because they really were so by nature but because the reason behind their happening produced such an attitude in him that he would not turn back in the face of these oncoming threats. Listen, after all, to what he says: “For the light weight of our passing distress produces in us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”; expectation of the glory we are destined to attain, he is saying, and of that unceasing enjoyment makes us bear without difficulty these hardships one after another and consider them of no consequence. Do you see how love of God reduces the intensity of troubles and prevents our having any sense of them as they befall us? On this account, of course, this blessed man, too, bore everything with equanimity, sustained by faith and hope in God. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 25.17.

4:18 | Things That Are Unseen

EARTHLY THINGS NOTHING. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying that people who long for heavenly things despise the things of this world, because in comparison with what they want, these things are nothing. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

UNSEEN THINGS ARE ETERNAL. CHRYSOSTOM: Our present afflictions will be light and our future will be glorious if we turn away from visible things and concentrate on spiritual ones instead. What excuse have we got if we choose the temporal instead of the eternal? Even if the present is enjoyable, it does not last, though the sorrow it engenders does last and cannot be alleviated. What excuse will they have if those who have been accounted worthy of receiving the Spirit and have enjoyed so great a gift grovel and fall down before the things of this earth? HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 9.3.

THINGS NOT SEEN. CAESARIUS OF ARLES: If you seek temporal things, you pray publicly and with your door open. If you ask for eternal things, your prayer is secret because you long to receive not the things which are seen but those which are not seen. SERMON 146.3.

ENDURE THE PRESENT IN LIGHT OF THE FUTURE. CHRYSOSTOM: Consider, dearly beloved, that life’s troubles, even if distressing, are still of short duration, whereas the good things that will come to us in the next life are eternal and everlasting. “What we see is passing,” Scripture says, “but what is not seen is everlasting.” Accordingly, let us endure what is passing without complaint and not desist from virtue’s struggle so that we may enjoy the good things that are eternal and last forever. HOMILIES ON GENESIS 25.24.

A SPIRITUAL TRANSACTION. CHRYSOSTOM: Far from being surprised or troubled, let us endure developments with complete fortitude and endurance, having regard not to the distress but to the gain accruing to us from it. This transaction, you see, is spiritual. People intent on making money and being involved in a transaction of this life would succeed in increasing their wealth in no other way than by being exposed to great danger on land and at sea (they must, after all, put up with the onset of brigands and wiles of pirates), and yet they are ready to accept everything with great enthusiasm, having no sense of hardship through the expectation of gain. In just the same way must we keep our mind on the wealth and spiritual riches accruing to us from this. We must rejoice and be glad, considering not what can be seen but what cannot be seen, as Paul’s exhortation goes, “not considering what can be seen.” HOMILIES ON GENESIS 63.20.