A verse-by-verse explanation of this section.
Looking Beyond Outward Circumstances
An overview of the principles and applications from this section.
It Will All Be Worth It in the End
Tying the section to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of the section.
Zeroing the section in on daily life.
“Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust; your injustice is the proof that we are innocent.… The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.”
Tertullian
Paul continued his digression on defending and explaining his ministry. Having established the wonder of his being a minister of the new covenant, he offered a more negative portrait of his ministry, focusing on the suffering he and his company experienced for Christ's sake. Even so, Paul was confident that this suffering would lead to his own honor, to the benefit of the Corinthians, and to God's glory.
It was the first trip out of the inner city for most of the team. The basketball team of PS 122 was on the way to scrimmage a suburban private school. Tension filled the bus as the players stared out the windows at the rolling hills, huge houses, and lovely parks. When they pulled into the school parking lot, everyone was silent. The manicured schoolyard had as its centerpiece an Olympic-size swimming pool in front of a new gymnasium.
When the PS 122 team left the locker room for the gym floor, their hearts sank even further. The opposition team had special warm up suits, the players were all good-looking, and they smirked with superiority. PS 122 had only their playing uniforms, no fans, no band, no confidence.
In the last minutes before the game began, the coach of PS 122 called his team together. “Guys,” he said, “they look good, but they only look good. The question today is not who looks good on the outside. The question is who's strong on the inside. We're not much to look at, but I know what's inside each one of you. Now get out there and play ball!”
In this passage the apostle Paul spoke of his life in this way. He had to admit that outwardly his ministry was not much to look at. He was like a fragile jar of clay. But something very special was on the inside of this jar of clay. Paul had been entrusted with the gospel of Christ. This treasure in his heart made it certain that Paul would be victorious over every challenge that came his way.
Inside-Out Salvation
MAIN IDEA: Because the Corinthians had questioned his motives and methods, Paul gave them further insight into his ministry. They needed to know that Paul's experience in ministry was a mixture of blessings from God and suffering for their sakes.
Serving in an Unveiled Ministry (4:1–6)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul stated that he expected God to triumph over Satan, re-creating people through the proclamation of the gospel, just as God had worked to re-create Paul through this same revelation.
4:1. Paul began by drawing attention to a result of his experience as a minister of Christ. He reflected that since he had received this ministry, certain things had taken place in his life. The ministry to which he referred was serving in the new covenant, the glory of which exceeded that of the old covenant under Moses. Paul confessed that he felt so honored to have this place in God's purposes that he did not lose heart for his work as an apostle. From the verses that follow we see that to lose heart meant at least two things: (1) Paul did not give in to the temptation to use deceit in his ministry, and (2) he did not crumble to the pressures of persecution and hardship.
4:2. Rather than losing heart, Paul renounced certain behaviors that would have been inappropriate to his calling. Some of the Corinthian Christians had accused Paul of insincerity because he had not fulfilled his planned visit. Perhaps they had even asserted that Paul was a manipulative, false teacher. There are also indications that other teachers in the church, perhaps rivals of Paul, did use insincere tactics. Paul insisted that his awareness of the glorious ministry to which he had been called compelled him not to manipulate or to teach falsely.
Paul described the inappropriate practices that he resisted with three phrases. First, he said he would not resort to secret and shameful ways. Paul did not use underhanded tactics or methods in his ministry. Paul did not suggest there was nothing shameful in his life. He was not perfect (Gal. 5:17). Instead, he spoke of his goals and strategies in ministry. In this respect, Paul had nothing to hide. If the most secret aspects of his service to Christ were revealed, he would still have nothing of which to be ashamed. He had always ministered in holiness and sincerity, according to God's grace, and had even sworn with God as his witness that his motivations had always been pure. Paul had no skeletons in his closet.
Second, Paul insisted that he did not use deception. Often in the New Testament, the term translated here as “deception” (panourgia ) denotes deplorable action or speech that tricks others. But Paul was so confident of the glory of ministering in the new covenant that he never resorted to this means of persuasion.
Third, Paul rejected the accusation that he would distort the word of God in his preaching and teaching. Paul's opponents could have considered any number of Paul's teachings to be distortions. For example, he rejected a legalistic outlook on the role of Old Testament law in the Christian church. In his earlier Corinthian epistle, Paul had also attacked those who relied too heavily on human wisdom. He had taught that Christians could eat meat that had been offered to idols, but also insisted that the weaknesses of others should take precedence. The natural response of Paul's opponents on these issues would have been to accuse him of distorting the Scriptures. But Paul rejected this accusation as unthinkable.
Instead, Paul took a different approach in his teaching and preaching. He presented the truth plainly. Paul was so convinced of this character of his ministry that he commend[ed] his ministry to every man's conscience. Paul did not fear scrutiny of his message or methods. In fact, he welcomed it so long as those who judged him did so in the sight of God. If his opponents sought to evaluate his ministry from good motivations rather than from evil desires, Paul was happy to receive these evaluations.
4:3. Why was Paul so open to evaluation? Some had argued that Paul's gospel was veiled because it deceived and distorted, but Paul knew otherwise. The gospel of Christ appears veiled only to those who are perishing. This precise terminology (tois appollumenois ) also appears in 2:15, where Paul described his ministry as a fragrance of death to those who rejected Christ (see also 2 Thess. 2:10). Here he alluded to the metaphor of the Roman triumphal parade once again. How we respond to the gospel is not a matter of intellectual insight or philosophical acumen. It is a matter of spiritual condition.
4:4. Paul went on to explain in what sense the gospel he preached was veiled to unbelievers. It was not that the message itself or its true ministers hid the glory of Christ. Instead, the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. When the Christian message is conveyed by ministers who deceive or who rely on worldly wisdom, the gospel may be veiled. But when it is proclaimed plainly with a focus on the glory of Christ in his death and resurrection, the problem does not reside in the gospel or in its ministers. The problem is that unbelievers… cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
A person with such spiritual blindness cannot see the proclamation of Christ, who is the image of God. The god of this age causes this blindness. This precise expression does not appear elsewhere in the New Testament, but it certainly refers to Satan. Paul adopted the Old Testament use of the word god in reference to supernatural or angelic beings, not to the Lord God (cf. Ps. 82:1). This use of “god” does not assert the true divinity of the beings it identifies. Rather, it indicates that the being so identified is worshiped as if it were divine. In reality, of course, it is not the divine Creator.
Satan is known in the New Testament as the ruler of this age (John 14:30). The phrase “this age” in Paul's epistles refers to the present world of sin and death as opposed to “the age to come” that has been inaugurated in Christ's first coming (Heb. 6:5) but awaits its consummation in his return (Luke 18:30). Satan and his demons have been given a measure of dominion over the fallen world (Eph. 6:12). One of their greatest powers is the ability to deceive and blind people to spiritual truths. Paul affirmed that this was the case when unbelievers rejected the gospel of Christ.
4:5. Why was Paul so convinced that the problem with unbelievers was in them and not in his presentation of the gospel? His reason was straightforward. True ministers of the gospel do not preach [them]selves. They do not draw attention to their own clever or eloquent speech; they do not lord their authority over others. Instead, they draw attention to Jesus Christ as Lord. The true Christian gospel always focuses on Christ's honor, not on the ministers who bear the message.
Paul insisted that instead of exalting themselves in their preaching, he and other true apostles presented themselves as the Corinthians’ servants for Jesus’ sake. Paul had sacrificed much for the Corinthians and the other churches to which he preached. He had not even exercised his right to be paid for his work. He humbled himself in this way for Jesus’ sake, so that Jesus alone would be honored.
4:6. Why did Paul lower himself and honor Christ exclusively? His reason stemmed from God's incredible act toward him. Paul described this divine act by drawing a connection between the light of creation and the light of re-creation in Christ. As the Genesis account reports, on the first day of creation, God… said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” Paul did not quote the Genesis record precisely, but he paraphrased it to draw the connection to Christ. God's creative act of calling for light broke the darkness of the primordial world.
Paul's confidence that true preaching focused on the glory of Christ rather than on its ministers rested in the fact that just as God first created light, God… made his light shine in their hearts. When God sent Christ, he acted much as he did when he created physical light. Jesus spoke of himself as the “light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5) and taught that his followers were also the “light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). The New Testament also describes life in Christ as walking in the light (1 John 2:8–10).
The illumination of the hearts of individuals is not just a mental state of enlightenment. From Paul's perspective, it is an act of re-creation. Christ's coming into the world, and the illumination of individuals to see his light, is a gracious divine act by which believers receive the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. When Paul came to know Christ personally on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3), this act of God surpassed the original act of creation in its ability to reveal the glory of God.
Paul expressed this conviction to validate his claim that his preaching was about Jesus… as Lord and not about himself or some other. He was so captivated by the greatness of the revelation of Christ that he could do nothing else.
Suffering for the Gospel (4:7–12)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul stated that his weaknesses and failures existed to demonstrate God's glory, giving Paul further confidence in the gospel.
4:7. Paul began this section with a clear thesis statement that he would develop in the verses to follow. Although Paul and other apostles were determined to serve in ministry because of the light of Christ in their hearts, they had this treasure in jars of clay. The image of this metaphor is twofold. On the one hand, there is treasure. The treasure represents the new covenant ministry empowered by “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” (4:6). In Paul's day earthenware containers were used to hold many different items. Paul had in mind precious items such as silver or gold. Paul viewed the gospel and its ministry as precious cargo.
On the other hand, this priceless gospel ministry was carried about in jars of clay. Artifacts from Paul's day indicate that not all items were stored in earthenware containers. Boxes of gold and ivory, decorated with precious stones, were available for the wealthy. Yet, it was common for items of great value to be stored in inexpensive pots of clay.
The counterpart to the jars of clay in Paul's metaphor is the ministers themselves. Paul had in mind not only the physical body, but also the many trials and troubles that came upon him and those who ministered with him. He introduced the idea that God had placed the treasure of the gospel ministry in frail, ordinary humans. A priceless treasure was contained in common earthenware.
Paul chose this metaphor because it symbolized the reality of his ministry. He had received the incredible light of God in Christ and was commissioned to spread this gospel throughout the world on Christ's behalf. Yet, this precious treasure did not raise Paul out of ordinary human life. He still faced the weaknesses of physical trials and persecutions in this world.
What was the purpose of this design? The grand message of Christ was carried through the world by ordinary, weak human beings to show that this all-surpassing power was from God and not from the ministers. The expression all-surpassing power alludes to 4:6, which focused on the divine power demonstrated first at the command that light appear (Gen. 1:3), and later in the order that the light of Christ shine in the hearts of believers. God spoke and the light of creation shone; he spoke and the light of re-creation shone as well.
This power of God was also evident in the preaching of the gospel (Rom. 15:18–19). The weakness of Paul and other ministers, coupled with their refusal to use deception, could not have produced the powerful, re-creative effects that the gospel produced. God chose weak creatures to minister the gospel so that it would be all the more clear that he had accomplished the work through these ministers (2 Tim. 1:8).
The effectiveness of their ministry might have caused some people to attribute honor to the ministers themselves. But Paul insisted that the weakness of the jars of clay demonstrated that ministers of the gospel deserved no glory for their work. The power came through weak instruments to demonstrate that it was from God and not from the ministers.
4:8–10. To illustrate what he meant by treasure in jars of clay, Paul described some of the hardships he and other ministers of the gospel faced. He began with a series of examples and followed with a summary.
In a series of four pairs of terms, Paul described specific ways in which the lives of gospel ministers were like earthenware that contained treasures. The first member of each pair described the hardship they experienced as frail jars of clay. The second member indicated how God demonstrated his power (treasure) in them by sustaining them through the hardships. The following table of these pairs illustrates the apostle's perspective.
| Jars of Clay | Treasure |
| hard pressed | not crushed |
| perplexed | not in despair |
| persecuted | not abandoned |
| struck down | not destroyed |
The precise meaning of each term is difficult to discern. We must be careful not to tie too specific a meaning to any of these terms. Our comments will remain rather general.
Hard pressed… but not crushed. This first pair of terms flows from the metaphor of the jars of clay. The image is of earthenware vessels that do not break even when placed under great strain. To be hard pressed (thlibo ) or “afflicted” is to be troubled from without by physical or psychological difficulties. While Paul and other ministers of the gospel endured many afflictions as did frail earthenware, they were not crushed (stenochoreomai ). They were not overcome by these afflictions because they had the treasure of the gospel of Christ.
Perplexed, but not in despair. Here and in the following word pairs, Paul's choice of words began to rely more on the prior word pair (hard pressed/crushed) than on the original metaphor (jars of clay). He expressed himself with a wordplay: perplexed (aporoumenoi, from aporeo ) and despair (exaporoumenoi, from exaporeo ) are based on the same root in the Greek lanugage. The latter is more intensive. To be perplexed is to be in a state of confusion and discouragement because of afflictions and troubles. When used alone, despair (exaporeomai ) describes well the discouragement that Paul and others felt. When contrasted with perplexed (aporeo ), however, despair (exaporeomai ) means something more narrow. Despair (exaporeomai ) in this context means something comparable to “utter despair lacking all hope or positive counterbalance.” Even though Paul and his company were deeply troubled at times, they never gave up because they had a great treasure.
Persecuted, but not abandoned. To be persecuted (dioko ) is to be hunted down or chased about by others. Persecution was widespread against the early church. The persecution of the ministers of the gospel indicated how much they were earthenware jars. Yet, Paul insisted that even in persecution they were not abandoned. God never left them alone. He was with them in all of their persecutions (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5).
Struck down, but not destroyed. When Paul spoke of being struck down (kataballo ), he probably had in mind a wrestling metaphor rather than actual physical blows. A wrestler was “struck down” when he was thrown to the floor. To be thrown to the floor was a setback for a wrestler, as it was for apostles and ministers of the gospel. Yet, to be thrown down was not the same as being destroyed (apollumi ) or defeated in the match. The path to victory for Paul and his company included setbacks, but they would be victorious over their foes.
After listing these four pairs of experiences, Paul summarized the experiences that he and his company endured. As jars of clay, they always carr[ied] around in their body the death of Jesus. Paul frequently mentioned that Christ's suffering and death on the cross overflowed into the life of the church (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 6:17). To carry around the death of Christ was to suffer repeatedly for his glory. Paul declared that these sufferings happen always. He and his company did not experience their union with Christ's sufferings in one act. They endured the suffering repeatedly everywhere they went.
Even so, there was a purpose to all this suffering. The goal was that the life of Jesus might also be revealed in their body. Paul taught throughout his epistles that the reward for those who suffered for Christ was a resurrection body for eternal life (Phil. 3:10–11). This resurrection in the future will result from our union with the resurrection of Christ (Rom. 6:5). The troubles that believers experience in this world will result in the glory of the next world.
4:11. Paul explained why his statement of 4:10 was true. He spoke of we who are alive, meaning the apostles and those other ministers who had not died or been killed, especially those who ministered with him. Even though they are still alive, they are always being given over to death. The experience of Christian ministry is constantly to go through the process of dying. For what purpose did Paul and his company suffer? So that Christ's life might be revealed in the mortal body. The corruptible, mortal human bodies of believers will enjoy the resurrection power that brought Jesus back to life. His life will be displayed in what God does with our mortal body.
4:12. Paul closed this section with a two-sided conclusion. This is one of the few times Paul clearly distinguished we (apostles, himself, and those in his company) from you (the Corinthians to whom he wrote). First, Paul drew a conclusion about himself and other Christian ministers of the gospel: death was at work in them. The meaning of this expression is clear from the context; specifically, they “are always being given over to death” (4:11). Second, Paul drew an unexpected conclusion about the Corinthians. They were not dying. Instead, life was at work in them as well.
Paul did not want the Corinthians to forget that they benefited from the sufferings of the ministers of the gospel. The pain and trials endured by Paul and others made it possible for the Corinthians to have eternal life in Christ. Those who suffered brought the gospel to the church, teaching and leading the church. The Corinthians should have realized that their new life in Christ came at the cost of suffering by those who ministered to them.
Confidence Through the Suffering (4:13–18)
SUPPORTING IDEA: Paul closed this section with a strong affirmation of the beliefs that served as foundation to his discussion throughout this chapter
4:13. Why had Paul spoken of the suffering and blessing of being a minister of the gospel? How did he hold both of these themes together? To answer this question, Paul referred to Psalm 116 by quoting from one line: I believed; therefore I have spoken. Psalm 116 is a prayer of thanksgiving for God's deliverance from affliction. In this verse (Ps. 116:10), the Psalmist recounted how he had trusted the Lord and how he had spoken of his afflictions to the Lord. He had done so with the hope that the Lord would answer his prayer and deliver him.
Paul probably thought of this psalm because it coupled these ideas of faith with complaints of the suffering and death of God's servants. For instance, Psalm 116:3 reads, “The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.” Similarly, Psalm 116:15 proclaims, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” Paul had just written that he had been persecuted and had despaired and that death worked in him. Still, his faith remained strong. Under these conditions, he identified with the psalmist. Thus, Paul quoted the psalmist's assertion of faith, implying that he spoke with that same spirit of faith. Just like the psalmist, he and his company also believe[d] and therefore spoke laments over their suffering as well as praise for divine deliverance.
4:14. Paul explained why he believed that even in the midst of great suffering God would deliver the ministers of the gospel. His reason began with the affirmation that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. Yet, this conviction about Jesus bore on the subject at hand only because Paul also believed that God would also raise him and his fellow ministers with Jesus, just as he would raise all believers.
Paul added another thought that expressed the greatness of his vision even further. Not only will God eventually raise ministers of the gospel with Christ; he will also present us (ministers of the gospel) with you (the Corinthians) in his presence. Paul hoped that God would reward him and other ministers for their suffering by resurrecting them in Christ, but he also believed they would share that resurrection life with all believers. In this way, the suffering of those who proclaim the gospel results in life for all believers.
4:15. Paul declared that the suffering of ministers, their confidence in speaking the gospel, and their future resurrection was for the Corinthians’ benefit. Throughout this passage he drew attention to the fact that he and his company had suffered for the sake of the Corinthian church. He had not been insincere or duplicitous. He had not pursued worldly goals or peddled God's word for profit. And he had not acted from spite or love of power. Instead, he and his company had served faithfully, enduring hardship for the sake of the church at large and for the believers in Corinth.
But Paul knew that benefiting all believers was not the ultimate basis of his confidence in the future. Instead, he aligned his thoughts with the psalms of thanksgiving, like Psalm 116 from which he had quoted. The ultimate purpose of the apostolic ministry was that the gospel might reach more and more people throughout the world. These people would then cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Paul knew that God desires to be honored by people for his goodness. God's glory is the reason for all creation (Rom. 11:36). Paul used this principle to explain the suffering he and his company experienced and the future resurrection for which they and the Corinthians hoped. Paul's confidence flowed from his understanding that God purposed everything in his ministry to contribute to the glory of God.
4:16. In summary, Paul reaffirmed that he did not lose heart. As he had already illustrated so clearly, the apostle could draw a sharp distinction between what was happening to him outwardly and inwardly. In terms of his physical existence—what he called “jars of clay”—the suffering and hardship he faced as an apostle caused him to say that he was wasting away. This assessment of the human condition is true in a general sense for everyone. On a physical level, we are all moving toward death. Yet, Paul had in mind not only physical suffering but hardships of every kind. In terms of the externals of his life, Paul was wasting away.
By contrast, inwardly Paul found the opposite to be true. He was being renewed day by day. This distinction between the outward and inward dimensions of human existence does not indicate that Paul hated his body or that he wished to escape physical existence. On the contrary, to be without one's body was to be in a state of nakedness that could be remedied only by the physical resurrection when Christ returns.
At the present time, though, a paradoxical situation exists for followers of Christ. On the one hand, they have believed the gospel and have been granted salvation. The Holy Spirit lives within believers as the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (Eph. 1:14), bringing many spiritual blessings into their lives. On the other hand, they have yet to be granted full salvation, including the resurrection of their bodies at the end of the age. This is why Paul spoke of himself as decaying and being renewed at the same time. As he waited for his physical existence to be renewed at the resurrection, he took comfort and joy in the renewal of his inward person by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
4:17. Paul had a more specific explanation of his inward renewal in mind. He found encouragement and refreshment during his sufferings by assessing them to be light and momentary— in other words, to be relatively insignificant by comparison with the eternal glory that far outweighs them. In line with the teaching of the Old and New Testaments, Paul was confident that all true believers would receive the eternal reward of glory and honor in the new heavens and new earth. The difficulties of this life are minor when compared to the wonder of our eternal salvation.
4:18a. Even so, this theological fact was of little help to Paul until he went beyond just knowing its truth. He resolved to fix his eyes on the future glory. Paul determined to focus his attention and center his hopes and priorities away from this life to the next. He insisted that he looked away from what is seen to what is unseen. We have to be careful not to confuse seen and unseen with physical and spiritual realities. The contrast is actually between the current reality of suffering and the future reality of full salvation at Christ's return. Future salvation will be physical as well as spiritual, but it is unseen because it has not yet come. By fixing his attention on the future salvation in Christ, Paul found strength in the disappointments and hardships of this life.
4:18b. Why did this concentration on the future help Paul so much? He explained that the value of this gaze into the future rests in the fact that what can be seen now is temporary; it will pass away at death and at the return of Christ. But the unseen, the future salvation to come at Christ's return, is eternal. Once Christ returns in glory and brings the fullness of salvation to his people, that state of blessing will never end.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: Because the Corinthians had questioned his motives and methods, Paul offered them further insight into his ministry. They needed to know that Paul's experience in ministry was a mixture of blessings from God and suffering for their sakes.
Looking Beyond Outward Circumstances
In this passage Paul the apostle gave another important outlook on his ministry. Outwardly, his life was not much to look at. He lived with suffering and hardship throughout his Christian experience. He was not very successful in human terms. At the same time, Paul remained confident of his high calling as an apostle of Christ by looking beyond his outward circumstances to his inward renewal in Christ's blessings and the great future that would be his when Christ returned. As we face suffering for the sake of the gospel, we can take courage in the same work of Christ within us.
PRINCIPLES
APPLICATIONS
It Will All Be Worth It in the End
Mothers amaze me. The pain and hardship they go through to bring a child into this world is astounding. They should be applauded for their strength and commitment. Frankly, I just do not know how they do it.
When I witnessed my daughter's birth, I gave thanks to God for two things. First, I praised him for my new baby. What a precious gift to hold in my arms! But after a moment or two, a second praise came to my lips. I thanked God for not making me a woman. Yes, that is right. After I had seen what my wife went through bringing our daughter into the world, I was grateful that I was the husband.
I have asked a number of mothers why they chose to go through the ordeal of pregnancy and delivery time and again. Many of them have told me the same thing. “I made it by telling myself over and over, ‘It will all be worth it in the end.’”
In this passage Paul talked about how suffering for Christ is worth it in the end. He focused on his own ministry as an apostle, but his words teach us about all ministers of the gospel. Paul took confidence in suffering by remembering that it would all be worth it in the end; we can also find the same comfort in our own troubles.
Perhaps one of the greatest principles that Paul relied on in this passage was God's sovereignty. Paul's knowledge of God's power and plan assured him that the gospel would triumph in spite of the suffering of its ministers. The sovereignty of God led Paul to believe that the gospel would triumph over the world and that he would receive great blessings.
Paul first mentioned God's sovereignty when he said that God mercifully allows people to minister. True new covenant ministers do not serve in their own strength or knowledge. Rather, God graciously allows undeserving people to serve, and he grants them the necessary abilities to do so. This does not imply that Christians should not study God's Word, nor does it mean that ministers do not need to be qualified for their positions. It does say that we must rely on God's mercy for the effectiveness of our service to Christ.
Ministers should trust that God will accomplish his purpose through the simple, straightforward means of gospel ministry. They should not use underhanded or dubious means in their work. God's gospel has all the power necessary to bring people to faith. The same is true for all believers when they bear witness to the truth. Knowing God's power should encourage us to present our faith plainly and truthfully. We do not need to be clever or powerful for God to use us.
Sometimes when we present the gospel, our message is rejected. Paul has shown us that people do not reject our message because we present it poorly or because the gospel lacks power. They do so because Satan blinds them to the truth. In Paul's mind, this failure of the gospel to convert everyone who hears it does not call God's sovereignty into question. It proved to him—and it should prove to us—that every conversion to Christ occurs through a divine, re-creative act.
Persecution also increased Paul's confidence for two reasons. First, his suffering proved that he was not equal in his own strength to the task he had been given; therefore, any success he had showed that God was in the work. Second, the fact that Paul was not destroyed by his sufferings encouraged him that his strength came from God. Christian weakness demonstrates God's power. Suffering for the gospel honors Christ and advances the gospel and the kingdom of God.
O Lord, we give you thanks for your courage to suffer on our behalf. We also praise you for the courage you gave to so many in the past who suffered in your service. Now, O God, we cry out to you for the same courage as we face opposition and trials for the sake of the gospel. Keep us mindful of those who have gone before us. Keep our eyes fixed on the blessings that lie ahead. Amen.
A. God (4:4)
Often in the Old Testament, and sometimes in the New Testament, the term god applies to a false god rather than to the Lord. This can be seen quite clearly in references to “gods” (elohim ). There are also many references to a single “god” (el ) that is not true God (Exod. 34:14; Ps. 81:9; Dan. 11:36). Sometimes, even the “plural” form elohim identifies such a false god (Deut. 4:34; 2 Kgs. 1:16).
Modern translations sometimes reflect this by substituting words other than “god” for those occurrences that do not refer to the one true deity. For example, the NASB translates Psalm 82:1: “God… judges in the midst of the rulers.” In this verse, both “God” and “rulers” translate the same Hebrew word elohim. Paul followed this Old Testament precedent by using “god” to refer to a supernatural or angelic being that was not the Lord God.
The term “this age” (tou aionos toutou ) derives from a common rabbinical expression of Paul's day (‘olam hazeh ). In this use, “this age” pertains to the fallen state of the world even while it is in the process of being restored to the form it will have when the kingdom of God reaches its consummation.
The kingdom of God comes in three phases: (1) the inauguration that took place in Christ's earthly ministry and the work of the apostles; (2) the church age which continues today; and (3) the return of Christ in the consummation of the kingdom.
The “age to come” invades “this age” in the same way the kingdom of God invades the current world order. The people of “this age” oppose the kingdom (Luke 16:8) and the principles of “the age to come.” Those who participate in the kingdom now, however, also participate in the age to come.
While this is not always the force of “this age,” it seems to be Paul's emphasis in this section. Paul did not mean that Satan controls the world and will continue to control it until the judgment. Jesus is already reigning above those who rule in this age (Eph. 1:21). Paul's point seems to have been that Satan is the “god” of those who live according to the fallen world order—the ruler of those who live according to the principles of “this age.”
C. “Let Light Shine Out of Darkness” (4:6)
By referring to Genesis 1:3, Paul did not intend only to suggest God's power. He meant to highlight God's re-creative power in salvation that continued to be a re-creative act in the New Testament as well. Jesus receives all the blessings offered to Israel in the Old Testament and shares them with those who belong to him.
A. INTRODUCTION
C. CONCLUSION: IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT IN THE END