2 Corinthians 13:4

13:1-6 Though it is God's gracious method to bear long with sinners, yet he will not bear always; at length he will come, and will not spare those who remain obstinate and impenitent. Christ at his crucifixion, appeared as only a weak and helpless man, but his resurrection and life showed his Divine power. So the apostles, how mean and contemptible soever they appeared to the world, yet, as instruments, they manifested the power of God. Let them prove their tempers, conduct, and experience, as gold is assayed or proved by the touchstone. If they could prove themselves not to be reprobates, not to be rejected of Christ, he trusted they would know that he was not a reprobate, not disowned by Christ. They ought to know if Christ Jesus was in them, by the influences, graces, and indwelling of his Spirit, by his kingdom set up in their hearts. Let us question our own souls; either we are true Christians, or we are deceivers. Unless Christ be in us by his Spirit, and power of his love, our faith is dead, and we are yet disapproved by our Judge.

Of the human nature; for the nature which Christ assumed was in all things like to ours, excepting sin; it was subject to all sinless infirmities; it was mortal, passible, liable to sufferings, and death, and so he came to be crucified; though not against his will, or without his previous assent; as God, he was able to have prevented his crucifixion if he would; he gave an instance of his power over men, at the time of his apprehension, by striking them down to the ground; and told Pilate his judge at his trial, that he could have no power to crucify him, if it was not given him from above; and he showed his superiority over devils when upon the cross, by spoiling principalities and powers; so that his crucifixion was not owing to want of power as God, but he became capable of it through his weakness as man: but yet he lives by the power of God; he was raised from the dead by a divine power; by his own power as God, as well as by his Father's, and so was declared to be the Son of God with power; and he lives at the right hand of God as man and Mediator, vested with all power in heaven and in earth; though, in the days of his flesh, he appeared so weak, mean, and despicable: now the apostle mentions this case of our Lord's, to deter the Corinthians from despising him, on account of his outward weakness and meanness; and from hence buoying themselves up, and in which they were encouraged by the false apostles, that he had not, and could not exercise the power he talked of; they

He had before said, that Christ in him was not weak, but mighty; here he showeth, that there was a time when Christ himself was weak, in a low and contemptible state, in which state he was crucified; this state of weakness subjected him to a death upon the cross: but, by the power of God, he rose again from the dead, ascended up into heaven, where he liveth for ever to make intercession for us. For we also are weak in him; in conformity to Christ (he saith) he and the rest of the apostles were weak; in a low, abject, contemptible condition, exposed to reproaches, deaths, &c. But we shall live; which some understand of life eternal, consequent to the resurrection of believers; but others better, of the life and vigour of the apostle’s ministry. Through the mighty power of God, flowing from a living Christ, who hath ascended up on high, and given gifts unto men, our ministry shall be a living, powerful, efficacious ministry toward you.

2 Corinthians 13:4 . Εἰ , if [though]) a concessive particle.— ἐσταυρώθη , was crucified ) The cross , the utmost weakness; it includes death, for life , is put in antithesis to it.— ἐξ ἀσθενείας , owing to [ through ] weakness ) It is the part of weakness to be crucified. This is the force of the particle.— ἀσθενοῦμεν ἐν αὐτῳ , we are weak in Him ) Presently after, the particle is varied, σύν , with Him, being employed instead of the ἐν here; we are weak , we do not exercise δύναμιν , power , and therefore we ourselves are less sensible of it, inasmuch as the sense of tribulation prevails.

2 Corinthians 13:4 . ( a ) καὶ γὰρ ἐσταυρώθη κ . τ . λ .: for He was crucified through weakness ( cf. Php 2:8 , 1 Peter 3:18 ; ἐκ indicating that it was His self-assumed ἀσθένεια which made the Passion possible), but liveth through ( ἐκ again indicating the ultimate condition) the Power of God (see reff. and cf. Romans 8:11 , Ephesians 1:20 , Php 2:9 ).—( b ) καὶ f1γὰρ ἡμεῖς κ . τ . λ .: for we also are weak with Him (the reading ἐν αὐτῷ might be explained from such passages as 2 Corinthians 1:5 , 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 ; but it is so startling that we hesitate to adopt it, when the MS. evidence is so evenly balanced; σὺν αὐτῷ means simply “we are weak, as He was weak, in the world’s eyes”; see 2 Corinthians 12:10 ), but we shall live with Him , not only in the Resurrection Life of believers ( John 14:19 , Romans 5:10 ; Romans 6:8 ), but through the Power of God toward you, i.e. , through the powerful sanctions with which He will confirm our exercise of Apostolic discipline at Corinth ( cf. 1 Corinthians 5:5 ). The thought is that already expressed in 2 Corinthians 12:10 . He now resumes the argument of 2 Corinthians 13:3 a, sc ., you are claiming to test my claims: you should look to yourselves; your faith is a witness to mine—that Christ dwells in you is a proof that He dwells in me, who preached Him to you. Cf. chap. 2 Corinthians 1:24 , 2 Corinthians 3:2 .

Verse 4. - For though. The "though" should be omitted. Through weakness; literally, out of weakness ; i.e. as a result of that human weakness of our nature which he took upon him, and which rendered him liable to agony and death ( 2 Corinthians 8:9 ; Philippians 2:7, 8 ; 1 Peter 3:18 ; Hebrews 2:10-18 ). But we shall live with him... toward you. This thought of participation alike in Christ's humiliation and his glory, alike in his weakness and his might, was very familiar to St. Paul ( 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 ; Ephesians 1:19, 20 ), Here, however, the following words," toward you," i.e." with reference to you," show that the life of which he is thinking is the vigorous reestablishment of his spiritual authority in Christ over the Church of Corinth. 2 Corinthians 13:4

4. though—omitted in some of the oldest manuscripts; then translate, "For He was even crucified," &c. through weakness—Greek, "from weakness"; that is, His assumption of our weakness was the source, or necessary condition, from which the possibility of His crucifixion flowed (Heb 2:14; Php 2:7, 8). by—Greek, "from"; "owing to." the power of God—the Father (Ro 1:4; 6:4; Eph 1:20). weak in him—that is, in virtue of our union with Him, and after His pattern, weakness predominates in us for a time (exhibited in our "infirmities" and weak "bodily presence," 2Co 10:10; 12:5, 9, 10; and also in our not putting into immediate exercise our power of punishing offenders, just as Christ for a time kept in abeyance His power). we shall live with him—not only hereafter with Him, free from our present infirmities, in the resurrection life (Php 3:21), but presently in the exercise of our apostolic authority against offenders, which flows to us in respect to you from the power of God, however "weak" we now seem to you. "With Him," that is, even as He now exercises His power in His glorified resurrection life, after His weakness for a time.

4. For though he was crucified through weakness ] Chrysostom observes that these words were a great difficulty to the weaker sort. But he explains them by John 11:3-4 ; Php 2:27 ; 1 Timothy 5:23 , where the word in the original is the same as, or cognate to, that employed here. There is another reading here, which by omitting ‘though,’ or rather ‘if,’ in the original, strengthens the Apostle’s statement. There need be no difficulty. Our Lord assumed our human nature with all its infirmities ( Hebrews 2:10-18 ; Hebrews 4:15 ; Hebrews 5:2-3 ; see also ch. 2 Corinthians 8:9 , and Php 2:7-8 ), although they were the result of sin. He bore all those infirmities, death itself included. And then He shook them all off for ever when He rose again ‘by the power of God.’ Cf. Romans 1:4 ; 1 Corinthians 1:24 . For we also are weak in him ] In this present life the Apostles of Christ were like their Master. Upborne by the power of God within, they had nevertheless to bear the load of human infirmity, to ‘take up their Cross and follow Him.’ See notes on ch. 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 , and cf. Galatians 6:17 . And not only so, but the words ‘in Him’ shew that it was a necessary part of their union with Him that they should be partakers of His tribulation, before they were translated into the fulness of His glory. See 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7 ; 1 Peter 1:5-7 ; 1 Peter 5:10 . we shall live with him ] Not, as the following words shew, hereafter, but in the Apostle’s ministry to the Corinthians.

Cf. 2 Corinthians 13:3 . Also Romans 1:16 ; John 14:19 ; 1 Corinthians 1:18 , and ch. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 , and note on ch. 2 Corinthians 4:14 . The Gospel was a power which enabled men to change their lives, in that it was a ministering to them of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Compare ch. 2 Corinthians 3:3 ; 2 Corinthians 3:6 ; 2 Corinthians 3:8-9 with Romans 8:9-10 and Php 1:19 .

(4) For though he was crucified through weakness . . . —The better MSS. give another reading, without the contingent or concessive clause: For even He was crucified. St. Paul seems to see in Christ the highest representative instance of the axiomatic law by which he himself had been comforted, that strength is perfected in infirmities. For He too lived encompassed with the infirmities of man’s nature, and the possibility of the crucifixion flowed from that fact, as a natural sequel. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him.—The thought that underlies the apparently hard saying is that the disciples of Christ share at once in their Lord’s weakness and in His strength. “We, too, are weak,” the Apostle says; “we have our share in infirmities and sufferings, which are ennobled by the thought that they are ours because we are His; but we know that we shall live in the highest sense, in the activities of the spiritual life, which also we share with Him, and which comes to us by the power of God; and this life will be manifested in the exercise of our spiritual power towards you and for your good.” To refer the words “we shall live” to the future life of the resurrection, though the thought is, of course, true in itself, is to miss the special force of the words in relation to the context.