2 Coríntios 4

2 Coríntios 4:16

Gill - the internal hidden man of the heart, the new man is in a prosperous condition; our souls are in good health; the work of God is comfortably carried on in us; we have sweet and repeated experiences of the love of God; we are growing in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ; and, like the palm tree, the more weight is hung upon it, the more it thrives; and, like the children of Israel in Egypt, the more they were afflicted the more they grew. (2 Corinthians 4) Dan Mitchell writes that "People who have walked with the Lord many years have an inner beauty that transcends the transient beauty of the flesh. Peter speaks of this when he admonishes women. "And let not your adornment be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1Pe 3:3, 4). (AMG 21st Century Biblical New Testament Commentary - 2Corinthians - Grace Under Siege) Caird explains this renewal process "But it is a secret process, invisible both to the outsider and to the believer himself, known only to faith. To protect that faith from the encroachments of pride, which would turn spiritual renewal into a human achievement instead of accepting it as a gift of grace, God has provided that the process be concealed within an ‘earthenware vessel,’ a perishable body subject to pain and decay (2Co 4:7; cp. 2Co 12:7, 8, 9). Those whose eyes are not on the seen and transient, but on the unseen and eternal, can detect beneath the decay of the outer nature an inner life which is being daily renewed (2Co 4:16–18). (G. B. Caird, Paul’s Letters from Prison, New Clarendon Bible) Tony Evans "GOD designed your life as a Christian to get younger on the inside as you get older on the outside. - "Renewable Energy" is a catch phrase in our modern world. How it should encourage all saints that our inner man is "renewable"! The deposit of the Spirit within us sets in motion a regenerative overhaul of the self that culminates in complete transformation at Christ’s return (2Co 1:22; 5:5). Renewed (341) (anakainoo [word study] from aná = back or again + kainóō = to make new > from kainos = not recent but qualitatively new and different) is used only here and in (Col 3:10-+) and means literally to make new (in quality) again (in context we were made in the image of God but fell, and are now be renewed into that image again ["ana-"]). It is to cause something to become new and better or superior. In the present context Paul uses anakainoo to signify that the believer's inner being is to continually (present tense) being changed into a new quality or kind of life (that heretofore never existed), which is in opposition to the corrupt, depraved state of the unregenerate individual, a state which is continually "decaying" (spiritually). Renewed is in the passive voice which indicates our inner man is being acted upon by an outside power, the supernatural power of God and especially the Spirit, as 2Co 3:18 and Ep 3:16-+ make clear. Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words - The very image of God is being restored in us (Ed: That's the sense of the preposition "ana-" which means "again") as we grow in true knowledge of Christ (Col 3:10). All of this is accomplished by what Titus called the cleansing of “rebirth and renewal” (Titus 3:5-+, anakainosis in Greek). Jesus taught that eventually all things would be renewed (Matt. 19:28, paliggenesia in Greek). We, as believers, should look forward to that spectacular day of renewal. (Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words) Anakainoo is used only one other time in the NT… Colossians 3:10-+ and have put on the new self (When? At the time of the new birth) who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. Comment: Anakainoo is in the present tense which indicates that we are "continually being renewed” to a new quality of life, describing a process that will continue the rest of our earthly days, a process with is essentially synonymous with progressive sanctification, growth in holiness, gradual being conformed to the image of God's Son, growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The passive voice indicates we are being acted upon by an outside power, the context indicating that it is the supernatural power of God, the Holy Spirit Who sanctifies us. Of course, the Word is that entity by which we are renewed and progressively set apart (cp Jn 17:17). And thus once again we see the vitally important role the pure milk of the Word has in the believer's renewal and overall spiritual growth. In short - no intake of God's Word, no growth spiritually (see 1Pe 2:2-+). The noun form of anakainoo is used by Paul in Romans to exhort the believers not to be continually "conformed (present imperative) to this world, but be transformed (present imperative) by the renewing (anakainosis - qualitatively and so a renewal which makes one's mind different than it was in the past) of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Ro 12:2-+)