2 Coríntios 4
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 4:3-4
Morris: Paul is here using a metaphor based on Deuteronomy 22:10 and Leviticus 19:19, which forbade plowing with an ox and ass yoked together or attempting to interbreed animals of different kinds. The clear inference is that believers and unbelievers are so different in character and interests (as well as ultimate destiny) that they should never be "yoked" together in situations requiring strong agreement of attitudes and goals (marriage, churches, business partnerships, lodges or other organizations with religious overtones). The prohibition is not intended to require complete repudiation of all secular or charitable organizations (1Co 5:10) or friendships. When one's Christian faith is in jeopardy, or his Christian conduct and influence is endangered, then such connections should be severed. One can witness to unbelievers without partaking of their beliefs or sinful behavior. (Defender's Study Bible online) Jesus used apistos even to describe the weak faith that characterized His very own disciples (as indicated by the context = Mt 17:20, eg see example of their weak faith = Mt 15:33) albeit to a lesser extent than Israel as a nation who for the most part continued in their unbelief... Matthew 17:17 (cp Mk 9:19 Lk 9:41) And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted (twisted and distorted throughout) generation (recalling Moses' words to Israel Dt 32:5, 20), how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me (Mt 17:14-16)." Jesus alludes to the ultimate dreadful destiny and destruction of unbelievers... Luke 12:46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces (Figurative description of the severity of the final judgment of unbelievers! eg Lk 13:27, 28, Mt 24:51), and assign him a place (The final destination of unbelievers = Gehenna not Hades/Sheol = Lake of Fire - see also the related discussion of the Second Death in chart on Births, Deaths, and Resurrections) with the unbelievers. Jesus used apistos in addressing His disciple Thomas... John 20:27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." Writing to Titus Paul used apistos to describe those who profess to know Christ but are unregenerate and detestable... To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled (miaino = spiritually corrupted and tainted ~"dyed with another color", perfect tense = their persistent state) and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled (same verb again in perfect tense = their persistent state). They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable (they "stink") and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed. (Titus 1:15+, Titus 1:16+) G Campbell Morgan said that "The god of this world is able only to blind the minds of the unbelieving...Why has he had power to blind them? Because of unbelief. The whole teaching of the letter to the Hebrews has dealt with that. The one sin that will bring men ultimately to perdition is the sin of unbelief, unbelief as refusal of Christ, refusal of the Gospel, refusal to accept what God is offering to them. To put it quite bluntly, if anyone goes down to perdition, why will they go? Because of their sins? No, but because of their sin, the sin of rejection of Jesus Christ. "If our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing." Who are they? Those who refuse that Gospel, blinded by the god of this age, blinded because of unbelief. Refusal to believe is the secret and reason of the blindness that happens to men. Oh, it does not matter people are told, what we believe. Believe me, it does matter. It matters very much what we believe and whether we believe at all. That is the whole picture here. (Commentary on 2 Corinthians - go to page 221) I like Guzik's point that "Satan can only blind those who do not believe. If you are tired of having your mind blinded by the god of this age, then put your trust on who Jesus is and what He has done for you! Then Satan can’t blind you anymore!" (2 Corinthians 4) Kent
2 Coríntios 4:3-4
Morris comments that: This is a clear affirmation of the absolute deity of Jesus Christ. Christ is whatever God is--spiritual, omnipotent, omniscient, holy--all the attributes of the eternal God. The word image (Greek eikon) conveys this meaning. Jesus Christ represents--and indeed He is--"very God of very God." Jesus said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father," (John 14:9). God in His essence is invisible (John 1:18), but we see all His attributes in Christ. Christ is "the firstborn," not in the sense that He ever came into existence from a prior condition of non-existence (Like the Jehovah's Witnesses claim this passage teaches - but they ignore the following context = He is the Creator of ALL things Col 1:16), but rather as eternally proceeding from the Father, the only begotten Son, always manifesting the Father. This truth can be called the doctrine of eternal generation. He is from eternity to eternity in relation to the Father as a Son. Some are sons of God by creation (angels--Job 1:6), and we can become sons of God by adoption (Ro 8:14,15), but He is the Son by eternal generation (or eternal relation), the only-begotten of the Father. He also has the right of inheritance of the firstborn (Hebrews 1:2) and is "the firstborn from the dead" (Col 1:18). (Defender's Study Bible) Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) used the image of God as an inspiration to evangelism in her hymn "Rescue the Perishing" Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, Feelings lie buried that grace can restore; Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness Chords that are broken will vibrate once more. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
2 Coríntios 4:13-15
Morris - The comfort of the psalmist in his afflictions was faith in God's Word, and Paul testified the same of himself. (as it is written) Kruse - Paul is saying that despite death being at work in us we still operate in the same spirit of faith as the psalmist....There has been debate whether “spirit of faith” refers to a human disposition, as indicated when the initial letter is rendered as lowercase (“spirit”—so Augustine, ACCSC, 234; Thrall 1:339) or to the Holy Spirit in which case the initial letter would be uppercase (“Spirit”—so Hafemann 187, Seifrid 209; Barnett 240 n. 7). The former is the better option as Paul is saying that like the psalmist, his faith in God persists despite the sufferings he encounters. He is not making a point about the Holy Spirit being the one who inspires faith. (2 Cor-EGGNT) Joseph Beet sees this verse as a breakpoint writing "Having explained the purpose and result of the perils around, Paul now gives the motives which enable him to continue his work in spite of them. He can do this because, led by the Spirit, he believes the promises of God. By faith he knows (2Co 4:14) that God will raise him from the dead in company with his converts; that (2Co 5:1–4) if his present body die a better one awaits him; that (2Co 5:6–8) death will but remove him to the presence of Christ; and that (2Co 5:10) from Him he will receive due reward for his work. (2 Corinthians 4 Commentary) Ryrie Though he is oppressed, Paul's outlook is one of hope (2Co 4:14). Therefore, he does not lose heart (2Co 4:16), though his outer man is decaying, for this affliction is light and temporary when viewed from the perspective of eternity. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers) Alfred Plummer has an interesting observation regarding Paul's repeatedly uses echo (to have, to possess)… The Apostle again and again dwells upon the goodly possessions of the Christian, and especially of the Christian minister; confidence we have (2Co 3:4-+), having such hope (2Co 3:12-+), we have this ministry (2Co 4:1-+), we have this treasure (2Co 4:7-+), having the same spirit of faith (2Co 4:13), we have a building from God (2Co 5:1), possessing (having) all things (2Co 6:10), having these promises (2Co 7:1); and he often builds an argument upon these goodly possessions. (Ed: Every use of echo is in the present tense picturing the continuance, persistence and permanence of these possessions). (2 Corinthians 4:7 Commentary) Joseph Beet favoring "same spirit" as reference to the Holy Spirit writing that… the Holy Spirit moving men to believe the promises of God, especially the promise of resurrection and of life with Christ. Cp. 1Co 4:21; Eph 1:17-+. Although faith is the condition (Ga 3:14) on which we receive the Spirit, yet, when received, by revealing to us (Ro 5:5-+) the love of God, He works in us a firmer and broader confidence in God. The assurance which enabled Paul to pursue his apostolic path, he felt to be a work of the Spirit. The same Holy Spirit: who moved the Psalmist to write. (2 Corinthians 4 Commentary) KJV Bible Commentary agrees…That is, the same Spirit of 2Co 3:17-+, who is the Holy Spirit, often designated by the effects which He produces (e.g., He is called the Spirit of adoption, Ro 8:15; the Spirit of wisdom, Ep 1:17-+; the Spirit of grace, He 10:29-+; the Spirit of glory, 1Pe 4:14). Here He is so called because He is the Spirit who produces faith. Thus, in much the same way that David expressed himself in Psalm 116:10, Paul extols the goodness of God. (KJV Bible Commentary) ESV Study Bible -Some hold… that this is a reference to the Holy Spirit, since the Holy Spirit is the one who creates faith, who conforms one to Christ, and who secures the promises of God (see 2Co 1:22; 3:6 7 8, 18; 5:5). Vincent offers a "hybrid" thought that the "Spirit of faith: not distinctly the Holy Spirit, nor, on the other hand, a human faculty or disposition, but blending both: faith as a gift of the Spirit of God. Faith (4102)(pistis) is synonymous with trust or belief and is the conviction of the truth of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it As pistis relates to God, it is the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things well as the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. As faith relates to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way, eternal salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ and no other way. Wayne Grudem defines faith that saves one's soul "Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. This definition emphasizes that saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me… The definition emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust, the word "trust" is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word "faith" or "belief." The reason is that we can "believe" something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved in it. (Grudem, W. A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine Zondervan) (Bolding added) According to what is written - Refers to a quotation from Ps 116:10, but don't miss the axiomatic truth that while Paul held firmly to Scriptures such as these (and knew the OT well), it was ultimately the truth of the Scriptures which held him firmly when the winds of affliction and adversity began to blow (as they often did in his tumultuous life!). It behooves us all to imitate Paul (1Co 11:1) and to make it the passionate practice of our life to know His Word better and better (and especially to know Him more intimately), specifically allocating the time and effort (it is work but it's reward is eternal) to memorize Scripture so that in our hour of testing the Spirit of God might use that internalized ("eaten" - cp how a "tested" man was enabled to hold fast and not turn aside - Job 23:12-+ in context of Job 23:10, 11-+) Word of Truth to hold us firm in the harbor named "God's Trustworthy Word" (See Memorizing His Word and consider beginning a discipline [under grace not law] of Memorizing Verses by Topic). You are memorizing God's Word of Life aren't you? You can't NOT be memorizing because the growth and strength of your faith depends on ingestion and assimilation His living and active Word (Ps 119:9, 10, 11-+; Ro 10:17-+). Written (1125)(grapho from root graph- = primarily means to scratch on or engrave as on an ornament, reports, letters, etc; English = graph, graphic, etc) means to engrave or inscribe with a pen or stylus characters or letters on a surface which can be wood, wax, metal, leather, stone, parchment, dirt (John ), paper, etc. (Click to review all 191 uses of grapho in the NAS) It is written occurs 76 times in the NAS (Click for these uses). When we were children and our parents told us to do something and we questioned "Why?", the answer was usually "Because I said so!". Why are we commanded to be holy? Because God said so!
2 Coríntios 4:16
Morris - The Revelation Record) “The word ‘destroy’ is the same, actually, as ‘corrupt.’ Man had destroyed the earth by corrupting the earth, using it not for God’s glory, but instead to satisfy his own greed and lust.” (A Testimony of Jesus Christ - Revelation 11:18) Plummer comments that "In the case of the physical powers there is a ceaseless wearing away, under the pressure of hard work, ill health, anxiety, and persecution; in the spiritual powers there is a ceaseless increase of strength. The one process, in spite of frequent Divine deliverances, must end in death; the other, by Divine decree, ends in eternal life. The force of the present tense must be preserved, ‘is being destroyed,’ ‘is being renewed’… "How is it being renewed?" asks Chrysostom, and replies, "By faith, by hope, by zeal.’ (International Critical Commentary - 2Corinthians)