Thursday, July 3, 2025

03Jul

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen, for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NRSVUE)

Pronouns are tricky. To whom is Paul referring in this letter to the Corinthians when he uses the word ‘we’? Whatever clarity exists in Paul’s Greek is missing from our English translation. Is he using the first person plural and including himself and his intended readers, or is he using what we call the ‘royal we’ and referring to himself alone, or is he shifting among both forms?

Given the context of the preceding verses I might side with those who believe Paul here uses ‘we’ to refer to himself. As a controversial figure even among his followers, Paul frequently finds himself in competition with other would-be proselytizers, and, as he does in other of his epistles, he pushes back. His words may be more literal than we think. Phrasing like “Even though our outer nature is wasting away” and reference to “our slight, momentary affliction” link to other places where Paul refers to his physical limitations. Here he links to immediately prior verses where Paul uses the metaphor of clay jars to convey the fragility of flesh and how his own body being “handed over to death” makes visible the life of Jesus and Jesus’s death. Paul goes on, “death is at work in us (Paul) but life (the risen Jesus) in you.”

On the other hand, two thousand years on, we can read Paul’s words in our own light. We (you the reader and I) can interpret Paul’s ‘we’ to actually mean us: we do not lose heart; we look not at the seen, but the unseen; we gain “glory beyond all measure" because the unseen—the Spirit(?)—is eternal. In other words, we can trust God’s grace.

Questions for Reflection:

  • Elsewhere in his Epistles Paul posits that resurrection will provide us with “spiritual bodies.” How does that accord with what Paul says here in 2 Corinthians?
  • How does it accord with other Christian perspectives? 
  • With popular culture? 
  • With the “fleshly” punishments portrayed in the Book of Revelation? 
  • How should we deal with the differences and discontinuities among these perspectives?

Prayer:

Lord,
We pray for faith—the trust in you that does not lose heart; the trust in you that sees the weakness of our bodies and the strength of your love and grace. Grow our spirit to see that your kingdom comes when your will is done on earth as it is in heaven and that your will is that we love you and love our neighbors. Only then does our spirit grow and thrive and your will is done.
Amen

FaithGrace

Tags
Posted by John Montag

John Montag, retired college librarian (including UNL and Nebraska Wesleyan), spends time reading when he should be attending to Linda's priorities. After 30 years also moonlighting as a book discussion leader in Ohio public libraries he appreciates the insights (not to mention the nearness and closeness) of his Southwood book discussion group.

View All Posts

Leave a Comment:

Name:

Comment:


Previous Page