Paul presented many paradoxical contrasts involved in the sufferings and supports of the Christian to clarify for his readers the real issues involved in serving Jesus Christ.
"This passage, which is about suffering and death (vv. 7-12), stands in stark contrast with the theme of glory' so brilliantly developed by Paul in 3:7-4:6, to which he also will return in vv. 16-18."147
4:7 The treasure that every Christian possesses is "the knowledge of the glory of God"(v. 6, i.e., the gospel). Even though it is what dispels spiritual darkness God has deposited this precious gift in every clay Christian. This is a paradox, consequently the "but."
"A vessel's worth comes from what it holds, not from what it is."148
God has done this so all may see that the transforming power of the gospel is supernatural and not just human (cf. Judg. 7:19-20).
"The pottery lamps which could be bought for a copper or two in the Corinthian market-place provided a sufficient analogy; it did not matter how cheap or fragile they were so long as they showed the light."149
Paul was not disparaging the human body by calling it an earthen vessel nor was he saying that it is only a vehicle for the soul. Paul viewed man as a unity of material and immaterial parts (monism) rather than as having higher and lower elements (dualism).150He was contrasting the relative insignificance and unattractiveness of the light-bearers with the surpassing worth and beauty of the light (i.e., God's glory) itself.151
"It is precisely the Christian's utter frailty which lays him open to the experience of the all-sufficiency of God's grace, so that he is able even to rejoice because of his weakness (12:9f.)--something that astonishes and baffles the world, which thinks only in terms of human ability."152
4:8-9 Paul pointed out four specific ways in which the weakness of his earthen vessel contrasted with God's power (cf. 1:5, 10). He may have been thinking of himself as a gladiator or soldier in view of what he wrote. He had been on the ropes but not trapped in a corner. He was without proper provision but not completely without resources. He was a hunted man but not totally forsaken. Finally he felt beaten down but not destroyed. In these respects his life, representing all believers who herald the gospel, was very like our Lord's. Paul's numerous escapes from defeat and death were signs of Christ's power at work in him.
"To be at the end of man's resources is not to be at the end of God's resources; on the contrary, it is to be precisely in the position best suited to prove and benefit from them, and to experience the surplus of the power of God breaking through and resolving the human dilemma.
"As death is the culminating moment of the Christian's weakness, so also it is the point at which the all-transcending power of God is most marvellously [sic] displayed."153
"Verses 8-9 represent the first of the tribulation lists' (peristaseis) found within 2 Corinthians (see also 6:3-10; 11:23b-33; 12:7-10; cf. 1:5-11; 2:14-17)."154
4:10 Paul summarized the four preceding contrasts with another paradox. He was in one sense always dying but in another sense never lifeless. Paul's use of nekrosis("dying,"v. 10) rather than thanatos("death") shows that what he had in mind was not our identification with Jesus in His death. It was rather our sharing in His sufferings by being exposed to danger and death for His sake daily (cf. 1:5-6; 1 Cor. 15:31; Phil. 3:10). The next verse makes this clearer.
4:11 Paul faced threats to his life daily for his witness to Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:30-31). This seems clearly to be what he meant by "the dying of Jesus."There are three other ways that the New Testament associates us with Jesus' death, but these are not in view here. They are our identification with His death in baptism (Rom. 6:3-5), our daily mortification of the flesh (Gal. 5:24), and our physical debilitation as we serve Christ.
Paradoxically the death and the life of Jesus were simultaneously obvious in Paul's experience (cf. 1:4-5). Though living, Paul was always in danger of dying because enemies of Jesus rejected him and tried to kill him. However even though his body was in the process of aging and dying God kept giving him life, as He provided resurrection life to Jesus, so Paul could continue to serve Him.
4:12 There is another paradox. While Christ's ministers suffer because of their testimony for the Savior, those to whom they minister experience new and greater spiritual life because of those ministers' faithfulness (cf. 1:3-7). The more faithful Paul and his companions remained to God's will the more they suffered and the more the Corinthians prospered spiritually.
4:13-14 Why did Paul continue to serve God faithfully even though it meant suffering for him? First, Paul believed, as the psalmist did, that inner conviction about the truth must result in outward confession of that truth (cf. 1 Cor. 9:16).155Second, Paul believed that physical death was not the end of existence but that the power of God presently at work in him would continue working in him after death. When the apostle could serve God no longer due to death, God's power would raise him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees the resurrection of believers in Jesus (1 Cor. 15:23). God's power would unite Paul with his readers whom God would also resurrect (cf. Eph. 5:27; Col. 1:22; 1 Thess. 4:14). Paul's reference to reunion with the Corinthians in heaven probably implies his genuine love for them.
4:15 This concluding statement also reflects the apostle's sincere desire for the Corinthians' welfare. All Paul had been experiencing would result in the Corinthians' good and God's glory. He gladly endured suffering for the gospel in view of this prospect. Paul had brought God's grace to Corinth, and now the Corinthians were taking that grace to other people in other places. Gratitude is always the proper response to God's grace.
"As God's grace expanded in their hearts and through them reached ever-increasing numbers, so too, the volume of thanksgiving to God for the receipt of illumination (cf. 4:6) would increase and promote the glory of God."156
So far Paul gave three reasons for his refusal to become discouraged as he served the Lord. In the past he had received a divine commission to proclaim a new and better covenant (v. 1). In the future he looked forward to sharing Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead (v. 14). In the present he had the opportunity to promote the Corinthians' spiritual welfare and the glory of God (v. 16).
