4:16 In view of the reasons just sited, the apostle restated that he did not lose heart (cf. v. 1). However, Paul's sufferings, while not fatal, were destroying his body. Nevertheless even this did not discourage him for even though physically he was decaying spiritually he was still developing (cf. Eph. 3:16). In this verse Paul resumed the thought he began in verse 1.
"We are, in fact, on the threshold of one of the most important eschatological passages of the New Testament."157
4:17 Paul introduced another paradox. Suffering now will result in glory later. He could consider the afflictions he had undergone as a servant of Christ as "light"only in comparison with the heavy weight of glory he would receive at Christ's judgment seat (cf. 11:23-27).
"His choice of the expression the weight of glory' may be influenced by the fact that in Hebrew weight' and glory' come from the same root kbd. It is because the coming glory' is so weighty' that the present affliction' seems so slight' (Gk elaphron, light'), just as the eternity of the coming glory' makes the affliction' seem momentary.' It is not simply that the glory' is the compensation for the affliction' [cf. Rom. 8:18] . . . rather, the glory' is the product of the affliction,' produced in measure beyond all comparison' . . ."158
Paul spoke of the glory as something that he could increase by continuing to suffer, the result of following God faithfully. He was referring to his eternal reward.
"No more [i.e., neither] does the Apostle mean that all suffering is productive of glory, as though it were an infallible means to this end. The history of the Church has shown that such a concept leads to an unscriptural self-interest and to a misconception of the true character of Christian suffering. Paul is concerned here with suffering for Jesus' sake(v. 11; cf. Acts 9:16), which means suffering in which there cannot possibly be any self-interest. It is precisely as the I' decreases that Christ increases (Jn. 3:30)."159
4:18 Another irony is that the physical things that we see now appear to be permanent, but really the spiritual things that we cannot see are permanent (cf. Heb. 11:1). What we can see now is only temporary. The present momentary visible things of life paled for the apostle as he considered the future eternal invisible things on ahead. These things included his fullness of joy, his completed salvation, and his heavenly inheritance. By keeping these unseen realities in view he could avoid discouragement when what he could see tempted him to feel discouraged (cf. Col. 3:1-2).
