Jesus was weakness and power

JESUS WAS WEAKNESSAND POWER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
2 Corinthians13:4 For He was indeed crucifiedin
weakness, yet He lives by God's power. And though we
are weak in Him, yet by God's power we will live with
Him to serve you.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
WeaknessAnd Power
2 Corinthians 13:4
J.R. Thomson
It must have been very painful to the sensitive and benevolentmind of the
apostle to have written thus to any congregationofChristians, especiallyto a
congregationso intimately connectedwith him as was this at Corinth. The
whole societywas to blame for suffering the Judaizers and the questioners of
St. Paul's authority; when they should have takenthe part of their spiritual
benefactor, and have indignantly resentedthe slights and misrepresentations
which they tolerated. In the prospectof visiting Corinth, the apostle requires
that the people shall put themselves to the test and shall give a proof of their
reformation; otherwise, he will be compelledto give them a proof of his
supernatural power and thus to silence calumny and opposition.
I. THE WEAKNESS OF CHRIST IS SHARED EVEN BY HIS SINCEREST
AND MOST FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS.

1. In the Lord Jesus were, both in his person and in his ministerial career,
many circumstances ofhumiliation. His helpless childhood; his subjectionto
hunger, thirst, and weariness;his liability to pain; his endurance of death, are
instances of the former. His submission to calumny and insult, to betrayal and
desertion, to hatred and rejection, are proofs of the latter.
2. Now, our Lord himself forewarnedhis disciples that they should share their
Master's lot. Paul certainly took up the cross. The thorn or stake in the flesh,
the feeble body, the scourgings and imprisonments which he was calledupon
to endure, were not regarded by him as accidents and misfortunes, but rather
as proofs of true discipleship, as participations in the sufferings of the Lord.
And this is the light in which all followers of the Lord Jesus are justified in
regarding the endurances and calamities which befall them in treading in his
steps and in executing his commission. It is the moral glory of Christianity
that it dignifies the sufferings of those who partake their Leader's spirit in
self-denying endeavours for the salvationof their fellow men. Such servants of
the Divine Mastermay well "gloryin infirmity." Their wounds are the
honourable scars telling of the severity of the conflict in which they have been
engaged.
II. THE POWER OF GOD WHICH WAS UPON CHRIST SHALL BE
DISPLAYED IN THOSE WHO, SHARING THE MASTER'S SERVICE,
SHARE ALSO HIS WEAKNESS. Paul was contentthat men should perceive
the weaknessmanifestin the crucifixion of the Redeemerbut he preachedto
them a risen, reigning, and glorified King. The resurrectionand ascensionof
Christ were both proofs of the acceptanceofthe Son by the Father, and they
were an inspiriting omen of the approaching victory of the cause for which
Jesus deignedto die. From the throne of might and dominion, possessedofall
authority, the victorious Lord governs his Church on earth, and secures its
safetyand well being. St. Paul felt himself entrusted with abundant means of
maintaining his spiritual authority as the "ambassadorofChrist." He might
possessmarks ofthe dying of the Lord Jesus;but he wielded a might which no
foe could resist. Let all faithful servants of Jesus and true soldiers of the cross
be encouragedby the reflection that their Commander is omnipotent, and
that he must reign until every foe is beneath his feet. - T.

Biblical Illustrator
Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me.
2 Corinthians 13:3-5
The proof of our ministry
C. H. Spurgeon.
Notice —
I. GOD'S METHOD OF OPERATION IN THE CHURCH BY HIS
APPOINTED SERVANTS.
1. The rebellious Corinthians had spokenill of the apostle as lacking in power:
his personalpresence was notcommanding, his speechwas not fascinating.
Paul does not deny the charge, but declares the generalprinciple of powerin
weakness,by which the Lord conducts the gospeldispensation.(1)Life, born
of death, is the life of our souls (ver. 4). By assuming our weaknessChrist
gained the power to actas our substitute, and put awayour sin by the

sacrifice ofHimself. BecauseofHis being obedient to death, even the death of
the Cross, "Godalso hath highly exalted Him," etc. By this sign He
conquered: the ensign of His Cross is the sealof victory. It is Himself thus
slain which is His power to pardon and to save.(2)Our Lord's powerover our
hearts comes by His greatlove, and this matchless manner of His showing it.
Stooping so low to save such unworthy ones He conquers our hearts. His
dying love has begottenliving love within us.
2. Why did Paul interject this teaching? To show us that God does not save by
the strength of His ministers, but by their weakness.(1)Paulwas willing to
lose all personalhonour, though, in truth, not a whit behind the chief of the
apostles. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels,"etc. He cheerfully sank
that his Lord might be exalted.(2)In those days there was a greatliking for
philosophy. But Paul determined not to know anything among them save
Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. "But at least," they said, "whathe has to say
ought to be delivered with the graces oforatory." "No," saysPaul, "my
speechand my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom: that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the powerof
God."(3)He might have come among them and said, "I am an apostle;I have
supreme power over churches;out of this Church I shall ejectoffenders
without any question";yet he never used such authority; on the contrary he
was the servant of all, gentle, unselfish. If any one was grieved, Paul was
grieved with him; if any suffered trial, Paul was tried. Thus he was a power
among them. By laying aside authority he became mighty to influence them
for good. All who desire to be useful must learn that in self-sinking their
usefulness will be found. He who becomes leastis greatestofall. "When I am
weak, then am I strong."
II. THE SURE PROOF OF POWER;the indisputable evidence of any
minister's callfrom God to preach the gospel.
1. "Ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me."(1)He did not care about what
they thought of his ownspeaking;but he was greatlyconcernedthat they
should not think lightly of the Lord Jesus who spoke in him.(2) Further, the
apostle declares that even the power of the living Christ is the powerof God.
Our Lord kept nothing to Himself, but His weakness throughwhich He was

crucified, for He liveth by the power of God. Such must be the powerof every
Christian worker.(3)Then, says Paul, "If you want a proof of Christ's
speaking in me with power, look at yourselves." He says elsewhere, "Ye are
our epistle." "Ye are God's husbandry," and the test of how far our
husbandry has been the Lord's husbandry must be found in your fruitfulness.
The proof that Christ really doth speak by us is that He has wrought by that
speaking in you after such a fashion as proves the doctrine to be Divine. Your
souls are the seals of Christ's power. If ye seek any proof of Christ speaking
by me, ye have it in your —
1. Conversion. When the chief priests and scribes saw the man that was healed
standing with Peterand John, they could say nothing againstthem.
Conversionproves that He by whose means it was wrought was sent by God.
2. Comfort. If by our speaking the Lord strengthens your weak hands and
confirms your feeble knees, He points us out to you as His messengers.
3. Correction. Have you not sometimes felt your hearts turned inside out, as if
the spirit of burning were scorching and purging you? Was not that of the
Lord?
4. Conduct. My heart sinks within me when I hear of some who have been
numbered with us. Do people say, "These are members of Spurgeon's
church"? You are either our joy and crown, or else our sorrow and
dishonour. You must estimate whether a man farms wellby the crops which
he raises. True you cannot condemn him if a few thorns and thistles spring up
in the hedgerows, but if there is a preponderance of weeds, everybody says,
"This is wretched farming."
5. Consecration. Whenyour zeal burns, when you speak by the power of the
Holy Ghost, then againI can say, seek ye a proof of Christ speaking by me?
You are my witnesses inasmuchas by our word you have been stirred up to
speak in the power of the Holy Ghost for the winning of souls.
6. Completion of the Christian character, and the display of it in the last
hours. I have come down many times from the chamber of dying Christians

with faith confirmed and joy increased. No dying man has lookedme in the
face and said, "Sir, you did not preacha religion which a man candie with."
III. A NEEDED PROOFOF OURSELVES.
1. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." It is something to have
our ministry attested, but it is much more to have your salvationattested.(1)
Therefore you are not to take it for granted that you are saved. In London
years ago every shop had its sign, and they had a saying that the house which
had the sign of the sun in a certain streetwas darkerthan any other. So there
are some who have grace fortheir sign, but no sign of grace. To have a name
to live is a wretchedthing, if we be really dead(2) Of course we are to examine
our lives, but he says, "Examine yourselves." Sin within will ruin even if it be
not seenin act. Of course we are to examine our doctrines, but even more we
are to examine ourselves. Hearterror is more deadly than head error.(3)
"Prove your own selves."Pry deeper. You have already given yourself a
sifting; take a finer sieve and go to work again. You have already been in the
crucible — go in again, and become as silver tried in a furnace purified seven
times. A man cannot make too sure work about his own salvation. But can we
not be certain of our safety? Yes, we can: but certainbecause we have not
shunned the most rigorous self-examinations.
2. And what is to be the point of search? "Whetherye be in the faith,"
whether what ye believe is true, and whether you truly believe it.
3. Dwellmostly on this point, "Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Is Jesus Christ in you? I know all
about Him. Yes, but is He in you? I read of Him. Readon, but is He in you?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(4) For though he was crucified through weakness. . .—The better MSS. give
another reading, without the contingent or concessive clause:For even He was
crucified. St. Paul seems to see in Christ the highest representative instance of
the axiomatic law by which he himself had been comforted, that strength is
perfectedin infirmities. For He too lived encompassedwith the infirmities of
man’s nature, and the possibility of the crucifixion flowed from that fact, as a
natural sequel.
For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him.—The thought that
underlies the apparently hard saying is that the disciples of Christ share at
once in their Lord’s weakness andin His strength. “We, too, are weak,” the
Apostle says;“we have our share in infirmities and sufferings, which are
ennobled by the thought that they are ours because we are His; but we know
that we shall live in the highest sense, in the activities of the spiritual life,
which also we share with Him, and which comes to us by the powerof God;
and this life will be manifested in the exercise ofour spiritual powertowards
you and for your good.” To refer the words “we shalllive” to the future life of
the resurrection, though the thought is, of course, true in itself, is to miss the
specialforce of the words in relation to the context.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
13:1-6 Though it is God's gracious method to bear long with sinners, yet he
will not bear always;at length he will come, and will not spare those who
remain obstinate and impenitent. Christ at his crucifixion, appearedas only a
weak and helpless man, but his resurrectionand life showedhis Divine power.
So the apostles, how mean and contemptible soeverthey appeared to the
world, yet, as instruments, they manifested the powerof God. Let them prove
their tempers, conduct, and experience, as gold is assayedorproved by the
touchstone. If they could prove themselves not to be reprobates, not to be
rejectedof Christ, he trusted they would know that he was not a reprobate,
not disownedby Christ. They ought to know if Christ Jesus was in them, by
the influences, graces,and indwelling of his Spirit, by his kingdom set up in

their hearts. Let us question our own souls;either we are true Christians, or
we are deceivers. Unless Christ be in us by his Spirit, and powerof his love,
our faith is dead, and we are yet disapproved by our Judge.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
For though he was crucified through weakness - Various modes have been
adopted of explaining the phrase "through weakness."The most probable
explanation is that which refers it to the human nature which he had assumed
Philippians 2:7-8; 1 Peter3:18, and to the appearance ofweakness whichhe
manifested. He did not choose to exert his power. He appeared to his enemies
to be weak and feeble. This idea would be an exactillustration of the point
before the apostle. He is illustrating his own conduct, and especiallyin the fact
that he had not exertedhis miraculous powers among them in the punishment
of offenders; and he does it by the example of Christ, who though abundantly
able to have exerted his power and to have rescuedhimself from his enemies,
yet was willing to appear weak, andto be crucified. It is very clear:
(1) That the Lord Jesus seemedto his enemies to be weak and incapable of
resistance.
(2) that he did not put forth his power to protect his life. He in fact offeredno
resistance,as if he had no power.
(3) he had a human nature that was especiallysensitive, andsensible to
suffering; and that was borne down and crushed under the weight of mighty
woes;see my notes on Isaiah53:2-3. From all these causes he seemedto be
weak and feeble;and these appear to me to be the principal ideas in this
expression.
Yet he liveth - He is not now dead. Though he was crucified, yet he now lives
again, and is now capable of exerting his greatpower He furnishes proof of his
being alive, in the successwhichattends the gospel, and in the miracles which
are performed in his name and by his power. There is a living Redeemerin
heaven; a Redeemerwho is able to exert all the powerwhich he ever exerted
when on earth; a Redeemer, therefore, who is able to save the soul; to raise
the dead; to punish all his foes.

By the powerof God - In raising him from the dead and placing him at his
own right hand; see Ephesians 1:19-21. Throughthe powerof God he was
brought from the tomb, and has a place assignedhim at the head of the
universe.
For we also are weak in him - Margin, "with him." We his apostles, also, are
weak in virtue of our connectionwith him. We are subject to infirmities and
trials; we seemto have no power;we are exposedto contempt; and we appear
to our enemies to be destitute of strength. Our enemies regard us as feeble;
and they despise us.
But we shall live with him ... - That is, we shall show to you that we are alive.
By the aid of the power of God we shall show that we are not as weak as our
foes pretend; that we are invested with power;and that we are able to inflict
the punishment which we threaten. This is one of the numerous instances in
which Paul illustrated the case before him by a reference to the example and
characterof Christ. The idea is, that Christ did not exert his power, and
appearedto be weak, and was put to death. So Paul says that he had not
exerted his power, and seemedto be weak. But, says he, Christ lives, and is
clothed with strength; and so we, though we appear to be weak, shallexert
among you, or toward you, the powerwith which he has invested us, in
inflicting punishment on our foes.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
4. though—omitted in some of the oldest manuscripts; then translate, "ForHe
was even crucified," &c.
through weakness—Greek, "fromweakness";that is, His assumption of our
weakness wasthe source, ornecessarycondition, from which the possibility of
His crucifixion flowed (Heb 2:14; Php 2:7, 8).
by—Greek, "from"; "owing to."
the powerof God—the Father(Ro 1:4; 6:4; Eph 1:20).
weak in him—that is, in virtue of our union with Him, and after His pattern,
weakness predominates in us for a time (exhibited in our "infirmities" and

weak "bodily presence," 2Co10:10;12:5, 9, 10;and also in our not putting
into immediate exercise our power of punishing offenders, just as Christ for a
time kept in abeyance His power).
we shall live with him—not only hereafter with Him, free from our present
infirmities, in the resurrectionlife (Php 3:21), but presently in the exercise of
our apostolic authority againstoffenders, which flows to us in respectto you
from the powerof God, however"weak"we now seemto you. "With Him,"
that is, even as He now exercises His power in His glorified resurrectionlife,
after His weaknessfor a time.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
He had before said, that Christ in him was not weak, but mighty; here he
showeth, that there was a time when Christ himself was weak, in a low and
contemptible state, in which state he was crucified; this state of weakness
subjectedhim to a death upon the cross:but,
by the powerof God, he rose againfrom the dead, ascendedup into heaven,
where he liveth for everto make intercessionforus.
For we also are weak in him; in conformity to Christ (he saith) he and the rest
of the apostles were
weak;in a low, abject, contemptible condition, exposedto reproaches, deaths,
&c.
But we shall live; which some understand of life eternal, consequentto the
resurrectionof believers; but others better, of the life and vigour of the
apostle’s ministry. Through the mighty power of God, flowing from a living
Christ, who hath ascendedup on high, and given gifts unto men, our ministry
shall be a living, powerful, efficacious ministry toward you.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
For though he was crucified through weakness,.... Ofthe human nature; for
the nature which Christ assumedwas in all things like to ours, excepting sin;
it was subject to all sinless infirmities; it was mortal, passible, liable to
sufferings, and death, and so he came to be crucified; though not againsthis
will, or without his previous assent;as God, he was able to have prevented his
crucifixion if he would; he gave an instance of his power over men, at the time
of his apprehension, by striking them down to the ground; and told Pilate his
judge at his trial, that he could have no power to crucify him, if it was not
given him from above; and he showedhis superiority over devils when upon
the cross, by spoiling principalities and powers;so that his crucifixion was not
owing to want of poweras God, but he became capable of it through his
weakness as man:
but yet he lives by the power of God; he was raisedfrom the dead by a divine
power; by his ownpower as God, as well as by his Father's, and so was
declaredto be the Son of God with power; and he lives at the right hand of
God as man and Mediator, vestedwith all powerin heaven and in earth;
though, in the days of his flesh, he appearedso weak, mean, and despicable:
now the apostle mentions this case ofour Lord's, to deter the Corinthians
from despising him, on accountof his outward weaknessandmeanness;and
from hence buoying themselves up, and in which they were encouragedby the
false apostles, thathe had not, and could not exercise the powerhe talkedof;
they had observedwhat mean figure he made when he was among them; and
whateverweight there might be in his letters, yet his bodily presence was
weak, and his speechcontemptible; wherefore he sets before them the instance
of Christ, who though he appeared very weak in his state of humiliation, yet
he now lives in power, to assistand strengthen his ministers, in every branch
of their work; and suggests,that as it was with Christ, it was, and would be in
some measure with him, and his fellow ministers:
for we also are weak in him: like him, and for his sake, theywere subject to
infirmities, reproaches, persecutions, and distresses;carried about daily the
dying of the Lord Jesus;bore a very greatresemblance to him in his state of
humiliation; were very much as he was in this world, and bore much for his

name's sake;the Alexandrian copy and the Syriac versionread, "with him";
being crucified with him, and dead with him:
but we shall live with him by the powerof God towards you; which is not to be
understood of being raised by Christ to an immortal life, and of living with
him in glory; though this is a certain truth, that such who suffer with Christ,
shall live and reign, and be glorified togetherwith him; but of the life, power,
and efficacyof the ministers of Christ, and of Christ in and with them,
displayed in the lively ministration of the word and ordinances, in the
vigorous discharge of all the branches of their office; not only in preaching,
but in rebuking, admonishing, laying on of censures, and punishing criminals;
and especiallyregards the powerful exertion and use of the apostolic rod; for
this life is not only with Christ, or through Christ being in them,
notwithstanding all their outward weakness,and by the powerof God, which
supports them under all, and enables them to perform their work, but is
"towards you"; the Corinthians, to be exercisedtowards them, to be seen
among them, and felt by them.
Geneva Study Bible
For though he was crucified through {b} weakness, yethe liveth by the power
of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power
of God toward you.
(b) Regarding that base form of a servant which he took upon him when he
abasedhimself.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
2 Corinthians 13:4. Καὶ γὰρ ἐσταυρ. ἐξ ἀσθ., ἀλλὰ ζῇ ἐκ δυνάμ. θεοῦ] Reason
assignedfor the previous ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ, ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν. for
even crucified was He from weakness, but He is living from the powerof
God.[396]Without μέν after ἐσταυρ. the contrast comes in with the more
striking effect. ἐξ ἀσθενείας denotes the causaloriginof the ἐσταυρώθη, and is
not, with Chrysostom(who complains of the difficulty of this passage), to be
interpreted of apparent weakness, but finds its explanation in 2 Corinthians

8:9; Php 2:7 f. Jesus, namely, had, in the state of His exinanition and
humiliation, obedient to the Father, entered in such wise into the condition of
powerless endurance as man, that He yielded to the violence of the most
ignominious execution, to which He had, according to the Father’s will,
submitted Himself; and accordingly it came ἐξ ἀσθενείας, that He was
crucified. But since His resurrection He lives (Romans 5:10; Romans 6:9;
Romans 14:9, al.), and that from the powerof God, for God has, by His
power, raised Him up (see on Romans 6:4) and exaltedHim to glory (Acts
2:33; Ephesians 1:20 ff.; Php 2:9). To make the θεοῦ refer to ἀσθενείας also
(Hofmann, who inappropriately compares 1 Corinthians 1:25) would yield a
thought quite abnormal and impossible for the apostle, which the very οὐκ
ἀσθενεῖ, 2 Corinthians 13:3, ought to have preclude.
καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς κ.τ.λ.]Confirmation of the immediately preceding καὶ γὰρ …
θεοῦ, and that in respectof the two points ἐξ ἀσθενείας and ζῇ ἐκ δυνάμεως
θεοῦ. “That the case stands so with Christ as has just been said, is confirmed
from the fact, that these two relations, on the one hand of weakness, andon
the other of being alive ἐκ δυνάμ. θεοῦ, are found also in us in virtue of our
fellowship with Him.” It is an argumentum ab effectu ad causamissuing from
the lofty sense ofthis fellowship, a bold experiential certainty, the
argumentative stress ofwhich, contained in ἐν αὐτῷ and σὺν αὐτῷ, bears the
triumphant characterof strength in weakness.Hofmann wrongly, in
opposition to the clear and simple connection, desires to take καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς
ἀσθ. ἐν αὐτῷ, which he separates from the following ἀλλὰ κ.τ.λ., as a proof for
the clause ὃς εἰς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ, ἀλλὰ δυνατεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν, for which reasonhe
imports into ἐν αὐτῷ the contrast: not a weaknessofthe natural man. This
contrast, although in substance of itself correct, is not here, any more than
afterwards in σὺν αὐτῷ, intentionally present to the mind of the apostl.
ἀσθενοῦμενἐν αὐτῷ] Paul represents his sparing hitherto observedtowards
the Corinthians (for it is quite at variance with the contextto refer ἀσθ, with
Chrysostom, Theodoret, Theophylact, Grotius, Estius, and others, to

sufferings and persecutions)as a powerlessnessbasedonhis fellowship with
Christ, inasmuch as Christ also had been weak and ἐσταυρώθη ἐξ
ἀσθενείας.[397]Butthat is only a transient powerlessness;we shall be alive
with Him through the power of God in reference to you. As he is conscious,
namely, of that impotence as having its ground in Christ, he is conscious also
of this being alive in union with Christ as fellowshipwith His life (σὺν αὐτῷ),
and hence proceeding ἘΚ ΔΥΝΆΜΕΩς ΘΕΟῦ, as Christ’s being alive also
flowed from this source, Romans 1:4; Romans 6:4, al.
Εἰς ὑμᾶς, lastly, gives to the ΖΉΣΟΜΕΝ (which is not, with Theodoret,
Anselm, and Grotius, to be referred to the future life) its concrete direction
and specialreference ofits meaning:[398] we shall be alive (vigere, comp. 1
Thessalonians 3:8) in reference to you, namely, through the effective assertion
of the powerdivinely conferred on us, especiallythrough apostolic judging
and punishing (see 2 Corinthians 13:1-2). “Nonestvivere, sed valere vita,”
Martial, vi. 70. Comp. for the pregnant reference ofζῶ, Xen. Mem. iii. 3. 11;
Plato, Legg. vii. p. 809 D; Dio Cass. lxix. 19. Calvin well observes:“Vitam
opponit infirmitati, ideoque hoc nomine florentem et plenum dignitatis statum
intelligit.”
[396]The Recepta καὶ γὰρεἰ ἐσταυρ. would yield the quite unsuitable sense:
for evenif, i.e. even in the event that, He has been crucified, etc. Καὶ εἰ should
not, with the Vulgate and the majority of expositors, be takenas although, for
in that case it would be confounded with εἰ καί. Καὶ εἰ means even if, so that
the climactic καί applies to the conditionalparticle. See Hartung, I. p. 140 f.;
Haack. ad Thuc. p. 562 f.; Stallbaum, ad Plat. Ap. S. p. 32 A, Gorg. p. 509 A.
De Wette wrongly rejects my view of the Recepta, making καὶ γάρsignify
merely for. It always means for even. See Hartung, I. p. 148;Stallbaum, ad
Plat. Gorg. p. 467 B. So, too, immediately in the καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς that follows.
Hofmann quite erroneouslytakes the Recepta in such a way, that Paul with
καὶ εἰ merely expresses a realfact conditionally on accountof his wishing to
keepopen the possibility of looking at it also otherwise. In that case ἐξ

ἀσθενείας would really be the point of consequence in the protasis, and the
apostle must at leasthave written καὶ γὰρ εἰ ἐξ ἀσθενείας ἐσταυρώθη. Besides,
the leaving open a possible other wayof regarding the matter would have no
ground at all in the text. A mistakenview is adopted also by Osiander, who
has takenκαί as the also of comparison, namely, of Christ with His servant
(consequently, as if καὶ γὰρ αὐτός had stoodin the text).
[397]This impotence is not to be conceivedas involuntary (de Wette,
following Schwarzin Wolf), but as voluntary (comp. οὐ φείσομαι, ver. 2), as
Christ’s weakness also wasvoluntary, namely, the impotence of deepest
resignationand self-surrender, and this was its very characteristic. Comp.
Hebrews 12:2.
[398]Hence εἰς ὑμᾶς is not, with Castalio and Rückert, to be joined to δυνάμ.
θεοῦ.
Expositor's Greek Testament
2 Corinthians 13:4. (a) καὶ γὰρ ἐσταυρώθη κ.τ.λ.:for He was crucified
through weakness (cf. Php 2:8, 1 Peter3:18; ἐκ indicating that it was His self-
assumedἀσθένεια which made the Passionpossible), but liveth through (ἐκ
againindicating the ultimate condition) the PowerofGod (see reff. and cf.
Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:20, Php 2:9).—(b) καὶ f1γὰρἡμεῖς κ.τ.λ.:for we
also are weak with Him (the reading ἐν αὐτῷ might be explained from such
passagesas 2 Corinthians 1:5, 2 Corinthians 4:10-11;but it is so startling that
we hesitate to adopt it, when the MS. evidence is so evenly balanced;σὺν αὐτῷ
means simply “we are weak, as He was weak, in the world’s eyes”;see 2
Corinthians 12:10), but we shall live with Him, not only in the Resurrection
Life of believers (John 14:19, Romans 5:10; Romans 6:8), but through the
Powerof God towardyou, i.e., through the powerful sanctions with which He
will confirm our exercise ofApostolic discipline at Corinth (cf. 1 Corinthians
5:5). The thought is that already expressedin 2 Corinthians 12:10. He now
resumes the argument of 2 Corinthians 13:3 a, sc., you are claiming to test my

claims: you should look to yourselves;your faith is a witness to mine—that
Christ dwells in you is a proof that He dwells in me, who preached Him to
you. Cf. chap. 2 Corinthians 1:24, 2 Corinthians 3:2.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
4. Forthough he was crucified through weakness]Chrysostomobserves that
these words were a greatdifficulty to the weakersort. But he explains them by
John 11:3-4; Php 2:27; 1 Timothy 5:23, where the word in the original is the
same as, or cognate to, that employed here. There is another reading here,
which by omitting ‘though,’ or rather ‘if,’ in the original, strengthens the
Apostle’s statement. There need be no difficulty. Our Lord assumedour
human nature with all its infirmities (Hebrews 2:10-18;Hebrews 4:15;
Hebrews 5:2-3; see also ch. 2 Corinthians 8:9, and Php 2:7-8), although they
were the result of sin. He bore all those infirmities, death itself included. And
then He shook them all off for ever when He rose again‘by the power of God.’
Cf. Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 1:24.
For we also are weak in him] In this present life the Apostles of Christ were
like their Master. Upborne by the power of God within, they had nevertheless
to bear the load of human infirmity, to ‘take up their Cross and follow Him.’
See notes on ch. 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, and cf. Galatians 6:17. And not only
so, but the words ‘in Him’ shew that it was a necessarypart of their union
with Him that they should be partakers ofHis tribulation, before they were
translated into the fulness of His glory. See 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7;1 Peter1:5-
7; 1 Peter5:10.
we shall live with him] Not, as the following words shew, hereafter, but in the
Apostle’s ministry to the Corinthians. Cf. 2 Corinthians 13:3. Also Romans
1:16; John 14:19; 1 Corinthians 1:18, and ch. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, and note
on ch. 2 Corinthians 4:14. The Gospelwas a power which enabled men to
change their lives, in that it was a ministering to them of the Spirit of Jesus

Christ. Compare ch. 2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 2 Corinthians 3:8-9
with Romans 8:9-10 and Php 1:19.
Bengel's Gnomen
2 Corinthians 13:4. Εἰ, if [though]) a concessive particle.—ἐσταυρώθη,was
crucified) The cross, the utmost weakness;it includes death, for life, is put in
antithesis to it.—ἐξ ἀσθενείας, owing to [through] weakness)It is the part of
weakness to be crucified. This is the force of the particle.—ἀσθενοῦμενἐν
αὐτῳ, we are weak in Him) Presently after, the particle is varied, σύν, with
Him, being employed instead of the ἐν here; we are weak, we do not exercise
δύναμιν, power, and therefore we ourselves are less sensible of it, inasmuch as
the sense oftribulation prevails.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 4. - For though. The "though" should be omitted. Through weakness;
literally, out of weakness;i.e. as a result of that human weakness ofour nature
which he took upon him, and which rendered him liable to agonyand death (2
Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:7, 8; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 2:10-18). But we
shall live with him... toward you. This thought of participation alike in
Christ's humiliation and his glory, alike in his weakness andhis might, was
very familiar to St. Paul (2 Corinthians 4:10-12;Ephesians 1:19, 20), Here,
however, the following words," towardyou," i.e." with reference to you,"
show that the life of which he is thinking is the vigorous reestablishmentof his
spiritual authority in Christ over the Church of Corinth.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
J. H. BERNARD

Verse 4
2 Corinthians 13:4. (a) καὶ γὰρ ἐσταυρώθη κ. τ. λ.: for He was crucified
through weakness (cf. Philippians 2:8, 1 Peter3:18; ἐκ indicating that it was
His self-assumedἀσθένεια which made the Passionpossible), but liveth
through ( ἐκ againindicating the ultimate condition) the PowerofGod (see
reff. and cf. Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:20, Philippians 2:9).—(b) καὶ f1γὰρ
ἡμεῖς κ. τ. λ.: for we also are weak with Him (the reading ἐν αὐτῷ might be
explained from such passagesas 2 Corinthians 1:5, 2 Corinthians 4:10-11;but
it is so startling that we hesitate to adopt it, when the MS. evidence is so evenly
balanced;σὺν αὐτῷ means simply “we are weak, as He was weak, in the
world’s eyes”;see 2 Corinthians 12:10), but we shall live with Him, not only in
the ResurrectionLife of believers (John 14:19, Romans 5:10; Romans 6:8),
but through the Power of God toward you, i.e., through the powerful
sanctions with which He will confirm our exercise ofApostolic discipline at
Corinth (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:5). The thought is that already expressedin 2
Corinthians 12:10. He now resumes the argument of 2 Corinthians 13:3 a, sc.,
you are claiming to testmy claims: you should look to yourselves;your faith is
a witness to mine—that Christ dwells in you is a proof that He dwells in me,
who preachedHim to you. Cf. chap. 2 Corinthians 1:24, 2 Corinthians 3:2.
CALVIN'
4. Forthough he was crucified. He speaks, with particular intention, of
Christ’s abasement, with the view of intimating indirectly, 949 that nothing
was despisedin him, but what they would have been prepared to despise, also,
in Christ himself, inasmuch as he
emptied himself, even to the death of the cross.
(Philippians 2:8.)

He shows, however, at the same time, how absurd it is to despise in Christ 950
the abasementof the cross, inasmuchas it is conjoinedwith the incomparable
glory of his resurrection. “ShallChrist be esteemedby you the less, because he
showedsigns of weaknessin his death, as if his heavenly life, that he leads
subsequently to his resurrection, were not a cleartokenof his Divine power?”
For as the term flesh here means Christ’s human nature, 951 so the word God
is takenhere to denote his Divinity.
Here, however, a question arises — whether Christ labored under such
infirmity as to be subjectedto necessityagainsthis will; for, what we suffer
through weakness,we suffer from constraint, and not from our own choice.
As the Arians of old abused this pretext for effectually opposing the divinity of
Christ, the orthodox Fathers gave this explanation of it — that it was effected
by appointment, inasmuch as Christ so desired, and not from his being
constrainedby any necessity. This answeris true, provided it be properly
understood. There are some, however, that mistakenly extend the
appointment to Christ’s human will — as if this were not the condition of his
nature, but a permission contrary to his nature. For example: “His dying,”
they say, “did not happen because his humanity was, properly speaking, liable
to death, but by appointment, because he chose to die.” I grant, indeed, that
he died, because he chose to do so; but, whence came this choice, but from this
— that he had, of his own accord, clothedhimself with a mortal nature 952 If,
however, we make Christ’s human nature so unlike ours, the main support of
our faith is overturned. Let us, therefore, understand it in this way — that
Christ suffered by appointment, not by constraint, because, being in the form
of God he could have exempted himself from this necessity, but, nevertheless,
he suffered through weakness, because he emptied himself (Philippians 2:6.)
We are weak in him. To be weak in Christ means here to be a partakerof
Christ’s weakness.Thus he makes his ownweaknessglorious, because in it he
is conformed to Christ, and he no longershrinks back from the disgrace, that
he has in common with the Son of God; but, in the mean time, he says that he
will live towards them after Christ’s example. “I also,” says he, “willbe a
partakerof Christ’s life, after I shall have been exempted from weakness.”
953 To weaknesshe opposes life, and, accordingly, he understands by this
term a condition that is flourishing, and full of honor. 954 The clause towards

you may also be takenin connectionwith the powerof God, but it is of no
importance, as the meaning always remains the same — that the Corinthians,
when they began to judge aright, would have respectfuland honorable views
of the powerof God, which was in Paul, and would no longerdespise outward
infirmity.
RON DANIEL
Paul explains that he was been meek in the past, but as an apostle and
representative of Christ, he will be mighty, bold, and powerful if he needs to
be. He says,
2Cor. 13:4 ...He was crucified because ofweakness, yetHe lives because ofthe
powerof God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him
because ofthe powerof God directed toward you.
Paul's point here is, "Hey, I've been meek and I've been weak, justas Christ
allowedHimself to be crucified for people's sakes,I've let myself be abused as
well. But after the resurrection, Christ was raisedin power, and I can be
powerful in Christ as well."
You might be thinking, "Hey, how can a bow-backed, single-eyebrowed,
swollen-eyed, short, hook-nosed, unimpressive man bring discipline to anyone
in that church?" Not by his own power, but the power of God. You see, as an
apostle, or I as a pastorfor that matter, have never been told to whip anybody
into submission. That's betweenGod and the person. The power we have as
Christian leaders is simple. Where there is unrepentant sin, and it has been
dealt with biblically, as outlined in Matthew 18, we simply remove the person
from the church. Jesus instructed us,

ELLICOTT
Paul explains that he was been meek in the past, but as an apostle and
representative of Christ, he will be mighty, bold, and powerful if he needs to
be. He says,
2Cor. 13:4 ...He was crucified because ofweakness, yetHe lives because ofthe
powerof God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him
because ofthe powerof God directed toward you.
Paul's point here is, "Hey, I've been meek and I've been weak, justas Christ
allowedHimself to be crucified for people's sakes,I've let myself be abused as
well. But after the resurrection, Christ was raisedin power, and I can be
powerful in Christ as well."
You might be thinking, "Hey, how can a bow-backed, single-eyebrowed,
swollen-eyed, short, hook-nosed, unimpressive man bring discipline to anyone
in that church?" Not by his own power, but the power of God. You see, as an
apostle, or I as a pastorfor that matter, have never been told to whip anybody
into submission. That's betweenGod and the person. The power we have as
Christian leaders is simple. Where there is unrepentant sin, and it has been
dealt with biblically, as outlined in Matthew 18, we simply remove the person
from the church. Jesus instructed us,
DOUG GOINS
Loving, spiritual authority is logicallyclear-headed We come to the fourth
mark of spiritual leadership:Loving, spiritual authority is logically clear-
headed,
willing to explain what is unclear, biblically insightful, and theologically
consistent. …If I come againI will not spare anyone, since you are seeking

for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak towardyou,
but mighty in you. For indeed He was crucified because ofweakness,yetHe
lives because ofthe powerof God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we shall
live with Him because ofthe power of God directed toward you. (2
Corinthians 13:2c-4) As he has before in these letters, Paul refers to this
paradox of the cross. The cross represents life out of death. It represents
strength out of weakness.It represents victory out of defeat. Twice in the last
verse, Paul writes of the powerof God. And that is what all of us as servants
of Christ, in leadership, need to rely on. It’s the same power that raisedJesus
Christ from the dead, resurrectionpower. We need to remember that Paul’s
opponents in Corinth were saying, “let Paul prove he is a true apostle.” Paul’s
reply here is like Jesus Christ’s:“I am strong when it appears that I am
weak.” Onthe cross Jesus choseweakness.Paulwrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18:
“Forthe word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us
who are being savedit is the powerof God.” Paul has already defined his
own attitude and motives toward ministry back in 2 Corinthians 10, calling it
“the meekness andgentleness ofChrist.” In that same paragraph, he
explained his method of spiritual warfare, cautioning his readers not to look
on the surface of things, but to look deeperat the spiritual realities. By the
standards of the world, both Paul and Jesus were weak. Butby God’s
standards both were strong. It is a very wise, mature leader who knows
when to be weak, andthen knows when to be strong when dealing with
discipline problems in the church. One of the things I admired about Ray
Stedman during his years of ministry here at PBC was that he had a very
quiet, conversationalmanner in the pulpit. His approach to personal ministry
was similarly understated. A friend of mine, who had read many of Ray’s
books, came to visit a number of years ago. After hearing Ray preach, he said
to me, “I kept waiting for him to start preaching.” My friend was usedto a
bombastic, loud preacher who was more heat than light. But Godhonored the
40 years that Ray spent here in ministry because Rayunderstoodwhat the
true standards for ministry were. He had a strong sense that he was ultimately
accountable to the Lord. He ministered in the sight of God, in the presence of
Jesus Christ. Ray relied on the power of God to carry out the ministry. He
really did live that paradox of “strengthout of weakness.” He knew how to be
weak in Christ, but I also saw Ray at times when he was strong in a number of

different discipline settings. Rayknew how to be honestand firm, and
biblically clearand insightful, and strong in Christ when that was needed. In
this passage, the apostle Paul models for us loving, spiritual authority,
especiallyauthority being exercisedwhen there is conflict. As I mentioned
before, these are leadership qualities that we have a right to expect from
spiritual authority, including the leadership here at PBC that we choose to
submit ourselves to. So, how do you measure spiritual authority today? Is it
by creative, powerful and convincing oratory, or by biblical content? Do you
care more about Christian character, orabout what the press releases say
about the individual? Do you prefer somebodywho makes you feel goodabout
yourself, who is an affirming person, or somebody who is willing to tell you
redemptive truth when it’s necessary? It seems that too many of us today
follow the world’s standards when we evaluate leaders in the church.
Following Paul’s example, it is God’s standards that we need to pay attention
to.
Loving, spiritual authority is discerning, insightful. It is willing to address
things below the surface. Loving, spiritual authority is honest. It is willing to
address things that aren’t pleasantor comfortable. Loving, spiritual authority
is firm when necessary, willing to deal with issues of sin in the body. And
finally, loving, spiritual authority is logicallyclear-minded. There is
theologicalconsistency, there is biblical insight, it’s willing to be explained.
These are the spiritual qualities of leadership we can trust to bring relief when
there are spiritual problems in the church. Lord, we thank you that you are
a faithful God; faithful to your own standards, and yet, faithful to your
unexplainable, incredible love. You are faithful to pursue us, correctus, to
redeem, restore, and forgive us. Help us to walk in the gentleness and
meekness ofChrist. Make us a people who are loving and gracious. Butalso,
help us to be ready to stand for truth and righteousness, speaking outwhen
necessary. We want to be salt and light in a world of darkness and decay. We
ask this in the name of Jesus Christour Lord. Amen.

JAMIESON, FAUSSET, BROWN
Verse 4
For though he was crucified through weakness, yethe liveth by the powerof
God. Forwe also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the powerof
God toward you.
Though. So A C Vulgate, Hilary, Origen. But 'Aleph (') B Delta G f g omit it.
Then translate, 'For He was even crucified,' etc.
Through weakness- Greek, 'from weakness;'i:e., His assumption of our
weakness (susceptibility for suffering) was the necessaryconditionfrom which
the possibility of His crucifixion flowed(Hebrews 2:14; Philippians 2:7-8).
By - Greek, 'from;' 'owing to.'
The powerof God - the Father(Romans 1:4; Romans 6:4; Ephesians 1:20).
Weak in him - i:e., in virtue of apostolic union with Him, and after His
pattern, weaknesspredominates in us for a time (exhibited in "infirmities"
and weak "bodily presence" (2 Corinthians 10:10;2 Corinthians 12:5; 2
Corinthians 12:9-10);also in our not putting into immediate exercise our
powerof punishing, as Christ for a time kept in abeyance His power).
We shall live with him - not only hereafter, free from present infirmities, in
the resurrection(Philippians 3:21), but presently in the exercise ofour
apostolic authority againstoffenders, which flows to us, in respectto you,
from the powerof God. 'With Him' - i:e., even as He now exercisesHis power
in His resurrectionlife, after His weakness fora time.
DR. S. LEWIS JOHNSON
It reminds me of Warren Wiersbe’s statement, that he had a pastor friend,
who’s now in heaven, who had a very quiet manor of delivery in the pulpit.

And after hearing him preach, a visitor of the church said with reference to
him, “I kept waiting for him to start preaching.” Well, she was accustomedto
hearing a loud preacherwho generatedas much heat as he did light. This man
did not go at it that way, but as Mr. Wiersbe said, “He was a man of God and
he built a very strong church because he knew the standards of ministry. He
knew how to be weak but also how to be strong.”
The apostle of all people knew how to be weak and how to be strong. And if
they are looking for proof of Christ speaking in him, in the sense ofopposition
to his ministry, well, the Corinthians will find out what strength is in the
apostle. He justifies it in the sense in the fourth verse by saying, “Wellindeed
he, Christ, was crucified because ofweakness.”Thatis he entered into the
weakness ofthe incarnation, took to himself the infirmities of human flesh,
subjectedhimself to maltreatment by men and others but yet he lives by the
powerof God. In the resurrection, he is the risen Christ into whose hands, has
been given all authority and powerupon the earth.
And then Paul says, “There is a similarity betweenthe Lord and who now is
strong. In his case, we also (he replies or continues) we also are weak in him,
yet we shall live with him, that is if we must exercise discipline when we come
into your midst, we shall live with him because ofthe power of God directed
toward you.” So the apostle says, “The history of the Lord Jesus’weakness
and then the strength manifested through the cross and the resurrectionwill
be seenin my dealings with you. I may come and I may be very weak in your
midst but when exercising apostolic authority, I spare not anyone. You will
see the power of God working through me to glorify the Lord God.” It’s a
rather terrifying thing to think about and I’m sure the Corinthians must have
thought a greatdeal about it. He will follow in the train of the Lord Jesus, in
the experience ofdeath, in weakness, but resurrection power. One of the
startling things about the gospelof the Lord Jesus is the powerthat exists in
the word of God.
H. A. Ironside was a man that in Dallas — Christians who’d been around
Dallas for a long time had many opportunities to hear. I think I heard Dr.
Ironside preach probably a hundred and fifty times, because he came every
year. And for two weeksI listened to him, morning and afternoon. And then

of course in other meetings around the city and I grew to appreciate and love
this man of God.
In one of his books, the book on 2 Corinthians, he tells of how on one occasion
in New Guinea there was a communion service and around the communion
service there were severalpeople at the table. One of the one’s sitting around
the table was a missionary of the cross ofthe Lord Jesus Christ — a very fine
Christian man who had actually been the son of a missionary as well — and
beside him sat an elder of the native church on New Guinea. What was
striking about it was that the individual who was the missionary, had a father
who was a missionary, whom the natives of New Guinea had put to death.
They had martyred him. And in fact, the person who had been responsible for
his death was the father of the elder, who was sitting at the table next to the
son of the missionary. And these two were sitting in happy Christian
fellowship around the Lords’ table. Now that’s the power of the gospelof the
Lord Jesus Christ.
So Mr. Ironside, in illustrating the fact that the Lord Jesus was crucified in
weakness,but nevertheless raisedand acts of the powerof God — I use that
as an illustration. There is a story he has also told of Ka-jarnak — the first
convert of the MoravianMissionaries whomcame to Greenland. When they
went to Greenland they discovereda people on the Island of Greenland that
were so steepedin iniquity that they said to themselves, “These people will
never understand the gospel. Theyare drunkens, they are glutens, they’re
adulterers, they are living the vilest of lives. They won’t understand the grace
of God. If we preach to them about the grace of God in Christ, they’ll just use
that license for further sin.” So they determined the thing to do was to preach
the “Law of Moses,”so forone year they preachedthe “Law of Moses,”and
people would listen and go out and continue to sin.
There came a man also about a year later, who was with the Moravians, Hans
Egede. He was a wealthy young man from a wealthy family who had been
convertedby the gospelof the Lord Jesus Christ, and he came to Greenland
and as he came there one of the first meetings they had two or three hundred
people gatheredtogetherto hear him preach. Instead of preaching on the law,
he preached on the “Cross ofthe Lord Jesus Christ.” And very tenderly, for

an hour or two explained what Christ did when he died upon the cross and
how he suffered and bled for the redemption of sinners.
When he finished, Ka-jarnak — a young chief of the Eskimo tribe — who had
been listening to him, sprang forward and cried — now these are his words,
“Missionaries, whydidn’t you tell us this before? You’ve been with us a year
and you never told us before. You told us of a God who createda world, and it
didn’t make us hate our sin. You told us of a God who gave his holy law. We
learned the Ten Commandments. We went out and got drunk again. And
today you’ve told us how our sins have broke the heart of God and he came to
redeem us from our sins. Missionary, Ka-jarnak cannotsin againstlove like
that. From now on Ka-jarnak will be a Christian.” He became an outstanding
Christian testimony to the gospelofthe grace ofGod.
You know in the final analysis — I have to say this to my friends who like to
believe that we ought to preach the law, and I do believe that it’s proper to
preach the law, Paul states that in 1 Timothy chapter 1. He states it’s proper
to preach the law. And through the law many people are brought to a
conviction of their sin. But I’d like to say to you this, that in my opinion,
preaching the cross ofthe Lord Jesus Christ and what it says about human sin
and what it says about the need of human redemption is to my mind one of the
strongestmeans by which men may be brought to the convictionthat they are
sinners. When we recognize that it is we who are responsible for the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ, then of course, there comes tremendous conviction.
I don’t deny the usefulness of preaching the law, but I do believe that the
preaching of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is also a means by which men
are brought to the knowledge oftheir sin. And surely in this case atleast, it’s
an illustration of that possibility. The apostle now turns to the necessityof
self-examination. He states in the fifth verse, “Testyourselves to see if you’re
in the faith. Examine yourselves.” Theyhad been testing him. He turns the
table on them and twice and emphatically says, “Testyourselves.”He uses
that word in the emphatic position twice, “Yourselves test,” “Testyourselves.”
Now in stating this it’s very plain why he says that. If they fail the test, they
have no right to blame the apostle for anything. If they’re not believers, if they

fail the test and they don’t even belong to the Lord, what right do they have to
criticize an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ? And turning it on the other side,
if they pass the test, how canthey blame the apostle because the apostle is the
one who brought them the knowledge that they claim that they have. So the
apostle has them on the horns of a dilemma. The irony is obvious, if they pass
they cannot blame Paul, if they fail they cannot blame Paul. The factthat they
are a Christian Assembly is testimony ultimately to the faithfulness and the
authenticity of the preaching of the Apostle Paul. So if they fail, they cannot
blame him. If they pass, they cannot blame the evangelistwho brought them
to the condition in which they are passing the test.
When we say, “Testourselves orexamine yourselves,” we’re saying something
that we need in the United States ofAmerica, and in fact, in the Western
world. There are literally millions of professing Christians who need to pay
attention to this statement of the apostle. They have entered into a shallow
commitment to Christianity, they’ve joined the church, they’ve been baptized
or they’ve done other things that might make them think that they are
genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They’ve been encouragedto think
that, by men who’ve not been careful to point out that there is more to
becoming a Christian than subscribing to a statement. They don’t hate sin.
They don’t love holiness. They do not pray. They do not study the word of
God. They do not walk humbly with God. These individuals, so many of them
stand in the same danger in which the Corinthians stood. And the apostle’s
words, “Testyourselves to see if your in the faith, examine yourselves,” are
valid words that eachof us should ponder.
JOHN MACARTHUR
He was not only weak, but he was contentto be weak. FirstCorinthians 2:3:
“I was with you in weakness.I planned it that way. I came to be weak. I am
weak. I confess it.” He calls himself a clay pot, remember that, in chapter 4?

He was weak. And that was part of their criticism. “He just - he’s just not
impressive. He’s just - he’s just weak, andhe’s always battered and beaten-up
and haggard, and he keeps getting thrown in jail everywhere, and he’s got a
lousy reputation. He’s just a nothing. He’s just weak.”
Well, he gives a tremendous analogy, brilliant analogy. Listen to this - verse 4,
middle of the verse, start with the word for - “Forwe also are weak in Him.”
“We admit it. I admit it. I’m weak. I’m weak, and I’m in Christ. I’m in Him.
That is, I’m in Christ; saved, redeemed, belong to Him, but I’m weak. I admit
it.” “Yet we shall live with Him.” What does that mean? What does it mean,
“we shall live with Him?” Well, what it means is that he’s found spiritual life,
and it’s eternal. He has found spiritual life, and it’s eternal spiritual life.
And he found it because ofthe power of God. God, in power, came into his
weakness,and made him alive with spiritual life forever. And then it says, in
verse 4, “Goddirected that same powerthrough him toward you.” Wow.
What’s he saying? He’s saying, “Well, my weaknessdidn’t stopthe powerof
God, it facilitatedit. Becausethere’s no other explanation for my life than that
it was the power of God, because there’s no human explanation. I’m too week,
too frail, too inept, too unimpressive, to have pulled it off myself.
“Whateverhas happened has been the power of God, surging through my
weakness.” Back to verse 9, of chapter 12, God said, “My grace is sufficient
for you, for power is perfectedin weakness.”Godsays, “Poweris perfected in
weakness.” Wow. “Mostgladly, therefore, I will rather boastabout my
weaknesses, thatthe powerof Christ may dwell in me.” That’s - that’s the
principle. God said, “I’ll perfect My powerthrough your weakness.” Paul
said, “I’m happy to be weak, because in my weakness, God’s powercame.”
It was in Paul’s weaknessand brokenness that he was redeemed. It was when
he was going to Damascus,a proud, confident, arrogantJew, persecuting
Christians, and he was crushed in the dirt, and shattered, and broken, and
dismantled, and made blind, and halting, and stumbling, he fell before God.
And in the midst of that weaknesshe was crushed into nothing, and through
that weakness Godsavedhim, and beganto sanctify him, and he became the

great, greatpreacher;the greatestpreacherever, next to the Lord Jesus
Himself.
His powerwas perfectedin Paul’s weakness fromthe beginning. And so, when
he went to Corinth, he knew that he had to keephis posture weak, so that the
powerof God could surge through him. What does it mean to be weak? Itjust
means to keepyourself out of the picture, and just become a channel, through
which the powerflows. You can’t mingle yourself with it, without somehow
polluting the streamof pure power. So, all the faithful preacherwants to do is
put himself out of the way, and let the powerof God surge through the truth
of God, which he proclaims.
And again, I say, the church doesn’t need less of this; it needs so much more
of it. So, he says, “We’re weak in Him.” It’s true. “Yet we have received
spiritual life which is eternal, because ofthe power of God that has come to us,
and through us, is directed toward you.” “You’ve experienced it. You saw the
miracles. You were saved. You’re sanctified. And you’re about to see some of
it, too, if I find some sin there; you’ll see more of the powerof God coming
through.”
And then he gives this really wonderful, wonderful analogy, in the beginning
of verse 4: “Forindeed He was crucified because ofweakness,yetHe lives
because ofthe powerof God.” Well, I mean, that is the end of the discussion,
right there. Who’s He? Jesus. “You’re saying I’m too weak to be powerful?
Let me give you an analogy. I am weak;that’s why I’m powerful, and so was
Jesus.” This is great. “Indeed He was crucified because ofweakness” -or
literally, it could be in the Greek, “He was crucified in weakness.”
The bottom line is that the crucifixion of Jesus Christis an unmistakable
evidence of His weakness.I mean, He came into the world in the form of a
servant, Philippians 2 says; He humbled Himself, came in the fashion of a
man, became a servant. He lived a very humble life. But when He gotto the
cross, you really beganto see His weakness. ThroughHis life, you could see
human weakness. He was weary. He was sad. He sorrowed. He was
disappointed. He wept. But then He was betrayed, and then He was taken
before a court of Jews in a mock trial, and blasphemed.

And then He was blasphemed by the Idumeans, and then He was blasphemed
by the Romans, in a mock of a trial before Pilate. And then He was treated
with disdain and abuse, and spit on, and punched, and poked, and laughed at.
And then He was crucified, and then He died. And that is weakness. The
supreme evidence of His weaknessis His death. And Paul says, “Indeed, that’s
true” - indeed meaning truly, that’s true - “He was crucified because of
weakness,yet He is alive because ofthe powerof God.”
What’s that refer to? Resurrection, right? The resurrection. Godraised Him
from the dead. Romans 1:4 tells us God raisedHim from the dead. The Lord
Jesus was weak. He was so weak that His enemies defeatedand executedHim
in the most debasing, humiliating, and shameful manner possible. His human
nature was so weak that it was fully susceptible to death. Yet He lives. Once
weak in death, He was made alive in power, and He came out of that grave on
the third day, His resurrectionbeing the most monumental evidence and
revelation of His power.
So, Jesus is the pattern. He was weak, weakallthe wayto death, and yet He is
alive because ofthe powerof God, which raised Him from the dead. So Paul.
He’s weak. He’s in fear and trembling. He suffers a lot. He lives with sorrow,
pain, and disappointment. He’s been beaten, and battered, and rejected.
Humanly, he’s not welcome. He’s not ranked among the greatpreachers or
speakers andorators of his day. He says, “We’re weak in Him, yet we shall
live with Him because ofthe power of God directed toward you.”
PHIL NEWTON
Do You Pass or Fail?
May 1, 2005

Some collegesgive an interesting option for certain classes.No letter grades
are offered, simply two choices:pass or fail. If one does the expectedwork for
the class andscores adequatelyon any type of evaluation, then he passes. If he
neglects the class attendance andclass work, he fails. Sometime everything
rides on the successorfailure in one or two tests during a semester. A bad-
test-day can be costly.
The Apostle Paul brings the pass or fail schematic into our thinking about the
Christian faith. It is certainly not that we provide some type of merit that
enables us to pass the test for salvation. Rather, the passing or failing that he
discusses has to do with the evidence of the reality or substance of our
Christianity. Many people claim to be Christians that are not Christians. I
was reading an article this week that referred to a recent George Barna poll of
Christians. The dismal conclusionwas that professing Christians did not
appear to be much different, if any different, from their unbelieving
counterparts when it comes to values involved in child training. I don't think
that shocks anyof us because we have two eyes to see what takes place all
around us in the world. It appears that the salt is losing its savorand the light
grows dimmer while the condition of the world about us grows increasingly
anti-God. Professing Christians might rally for a political candidate or a pro-
life effort but many lack the characterto live as holy people in the day-to-day
demands at home, at school, atwork, or the community at large.
That's where Corinth seemed to have landed. They professedto be Christians-
no question there. But they had been inching awayfrom the gospelthat Paul
proclaimed among them in favor of following the popular teaching of "super
apostles" thatslipped into their midst. The more they followedthe popular
twists of the false apostles and rejectedthe authoritative teaching of Paul, the
more they steeredawayfrom the centrality of a cross-centeredgospel,godly
character, and Christian distinction among a worldly atmosphere. It appears
that Paul finally draws his intense defense and argument to a close. Whatit

boiled down to is this: would the Corinthians pass or fail the testof true
Christianity?
This same question confronts eachof us. And I would say, that it does not
necessarilycome as a result of any perceptible movements awayfrom the
truth of Scripture, but rather testing and examination ought to characterize
every Christian and every church. Such tests are not for purposes of tearing
down but building up. They offer the means to evaluate our lives so that we
make sure that we are in right relationship to God through Christ and that we
are faithfully developing as a Christian church. To be sure, many people fear
tests that callfor personalexamination of one's spiritual life and practice.
Ignorance appears blissful, and preferable to the scrutiny of God's Word
shining as a torchlight in the heart. But not so, when it comes to the difficulties
and realities of life, and certainly, when it comes to the Day of Judgment
before our Holy God. An unexamined life and unexamined church risk losing
everything. Examination gives fresh perspective on our faith in Christ and
new impetus in our obedience to Him. Do you pass or fail the test?
I. Testof church's character
Paul repeats two different Greek terms throughout this passagethat have to
do with testing and genuineness. He first speaks ofthe testimony of two or
three witnesses,the Old Testamentstandard for legaldecisions or accusations,
to alert us that scrutiny is taking place. Then he speaks ofthe proof of Christ
speaking in him. "Proof" translates the word dokimas, referring to something
that passes examination, suchas a coinor precious metal or certain types of
cloth. Those precious metals passing the examiners' eyes were stamped with a
"D" or Delta, so show they were approved as genuine. He repeats the words
concerning tests in verse five, using yet another term, peirazo, meaning to try
or examine someone in order to discoverwhat kind of personhe is. He also
againuses the term dokimazo (the verb this time), calling for the Corinthians

to examine themselves to see if there is proof of Christ within them. This
follows in verse 6 by Paul declaring that he is not adokimos, disapprovedor
rejectedafter being examined. Further, he continues exhorting them by
discussing how he prayed for them, and that the big issue is that even if Paul
appears unapproved (I think he means by some of the nay-sayers in Corinth),
he wanted them to do what was right before God (vv. 8-9).
Testing, examining, approving, being found genuine make up the focus of
these ten verses as Paulbrings his epistle to closure. He did not want to leave
them hanging. They had to acton the truths that he had brought before them.
Would they pass or fail the test of genuineness that he has setbefore them?
The first testcalled for has to do with the church's character. Would they
really be a Christian church or just another religious group among many in
the RomanEmpire? What are the tests of a biblical church? The Belgic
Confessionof1561 identifies the marks of a true church.
The marks by which the true Church is knownare these:if the pure doctrine
of the gospelis preached therein; if she maintains the pure administration of
the sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline is exercisedin
punishing of sin; in short, if all things are managedaccording to the pure
Word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ
acknowledgedas the only Head of the Church. Hereby the true Church may
certainly be known, from which no man has a right to separate himself [Philip
Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. III, 419-420].
But Corinth faltered at this point. While acknowledging Christthey failed to
discipline one another regarding sin. All discipline is not punitive. Most, in
fact, if done properly is not punitive but corrective and restorative in the form
of admonishing, encouraging, instructing, etc. Yet the Corinthians failed by
letting sin in varied fashion run rampant in the church. So, Paul upbraids
them due to their neglectof discipline.

1. Administer discipline according to God's Word (v. 1)
He begins with a warning that he was coming to visit them for the third time,
and it would not be a happy time for them if they had not dealt properly with
their sin. Keep in mind that for the Apostle, the saving work of Christ
included sanctification. He spoke ofthe love and sacrifice ofChrist on behalf
of the church "that He might sanctifyher" (Eph. 5:26). But, as we noted in
our study of 12:20-21, there appearedto be a question mark about the level of
sanctificationtaking place!In fact, this eventually leads Paul to ask the
serious question about whether or not Christ truly dwelled in them (v. 5).
The quotation from Deut. 19:15 indicates the standard for convicting someone
of an accusation. There had to be two or three witnesses inagreement. Some
suggestthat Paul had in mind that he had already witnessedtwice concerning
the Corinthians by his previous visits, and now he was adding a third.
However, as Philip Hughes points out, the Corinthians would have likely
understood Paul's quotation in its original intent, that of two or more
witnesses agreeing ona charge againstsomeone.Fromthis he posits that Paul
wanted the Corinthians to know that he would be following the strict teaching
of Scripture when it came to applying discipline to the individuals that
continued in sin among the Corinthians. In other words, there would be no
vendetta or vengefulness or off the cuff acts of discipline. All would be done
judiciously and appropriately [NICNT, 475].
Can the church do any less than that and still maintain its integrity in the
community? Without taking the time to outline eachNew Testamenttext
regarding discipline, let me summarize it like this: (1) the health of the church
requires discipline among the members; (2) the pattern of discipline outlined
in Matthew 18:15-20 serves as the standard for every generation;(3) to
neglectdiscipline is to defy the teaching of Christ and His apostles. As J.L.

Dagg put it, "It has been remarked, that when discipline leaves a church,
Christ goes withit" [quoted by Al Mohler in Mark Dever, editor, Polity, 56].
2. Administer discipline consistentlyand thoroughly (v. 2)
Paul uses military terminology to let the Corinthians know that for those who
have not repented, he meant business with his visit: he would take no
prisoners. "I will not spare anyone," that term comes from the implication of
not sparing someone in battle. Why the sharp language? No doubt that is easy
to guess by now. The Corinthians had made an absolute mess of their church!
Their only hope to continue as a church would be to deal with the issues of sin
that putrefied them in the nostrils of heaven. Carl Laney uses the analogyof
festering infection for the church that neglects to discipline its members who
have continued in patterns of sin. "As an infection weakens the body by
destroying its defense mechanisms, so the church has been weakenedby this
ugly sore. The church has lostits powerand effectivenessin serving as a
vehicle for social, moral, and spiritual change. This illness is due, at leastin
part, to a neglectof church discipline" [Polity 47].
No doubt, this is never an easyissue within the church. We are in
relationships with one another. We are all sinners and all dealing with the
remaining vestiges ofa nature bent on rebellion and selfishness.So, the idea of
approaching another person to identify a particular sin and seek to hold that
person accountable to correctit appears daunting. But if we, as brothers and
sisters in Christ, fail to do this with one another, how will it getdone? Keep in
mind that matters of discipline should always be private, betweenone brother
and another, or if not resolved, betweenone brother and two or three, until it
must be brought to the church due to failure in resolving it. Discipline must
always aim at correctionand restoration;it must always be done in humility,
realizing one's own propensity to fall prey to the same sin; it must be done in

love and never wrath; it must containthe application of Scripture and the
gospelrather than manipulation or mere reasoning.
3. Administer discipline as a display of divinely appointed authority (vv. 3-4)
The "superapostles" accusedPaulof being a weak person. But the apostle
gloried in his weaknesses,knowing that through them the powerof Christ was
displayed. The Corinthians, especiallythe "superapostles," arrogantly
claimed to be more powerful Christians than Paul. They wanted to know if
Christ truly spoke through the apostle. So Paulfirst shows them his
weaknessesto let them know that his authority as an apostle did not derive
from some innate poweror ability. In this he identifies with the weakness of
Christ at the cross. GeoffThomas explains that this weakness included
Christ's "weaknesswhichcame from the loneliness that he experienced... the
weakness ofthe Father's abandonment... the weaknessofhis physical pain...
also his life ebbing away" due to the loadof our sin and guilt on Him
[http://users.aber.ac.uk/emk/ap/sermons/2cor57.htm].
"Yet He lives because of the power of God," and in that same resurrection
power, Paul, in union with Christ, lived. Now that power was aimed at the
Corinthians as the apostle made his visit. He had the divinely appointed task
to call them to repentance, and if they did not respond, to exercise restorative
discipline in the body. He would do so as one relying on the power of Christ
and the delegatedauthority of Christ to His church. They wanted proof that
Christ was speaking through Paul. When he came to them in the power of the
Spirit to pronounce discipline among them, they would know that Christ had
spoken. Pauldoes not hesitate to associate suchdisplays of Christ's authority
with acts of discipline in the church. The "keys of the kingdom" that Jesus
describes in Matthew 18 represent the authority of the church in disciplining
its members. John Calvin explained:

But the church binds him whom it excommunicates-notthat it casts him into
everlasting ruin and despair, but because it condemns his life and morals, and
already warns him of his condemnation unless he should repent. It looses him
when it receives him into communion, for it makes him a sharer of the unity
which is in Christ Jesus [Polity 52].
II. Testof church's faith
The next teststands at the heart of the church and individual's life: the testof
faith. Verse 5 stands as the pinnacle of the Apostle's piercing argument with
the Corinthian church. They had toleratedsin, questioned his authority as an
apostle, and thus calledinto question the apostolic gospel. Theywantedto test
him to see if Christ was really speaking in him. Now he turns the tables. "Test
yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!Or do you not
recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christis in you-unless indeed you
fail the test?"
1. Testing one's sphere of faith (v. 5)
He uses "faith" in an objective sense, the objective truth of the gospel. So the
question is 'Is your faith and trust in the objective truth of the gospelofJesus
Christ alone, or is your faith in some lessersystemof belief, maybe one
espousedby the "super apostles" inCorinth?' The plural "yourselves," calls
for the whole church to be involved in testing. Testing calls for discoveryof a
vital faith in the objective truth of the gospel-so trustin Jesus Christas He is
revealedin the gospel. The present imperative and emphatic use of
"yourselves" in the Greek text, implies that testing is an ongoing process. We
are prone to self-deceit. We can be easilymanipulated and swayedby feelings
or popular ideas. Testing brings us back to the basic realities of the gospel.

�Do we believe that Jesus Christis indeed the Sonof God, eternally existent,
co-equalwith the Fatherand the Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary as a genuine
human being, yet one that never sinned?
�Do we believe that Jesus Christbore our sin in His own body on the cross,
and with that payment of His blood, satisfiedGod's righteous demand for
justice on our behalf?
�Do we trust in the righteousness ofChrist as He fulfilled the law on our
behalf as our only merit before God?
�Do we believe that Jesus Christis Lord, and therefore rules over our lives
and owns our allegianceas King?
�Do we have any other savior or any other hope for eternity besides Christ
alone?
Far too many slide into the comfort of being around Christians, hearing
Christian teaching, and yet have never embracedthe Christ revealedin the
gospel. So Paul asks,"Are you in the faith?" Is the sphere of your whole life
and thought and confidence grounded in the faith revealedin the gospel?
2. Examining the genuineness ofone's subjective trust in Christ (v. 5)
But further, Paul returns to the same word he implied that the Corinthians
used concerning him (dokimos):"examine yourselves!" Examination is not a
bad thing. Some people don't want to be examined, primarily because they are
afraid that they might discoverhuge fault-lines in their faith. Yet examination
in every area of life has value. Just this week, Britain and France unveiled the
jumbo Airbus A380, a massive double-deckerjet that will eventually carry
800 passengers.A six-person crew and tons of equipment took the maiden
flight. Would you have gladly signedup to be part of that first flight before
the plane was tested? Of course not; you want to make sure that it will take

off, fly, and land well before volunteering for a seat. Would you take a new
drug for some ailment if it has never been testedbefore? We do value
examinations!
Here Paul calls for the subjective examination. Have you put your trust in
Jesus Christ, and if so, what evidence is there in your life that you are trusting
Christ alone as your Lord and Savior? Here the focus is on whether or not the
individual professing to be a Christian is truly a Christian.
�If so, his belief in Christ affects his behavior, priorities, and affections. He
thinks differently than before Christ. He acts differently. His interests have
been redirected so that there is a focus upon Jesus Christ and faithfulness to
Him. His inclinations are toward Christ, so that even when he struggles with
sin, he struggles with a view to wanting to be pleasing to Christ and to
demonstrate love for Christ.
�If so, his belief indicates a new, distinctive bent in his life, awayfrom the
loves of his unregenerate life, and now being renewed by the transforming of
the mind by the Word and the Spirit.
�If so, his belief demonstrates a loyalty and love for Christ above everything
else.
�If so, belief expressesthe willingness, if need be, to suffer for faith in Christ
should that be calledfor. Your faith in Christ means everything to you.
Are we asking too much to call for personalexamination to make sure that
eachof us is in Christ?
3. Proofpositive: Jesus Christ is in you (vv. 5-6)

Paul gives the final clarificationof his imperative call for examination: "or do
you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless
indeed you fail the test?" How do you know that Jesus Christ is in you? The
description offered in the Belgic Confessionmay help to clarify how our lives
evidence the indwelling Christ:
With respectto those who are members of the Church, they may be knwn by
the marks of Christians, namely, by faith; and when they have receivedJesus
Christ the only Saviour, they avoid sin, follow after righteousness, love the
true God and their neighbor, neither turn aside to the right or left, and
crucify the flesh with the works thereof. But this is not to be understood as if
there did not remain in them great infirmities; but they fight againstthem
through the Spirit all the days of their life, continually taking their refuge in
the blood, death, passion, and obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom
they have remissionof sins through faith in him [Schaff, III, 420].
Or, perhaps Paul's description in Romans 8:12-17 will help:
�you have a distinct sense ofobligation to live for Christ and die to the flesh
(vv. 12-13);
�you sense and see evidence of the leadership of the Holy Spirit in your life
(v. 14);
�you have the sense ofbelonging to the Lord, the spirit of adoption (v. 15);
�you have the witness of the Spirit within (v. 16);
�you willingly bear reproachfor the name of Christ (v. 17).
While they are to recognize Christ in their own lives, Paul also wants them to
recognize that he does not fail the test of faith as a true Christian (v. 6).
III. Testof church's practice

As strong as his question has been concerning the reality of their faith, the
Apostle demonstrates his tender love for the Corinthians by praying for them.
1. No longer neglectdoing right (vv. 7-8)
Wrongly or rightly, much of the Christian life gets boxed into rights and
wrongs!While some overly press these areas into legalism, thinking that they
gain merit for justification or sanctificationby their actions, Paulhad no such
notion. He prayed for the Corinthians' faith in Christ to be evidenced by
doing "no wrong," that is by turning awayfrom sin; and that they do what is
right by following after that which is goodand pleasing in the sight of God. If
you truly understand the truth of the gospel, it has the affectupon you of
shunning evil and pursuing the good. Your sensessharpenin the ability to
discern right and wrong. You approachit, not for merit or as a manipulative
wedge to convince God to give you things, but simply because it pleases the
Lord. No wonder John wrote, "If you know that He is righteous, you know
that everyone also who practices righteousnessis born of Him" (1 John 3:29).
And he adds, "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are
obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the
one who does not love his brother" (4:10).
2. No longer fragmented (v. 9)
Paul loved and valued the Corinthians, rejoicing when he saw them strong
even when he felt himself to be weak. And so he prayed for these brethren
"that you be made complete." The word used means to bind togetherbroken
bones or repair a broken net or fit togethersomething that has been
fragmented. A fragmented church is like a body with multiple broken bones
that need to be mended and healed. Limping, hobbled and sidelined by
disunity, the church needs healing when in this kind of condition. That can

only happen through repentance, dying to self, and walking in humility before
eachother. That is the testof the church's true heartbeat. Eachof us
contributes to the unity and wholeness ofthe church; by the same token, each
of us contributes to the church's disunity and infirmities if we neglect
guarding our spiritual lives and obedience to Christ. Here is a prayer for
actionthat brings them together, not under a smokescreentruce but in
wholeness as those who value the church, as does Christ who died for the
church to sanctify her.
3. No longer delaying action on obedience (v. 10)
One last warning, reminding the Corinthians of the apostolic authority that
Paul will use among them, calls for action on obedience. He had sought to
build them up in true apostolic fashionbut they had recoiledat the Apostle's
calls for repentance, humility, and obedience, as wellas rejectionof the false
teachers among them. Now was time for action, even though the authoritative
person remained absent. It's back to the "teacheroutof the classroom"
mentality. True maturity is evidenced when no one has to be presentto scold
and point out sins to repent of and obedience to practice;you just do it out of
love for Christ because it is right.
So, as we've takena few tests tonight, do you pass or fail? Is Jesus Christ in
you? Then take every action to live as one indwelled by the living Lord!
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CONSTABLE
Verse 4
Jesus experiencedcrucifixion because He was obedient to His Father"s will
and therefore did not assertHimself againstHis enemies who eventually
executedHim. He appeared to be very weak to onlookers. However, His
"weakness"was in reality an evidence of great strength, strength of
commitment to His Father"s will even to death on a cross. The Father
rewardedHis Son by sustaining Him with supernatural power. Similarly Paul
in submitting to God"s will had appeared weak to some in Corinth.
Nevertheless Godwould sustainhim too supernaturally. That supernatural
powerwould be evident to the Corinthians when Paul arrived in Corinth and
dealt with them as Jesus Christ will deal with His people when He returns (cf.
2 Corinthians 5:10).
"It appears that Paul and the Corinthians did not understand "power" in the
same way. Forthem it was on display in an aggressive anda mighty
personality. Forthe apostle, it is seenin weakness."[Note:Martin, p476.]

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Verses 1-14
Crucified Through Weakness
This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three
witnesses shallevery word be established. I told you before, and foretell you,
as if I were present, the secondtime; and being absent now I write to them
which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not
spare:since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not
weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet
he liveth by the powerof God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live
with him by the powerof God toward you. Examine yourselves, whetherye be
in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your ownselves, how that
Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? ButI trust that ye shall know
that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we
should appearapproved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though
we be as reprobates. Forwe cando nothing againstthe truth, but for the
truth. For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we
wish, even your perfection. Therefore I write these things being absent, lest
being present I should use sharpness, according to the powerwhich the Lord
hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. Finally, brethren,
farewell. Be perfect, be of goodcomfort, be of one mind, live in peace;and the
God of love and peace shallbe with you. Greetone another with an holy kiss.
All the saints salute you. The grace ofthe Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (vv. 1-14)

This last chapter may really be divided into two parts, and yet they are so
intimately connectedthat I want to discuss it all at the same time. The apostle,
you remember, had told these Corinthians on two previous occasions thathe
had been arranging to come to see them, but certain circumstances hindered.
Just what forms these circumstances took we are not told, but he was unable
to come; and because he had not kept his partial promise there were those
who accusedhim of lightness, of levity, in promising things which he did not
do. Others declaredthere was a very goodreasonwhy he did not come. They
said, “He has chargedus with certain things, which he is taking for granted
are true, and he does not dare to come and face us about them.” And he said,
“I am coming, the third time I am coming, and when I come, in the mouth of
two or three witnesses everyword will be established. I have written you
beforehand of behavior contrary to Christian principles. All I have heard will
be fully substantiated, and I hope when I getthere I will find you really
repentant of these evil things and not condoning them.” “I told you before,
and foretellyou, as if I were present, the secondtime; and being absent now I
write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come
again, I will not spare.” He did not like to come. He says on one occasion, “To
spare you I refrained from coming,” but he could not put it off; he would
come to them and deal with those things face to face. Unholiness is
incompatible with the testimony of the church of God, which is the temple of
the living God. “Holiness becomethThine house, O LORD, for ever” (Psalms
93:5). And if those who are linked up with others in Christian fellowship are
living unholy lives, they should be put awayfrom the assembly, but if they
repent they are to be restoredto full communion. In replying againto the
suggestionthat Paul was not a real apostle, he says, “If you seek a proof of
Christ living in me, examine yourselves.” Now if you take this fifth verse out
of its connectionyou lose the meaning of it. Many people take it as though he
meant that we are to examine ourselves to see if we are real Christians, but
that is not what Paul was saying. They questioned his apostleship, whether the
Spirit of Godwas in his ministry. If you will look at everything after
“speaking in me,” verse 3 down through verse 4, as parenthetical, then you get
his exactmeaning. “ Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me,…examine

yourselves.” In other words, he is saying, “Are you Christians? How did you
become Christians? Was it not through my ministry? Well, then God was
working in me. If you are hypocrites, if you are not real Christians, then
Christ did not work in me. If you are real Christians, if you have the
assurance thatyou are the children of God, you receivedthat as a result of the
testimony that I brought to you at Corinth. Therefore you ought to be the last
people in the world to question whether Christ wrought through me.”
I suppose we are all indebted to some servant of Christ for our present
knowledge ofthe truth. If we are not living in a godly manner, it is reflecting
discredit on the one who brought us to Christ. If we want to bring credit to
our fathers and mothers in Christ, then we should live to the glory of God.
There are certain things that the world looks upon as its own, and I am here
to represent my Father, and I do not want to bring discredit on my Father’s
name. The Book says, “Love notthe world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Forall
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passethaway,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1
John 2:15-17). Oh, I wish that we as Christians might everkeepthat in mind!
We are here in the world to representour Fatherand to represent our Savior,
and men canbut get their conceptionof God and of Christ, our blessedLord,
through us. We may wellexamine ourselves, therefore, and see if we are so
behaving as to bring glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us now go back and look at the parenthesis. Paulturns aside and exclaims
concerning his ministry, “Which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in
you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yethe liveth by the power
of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power
of God toward you.” This is the parenthesis. Now notice how solemnly he
brings before us the humiliation Christ endured for our redemption, which we
are in a measure calledto share. “He was crucified through weakness.”What

does that mean? Does it mean He was so weak in Himself that He was unable
to resistHis foes? Or was He simply the victim of circumstances?Oh, no. The
preposition translated “through” here is generally rendered “in.” He was
crucified in weakness, but He liveth againin the powerof God. It simply
means this: He chose to become a Man for our redemption. He chose to be
made “a little lowerthan the angels for the suffering of death.” He who was
higher than the highest “did not count it [equality with God] a thing to be
grasped,” but He emptied Himself of the glory He had before the world was,
and “being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, and [such a death, that] of the cross.”In this sense He
was crucified through weakness.As excarnate God He could never have died
for our sin. But He chose to become incarnate. He chose to become a man, and
to be subjectto hunger and thirst and weariness andevery sinless infirmity of
mankind, and He chose not to resist His foes. He allowedHimself to be spat
upon, to be beaten, to be crownedwith thorns. “I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheek to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame
and spitting.” He chose to be “despisedand rejectedof men; a man of
sorrows, andacquainted with grief.” It was His own desire thus to give
Himself a ransom for all, and so we read in his first epistle: “After that in the
wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleasedGodby the
foolishness ofpreaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seekafterwisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, unto the
Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;but unto them which
are called, both Jews andGreeks, Christthe powerof Godand the wisdom of
God” (1 Corinthians 1:21-24). Now listen: “Becausethe foolishness ofGod is
wiserthan men; and the weaknessofGod is strongerthan men” (1
Corinthians 1:25). Think of these two expressions:First, “The foolishness of
God”;what does it mean? It is really, “the simplicity of God.” It means that
God’s wondrous plan of redemption through the cross is foolishness to the
philosopher, the man of this world, but the Scripture says, “The foolishness of
God is wiserthan men.” And, second, “The weaknessofGod”;what does that
imply? God becoming Man, God submitting to the agony and shame of the
cross, Godin Christ bleeding, suffering, dying for our redemption. “The
weakness ofGod is strongerthan men.” God could do through the cross what
He never could do apart from the cross. Oh, the miracles that have been

wrought through the cross alldown the centuries! Do you know of anything
else that canchange the heart of a hard, cruel and godless man, transform
him and make a new creature of him?
A minister tells how on one occasionin New Guinea, where perhaps less than
a score ofyears before the heathen were utterly wrapped in darkness, through
a testimony carried on there by faithful witnesses the people were gathered
reverently at the table of the Lord, and here sata missionary of the cross.
Beside him sat an elder of the native church. The minister recognizedin this
elder the sonof a man who had eatenthe missionary father of the son sitting
there. The sonof the martyred missionary and the sonof the man who had
killed him, were both remembering the Lord Jesus as the Savior of mankind.
Do you know of anything that canbind hearts togetherlike this?
You recallthe story of Kayarnak, the first convert of the Moravian
missionaries in Greenland. When they went to that country and found the
people so steepedin iniquity, they said, “Theywill never understand the
gospel. These people are drunkards, gluttons, they are adulterers, they are
living the vilest of lives. They won’t understand the grace ofGod, they will
take it as a license for sin.” So the Moravianmissionaries drilled into the
hearts and minds of that people God’s holy law. They said they had to do it to
create a consciencein the Eskimo. But the results were nil. No man had ever
sought out a missionary for conference abouthis soul. They listened to the
messages andwent back and lived their wickedlives again. And then Hans
Egede came, his heart burning with love for that people. He had left wealth
and honor to sacrifice himself for those unspeakablyvile Greenlanders. It was
announced he would speak in a certain neighborhood on a Lord’s Day. They
crowdedinto a small lodge holding two hundred to three hundred people. It
was a poor affair, built up from pieces of old wreckedships. There they sat.
Hans Egede stoodup and preachedand, for the first time in the history of
Greenland, told the story of the cross. Tenderly, lovingly, with a heart that
had itself been broken by the powerof the cross, he told of the One who had

Jesus was weakness and power

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