Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does 2nd Corinthians Chapter 4 mean?

Against criticism and questioning, Paul continues to defend his legitimacy as an apostle of Jesus. The context here is the great suffering experienced by Paul and his co-workers, as they spread the gospel of Jesus. As he writes, Paul reveals his great confidence in God’s ability to sustain him and his great hope in the life to come.

Paul knows that God is the one who has given him the ministry of bringing the truth about Jesus to the world. It’s not a position he deserves; it is his by God’s mercy. That’s why he insists to the Corinthians that he has not and would not act with them in any way that is underhanded, disgraceful, or deceptive. Instead of manipulating God’s Word, he and his partners state it openly and invite others to openly evaluate their lives before God to see that they are acting with integrity (2 Corinthians 4:1–2).

The fact that they tell the truth, though, does not mean that everyone will believe them. Paul acknowledges that the reality of their good news about salvation through faith in Jesus is veiled or hidden from the view of people who are on their way to eternal death and separation from God. The god of this world, Satan, blinds the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of Jesus’ glory. That’s the light that Paul and his co-workers carry in their hearts and deliver to those who will see it (2 Corinthians 4:3–5).

To summarize this mission, Paul incorporates all of his era’s main cultural ideals into a single statement. Then, he connects that idea to the relationship God intends us to seek in the person of Christ. No matter what a person thinks they desire—Hebrew “light” and truth, Greek “knowledge” and wisdom, or Roman “glory” and accomplishment—all of it is ultimately found only in the person—in the face—of the One and only Savior (2 Corinthians 4:6).

The knowledge of Christ’s glory as the image of God is a powerful treasure. It is worth more than all other knowledge in the universe. Paul writes that God has stored this priceless treasure in fragile, vulnerable clay jars, meaning himself and his friends. It’s only by God’s power in them that they have not already been shattered by their suffering. Paul writes that they have been afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down—but they have not been crushed, driven to despair, abandoned, or destroyed. They carry in themselves Christ’s death in the sense that they suffer as He did and for His sake, but they also carry Christ’s life as evidence that His power is at work in them (2 Corinthians 4:7–12).

Paul understands that the path he is on will eventually lead to his physical death. He won’t stop, though, won’t lose heart, because he also knows that the one who raised Christ from the dead will raise him up, as well. In the end, he will find himself with Christ sharing God’s glory forever. For now, he will continue to contribute to expanding God’s glory by leading all those who receive God’s grace through faith in Jesus to give God more and more thanks (2 Corinthians 4:13–15).

Paul knows this path, this work of carrying the gospel, is killing him physically. He is wasting away on the outside. He refuses to quit, though, because inwardly he is being made new every day. No matter how hard the circumstances of this life are, the glory of eternity far outweighs and outlasts anything that can happen to us now. Paul’s confidence is in unseen things that will never end, not in the visible things of this life that will quickly be gone (2 Corinthians 4:16–18).

Chapter Context
Second Corinthians 4 follows Paul’s teaching in the previous chapter about the transformation that happens for those who see God’s glory in Christ. Some are blinded to it by sin and by the god of this world. Paul knows that he and his co-workers are fragile containers for the priceless message of God’s grace through faith in Jesus. They won’t quit, though, because God sustains them and will eventually resurrect them. Once in eternity, all the suffering in this life won’t be worth comparing with sharing God’s glory forever. Chapter 5 expands on the idea that believers in Christ look forward to something much better than this life.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

In the previous chapter, Paul described the remarkable covenant God has made with those who come to Him through faith in Christ. This new covenant allows human beings to see the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Without Christ, a veil remains between the sin-hardened minds of humans and the ability to see God’s glory. Those forgiven for their sin by God’s grace, though, are freed from this veil by God’s Spirit. As a result, they can look at God’s glory with “unveiled faces” and begin to be transformed into the image of Christ as His glory becomes theirs (2 Corinthians 3:17–18).

Paul now returns to defending his ministry to the Corinthians and others. His role is to carry the message of the new covenant to people around the world. Paul insists that he and his co-workers have this ministry, this purpose, by God’s mercy. He admits he does not deserve, on his own merits, to carry something as precious and valuable as the gospel of Jesus. God has given Paul this job out of His great mercy.

That’s why Paul says that he and his friends do not lose heart. In this context, this means they refuse to quit. They may become “tired in” what they do, but not “tired of” it. They refuse to allow obstacles between them and their mission to discourage them to the point of despair. Despite the difficulties that come with their work, they keep going because God has entrusted it to them. In the following verse, Paul adds that they refuse, also, to cut corners or act without integrity.

Context Summary
Second Corinthians 4:1–6 begins with Paul’s insistence that he would never act in disgraceful or deceptive ways. He and his co-workers present the truth of God’s Word openly. They invite others to openly evaluate their conduct before God. Some will not be able to believe their true teaching about Christ, though, since they are blinded by Satan from seeing the light of God’s glory in Christ. God has shone that light into the hearts of Paul and his friends, and they bring the light of knowing God’s glory through Christ to the world.

Verse 2. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God ‘s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone ‘s conscience in the sight of God.

Paul’s bottom line about his ministry is this: What you see is what you get. He and his friends understand their purpose, given by God, to carry the gospel of faith in Christ to the world. They refuse to give up even when things get difficult (2 Corinthians 4:1), and they refuse to cut corners to make the work easier.

It seems there were accusations Paul was being false about some things. Perhaps he was accused even of being a false apostle. He declares his innocence in this verse. He and his co-workers have flatly refused to ever use disgraceful or deceptive means to achieve anything. They are resolved to never be sneaky in any way or about anything. They certainly would never tamper with God’s Word by watering it down or manipulating it for their own advantage or by adding to it. They understand their work to be given to them by God, and they know they are responsible to Him to get it right.

That’s why Paul now says confidently, everyone is welcome to look at how they conduct themselves and what they say. Critics can see for themselves if the apostle and his friends are being truthful. They speak openly, in full view of all, and all are welcome to search in God’s sight to see if they can find any hidden thing going on with Paul and his co-workers. Paul is confident that nobody will, because he has nothing to hide from anyone.

Verse 3. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

This passage deals with apparent allegations from some among the Corinthians that Paul has been false in some way. They may have suggested he has some hidden agenda. Or, that he and his friends have not been completely honest. Paul has declared in the previous verse that the opposite is true. They present the message of the gospel to everyone with openness and honestly. They are committed to never deceiving anyone or manipulating God’s Word. They invite everyone who evaluates them, before God, to see if they can find any falsehood in them, at all.

In this verse, Paul adds an important clarification. There is a difference between being deceptive about the gospel of Jesus Christ and being misunderstood. He will more clearly describe in the next verse that unbelievers are simply unable to see the glory of God. Their minds are hardened by sin. A veil of misunderstanding separates them from God’s glory. That veil can only be removed through Christ by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Those who are perishing are the ones who have not come to God by faith in Christ. They remain hardened in their sin, unforgiven by God. Their current destiny is eternal death and separation from God. They are truly dying and unable to understand even the clearest teaching about God’s glory, as Paul further describes in the following verse.

This verse is often cited by those pleading for believers to present the gospel in an upright and unobstructed way. Taken out of context, it seems to be a plea to be more ethical and clear in explaining truths about salvation. That point is not unreasonable; in fact, the points Paul makes here are tied to the need for simplicity, transparency, and honesty. Strictly speaking, though, the “veiling” referred to here is something caused by unbelievers’ hard hearts, not our own failures.

Verse 4. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The truth of the gospel—the “good news” about Jesus—is veiled from those who are perishing. This was Paul’s comment in the previous verse (2 Corinthians 4:3). In the previous chapter, Paul wrote about a veil that keeps those hardened by sin from being able to see God’s glory. This glory is revealed to humanity in Christ, but the veil is only removed from those who turn to the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:16). Then they can see God’s glory. Those who resist will be made unable to see the truth, at all.

After insisting that he and his co-workers openly and clearly teach the gospel, Paul has repeated that this does not mean everyone understands his teaching. The truth obscured from those currently destined for eternal death apart from God. They are perishing because they do not understand the truth, and they cannot understand it, because they refuse to.

Now Paul shows that someone is at work to keep those who are perishing from coming to Christ. There is an actual person making an effort, behind the scenes, to keep people from being freed from this lack of understanding. Paul refers to this entity as “the god of this world.” Paul is describing the work of Satan on earth (Ephesians 2:2). The Devil actively participates in blinding the minds of those who don’t believe in Jesus, to keep them from coming to faith in Christ. His purpose is to keep them from seeing the light.

Paul describes truth as the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Christ is literally God’s revelation of Himself to humanity (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:3). God means for humans to know Him by knowing Christ. Only those who come to Him through faith in Christ can see God’s glory. Those who see it begin to be transformed to become more and more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

So Paul has now identified two sources of spiritual blindness: sin inside of unbelievers and the work of Satan to keep them spiritually blind.

Verse 5. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus ‘ sake.

In this chapter, and the letter at large, Paul is both teaching the gospel and defending himself from false accusations. It seems some criticized his relationship and ministry with the Corinthians. After describing the spiritual blindness to the gospel of those who do not trust in Christ, Paul returns to making the case that he and his friends have not been false or deceptive in any way. Instead, they’ve been entirely focused on pointing others towards Jesus, and their need for salvation.

Paul’s objection to the accusations is that he has not been preaching for anyone to trust in him or his friends. He has only ever proclaimed that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is only inviting those who hear to put their faith in Christ—not Paul, or any other person (1 Corinthians 1:10–17). On the contrary, he and his friends have declared themselves to be servants of the Corinthians for the sake of Jesus. That is the opposite of self-promotion.

Verse 6. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Paul has been defending himself from allegations of practicing falseness with the Corinthians. Some may have even accused him of being manipulative or a false apostle. To counter these arguments, Paul has emphasized his sole mission: to deliver the true gospel of Jesus and to proclaim that Christ is Lord. Paul insists that he and his friends see themselves as mere servants to the Corinthians for Christ’s sake. In his first letter to this church, Paul gave numerous indications that he was not interested in personal gain or fame (1 Corinthians 1:10–17; 9:12–16).

The statement made in this verse not only summarizes the message Paul preaches, it phrases the gospel in universal terms. Paul’s words here are chosen carefully, and appeal to the specific interests of those who would read or hear them. This begins by quoting God as saying, “Let light shine out of darkness.” Only the light of the gospel can penetrate the darkness of unbelief in Jesus. That was Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus when a literal “light from heaven” shone around him and the voice of the Lord spoke to him. That’s when God shone the light into Paul’s heart, and it was the light Paul showed to all who would listen to the gospel of salvation from sin through faith in Jesus.

Paul describes the gospel as the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In the previous chapter, Paul discussed God’s glory reflected in the face of Moses. As a reflection, that glory began to fade as soon as Moses left the presence of the Lord. The glory shining from the face of Christ, though, never fades. He is the source of the light. To see and know His glory is to share in God’s glory for eternity. “Light” is a common theme in the Bible. This was the metaphor used by the Hebrew thinkers to represent everything good and valuable. It’s especially tied to the idea of knowledge and guidance, since the people of Israel were uniquely gifted with a revelation from God (Exodus 20:1–20).

Every culture has a “theme” such as this: an idea summarizing what the culture truly values. The United States, for example, tends to use “freedom” this way. In Paul’s era, the Hebrews valued “light.” Greeks valued “knowledge,” as the culture of philosophy. Roman culture prized “glory,” being the empire that conquered the known world. Paul’s statement here incorporates all of these: light, knowledge, and glory. In a sense, this implies that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of anything and everything we could ever want. He is “the” Truth we all seek, even we’re blinded to our need by sin.

Paul also adds a detail which is crucial to the gospel: the idea of God giving mankind a person, rather than an idea, as our salvation. The light, knowledge, and glory are reflected “in the face” of Christ. Rather than man being assigned virtues, or work, God intended us to seek a relationship with His Son.

Verse 7. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

What is the treasure Paul describes in this verse? From the previous verse, we know that it is the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Paul described God as shining His light into Paul’s heart, penetrating the darkness of Paul’s unbelief and revealing His glory to Paul through faith in Christ. Paul finally saw with spiritual eyes what he had never seen in all of his years of religious practice. In fact, Paul’s phrasing in the prior verse incorporates the values of many different cultures—light, knowledge, and glory—and expresses them in the form of a person which is Jesus Christ.

To know God in this way, to see God’s glory and to be given the opportunity to share in that glory forever, is the greatest of all treasures. Paul writes now that this great treasure is not kept under lock and key in a museum or a bank vault. Instead, God keeps this treasure of the light of His glory in Christ in fragile jars of clay. Clay jars were included in nearly every aspect of life in Paul’s day. They were efficient containers, but also prone to breaking easily. Modern people tend to think of glass jars as “fragile,” but glass was considered an improvement over clay.

The point being made is that God has deliberately chosen something fragile and unimpressive. Why would God keep this great treasure in such vulnerable containers? Paul says God wants to show that the power of His glory is from Him. He leaves no room to suggest that power comes from Paul or any other human being. The power of the gospel is so overwhelming that it is not limited by the quality of its container. God displays His limitless power and glory by distributing it through limited and common human vessels.

This follows Paul’s point in verse 5 that he has not come to proclaim himself as something special. He has come to proclaim Christ as Lord, with himself merely a servant to the Corinthians for Christ’s sake.

Context Summary
Second Corinthians 4:7–18 explains that the priceless treasure of knowing God’s glory through faith in Christ is kept in the fragile containers of human beings. In this case, this refers to Paul and his co-workers who preach the gospel. Their suffering is enormous, but God keeps them from being wiped out. They don’t quit because even after they die, they know they will be resurrected, as Christ was. Then they will spend eternity with Him in a glory that will far outweigh and outlast the comparatively lightweight and momentary suffering of this life.

Verse 8. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

Paul has described the knowledge of God’s glory revealed in Christ as a treasure and a light (2 Corinthians 4:6–7). God has shone this light into his heart and given him the mission of carrying this the gospel to the world.

However, Paul has said that the vessels for carrying this treasure, himself and his co-workers, are fragile clay jars. By this, Paul meant that he and his friends face many hardships in their ministry and their own power is limited. It is only the power of God that keeps them going.

Now Paul begins to describe their hardships. They are afflicted or hard-pressed in every way. Paul began this letter by describing an episode of great trauma, in which he and his team were sure they would die. They were ultimately delivered by God’s power through the prayers of others. God’s power is the reason that being hard-pressed has not caused them to be crushed. It’s also the reason that being perplexed or “despairing” has not resulted in their being “in despair” or “totally despairing.”

Some of Paul’s accusers in Corinth may have been saying that an apostle who was truly connected to God should not experience so much suffering. That same false assumption persists today, in prosperity preachers and others who claim that faith alone can remove any hardships one might face. Paul shows that is simply not true. Those sent out by God may experience great suffering, but by God’s power are not completely defeated. In other words, God allows them to be afflicted and to despair, but He always provides a way through, a way to keep going. This powerful use of weak vessels is all for His greater glory.

Verse 9. persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

This passage describes exactly how fragile Paul and his co-workers really are. They carry the most valuable treasure in the universe: the knowledge of access to God’s glory through faith in Christ. And yet, they carry it in the fragile containers of their own lives. This is not an accident, by any means. This is a deliberate choice by God to prove the inherent power of the truth.

God allows them to suffer along the way, but he keeps them from ever fully being destroyed. Now Paul adds that he and his co-workers are persecuted. In other words, they are targeted by the enemies of Christ to be mistreated. This has included the Jewish religious leaders, pagan mobs, and Roman authorities. However, Paul insists, that even in their most severe persecution, God has never forsaken them. God has always been with them through the worst, keeping them from being crushed or totally despairing.

Paul adds that they have even been struck down under persecution. Paul had on at least one occasion been left for dead. He escaped, though (Acts 14:19–20). God had not yet allowed this servant of His to be destroyed; his work was not done. So Paul continues the mission to carry the treasure of the gospel to all who will receive it, as the following verses make clear.

Verse 10. always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Scripture explains clearly that those who carry the gospel are just fragile vessels that contain a powerful truth. As in Paul’s case, it is God’s power, not their own, that keeps them going in the mission to take the gospel to the world.

They have been afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, but they have never been crushed, in total despair, abandoned, or destroyed. They continue to carry the gospel to all who will hear. God allowed their physical bodies to continue to reflect the death of Jesus in His physical, earthly body that was crushed to pay for the sin of humanity. However, the bodies of Paul and his co-workers had been spared from being crushed (2 Corinthians 4:8) to show the life and power of Jesus in them, as well.

Paul’s main point is that he and his friends did not proclaim themselves or carry the message in their own power. They proclaimed Christ in their weakness and suffering to show His power in and through them.

Verse 11. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus ‘ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Paul restates here something similar to what he wrote in the previous verse. Believers, especially those who carry the gospel of Jesus to others as Paul and his co-workers did, exist in a kind of truthful paradox. On the one hand, they are fragile human beings always existing on the edge of death, targeted for death by those opposed to the gospel. On the other hand, the fact that they keep going, that they refuse to lose hope (2 Corinthians 4:1), is powerful, physical evidence that Christ is alive and at work in the world today.

Some in Corinth seem to have pointed to Paul’s suffering as evidence that he must not have been much of an apostle. After all, wouldn’t God intervene to spare a close servant of His from all that pain? This is a common assumption in many false religions: that the true servants of a god are protected from any harm. Even today, this lie persists in those who claim that any Christian who suffers does so because they lack faith.

Paul has said the opposite is true. God has put his body on display for the world to see two things: First, look how weak and close to death he is for the sake of Christ. Second, look how powerful Christ must be to keep a weak body like that going and delivering the gospel to more and more people.

Verse 12. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

This summarizes what Paul has written in the previous verses. Death is at work in him and his co-workers for the gospel of Jesus. For Christ’s sake, they are regularly afflicted, persecuted, perplexed, and struck down. They live on the verge of death in fragile human bodies. On the other hand, God has kept them, against serious opposition, from being crushed, from total despair, from being abandoned, and from being destroyed. The fact that they keep going is evidence that God’s power is working through them and not their own.

Some among the Corinthians have accused Paul of being a false apostle because he experiences so much suffering. His response is that the life of Christ is at work in the Corinthians exactly because he has been willing to keep going through that suffering, enabled by the power of God. The implication is that instead of challenging his credentials, the Corinthians should be grateful to God for what Paul has endured to bring them life through the gospel of Jesus.

Verse 13. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,

Paul has just described how deeply he and his friends have suffered as messengers of the gospel. This proclamation is the good news that all who trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sin can be included in God’s glory forever. He has also made clear that, by God’s power, they have endured this suffering without being finally or fully defeated. God’s choice to use fragile, limited people to proclaim a powerful message is part of His glory.

Now Paul quotes from Psalm 116. This connects the psalmist’s declaration of faith that God has delivered his soul from death. Specifically, Paul quotes from Psalm 116:10, saying “I believed, and so I spoke.” He and his co-workers for the gospel of Jesus also believe and also continue to speak of their faith in Christ in spite of their suffering. In the following verse, Paul points to his own future resurrection from the dead as the motivation behind his faith and ongoing proclamation of the gospel.

Verse 14. knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

Great suffering and persecution were part of Paul’s life as a missionary of the gospel. He and his friends endured those hardships for their faith in Christ and their preaching about the truth. Paul has also described how God’s great power has kept them from ever being fully crushed or defeated. His suffering has not stopped him from continuing to preach the gospel. In the previous verse, he said that he shared the same faith as the writer of Psalm 116, who wrote that he believed and so he spoke.

Paul now points to his confidence in his own future resurrection as the reason for his boldness to continue preaching about Jesus in the face of so much suffering. Paul is convinced that just as Christ was raised from the dead after the crucifixion, he and his friends would also be raised back to life and into Christ’s presence even if they should die for proclaiming Christ to the world.

Resurrection from the dead for all believers was central to Paul’s faith. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, in essence, that Christianity without resurrection was pointless. The truth of the resurrection, however, makes anything we suffer in this life worthwhile. The fact that Christians will be raised from the dead gave Paul confidence to keep facing danger and pain. It gave him motivation to keep telling more and more people about God’s grace through faith in Jesus.

Verse 15. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth again of one of his primary motivations for continuing to endure so much suffering. He tolerates great hardship in order to shine the light of Christ to more and more people. In short, he does it for their sake and, presumably, for the sake of others like them.

Some in Corinth may have questioned why Paul suffered so much if he was truly an apostle of Jesus and a servant of God. Shouldn’t God prevent his trusted servant from experiencing so much pain? Paul’s reply has been that God does not spare his servants from suffering, but that God provides for them through their suffering. More, God will raise them from the dead if their suffering should lead to that. Despite what many people think, faithfulness to God does not protect a person from all earthly difficulty.

Now Paul declares that this service to the Corinthians is worth it, in part, because as more people believe in Jesus, more people will receive God’s grace. The more people who receive God’s grace, the more people who will give thanks to God. More and more glory will be brought to God. Paul is willing to endure anything, enabled by God’s power, to achieve this outcome.

Verse 16. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

A main point of this passage is that God uses fragile vessels to carry his powerful truth. Paul, for his part, never pretended to be Superman. He was merely human. All the suffering he experienced truly hurt him. It left scars. He was discouraged at times. For those looking from the outside, he must really have seemed to be wasting away. Perhaps some wondered—and some in Corinth might even have said—”Why are you doing this to yourself? Haven’t you done enough? Why not take some time to focus on yourself?”

Paul, though, insists that he is not going to give up. He refuses to lose heart, meaning that he will not give in to the temptation to live in despair. He wants his readers to know that his outward appearance is deceiving. Yes, he is physically wasting away because of his suffering for preaching about Jesus. Inwardly, though, he is being made as good as new every day. He is strong and determined and more convinced than ever of his purpose to carry the light of the gospel to the world.

Verse 17. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

Paul’s suffering for the sake of his mission for Christ was not easy by any human standard. In chapter 1 of this letter, he described a recent incident that left him and his friends “so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8). In other words, he felt the impact of his suffering. His experiences were not trivial—they were brutal.

Now, Paul wants his readers to see that, by comparison, the very worst suffering experienced on earth is only a “light and momentary affliction” when compared with the glory of the eternity with God that is to come. The comparison he makes is one of magnitude and time. Weighed on a scale, any suffering in this life is far outweighed by the glory of the life to come. Measured in time, the suffering here happens in an instant and is replaced by glory forever. Because he knows this to be true, Paul refuses to lose heart, to give up, even when the suffering in this life feels unbearable (Hebrews 11:14–16).

Paul does more than just compare his suffering to the glory to come. He also describes it as preparation. His suffering here is not meaningless; it serves a purpose. It is getting him ready to experience the far “heavier” glory of eternity. He put it this way in Romans 5:3–4, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” The hope of glory is what keeps Paul from losing hope as he continues to carry out the difficult mission of carrying the light of Jesus to the world.

Verse 18. as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Paul is describing the reason for his refusal to lose heart in the face of suffering for his faith in Christ. He wrote in the previous verse that his current suffering, though nearly unbearable at times (2 Corinthians 1:8), can’t even be compared to the far weightier glory of eternity.

Now he adds that this perspective requires a focus on what cannot be seen in this life, meaning the spiritual world. The things that are visible to humans in this life are here for just a moment and then gone. Paul describes them as transient. This is true in two senses. Obviously, anything that exists in this world lasts a very short time in comparison with those things that last forever. Secondly, though, human lives are far shorter, yet, than human history. What is visible to us will come and go very quickly.

The invisible God, though, is “eternal,” meaning “outside of time.” Whatever exists with Him in the spiritual world will never end. Paul is able to keep his focus on the glories of eternity by keeping his inner focus on what is eternal. This allows him to endure suffering in this life that is “light” and “short” in comparison to the glories and pleasures of eternity to come (Hebrews 11:14–16).

Paul commanded believers to exercise the same focus in Colossians 3:1–4, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (NIV)”

End of Chapter4.

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