2 Coríntios 4
John Piper · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 4:3-4
Piper - go to page 54 in the Pdf and read chapter 4) Minds (3540) (noema from noéo = perceive in turn from noús = mind) is literally the result of the activity of the "nous" or mind, that part of man which thinks. Noema means that which is thought (a thought), perceived with the mind (a mental perception), understood, pondered, or considered. The basic idea of noema is what results from directing one’s mind (nous) to a subject. BDAG divides noema into two main categories (1) That which one has in mind as product of intellectual process = thought, design, purpose, intention. (20 The faculty of processing thought = the mind or the understanding. Noema - 6x in 6v in NAS - 2Co. 2:11; 2Co 3:14; 4:4; 10:5; 11:3; Phil. 4:7. NAS renders - minds(4), schemes(1), thought(1). Don't miss an important point in this passage - While Satan clearly works men's hearts (Ac 5:3 - and some might equate "mind" in this passage with "heart"), the primary "battlefield" in our spiritual war (Ep 6:12-+) is our mind. And the spiritual war is not a power struggle but a truth struggle. Paul uses noema with a negative connotation in his description of our Adversary writing that "in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes (his devices or designs = noema). (2Corinthians 2:11+) John
2 Coríntios 4:3-4
Piper writes that "This is one of the most remarkable descriptions of the Gospel in the whole Bible. There is nothing else quite like it. It defines the Gospel as “the Gospel of the glory of Christ.” And it says that this Gospel of Christ’s glory emits, as it were, a “light”—“the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ.” And it says that Satan does not want us to “see” this light. Seeing “the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ” is what liberates people from his power. (I highly recommend that you take time to read chapter 4 of Dr Piper's online book God Is the Gospel- go to page 54 in the Pdf to begin Chapter 4) Barclay gives a straightforward rendering the Gospel is "the good news which tells of the glory of Christ in Whom we can see God." (2 Corinthians 4 Commentary) Ray
2 Coríntios 4:5-6
Piper wrote the following hymn (The Worshiping Church- A Hymnal - Hope Publishing Company) that relates to our text... “Let there be light!” thus spoke the Lord; thus we were made and thus restored. Christ’s conquering Word created all; our shining hope: his sovereign call. A Lantern Lit By Christ - I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness. —John 8:12 - In Benjamin Franklin’s day the streets of Philadelphia were dark after sunset. Nighttime pedestrians had to walk cautiously to avoid rocks and holes. Franklin decided to set a good example for his fellow citizens by placing a lantern outside his home. As people stumbled down his street at night, they would come to that oasis of light and realize what a blessing it was. Soon other Philadelphians were putting up their own lanterns. After sunset the whole village became a place of illuminated safety. The world around us is dark with spiritual ignorance. For multitudes of people, the aimlessness of their existence leads to unspoken despair. We can’t single-handedly drive back the darkness everywhere, but we can do something significant. We can let our redeemed, Christ-ignited lives serve as lanterns of light. Our Savior commands us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:16+). We've a Savior to show to the nations, Who the path of sorrow has trod, That all of the world's great peoples Might come to the truth of God. —Nichol The smallest light still shines in the darkest night. TO GIVE (for) THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF CHRIST: pros photismon tes gnoseos tes doxes tou theou en prosopo [Iesou] Christou: To give light: 2Co 4:4 3:18 Ex 33:18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 34:5, 6, 7 Ps 63:2 90:16 Is 6:1, 2, 3 35:2 40:5 Is 60:2 Jn 11:40 Ac 7:55,56 1Pe 2:9 in the: Lk 10:22 Jn 1:14 12:41 14:9,10 Php 2:6 Col 1:15 Heb 1:3 1Pe 1:12 2 Corinthians 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE FACE OF CHRIST REVEALS THE GLORY OF GOD "Behold Your God" Isaiah 40:9KJV Matthew
2 Coríntios 4:5-6
Piper writes that "The Gospel is the light of the glory of Christ Who is the image of God. It is the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. This is what makes the Gospel good news. If the glory of God in Christ were not given to us in the Gospel for our everlasting seeing and savoring, the Gospel would not be good news. The emphasis could not be clearer in these verses. In wakening our souls to see and savor the glory of the gospel, Paul emphasizes above all things in these verses that the Gospel gives the glory of God for us to see and enjoy forever. And let us not fail to see the Sun at broad day. We are talking about glory—radiance, effulgence, brightness. Glory is the outshining of whatever is glorious. The glory of God is the beautiful brightness of God. There is no greater brightness. Nothing in the universe, nor in the imagination of any man or angel, is brighter than the brightness of God. This makes the blindness of 2 Corinthians 4:4 (notes) shocking in its effect.
2 Coríntios 4:7-9
Piper writes "The third reason you should use your gift (Click to read other reasons) for the good of others and the glory of God is that your ordinariness is no reason not to. Too many people say, "I'm so ordinary, so average and undistinguished. I can't do anything significant." 2Corinthians 4:7 shows that this argument is wrong and why. It says, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels (or clay pots!) to show us that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." God's concept of ministry is so different from the world's concept. The world stresses the classy container, not the glory of God in human weakness. If there is one thing that we are coming to learn together in this church, it is that God's purpose to get the glory in all things determines how we do all things. Here God's purpose is to make sure that we see that the surpassing power belongs to Him and not to us. How does He do it? He puts the treasure of His gifts and His gospel in clay pots like you and me. Your ordinariness is not a liability; it is an asset, if you really want God to get the glory. No one is too common, too weak, too shy, too inarticulate, too disabled to do what God wants you to do with your gift. (Calling All Clay Pots) Jars of clay (such jars could be easily purchased in Corinth and cheaply replaced if broken) was a well known ancient figure of speech descriptive of human weakness. The weakness of Christ's bondservants serves to magnify His power. The fragile nature of the clay pots which God chooses to use as His instruments also introduces the following passages that recount Paul's sufferings in the power of Christ. The more common, mundane and humble the vessel, the more glorious the precious treasure appears! Hudson Taylor said "All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on Him being with them."
2 Coríntios 4:13-15
Piper asks "How can we not be thankful when we owe everything to God? (A Godward Life [Sample] Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life - Desiring) ONE SURE MARK OF GRACE: GIVING OF THANKS ABOUNDING TO THE GLORY OF GOD Cause… to abound (4052)(perisseuo from perissos = abundant, exceeding some number, measure, rank or need, over and above) means to cause to superabound, to be superfluous, to overflow, to be in affluence (an abundant flow or supply), to excel. Perisseuo carries the idea of exceeding the requirements, exceeding a fixed measure, to be extremely rich or abundant. The idea is to overflow like a river out of its banks! It is not surprising that the Psalms link thanksgiving with giving glory to God… I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Thy Name forever. Psalm 86:12 (cp Ps 106:47) THOUGHT - Is the giving of thanks abounding in your life and from your lips beloved? If so, you can be sure that the grace of God is spreading throughout your inner man, permeating every crevice of your soul, exposing every hidden fault (cp Ps 19:12, 13-+). Oh, for the grace empowered giving of thanks to abound from the lips of all God's children so that all who are lost in darkness would see "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (the living, life giving Gospel) as His children let their grateful, grace filled lights shine before men! (Mt 5:16-+) John
2 Coríntios 4:17
Piper writes of Paul, “When he is hurting, he fixes his eyes not on how heavy the hurt is, but on how heavy the glory will be because of the hurt.”i The puritan, Thomas Watson, reminds us, 'Affliction may be lasting, but it is not everlasting'. The reality is, however, when we are suffering it seems like forever. I do not wish to minimize the challenges one faces with an unrelenting illness or a broken relationship. My goal today is not to minimize suffering; my goal today is to magnify future glory. I do not want you to pretend that suffering is pleasant, rather, I want you to be able to say with Paul "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Paul's words in this verse are in a way an "answer" to Moses' prayer of Psalm 90:14, 15 in which Moses asks for joys to balance sorrows (afflictions)… O satisfy us in the morning with Thy lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days ("eternal weight of glory"). Make us glad according to the days Thou hast afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil ("momentary, light affliction"). Momentary (3910) (parautika) (adverb) is used only here in the NT and means for the moment, for a little while, temporary, transient (lasting or staying only a short time), ephemeral (implies striking brevity of life or duration). In some secular uses it means "immediately". Parautika pertains to a relatively short period of time, with emphasis upon the temporary nature of the event or state. Momentary means having a brief life, a great picture of afflictions, which are "short-lived" in comparison to eternal life! Oh, how we all need to "accentuate the positive!" I love Webster's thought on momentary as that which is "coming and going quickly and therefore being merely a brief interruption of a more enduring state." Amplified Version has "this slight distress of the passing hour." Indeed as James says our present life is "just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (Jas 4:14+) Try this little exercise -- Use each of the following synonyms of momentary to modify "light affliction" and read the entire verse. You will memorize this verse which will be good for you heart. Your mind will be renewed by the Word of Truth (Jn 8:31, 32, Deut 32:47, Lk 1:37ASV). Synonyms - brief, ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, flying, fugacious, impermanent, passing, quick, short, short-lived, temporary, transitory. Affliction never "feels" momentary and light but enduring and heavy and yet this is God's "verdict" on this subject. While I cannot explain it and it is not "mind over matter" nor "magical", I believe that allowing God's Word of Truth and Life to percolate through your being and to saturate your mind, will set you free to experience the truth of passages like James 1, so that you can indeed obey the command to… Consider (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4+) As you are transformed by this truth (2Co 3:18, Ro 12:2, Ep 4:23), the Holy Spirit supernaturally renews your mind so that begin to genuinely believe that God will not allow you to experience more that you can bear (1Co 10:13) and you come to understand that He is there with you to help bear the burden. (Jesus commands us to) Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt 11:28, 29, 30+) Blessed be Jehovah, Who daily ("day after day"; Lxx = "hemeran kath hemeran") bears our burden (or "bears us up" ESV), the God Who is our salvation (Heb = Yeshua ~ the essence of the Name = Jesus, the One Who saves = He moves us from distress to safety which necessitates deliverance). Selah. (Psalm 68:19) Spurgeon's comment: Our version contains a great and precious truth, though probably not the doctrine intended here. God's benefits are not few nor light, they are loads; neither are they intermittent, but they come "daily;" nor are they confined to one or two favorites, for all Israel can say, he loads us with benefits. Delitzsch reads it, "He daily bears our burden;" and Alexander, "Whoever lays a load upon us, the Mighty God is our salvation." If He Himself burdens us with sorrow, He gives strength sufficient to sustain it; and if others endeavour to oppress us, there is no cause for fear, for the Lord will come to the rescue of his people. Happy nation, to be subdued by a King whose yoke is easy, and who secures his people from all fear of foreign burdens which their foes might try to force upon them. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1Corinthians 10:13-+) Ezekiel Hopkins: Who daily bears our burden. Though some may have more than others, yet every one hath his burden, as much as he can carry. Every vessel cannot bear up with the like sail, and therefore God, to keep us from overturning (spiritually), puts on us only as much as will safely bring us to heaven, our desired port. Alexander