2 Coríntios 3

2 Coríntios 3:1-4

Lenski - It is the sure confidence which Paul and his assistants have in their office and thus in the genuineness of its product. It comes to us, and we have it, Paul says, “through Christ.” He mediates this confidence; he is the channel through which it flows into them. Paul does not as yet name the source; this follows in v. 5. “Through Christ” connects with v. 3: “You are Christ’s letter,” one which he has written so that all men may see us, our office, and our work. This confidence through Christ is “in regard to God,” (TOWARD) πρός, the face-to-face preposition especially when it is used with persons: “when we face God, and he us.” Many are confident enough in themselves and boldly assert their confidence in order to quash any doubts which men may have regarding their sufficiency. They often do this even when they are facing God, calling him to witness, claiming that they speak “as from God” (2:17), but the work which they do cries out against them. For this reason v. 1–3 precedes, the Corinthian church was a letter that had been signed, as it were, by Christ himself. Πρὸς τὸν Θεόν is easily said, but woe to him who says it lightly, in false self-assurance! It will not remain a mere word, such men will soon enough stand face to face with God, and Christ will disown them, and God’s judgment will be against them. (Interpretation of Second Corinthians) James Denney links this confidence with the end of the previous chapter (see notes) writing - THE confidence referred to in the opening of this passage is that which underlies the triumphant Sentences at the end of the second chapter. The tone of those sentences was open to misinterpretation, and Paul guards himself against this on two sides. To begin with, his motive in so expressing himself was quite pure: he had no thought of commending himself to the Corinthians. And, again, the ground of his confidence was not in himself. The courage which he had to speak as he did he had through Jesus Christ, and that, too, in relation to God. It was virtually confidence in God, and therefore inspired by God. It is this last aspect of his confidence which is expanded in the fifth verse: “not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God.” (2 Corinthians 3 Commentary) Ray Stedman agrees with Denney writing that Paul is led "to go on and answer the question he had asked in Chapter 2 (Ed: see preceding notes). Christ, he said there, leads us in triumph. He saw himself as the commanding general, marching in triumph through the streets of Rome, having won great victories everywhere he went. In another beautiful figure of speech, he said that his ministry was like a bottle of perfume, the fragrance of which was spreading all through the world -- the sweetness and fragrance of Jesus Christ himself. So Paul's question was,"Who is sufficient for these things?"Where do you get the ability to have that kind of impact upon those around you? Do you get it from a school? Is it a special course that you can take? Is it a seminar you can sign up for?" Now he comes to the answer, 2Co 3:4 "Such is the confidence [that is, the sufficiency] that we have through Christ toward God." (2 Corinthians 3 Commentary) Henry Alford - The connection with the foregoing is immediate: he had just spoken of his consciousness of apostolic success among them (which assertion would be true also of other churches which he had founded) being his worldwide recommendation. It is this confidence of which he here speaks. Such confidence however we possess through Christ towards God: i.e. ‘it is no vain boast, but rests on power imparted to us through Christ in regard to God, in reference to God’s work and our own account to be given to Him:’ (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 Commentary) Confidence (4006) (pepoithesis from peitho = to persuade) describes the quality or state of being certain. It describes Paul's assurance of mind and his firm belief in the integrity, stability and veracity of God. Paul expressed a reliance on God, the idea of reliance being an expression of confidence or trust based on experience, which provides the perfect segue (seg-way - to move on to another topic without interruption) for Paul to explain his adequacy for ministry. Pepoithesis - 6v in NT - 2 Co. 1:15; 2 Co. 3:4; 2 Co. 8:22; 2 Co. 10:2; Eph. 3:12; Phil. 3:4 Paul expresses his boldness a second time in this chapter (2Co 3:12+) in view of his "hope" regarding the permanent glory of the New Covenant. Bernard explains such confidence as saying in essence “we are sufficient for these things” (see 2Co 2:16, 17+); but he hastens to explain the true source of his confidence. (Expositor's Greek Testament) Murray Harris explains it this way - Paul’s confidence before God in claiming that the Corinthians were a letter written by Christ validating his apostolic credentials came through Christ. It was not the product of a pious wish or imagination. Still speaking of this confidence before God, he disowns any ability to form a competent judgment on the results of his own ministry or any personal right to lay claim to the results of what was in reality God’s work. His qualification and source of competence for the work of the ministry, including the assessment of its success, were not natural ability or personal initiative but divine enabling (Ed: As he goes on to explain in 2Co 3:5,6-note) (Expositor's Bible Commentary).