2 Coríntios 12
William Barclay · Citado em PreceptAustin
2 Coríntios 12:9
Barclay: And he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, for power is perfected in weakness." So it is with the greatest gladness that I boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may pitch its tent upon me. (Westminster Press) ESV: But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. KJV: And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. NET: But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. NIV: But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. NJB: but he has answered me, 'My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness.' It is, then, about my weaknesses that I am happiest of all to boast, NLT: Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. (NLT - Tyndale House)
2 Coríntios 12:9
Barclay has an interesting description of prayer writing that "Prayer is the ability to accept, and in accepting, to transform. It is not meant to bring deliverance from a situation; it is meant to bring the ability to accept it and transform it. C H
2 Coríntios 12:9
Barclay writes that God's grace is "sufficient for physical weariness. It made him able to go on. John Wesley preached 42,000 sermons. He averaged 4,500 miles a year. He rode 60 to 70 miles a day and preached three sermons a day on an average. When he was 83 he wrote in his diary, "I am a wonder to myself. I am never tired, either with preaching, writing, or traveling." That was the work of the all-sufficient grace.
2 Coríntios 12:9
Barclay writes that dunamis "can be used of any kind of extraordinary power. It can be used of the power of growth, of the powers of nature, of the power of a drug, of the power of a man's genius. It always has the meaning of an effective power which does things and which any man can recognize. (2 Corinthians 12 Commentary) Vance Havner emphasizes the importance of the necessity of a spirit of "power" in ministry writing that "We are seeing much today of service without the spirit. There is an appalling ignorance of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in our great church bodies. It is not what is done for God that counts, but rather what is done by Him, the work of His Spirit through our yielded wills. Programs, propaganda, pep, personnel, these are not enough. There must be power. God's work must be done by God's people God's way."...He adds "The Quakers got their name from the fact that they trembled under the power of the Spirit. At least their faith shook them! Too many of us today are shaky about what we believe but not shaken by what we believe."...Too many people assemble at God's house who don't really believe in the power of God. Having begun in the Spirit, we live in the flesh....Never has the church had more wire stretched with less power in it. "All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down." Sad to say, we seem not even to know that we have not the Spirit in power. If He ceased His work many church members would never know the difference. Like Samson, we wist not that He has departed, but we keep "shaking ourselves" in the prescribed calisthenics...Our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and only when we see them so and rend our garments can we be clad in His righteousness alone to stand faultless before the Throne. And not only that, but the believer who would live and work in the power of God must rend the garments of self‑sufficiency and tear up the vestments of the flesh if he is to go clothed in the Lord. God will not drop the mantle of His Spirit around the dirty raiment of our own goodness. We must rend our own clothes if we wear the garment of God....Walking in the Spirit is exactly what the name means: not taking a "step" or a "stand" to pose like statues on the rock of a Bible truth, but living day by day in the name of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. THE TRIPLE THREAT... THE TRIPLE TRIUMPH Vance Havner adds that in 2Cor 12:1-10... Paul tells of his trip to the third heaven, then drops from height to depth to tell of his thorn in the flesh. Then he rises to the glorious discovery that God's grace is sufficient for all the days. 1) There is the test of the marvelous when we rise to rare experiences. 2) There is the test of the mysterious when we descend to unexplainable trials, those thorns that God does not remove. 3) There is the test of the monotonous, the day-by-day, perhaps the hardest test of all. In the heights of the marvelous we may be sustained by the thrill and exaltation of it. In the depths of the mysterious we may be driven by desperation to meet God in our extremity. But in the monotonous, the run-of-the-mill experiences, our endurance may be most sorely tried. 4) The peril of the marvelous [is] that we may become boastful. 5) The peril of the mysterious [is] that we may become bewildered. 6) The peril of the monotonous [is] that we may become bored. Our Lord experienced all three and was tried in all points as we are (He 2:18). His grace is sufficient for all three. The Triple Threat may become in Him a Triple Triumph. (from Truth for Each Day. Fleming He Revell, 1962) May dwell in me - May tabernacle upon me. May rest upon me. "That the power of Christ may pitch a tent over me." It means that God's power may come down on me and rest in me. In the NT John describes Jesus, Who came down from heaven and tabernacled (skenoo) among His people (John 1:14, cp Re 7:15-note, Re 21:3-note). This picture is similar to that which describes God descending from heaven and dwelling in the tabernacle among the people of Israel Then the cloud covered the tent (Lxx = skene) of meeting, and the glory (Shekinah) of the LORD filled the tabernacle (Lxx = skene). (Ex 40:34). Comment: Here in 2Corinthians 12:9 Paul employs the same dramatic imagery teaching NT believers that the glorious Christ "pitches His tent" with His people in their weaknesses, not with the "rich and famous and powerful"! As
2 Coríntios 12:10
Barclay - Hubris was to the Greek the vice which supremely courted destruction at the hand of the gods. It has two main lines of thought in it. (i) It describes the spirit of the man who is so proud that he defies God. It is the insolent pride that goes before a fall. It is the forgetting that man is a creature. It is the spirit of the man who is so confident in his wealth, his power and his strength that he thinks that he can live life alone. (ii) It describes the man who is wantonly and sadistically cruel and insulting. Aristotle describes it as the spirit which harms and grieves someone else, not for the sake of revenge and not for any advantage that may be gained from it, but simply for the sheer pleasure of hurting. There are people who get pleasure from seeing someone wince at a cruel saying. There are people who take a devilish delight in inflicting mental and physical pain on others. That is hubris; it is the sadism which finds delight in hurting others simply for the sake of hurting them… hubris, wanton insolence, is the spirit which hurts someone in a cold, detached way, and then stands back to see the other person wince. It is hurting for hurting's sake, and it always involves deliberate humiliation of the person injured. (Daily Study Bible-online) There are only 3 NT uses of hubris… Acts 27:10+ and said to them, "Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be attended with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." Acts 27:21+ And when they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, "Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete, and incurred this damage and loss. 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. There are 45 uses of hubris in the Septuagint (LXX) - Lev 26:19; Esther 4:17; Job 15:26; 22:12; 35:12; 37:4; Pr 1:22; 8:13; 11:2; 13:10; 14:3, 10; 16:18; 19:10, 18; 21:4; 29:23; Isa 9:9; 10:33; 13:11; 16:6; 23:7, 9; 25:11; 28:1, 3; Jer 13:9f, 17; 48:29; 50:32; Ezek 7:5; 30:6, 18; 32:12; 33:28; Hos 5:5; 7:10; Amos 6:8; Mic 6:10; Nah 2:2; Zeph 2:10; 3:11; Zech 9:6; 10:11 John Piper defines insults this way…when people think of clever ways of making your faith or your lifestyle or your words look stupid or weird or inconsistent. When we were giving out “Finding Your Field of Dreams” at the dome, I heard one man say mockingly, “And the Lord said, Play ball.” And all his friends laughed. Hardships—circumstances forced upon you, reversals of fortune against your will. This could refer to any situation where you feel trapped. You didn’t plan it or think it would be this way. But there you are, and it’s hard. (Ibid) Distresses (318) (anagke {also transliterated as ananke} from ana = up, again, back, renewal, repetition, intensity, reversal + agkale = arm when bent) refers to any necessity or compulsion, outer or inner, brought on by a variety of circumstances. It can mean necessity imposed either by external conditions or by the law of duty. The other meaning is the idea of trouble, distress or hardship and this is the predominant sense in Luke 21:23; 1Co 7:26; 2Co 6:4; 2Co 12:10. In 1Th 3:7 Paul uses anagke to describe difficult circumstances that come on one with compelling force. Anagke usually refers to outward calamities or distresses. Anagke - 17x in 17 verses - Matt 18:7; Luke 14:18; 21:23; Rom 13:5; 1 Cor 7:26, 37; 9:16; 2 Cor 6:4; 9:7; 12:10; 1Th 3:7; Philemon 1:14; Heb 7:12, 27; 9:16, 23; Jude 1:3. The NAS renders anagke as by compulsion(1), compulsion(2), constraint(1), distress(3), distresses(1), hardships(1),inevitable(1), it is necessary(1), it was necessary(1), necessity(1), need(2), obliged*(1), of necessity(2). Piper defines distresses (hardships) as… circumstances forced upon you, reversals of fortune against your will. This could refer to any situation where you feel trapped. You didn’t plan it or think it would be this way. But there you are, and it’s hard. (Ibid) Let me but hear my Savior say, “Strength shall be equal to thy day,” Then I rejoice in deep distress, Leaning on all-sufficient grace. I glory in infirmity, That Christ’s own power may rest on me: When I am weak, then am I strong, Grace is my shield, and Christ my song. I can do all things, or can bear All suff’rings, if my Lord be there; Sweet pleasures mingle with the pains, While his left hand my head sustains. But if the Lord be once withdrawn, And we attempt the work alone, When new temptations spring and rise, We find how great our weakness is. So Samson, when his hair was lost, Met the Philistines to his cost; Shook his vain limbs with sad surprise, Made feeble fight, and lost his eyes. --Isaac Watts Persecutions (1375) (diogmos from dioko = to follow, persecute, pursue, put to flight) literally describes pursuit, a chase or a putting to flight and thus conveys ideas such as harassment, oppression, persecution. It can be a program or process designed to harass and oppress someone. It can be a program which is systematically organized to oppress and harass others. Diogmos is often used of used of hunters tracking their prey! Some have commented that Paul may have in mind the Judaizers who dog his trail. There are 10 uses in 9 verse (in Lxx only in Pr 11:19, Lam 3:19)… Matthew 13:21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. Mark 4:17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. Mark 10:30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. Acts 8:1 And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Acts 13:50 But the Jews aroused the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. Romans 8:35-note Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Thessalonians 1:4 therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. 2 Timothy 3:11-note persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me! Comment: Because of their refusal to compromise their proclamation of the gospel, Paul often had been put to flight as fugitive from the persecutions of both Jewish and Gentile unbelievers. Piper defines persecutions as… wounds or abuses or painful circumstances or acts of prejudice or exploitation from people because of your Christian faith or your Christian moral commitments. It’s when you are not treated fairly. You get a raw deal. (Ibid) An anonymous author wrote the following poem which describes the Master Weaver's plan which includes weaknesses… insults … distresses … persecutions … difficulties… all calculated to make us more like His Son… My life is but a weaving, between my Lord and me; I cannot choose the colours. He worketh steadily. Oft times He weaveth sorrow and I in foolish pride, Forget He sees the upper and I the under side. Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly, Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why, The dark threads are as needful in the Weaver’s skillful hand, As the threads of gold and silver, in the pattern He has planned. Difficulties (4730) (stenochoria [word study] from stenos = narrow + chora = place) is literally a narrow place, a narrow, tight or confined space and then the painfulness of associated with this condition. Anguish, torturing confinement, hemmed in with no way out. In our modern language we would say Paul was often in a "tight spot".
2 Coríntios 12:10
Barclay: Therefore I rejoice in weaknesses, in insults, in inescapable things, in persecutions, in straitened circumstances, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. (Westminster Press) ESV: For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. KJV: Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. NET: Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. NIV: That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NJB: and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ's sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong. NLT: That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (NLT - Tyndale House)