2 Corinthians 13:4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.
This verse returns to a theme the Corinthians should already know based on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. The first part of Paul’s statement reflects on Christ’s crucifixion. From the world’s perspective, it looks like weakness. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, ” but for believers, “it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Paul may be appealing to Christ’s death on the cross here to help the Corinthians see that the way of the cross show in humility and suffering is not actually the way of weakness but results in power. It actually took great faith in the Father for Jesus to go the cross. Hanging on the cross, Jesus said in his last breath, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). This is the ultimate test of faith for any person. We live out a degree of this faith every day through the commitment of faith.
Death through crucifying our own priorities and desires opens the way to resurrection hope. This is Paul’s desire for the Corinthians, and this should be our own goal as well. Christ Jesus arose through the power of the Father. This resurrection power is at work within believers who have died to the old self and rise to a new life (Romans 6:4). This new life is freed from the dominion of sin, self, and pride which were put on the cross. This is the cross-style life.
Paul lived out this type of life with the Corinthians. As he states at the end of this verse, this letter he has written and all the strong rhetoric he has used in it are consistent with this cross lifestyle. It took courage, humility, and some pain to write as he did. He came to this task in human weakness. He showed his vulnerability through listing his sufferings. All of this was done so that the Corinthians could see a greater power at work within him. Even while facing the threat of death, the hope of resurrection inspired Paul to continue on in his calling to preach and share the gospel (see Philippians 1:21).
There are at least two major lessons that surface in this verse. The first is related to the basic theology around the cross and resurrection and applies to us broadly. The way of the cross will not always be easy for us to live. It will require humility before God and people and dependence upon God for all of life. We like to be strong in ourselves because that is what the world demands. Those who are not strong fail and fall to the side. The way to get ahead is to exert oneself. The problem theologically with this is that it can feed pride and lead to sin. Unless the self is crucified with Christ, this pride will give in to temptations and the desires of the flesh. This will all destroy us spiritually and sometimes ruin relationships. To become like Christ will require that we put our self on the cross with him.
The other lesson can be learned in the relationship of Paul and the Corinthians. The world demands power. It is survival of the fittest. The competition we experience can be crushing. If someone goes up, usually someone else goes down. People become a means to an end instead of an end in themselves. However, meekness does not mean weakness. Paul shows that there are times when we must be strong to confront sin and false teaching. But when we do, we must do it with great humility and point the way to the grace of Christ. We must consider each situation. Paul could use strong rhetoric in this letter because he had an established relationship with this church. Building correction on love and relationship will go a long ways into actually resolving a difficult situation.
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