2 Corinthians 4- 1 thru 18 -Corps 27
Publication Date: April 20, 1983
Walter J. Cummins graduated from the Power for Abundant Class in 1962.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Ohio State University in 1968 and his Master of Education degree in Secondary School Administration in 1978 from Wright State University.
He was ordained to the Christian by The Way International in 1968. He has studied at The Way International under Victor Paul Wierwille and K.C.Pillai. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he was director of the Research department of the Way International and served as assistant to the president.
April 20, 1983
Twenty-eighth Corps Night
II Cor. 3:18 Literal according to usage:
But all of us with uncovered faces as we behold the glory of the Lord in ourselves by a
mirror are transfigured into that same reflected image with ever increasing glory even
as from the Lord, that it the spirit.
UII Cor. 4:1
Question is . . . what is, "ministry" referring to?
II Cor. 3:6 talked about us becoming able ministers of the new covenant. Then it went on
to explain the ministry of the old covenant in following verses and the ministry of the new
covenant. The new and old covenants both pertained to Israel.
II Cor. 3:3 talked about another ministry, the epistle of Christ ministered by those that
minister the spirit of Christ, that is the ministry that we have which ties in II Cor. 5:18 -
have the ministry of reconciliation; workers together with God in I Cor. 6:1.
Each one of us has this ministry - reconciling others to God, leading them to the new birth,
that they can be filled with holy spirit, having Christ within, having the epistle of Christ
within themselves, written on their own hearts, not needing a letter of commendation. That
is the ministry we have. Each one of us then can look in the mirror and behold ourselves,
seeing the glory of the Lord and are transfigured with ever increasing glory.
"mercy," = withholding of merited judgment. The Corinthians had a lot of judgement
coming to them based on what is written in I Cor.. However, when you get to II Cor. 2:7,
8, we are told to forgive - confirm you love toward him. Without correction with your
reproof you do not learn how to improve. "mercy," - Paul understood what mercy was
because he had been a screwball before God had reproved him for a few things, and he had
a lot coming to him if you want to talk about judgment.
Paul was not judged! He got remission and then forgiveness of sins and that is why he was
so effective in the ministry. Paul could reprove and then love them because he understood
mercy.
"we faint not," - or, we are not discouraged, we are not fainthearted or weary.
Literal according to usage: Use brackets - not parenthesis. For this reason [having the glory
of the Lord mirrored in our lives] since we have this-ministry [of the spirit, reconciliation]
even as we experienced mercy [the withholding of merited judgment] we are not
discouraged.
The Corinthians got discouraged after the reproof of I Cor. and Paul had to encourage
them. They had a right to be discouraged and that is what he has been pointing out in
some of these chapters and especially now in II Cor. 4, you will see he had every "right,"
to be discouraged from a sense-knowledge point of view. But he was not, because he
knew he had a bigger ministry - something bigger than all the discouragement the world
could set up.
UII Cor. 4:2
"the hidden things of dishonesty," = the shameful secret things. It is not secret things in
the sense of mysteries of the religions, but it is dishonest dealings.
Way Magazine - Nov./Dec. 1979, says they are "deliberate plans by people to promote
their dishonesty in order to deliberately fool others about God's Word.
There are three things showing how we've renounced these shameful secret things.
1) By not walking in craftiness. Craftiness is used in the negative sense only, in the
N.T.. It is used in the sense of using unethical methods to achieve ones goals.
The end justifies the means, attitude. It is using slyness, skillful treachery,
ruthlessness or craftiness.
Good example of the word is Luke 20:20-23ff. They pretended to be something
they were not.
2) Handling the Word of God deceitfully.
"handling deceitfully," = means to use as a snare or bait. If you used the Word of
God as bait, instead of teaching what the Word of God says, you are using God's
Word to fool other people. The devil quoted scripture to Jesus Christ — using it
as bait. When people quote scripture, but they never are able to put it together —
they are just using the Word of God as bait to ensnare people.
3) Manifestation (disclosure, uncovering, revealing,) of the truth. Commending
(establishing,) ourselves to (or before,) every man's conscience in the sight of
God. We do not speak out of one side of our mouth to one group, and speak
something else to another group. We speak the Word, in its true colors - not
watered down.
UII Cor. 4:3&4
Are a parenthesis. They depend upon the context but they are additional information about
those that the Word does not sink into.
UII Cor. 4:5
Continues with the idea of commending ourselves to every man's conscience.
UII Cor. 4:3
"hid," = vailed (II Cor. 3 - it was the vail that was present in the O.T. which was removed
in Christ. However, for Israel it is still there.) If the good news of the mystery is vailed to
people, it is only vailed to those perishing or lost.
UII Cor. 4:4
"minds," = the product of the action of the mind, the purpose, the intent, the goals, the
things that come out of the mind.
"world," = age. It is a period of time, usually designated by having a specific historical
length by its context. There is a day coming when it will not be Satan's, but will go back to
God and the believers.
"light," = which shows the true colors. If you've got the light you will see the true colors.
If you do not have the light, you will not see the true colors. You will see whatever you
want to see.
"glorious gospel of Christ," = in the Greek, UofU the gospel of the glory UofU Christ. It is triple
genitive.
Literally, it means the glorious gospel of Christ (like KJV) which puts emphasis on the
gospel, the good news.
"shine," = nednach in Aramaic. Means to rise, to dawn, to shine. The image is that when
the sun comes up, it dawns and everything brightens up, it shines on us.
UII Cor. 4:5
"for," - indicates a reason
Remember it refers back before the parenthesis. We do not preach ourselves as lords.
"servants," = bondslaves. "Jesus," = the humiliated one. He served. "Jesus," is right. It is
not Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, but Jesus.
UII Cor. 4:6
Where did God command the light to shine out of darkness? Gen 1:3. This same God who
shined in our hearts! "shined," = nednach. God shined in our hearts not just on the outside.
"give," - in italics. The Greek uses pros, which is best translated as "with."
"UofU the knowledge of the glory UofU God," - another triple genitive.
UII Cor. 4:4
light - of the gospel - of the glory - of Christ = the reflected image of God.
UII Cor. 4:6
light - of the knowledge - of the glory - of God = in the face of Jesus Christ.
UII Cor. 4:4
Shine.
UII Cor. 4:6
Shine.
"face," = has to do with the outward appearance; the surface of something, face is used
because he is the reflection of that light of the knowledge of the glory of God. The
reflection, not God Himself.
Used in II Cor. 5:12, 10:7, and many other places.
II Cor. 4:2-6 Literals according to usage:
2: But we renounced the shameful secret underhandedness, not walking by unethical
means, and not deceitfully using the Word of God as bait to entrap others, but by
full disclosure of the truth, we establish our stand before the conscience of all
people in the sight of God.
3: (But if the good news we proclaim is vailed, it is only vailed to those who are
perishing spiritually.
4: For the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that the
radiant, glorious good news of Christ, the reflected image of God, could not shine
upon them.)
5: For we do not proclaim ourselves [as lords,] but we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord,
and we proclaim ourselves as your bondslaves on account of Jesus [the humiliated
one. ]
6: Because the same God who said, "Let the light shine out of darkness [Genesis
1:3] has shone full force in our hearts with the radiant, glorious knowledge of God
in the reflection of Jesus Christ.
UII Cor. 4:7
"treasure in earthen vessel," - figure of speech - UhypocatastasisU. Comparison by
implication. "treasure," - represents what you have spiritually, the power of the holy spirit
on the inside, "earthen vessel," - represents the flesh, the old man on the outside. It was a
common practice in eastern culture to keep valuable possessions in earthen, clay jars. The
Dead Sea scrolls were found in big earthen jars. In the triumphal processions the treasures,
the spoils of war, were carried in earthen vessels.
"excellency of the power," - literally excellent power.
Figure of speech = UantiptosisU; exchange of case. It is change to the genitive case.
"excellency," = UhuperboleU, surpassing, super excellence.
This word is similar to Ephesians 1:19. This super excellent, super abundant power that
we have is the source of our sufficiency, (II Cor. 3:5.)
UII Cor. 4:8, 9
If we are in the triumphal procession, the war is over, so these cannot be war terms.
However, a number of them do relate to athletic ideas. These words are very significant.
Lists eight things here - four on either side with similar words in the middle (but not) is the
figure of speech, UmesodiplosisU, which is the repetition of words in the middle of these
successive phrases. These contrasts remind us of I Cor. 1:9, where we had the sentence of
death in ourselves but in vs. 10 God delivered us.
UII Cor. 4:8
"troubled," = thlibō, - a verb form of the word for mental pressures of life. So this means
pressure, we are pressed, squeezed on every side . . . yet not distressed.
"distressed," - the Aramaic says suffocated. The Greek = narrowed, confined, crushed,
flattened. We are squeezed, pressed; pressured but not crushed or suffocated.
In wrestling there is a type of hold where the wrestler could become compressed by his
opponent to where he could not breathe.
"perplexed," = in Aramaic, it is harassed or buffeted. In Greek, perplexed is a good
translation. Literally, it means no passage, no way to go.
"despair," = the Greek word is the same as perplexed, except it has "ex," on it, which
means "but not without a passage out."
If you are wrestling and you both lock each other in a certain hold and there apparently is
nowhere to move, they always will find another move.
Your perplexity will not get you to the place where you are at your wits end, where you are
bewildered. There will always be a way out.
UII Cor. 4:9
"persecuted," = pursued, chased after; used of races.
"forsaken," = to leave behind, (as in a race.) Also, used where the hunted is pursued, but
you would not be left alone, you would have help.
"cast down," = term used of wrestlers throwing down their opponents. If they were thrown
down three times they were defeated. But it is like baseball, you get three strikes before
you are out. We may be thrown down but we are not defeated, destroyed, we have not lost.
II Cor. 4:7-9 Literals according to usage:
7. Now we have this treasure in clay jars, to make it clear that this super abundant
power is from God and not from ourselves,
8. Who are in all things under pressure, but not crushed; harassed and perplexed, but
not at wits end;
9. Pursued and hard driven, but not left in the dust; thrown down by the opponent,
but not defeated.
UII Cor. 4:10
Delete, "Lord,"
UII Cor. 4:11, 12
"death," used not that they literally died, everyday, but it is used of those things that
eventually lead to it, like the danger of death, like sickness is death in part; it is the Figure
of Speech, UmetonomyU.
II Cor. 4:10-12 Literals according to usage:
10. Always bearing in the body the same exposure to suffering as the dying of Jesus,
knowing that the resurrected life of Jesus will also be evident in our bodies.
11. For if we who live are constantly delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, even so
the resurrected life of Jesus will be evidenced in our mortal flesh,
12. with the result that the workings of death, are energized in us while the workings
of life are energized in you.
Death worked in the apostles because they exposed themselves to the hardships and
dangers in order to minister to the Corinthians. A leader may expose himself to such
hardships.
UII Cor. 4:13
Faith of Jesus Christ.
Quotation - figure of speech = UgnomeU. from Psalm 116:10. Psalm 116:1-9 - God delivers.
UII Cor. 4:14
Delete, "Lord."
II Cor. 4:13-15 Literals according to usage:
13. Therefore, we also, who have the same spirit [as you] that is the faith of Jesus
Christ, believe and so we speak, even as it is written, "I believed, so I spoke
[Psalm 116:10]"
14. knowing that He who raised Jesus [from the dead] will raise us by Jesus and will
present us with you [at the gathering together.]
15. For all that we do is for your benefit, so that the grace that is abounding to many
may cause thanksgiving to abound by many more people to the glory of God.
UII Cor. 4:16
"faint not," = discouraged, same as vs. 1.
UII Cor. 4:17
"affliction," = mental pressures, pressures of life.
"but for a moment," = momentary. This word precedes the word, "light." Our momentary
light pressures of life. The eternal weight of glory contrasts momentary light pressures.
"far more exceeding," = super abundant, but it is double, super abundant. Indicates that it
is beyond what a scale could measure, that is how heavy this weight of glory is!
UII Cor. 4:18
"look," = skopeō = scope is on, your goal, your target, what you look at. In Aramaic, the
word means to rejoice.
Both ideas are interrelated because it is the goal, the hope, that gives you the joy, the cause
of rejoicing.
II Cor. 4:16-18 Literals according to usage:
16. Wherefore, we are not discouraged! For even if our outer man is consumed of
bodily vigor and strength, the inner man [spirit] is renewed in quality and
freshness day-by-day.
17. For our momentary light pressures of life produce for us an eternal heavy glory
super abundantly beyond that which any scale could measure.
18. as we set for our goal of rejoicing not visible things, but invisible. For the
visible things are temporary, but the invisible things are eternal.
Dr. Wierwille:
Stand against the adversary, stand for the truth. The Corps is the basic lifeline of the
continued outreach and accuracy of God's Word. The future of the Way Corps (in
numbers) is hanging in the balances. The Way Corps is being severely attacked. He is
attacking those who aren't even in the Way Corps now. The Way Corps need to stand
together and start believing for others coming in the Corps. Fear is being built in our
country through the media and Way Corps grads who have been deprogrammed, as well as
Advanced Class grads and WOW's. Way Corps ought to be reaching out and getting
people to go WOW. When WOW dies, Corps is dead. Every twig Coordinator across the
world needs to be a Corps grad. The Jews are hurting. They need media and TV to keep
their image going.
End of Teaching