Homilies on Second Corinthians: Homily XXIX
[3.] Then, as I said, by transferring the argument from himself to Christ, he enhances their fear, he increases his threat. And what he says is this; ‘for even supposing I should do something and chastise and take vengeance on the guilty ones, is it I that chastise and take vengeance? it is He that dwelleth in me, Christ Himself. But if ye do not believe this, but are desirous of receiving a proof by deeds of Him that dwelleth in me, ye shall know presently; “For he is not weak to you-ward, but is even powerful.”’ And wherefore added he “to you-ward,” seeing He is mighty everywhere? for should He be minded to punish unbelievers, He is able; or demons, or anything whatsoever. What then is the import of the addition? The expression is either as shaming them exceedingly by remembrance of the proofs they have already received; or else as declaring this, that meanwhile He shows His power in you who ought to be corrected. As he said also in another place, “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without?” (1 Cor. v. 12.) ‘For those that are without,’ he says, ‘He will then call to account in the day of judgment, but you even now, so as to rescue you from that punishment.’ But nevertheless even this instance of his solicitude, although arising from tender affection, observe how he combines with fear and much anger, saying, “Who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you.”
Ver. 4. “For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth through the Power of God.”
What is, “though He was crucified through weakness?” ‘For though He chose,’ he says, ‘to endure a thing which seems to carry a notion of weakness, still this in no way breaks in upon His Power. That still remains invincible, and that thing which seemeth to be of weakness, hath nothing harmed it, nay this very thing itself shows His Power most of all, in that He endured even such a thing, and yet His Power was not mutilated.’ Let not then the expression “weakness” disturb thee; for elsewhere also he says, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men;” (1 Cor. i. 25 .) although in God is nothing either foolish or weak: but he called the Cross so, as setting forth the conception of the unbelieving regarding it. Hear him, at least, interpreting himself. “For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (Ib. 18 .) And again; “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (Ib. 23, 24.) And again; “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness unto him.” (1 Cor. ii. 14.) Observe, how in every place he expresseth the conception of the unbelieving, who look upon the Cross as foolishness and weakness. And so, in truth, here also he means not “weakness” really such, but what was suspected to be such with the unbelieving. He doth not then say this, that because He was weak He was crucified. Away with the thought! For that He had it in His power not to have been crucified He showed throughout; when He now cast men down prostrate, now turned back the beams of the sun, and withered a fig-tree, and blinded their eyes that came against Him, and wrought ten thousand other things. What then is this which he says, “through weakness!” That even although He was crucified after enduring peril and treachery, (for we have showed that peril and treachery are called weakness,) yet still He was nothing harmed thereby. And he said this to draw the example unto his own case.
For since the Corinthians beheld them persecuted, driven about, despised, and not avenging nor visiting it, in order to teach them that neither do they so suffer from want of power, nor from being unable to visit it, he leads on the argument up to The Master, because ‘He too,’ saith he, ‘was crucified, was bound, suffered ten thousand things, and He visited them not, but continued to endure things which appeared to argue weakness, and in this way displaying His Power, in that although He punishes not nor requites, He is not injured any thing at all. For instance, the Cross did not cut asunder His life, nor yet impeded His resurrection, but He both rose again and liveth.’ And when thou hearest of the Cross and of life, expect to find the doctrine concerning the Incarnation, for all that is said here hath reference to that. And if he says “through the Power of God,” it is not as though He were Himself void of strength to quicken His flesh; but it was indifferent with him to mention either Father or Son. For when he said, “the Power of God,” he said by His own Power. For that both He Himself raised it up and sustains it, hear Him saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John ii. 19.) But if that which is His, this he saith to be the Father’s, be not disturbed; “For,” He saith, “all My Father’s things are Mine.” (John xvi. 15.) And again, “All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine.” (Ib. xvii. 10.) ‘As then He that was crucified was nothing harmed,’ he says, ‘so neither are we when persecuted and warred against;’ wherefore also he adds,
“For even we also if we are weak in Him, yet we shall live with Him through the Power of God.”
What is the meaning of “we are weak in Him?” We are persecuted, are driven here and there, suffer extremity. But what is “with Him?” ‘Because of the preaching,’ he says, ‘and our faith in Him. But if for His sake we undergo what is sad and disagreeable, it is quite plain that we shall what is pleasant also:’ and so he added, “but we are saved with Him by the Power of God.”
[4.] Ver. 5, 6. “Try your own selves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know ye not as to your own selves, that Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobate? But I hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate.”
For since by what he has said he hath shown that even if he does not punish, it is not because he hath not Christ in himself, but because he intimates His long-suffering, Who was crucified and yet avenged not Himself; he again, in another manner, produces the same effect, and still more irrefragably, establishing his argument by the disciples. ‘For why speak I of myself,’ he says ‘the teacher, who have so much care upon me and am entrusted with the whole world and have done such great miracles. For if ye will but examine yourselves who are in the rank of disciples, ye will see that Christ is in you also. But if in you, then much more in your teacher. For if ye have faith, Christ is in you also.’ For they who then believed wrought miracles. Wherefore also he added, “Try your own selves, prove your own selves, whether ye be in the faith. Know ye not as to your own selves, unless indeed that Christ is in you, ye be reprobate?” ‘But if in you, much more in your teacher?’ He seems to me here to speak of the “faith” which relates to miracles. ‘For if ye have faith,’ he says, “Christ is in you, except ye have become reprobates.” Seest thou how again he terrifies them, and shows even to superfluity that Christ is with Him. For he seems to me to be here alluding to them, even as to their lives. For since faith is not enough [by itself] to draw down the energy of the Spirit, and he had said that ‘“if ye are in the faith” ye have Christ in you,’ and it happened that many who had faith were destitute of that energy; in order to solve the difficulty, he says, “except ye be reprobate,” except [that is] ye are corrupt in life. “But I hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate.” What followed naturally was to have said, “but if ye have become reprobate, yet we have not.” He doth not, however, say so, for fear of wounding them, but he hints it in an obscure manner, without either making the assertion thus, ‘ye are reprobate,’ or proceeding by question and saying, ‘But if ye are reprobate,’ but leaving out even this way of putting it by question, he indicates it obscurely by adding, “But I hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate.” Here also again, great is the threat, great the alarm. ‘For since ye desire,’ he says, ‘in this way, by your own punishment to receive the proof, we shall have no difficulty in giving you that demonstration.’ But he does not indeed so express himself, but with more weight and threatening. “But I hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate.” ‘For ye ought indeed,’ he saith, ‘to have known even without this what we are, and that we have Christ speaking and working in us;
but since ye desire to receive the proof of it by deeds also, ye shall know that we are not reprobate.’ Then when he has held the threat suspended over their heads, and brought the punishment now up to their doors, and has set them a trembling, and made them look for vengeance; see how again he sweetens down his words and soothes their fear, and shows his unambitious temper, his tender solicitude towards his disciples, his high-principledness of purpose, his loftiness and freedom from vain-glory. For he exhibits all these qualities in what he adds, saying,
Ver. 7, 8, 9. “Now I pray to God that ye do no evil, not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do that which is honorable, though we be as reprobate. For we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. For we rejoice when we are weak, and ye are strong. For this also we pray for even your perfecting.”