2 Corinthians 4:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

NIV: All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

NASB: For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

CSB: Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.

NLT: All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

KJV: For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

NKJV: For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth again of one of his primary motivations for continuing to endure so much suffering. He tolerates great hardship in order to shine the light of Christ to more and more people. In short, he does it for their sake and, presumably, for the sake of others like them.

Some in Corinth may have questioned why Paul suffered so much if he was truly an apostle of Jesus and a servant of God. Shouldn't God prevent his trusted servant from experiencing so much pain? Paul's reply has been that God does not spare his servants from suffering, but that God provides for them through their suffering. More, God will raise them from the dead if their suffering should lead to that. Despite what many people think, faithfulness to God does not protect a person from all earthly difficulty.

Now Paul declares that this service to the Corinthians is worth it, in part, because as more people believe in Jesus, more people will receive God's grace. The more people who receive God's grace, the more people who will give thanks to God. More and more glory will be brought to God. Paul is willing to endure anything, enabled by God's power, to achieve this outcome.

Second Corinthians 4:7–18 explains that the priceless treasure of knowing God's glory through faith in Christ is kept in the fragile containers of human beings. In this case, this refers to Paul and his co-workers who preach the gospel. Their suffering is enormous, but God keeps them from being wiped out. They don't quit because even after they die, they know they will be resurrected, as Christ was. Then they will spend eternity with Him in a glory that will far outweigh and outlast the comparatively lightweight and momentary suffering of this life.

Paul insists that he and his co-workers for Christ would never act in a way that is disgraceful or dishonest, though he knows some are blinded by Satan from believing their message about Jesus. They cannot see the light of knowing Christ as God. That knowledge is a priceless treasure stored in the fragile containers of Paul and his friends. No matter how difficult their suffering in this work, Paul refuses to quit. He is confident that he will be resurrected after his death and then all his pain on this side of eternity won't even be worth comparing with the glory there.

Second Corinthians 4 follows Paul's teaching in the previous chapter about the transformation that happens for those who see God's glory in Christ. Some are blinded to it by sin and by the god of this world. Paul knows that he and his co-workers are fragile containers for the priceless message of God's grace through faith in Jesus. They won't quit, though, because God sustains them and will eventually resurrect them. Once in eternity, all the suffering in this life won't be worth comparing with sharing God's glory forever. Chapter 5 expands on the idea that believers in Christ look forward to something much better than this life.

Second Corinthians returns to similar themes as those Paul mentioned in his first letter to this church. Paul is glad to hear that the church in Corinth has heeded his advice. At the same time, it is necessary for Paul to counter criticisms about his personality and legitimacy. Most of this text involves that subject. The fifth chapter, in contrast, contains comforting words which Christians have quoted often in times of hardship. Paul also details his expectations that the church in Corinth will make good on their promise to contribute to the needs of suffering believers in Jerusalem.