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In these verses we need to change all the "we's" to "I's". Paul is using "we" when he is talking about himself. These verses substantiate John Calvin's doctrine of Election, God allowing Satan to blind the minds of some people, but that is not the reason that Paul wrote these verses.
Paul had enemies in Corinth, false teachers, Judaizers. They had used dishonest and under-handed ways to bring dishonor to Paul and his teachings. Paul would not stoop to these under-handed ways to renounce them. "I will not use these methods to counter the false teachers." "We have renounced disgraceful ways." Then Paul gave several reasons why he would not do this.
Now remember that Paul was speaking about doctrinal truths not differences of opinion about trivial matters that seem to make up much of our disagreements. Paul was concerned only with doctrinal matters that dealt with Gospel truths.
Why was Paul so sure that he was right and they were wrong? He was sure because
what he preached was not his words but God's words. The same God that said in the
beginning, "Let light shine out of darkness." This is what God was trying to do
even then, given to those whom he chose, the light of understanding, trying to get
them out of the darkness of ignorance. Paul was speaking that truth and it was not
Paul's but it was the Lord's. This was done for the glory of God and for the
substantiation of Christ.
Paul's Faith as a Credential
["Click here for II Corinthians 4:7-18"]
To defend himself against the false teachers that were falsely accusing him, Paul used the consistency of his teachings as evidence of his calling and now, in these verses, he uses the evidence of his faith. In spite of all the persecution that he had experienced, Paul still had great courage and patience through it all.
In these verses, Paul reminds us of what we are and why we are. First, we are "earthen vessels" whose outer nature is wasting away. Can you imagine housing so great an understand as Paul speaks of in verse 6, in earthen vessels that are continually wasting away. But this is actually what we are. Earthen vessels with the "light" of God in them. Its a shame the we so often keep the shades pulled and do not let that "light" shine for others to see. We hang on to it like it was ours. Paul says that this "transcendent power" belongs to God, not to us. It is ours to use yet we seldom tap the source of it.
Now Paul used this power and as the result, He was afflicted in every way, but not crushed. He was persecuted but not destroyed or driven to despair. Why? Certainly a lesser man would have been. But Paul knew that he was never "forsaken". God had promised never to forsake Paul and Paul believed it. Paul even believed that this persecution was necessary. He said, "While we live, we are always given up to death, for Christ's sake."
What did Paul mean by this? What value does persecution have for us? Verse 12 says, it brings life to us. By this Paul means that it assures salvation and encourages sanctification. Actually, if it had not been for the persecution of the early Christians, the Gospel would have spread as it did in the first century. The Disciples would have stayed in Jerusalem. Paul would have stayed in Asia Minor. But more important affliction brought experience and understanding to the Gospel that Paul preached. This he shared with the Corinthians that they too might receive the "light" of understanding. Paul said just as David said in Psalm 116, "I believed and so I spoke."
One of the false teachings circulating in the church at Corinth was that there was no life after death. To counteract this, Paul affirms his faith in the resurrection. He said, "I believe and so I spoke, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us and bring us, with you, into His presence." And in spite of all the persecution that Paul experienced, he did not loose heart, for while he was physically wasting away, Grace was extended to more and more people. While his outer self was deteriorating, his inner self was being renewed every day.
Notice Paul called all those years of persecution "a slight momentary affliction", that was preparing for him, "an eternal glory beyond comparison". Paul had arrived at this plateau in his spiritual growth where he could see beyond those things that were visible to the things that were eternal.
So Paul answered the accusations of the false teachers by pointing to the consistency of his preaching and the evidences of his faith.
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