4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
He suffered shame on earth, while He is higher than all glory and praise in heaven; who, "though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by divine power; "
Paul is referring here to the personal experience of the apostles, who were made weak by being treated badly, imprisoned and beaten.… Believers are made strong by being weak. Death inflicted by unbelievers is life as far as believers are concerned, for they will rise again to reign with Christ.
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?" "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."
"For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth through the Power of God." These words have much obscurity and give disturbance to the weaker sort. Wherefore it is necessary to unfold them more clearly, and to explain the signification of the expression as to which the obscurity exists, that no one may be offended, even of the simpler sort.
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;" 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.
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." 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." And again, "All Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine." "As then He that was crucified was nothing harmed," he says, "so neither are we when persecuted and warred against."
"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."
Earlier Paul said that Christ became sin and a curse for us, even though he knew no sin and was not a curse in himself. Likewise here he says that Christ was crucified in weakness, even though this weakness was not his own but rather something which he assumed on our behalf.
[AD 202] Irenaeus on 2 Corinthians 13:4