For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives 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.
All Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 13:4 Go To 2 Corinthians 13
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
For though He was crucified. Through the weakness of His humanity, yet by the power of His Godhead He rose and lives.
For we also are weak in Him. With Him and for Him we are weak, we suffer, and are afflicted. According to this the for denotes not cause but likeness, and is put for Song of Solomon , by a usual Hebrew usage, which expresses similitude by doubling the conjunction.
We shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. Through Him and with Him we will show the power of Christ, i.e, the spiritual vigour of the Gospel, and in particular the power of punishing the contumacious amongst you (Theophylact). Anselm and Theodoret explain it: We with you shall rise by the power of God to eternal bliss. But the first sense is more in harmony with the context. This is supported by the phrase toward you (not merely in you), as well as by the fact that he is concerned with showing the power of Christ lodged in himself, to punish the contumacious. His argument is: As Christ, though weak in Himself, yet rose with power to a life of unending bliss, so equally does He work in us Apostles, and by us, weak though we be, and will continue to work powerfully in producing unearthly virtues, conversions, miracles, and punishments.
