Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [2 Corinthians: Chapter 5].
any other preposition. {Therefore all died} (\ara hoi pantes
apethanon\). Logical conclusion (\ara\, corresponding), the one
died for the all and so the all died when he did, all the
spiritual death possible for those for whom Christ died. This is
Paul's gospel, clear-cut, our hope today.
5:15 {Should no longer live unto themselves} (\hina m•keti
heautois z•sin\). The high doctrine of Christ's atoning death
carries a correspondingly high obligation on the part of those
who live because of him. Selfishness is ruled out by our duty to
live "unto him who for their sakes died and rose again."
5:16 {Henceforth} (\apo tou nun\). From the time that we gained
this view of Christ's death for us. {After the flesh} (\kata
sarka\). According to the flesh, the fleshy way of looking at
men. He, of course, knows men "in the flesh (\en t•i sarki\), but
Paul is not speaking of that. Worldly standards and distinctions
of race, class, cut no figure now with Paul (Ga 3:28) as he
looks at men from the standpoint of the Cross of Christ. {Even
though we have known Christ after the flesh} (\ei kai egn•kamen
kata sarka Christon\). Concessive clause (\ei kai\, if even or
also) with perfect active indicative. Paul admits that he had
once looked at Christ \kata sarka\, but now no longer does it.
Obviously he uses \kata sarka\ in precisely the same sense that
he did in verse 15 about men. He had before his conversion
known Christ \kata sarka\, according to the standards of the men
of his time, the Sanhedrin and other Jewish leaders. He had led
the persecution against Jesus till Jesus challenged and stopped
him (Ac 9:4). That event turned Paul clean round and he no
longer knows Christ in the old way \kata sarka\. Paul may or may
not have seen Jesus in the flesh before his death, but he says
absolutely nothing on that point here.
5:17 {A new creature} (\kain• ktisis\). A fresh start is made
(\kain•\). \Ktisis\ is the old word for the act of creating (Ro
1:20), but in N.T. by metonymy it usually bears the notion of
\ktisma\, the thing created or creature as here. {The old things
are passed away} (\ta archaia par•lthen\). Did pass by, he means.
Second aorist active of \parerchomai\, to go by. The ancient
(\archaia\) way of looking at Christ among other things. And yet
today there are scholars who are trying to revive the old
prejudiced view of Jesus Christ as a mere man, a prophet, to give
us "a reduced Christ." That was once Paul's view, but it passed
by forever for him. It is a false view and leaves us no gospel
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/2CO5.RWP.html (4 of 7) [28/08/2004 09:12:09 a.m.]