2 Corinthians 4:13

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[a] Since we have that same spirit of[b] faith, we also believe and therefore speak,

2 Corinthians 4:13 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
English Standard Version (ESV)
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak,
New Living Translation (NLT)
13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”
The Message Bible (MSG)
13 We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe.
American Standard Version (ASV)
13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak;
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
13 The following is written, "I believed; therefore, I spoke." We have that same spirit of faith. We also believe; therefore, we also speak.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in accordance with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak,
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
13 It is written, "I believed, and so I have spoken."(Psalm 116:10) With that same spirit of faith we also believe. And we also speak.

2 Corinthians 4:13 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 4:13

We having the same Spirit of faith
By faith here is meant, not the doctrine, but the grace of faith; a believing in the doctrines of the Gospel, and in the person of Christ; an exercise of that grace upon the death and resurrection of Christ; and particularly a looking by faith in full expectation of the saints' resurrection from the dead, and eternal glory, together with a reliance on the power, faithfulness, and promises of God to support under the afflictions of this life. Now of this faith the Spirit of God is the author; this is not of ourselves, of our own power, it is the free gift of God, and a valuable gift it is; it is of the operation of God, and the produce of his almighty power; and of this the Spirit of God, in conversion, is the powerful operator: hence he is here called the "Spirit of faith". So the "third" number in the Cabalistic tree of the Jews, the intelligence sanctifying, which answers to the third person in our doctrine of the Trinity, is called F24,

``(Nmwa hnwma) and (hnwmah ba) , "the artificer of faith", and "the author or parent of faith", because from its power faith flows.''

Which is the "same" in all saints; the Spirit is the same in one as in another, and so is the faith which he is the author of; see ( 2 Peter 1:1 ) . Faith is the same in all the saints that have been from the beginning of the world, under the Old and New Testament dispensations; it was the same in all the churches in the apostle's time, in Rome as at Ephesus, in Ephesus as at Rome, and in Thessalonica as at Rome and Ephesus, and so in all the other churches; though it may be, the apostle may chiefly design the sameness of faith, and of the Spirit, in him and his fellow ministers, and in these Corinthians, though death was working in the one, and life in the other; which appeared in their free and bold ministration of the word, notwithstanding all they met with on account of it, in imitation and encouraged by the example of David,

according as it is written,
( Psalms 116:10 ) .

I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and
therefore speak:
where there is true faith, and the true Spirit of faith, there will be a speaking of, for, and in the name of Christ, as there ought to be: for as "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, so with the mouth confession is made unto salvation". This is true of believers in common, sooner or later, at one time or another; but more especially of the ministers of the word, who have a firm and well grounded belief in the doctrines of the Gospel, and person of Christ; and therefore speak freely, and without any doubt and hesitation about these things, boldly, and without the fear of men, and sincerely and faithfully, as in the sight of God: hence they make Christ the main subject of their ministry, because they believe in him, and nothing can stop their mouths from speaking of him; faith, and a spirit of faith, fit for public work and service, and give freedom and boldness in the ministration of the Gospel, and are a great support under persecution for the sake of it.


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Sepher Jetzirah, Semit 3. p. 6.

2 Corinthians 4:13 In-Context

11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.
12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,
14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.
15 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.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 116:10
  • 2. 1 Corinthians 12:9

Footnotes 2

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