SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:16
Por tanto, no faltamos; antes aunque este nuestro hombre exterior se va desgastando, el interior sin embargo se renueva de día en día.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 4:16
Verse 16. For which cause we faint not] ouk ekka koumen. See on ver. 1. Here we have the same various reading; egkakoumen, we do no wickedness; and it is supported by BDEFG, and some others: but it is remarkable that Mr. Wakefield follows the common reading here, though the various-reading is at least as well supported in this verse as in verse first. The common reading, faint not, appears to agree best with the apostle's meaning. But though our outward man] That is, our body-that part of us that can be seen, heard, and felt, perish-be slowly consumed by continual trials and afflictions, and be martyred at last; Yet the inward man] Our soul-that which cannot be felt or seen by others, is renewed-is revived, and receives a daily increase of light and life from God, so that we grow more holy, more happy, and more meet for glory every day.
It was an opinion among the Jews that even spirits stood in need of continual renovation. They say that "God renews the angels daily, by putting them into the fiery river from which they proceeded, and then gives them the same name they had before." And they add, that in like manner he renews the hearts of the Israelites every year, when they turn to him by repentance. It is a good antidote against the fear of death to find, as the body grows old and decays, the soul grows young and is invigorated. By the outward man and the inward man St. Paul shows that he was no materialist: he believed that we have both a body and a soul; and so far was he from supposing that when the body dies the whole man is decomposed, and continues so to the resurrection, that he asserts that the decays of the one lead to the invigorating of the other; and that the very decomposition of the body itself leaves the soul in the state of renewed youth. The vile doctrine of materialism is not apostolic.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 16. For which cause we faint not , etc..] Since our afflictions are overruled for the good of others, and the glory of God, we are not discouraged by them; our spirits do not sink under the weight of them; we do not give out from the work of the ministry because of them, but go on cheerfully therein: and the more so, since though our outward man perish ; our outward circumstances of life are very mean and despicable; we are oftentimes in a very distressed condition through hunger, thirst, nakedness, and want of the common necessaries of life; our bodies are almost worn out with fatigue, labour, and sorrow; our earthly tabernacles are tottering, and just ready to fall in pieces: yet the inward man is renewed day by day ; that is, continually; it answers to wy wyw , an Hebraism; (see Esther 2:11 3:4) the internal hidden man of the heart, the new man is in a prosperous condition; our souls are in good health; the work of God is comfortably carried on in us; we have sweet and repeated experiences of the love of God; we are growing in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ; and, like the palm tree, the more weight is hung upon it, the more it thrives; and, like the children of Israel in Egypt, the more they were afflicted the more they grew.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-18 - The grace of faith is an effectual remedy against fainting in times of trouble. They knew that Christ was raised, and that his resurrectio was an earnest and assurance of theirs. The hope of this resurrectio will encourage in a suffering day, and set us above the fear of death Also, their sufferings were for the advantage of the church, and to God's glory. The sufferings of Christ's ministers, as well as their preaching and conversation, are for the good of the church and the glory of God. The prospect of eternal life and happiness was their support and comfort. What sense was ready to pronounce heavy and long grievous and tedious, faith perceived to be light and short, and but for a moment. The weight of all temporal afflictions was lightnes itself, while the glory to come was a substance, weighty, and lastin beyond description. If the apostle could call his heavy an long-continued trials light, and but for a moment, what must ou trifling difficulties be! Faith enables to make this right judgment of things. There are unseen things, as well as things that are seen. An there is this vast difference between them; unseen things are eternal seen things but temporal, or temporary only. Let us then look off from the things which are seen; let us cease to seek for worldly advantages or to fear present distresses. Let us give diligence to make our futur happiness sure __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
διο 1352 CONJ ουκ 3756 PRT-N εκκακουμεν 1573 5719 V-PAI-1P αλλ 235 CONJ ει 1487 COND και 2532 CONJ ο 3588 T-NSM εξω 1854 ADV ημων 2257 P-1GP ανθρωπος 444 N-NSM διαφθειρεται 1311 5743 V-PPI-3S αλλ 235 CONJ ο 3588 T-NSM εσωθεν 2081 ADV ανακαινουται 341 5743 V-PPI-3S ημερα 2250 N-DSF και 2532 CONJ ημερα 2250 N-DSF
Vincent's NT Word Studies
16. Outward man - inward man. The material and spiritual natures.Perish (diafqeiretai). Rev., much better, is decaying. Perish implies destruction: the idea is that of progressive decay.
Is renewed (anakainoutai). Better, is being renewed, the process of renewal going on along with the process of decay. Stanley cites a line attributed to Michael Angelo: "The more the marble wastes the more the statue grows." Compare Euripides: "Time does not depress your spirit, but it grows young again: your body, however, is weak" ("Heraclidae," 702, 703)
Day by day (hmera kai hmera). Lit., by day and day. A Hebrew form of expression.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
4:16 {Wherefore we faint not} (dio ouk egkakoumen). Repeats from verse #1. {Our outward man} (ho exw hemwn anqrwpos), {our inward man} (ho esw hemwn). In #Ro 7:22; Col 3:9; Eph 4:22f., we have the inward man and the outward for the higher and the lower natures (the spirit and the flesh). "Here the decay (diafqeiretai) of the bodily organism is set over against the growth in grace (anakainoutai, is refreshed) of the man himself" (Bernard). Plato (_Republ_. ix, p. 589) has ho entos anqrwpos. Cf. "the hidden man of the heart" (#1Pe 3:4). {Day by day} (hemerai kai hemerai). this precise idiom is not in LXX nor rest of N.T. It may be colloquial use of locative in repetition.
