2 Corinthians 4:14

My Notes

What Does 2 Corinthians 4:14 Mean?

"Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you." Paul's confidence in his own resurrection is grounded in God's past action: the God who raised Jesus will raise us. The logic is from demonstrated precedent: God has already proven he can raise the dead. He did it with Jesus. He'll do it with us. The resurrection of Jesus isn't just a historical fact. It's a promissory note: the same power, applied the same way, to every believer.

The phrase "shall present us with you" adds a relational dimension: the resurrection isn't individual. It's communal. Paul and the Corinthians will be presented together — reunited, restored, and presented before God as a company, not as isolated individuals.

Reflection Questions

• 1.How does Jesus' resurrection function as your personal promissory note for your own?
• 2.What does 'also' (you're included in what happened to Jesus) do to your fear of death?
• 3.How does the communal presentation ('with you') change your view of resurrection from individual to relational?
• 4.What does 'knowing' (evidence-based confidence) versus 'hoping' (uncertain wish) change about how you face mortality?

Devotional

He raised Jesus. He'll raise us. Same God. Same power. Same result. Paul's confidence in his own resurrection is built on a single precedent: it already happened once. And what God did once, God does again.

Knowing. Not hoping. Not wishing. Knowing — eidotes, the settled knowledge that comes from evidence already in hand. Paul doesn't speculate about resurrection. He knows. Because the evidence is Jesus. The same God who raised Jesus on the third day will raise Paul. Will raise the Corinthians. Will raise everyone who belongs to Christ. The knowing is evidence-based: the resurrection of Jesus is the proof that ours is guaranteed.

Shall raise up us also. Also — the word that connects your future to Jesus' past. What happened to him will happen to you. The resurrection power that was applied to Jesus' dead body will be applied to your dead body. The same. The power doesn't weaken over time. The promise doesn't expire with the first fulfillment. Also means: you're included in what he already demonstrated.

By Jesus. Through Jesus. The resurrection of believers happens through Jesus — he's the mechanism, not just the model. You don't just rise LIKE Jesus. You rise THROUGH Jesus. His resurrection is the cause of yours. His life is the power source for yours. The connection between his rising and yours isn't analogy. It's causation.

Shall present us with you. The reunion. Paul and the Corinthians — separated by geography, by conflict, by the complications of pastoral relationship — will be presented together. Before God. Reunited. The presentation (paristēmi — to stand beside, to present formally) is a court-or-temple image: you're presented before someone important. And the someone is God. And the company is everyone who belongs to Christ.

The resurrection isn't solitary. You don't rise alone. You rise with. Paul with the Corinthians. You with the people you loved and lost. The presented company includes every believer from every generation — standing together before God, raised by the same power, through the same Jesus, in the same hope.

The God who raised Jesus will raise you. And present you with everyone who was raised alongside you. That's the knowing.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture