2 Corinthians 4:13

2Co_4:13

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken.

Faith the mainspring of action

I. First, a man must have faith before he can hope to speak successfully. Believing deeply must go before speaking heartily. Take it with regard to any department of human science; suppose a man did not believe in the principles of astronomy or of geology, and yet pretended to teach these sciences, his heartlessness would quickly make his teaching useless. For suppose a man not to have this faith, how often will his judgment be at fault; how often will his spirit fail in the day of adversity; how often will his zeal expend itself in worthless objects.

II. That in proportion to our faith will be the energy of our speech. Peter and John believed, when they stood calm and self-reliant before the Sanhedrim. Whitfield and Wesley believed when they roused the religious convictions, and awakened the dormant consciences of this country in the last century.

III. When a man believes, he is bound to speak. It is a heaven prescribed duty; his soul-enshrined obligation. The whole problem of human progress hinges upon this obligation. It is a day of good tidings; and we do not well if we hold our peace. (W. G. Barrett.)

Faith and its utterances

We have here a description of a true prophet. A mere official speaks because he is expected to say something: a true prophet speaks because he has something to say.

I. I believed. These words refer--

1. To the truths that God teaches.

(1) Gods truths are all vital truths. The subject on which they treat is life. Clearly to see truth, and to firmly grasp it, is the life of reason. To choose the right, to do it, and to rejoice in it, is the life of the conscience. To have passions and feelings which invigorate, comfort, and ennoble is the life of the soul. Man is related to a Being who can give to him the light of reason, peace of conscience, holy and joyful emotions, and the favour of that great Being is life. His displeasure is death. Such is the momentous subject on which Gods truth speaks.

(2) And as the subject, such also is the matter of Gods truth. It consists of directions how to attain life, and how to escape death. Under any circumstances the knowledge of these directions would be of first importance. Some parts of the world are visited with the plague. Now suppose that a remedy were revealed, would it not be a great truth, and would we not be eager to proclaim it far and wide? But how incomparably greater is that truth which is Gods salvation unto the uttermost ends of the earth!

II. The manner in which God teaches these truths. The truth as it is taught by God exists in man.

1. As a clear apprehension. There is a great difference between clearly seeing a truth, and having only a general and confused notion of it. When you look at a landscape in a fog you can form no distinct conception of its characteristics. Truth, under similar circumstances, can produce no impression on the soul. Its beauty, importance, value are all lost upon him who has but a confused conception of it. Many think they have looked upon the Cross, but can see no glory in it. They have not really seen it. They are like the man who sees a landscape in a fog. It is owing to this that a general view of the Cross is often nothing more than a misconception; while, on the other hand, a true insight into the Cross stirs up the soul from its lowest depths. It is a heart-penetrating, soul-transforming vision; it leads the sinner to turn his back for ever on the world, and to worship the crucified One.

2. As an irresistible conviction. You believe in your own consciousness; you ask for no arguments to prove that your own consciousness is not always deceiving you. You believe in an external world; you ask for no arguments to prove that an external world is not a mire optical delusion. A child has faith in its nurse; it believes that its nurse will feed and love it and not hurt or destroy it. So he who is taught of God would be as able to disbelieve his own consciousness as to disbelieve that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

III. Therefore have I spoken. It is natural for the tongue to express what the soul knows and the heart feels; but there are two reasons in relation to gospel truth which turn, what in other cases is but natural, into a moral necessity.

1. Divine truth is of universal concernment. When Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness the news was important alike to every serpent-bitten Israelite; so this faithful saying is worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The antidote to sins poison should be made known wherever that poison rages.

2. The faith which the Church has received is one which peculiarly prompts the utterance of the tongue. (W. Alliott.)

Believing speech the evangelising organ of Christianity

I. In contradistinction to believing literature. Literature is one of the mightiest of human institutions, and of all literature that produced by believers on Christian subjects is incomparably the most valuable. But the best of these is destitute of the power which goes with believing speech. The latter has the presence of the author. The presence of a man before his brother is itself a power. Truth through the pen is truth in lunar ray. However clear, it is cold. Under its influence landscapes will wither and rivers freeze. Truth in the living voice, is a sunbeam penetrating the cold regions of death, and touching all into life. Hence Christ, who knows human nature and how best to influence it, committed the propagation of His gospel to the living voice. He commanded His disciples to go everywhere and preach the gospel.

II. In contradistinction to professional talk. Millions are preached to every Sunday who are never effectively influenced by the truth. Why? There is the living voice, but that voice is not the organ of the believing soul.

1. Evident honesty. Few hearers can fail to detect the difference between the utterance of conviction and that of a mere professional talker.

2. Living manhood. The man who speaks those things which have never become convictions with him stands before his audience only as a piece of mechanism. The mechanism may be symmetrical in form, graceful in movement; still it is mechanism, not manhood. But he who speaks his convictions rings out his manhood in his words.

3. Irrepressible influence. The man who preaches without faith does his work more or less as a task. Two things give this irrepressibility.

(1) The relation of the subjects believed to his social affections. The subjects of Christianity are essential to the salvation of the race, and his philanthropy urges him to make them known.

(2) The relation of these subjects to his religious sympathies. They have to do with the glory of God, whom he loves supremely, and hence his piety urges him to proclaim them. (D. Thomas, D. D.)

Christian missions the necessary result of Christian faith

The spirit of faith has in all ages been the power under whose inspiration the conflict against evil has been maintained and the victories of truth and righteousness won. Without faith the position of the apostles would have been discouraging indeed. Here, in this world of sight and mere reason, there was everything to depress. There, in the faithful Word of their unchanging God, in the presence of their living Lord, in the assurance of those mighty spiritual influences which were to crown their work with success, was everything to stimulate and strengthen. They saw that the whole world was moved against them; they believed that they worked for God, and that God worked for them. Whether other men understand it or not, our principle remains the same--We believe, and therefore speak.

I. Faith as the constraining principle of our work. Everywhere faith and speech ought to be united. The man who speaks what he does not believe is a hypocrite. The man who believes what he will not speak is a coward. It is not only that we, under the impulse of chivalrous devotion to the cause we have espoused and the leader whom we follow, choose to speak, but that we are under a power which renders it impossible for us to keep silence. The love of Christ constrains us that we must speak and work for Him.

1. Faith inspires a sentiment of loyalty to the truth which we believe. The feeling is not so rare surely that its existence in Christian men should be regarded as strange and inexplicable. The hatred of mere show and tinsel, the desire to be true and genuine, have given a character to our art in that realism which is one of its most prominent features. The noblest poetry of the times has been inspired by a similar sentiment. This power of truth has made itself felt in the world of politics, overthrowing many a time-honoured abuse, compelling every institution, however venerable, to vindicate its right to exist by giving the proof of its harmony with the eternal laws of right and the best interests of society. Above all is it manifest in the realm of scientific inquiry, where even the simplest principle has to verify itself by unquestionable evidence. In this hungering after truth we must sympathise. What we ask, however, is that these searchers after truth recognise the reasonableness of the homage to truth which is rendered in the missionary enterprise. Marvel if you will at the greatness of our faith, but admit that with our faith any other line of conduct would be treason to that truth for which you as well as we profess reverence. We have ourselves tasted and handled of the good Word of Life. To us the gospel is the true light, but should we refuse it to the world we create a doubt whether we regard it as a light from heaven at all, and whether there may not be a lurking suspicion in our own minds that it may be, as its enemies allege, an illusion of human fancy or a human superstition.

2. Faith strengthens our sense of obligation by teaching us that the gospel is not only truth but that it is the truth. The exclusiveness of the gospel is one of its most marked characteristics. It does not point to one Saviour among many, but distinctly tells us that there is but one name given under heaven among men whereby we can be saved. That such a provision would have been made if man could have been saved independently of it is a supposition which cannot be entertained by any one who has marked the wondrous economy of all the Divine procedure. All analogy teaches us that if man could have achieved salvation as easily as he has discovered scientific truth God would certainly have left him to do the one as well as the other. That God has sent His only-begotten Son into the world to redeem the world is the proof that without Him there could have been no redemption. But how tremendously weighty are the obligations which the belief that this is the one message of the Fathers love to His rebellious children and that we are entrusted with the delivery of that message imposes. Ask us why we should take so much trouble to disturb the faith of peoples who are quite satisfied with their old creeds--the question should rather be how it is possible for us, holding such a faith, to be content with the feeble attempts which the Church is making to instruct the millions who are alienated from God by reason of the darkness that is in them.

3. Faith calls into action a still mightier principle--loyalty to our Lord. The power of a creed, a sentiment, a principle, is weak compared with that of devotion to a person. And, while we love Him, we must share His passion for saving souls. There can scarcely be a surer proof of the want of accord between our heart and that of the Master than apathy in relation to the spread of His kingdom in the world.

II. Faith as giving us our assurance of success.

1. Christian men cannot be astonished at the utterly hopeless aspect which their enterprise wears in the eyes of those who judge it on the principles of mere reason. The purest form of your religion is not that which has been able to command the largest amount of support. If reason holds so little sway and superstition has such powerful attractions, even among the peoples who have come under the teaching of Christianity, what are we to anticipate from those who hear its doctrines for the first time? To such reasonings we have nothing to answer. If we are to look only to the things which are seen, we must confess that our enterprise is a wild extravagance. A few missionaries dwelling in an humble home in one of those marvellous cities of the Eastern world, gathering a few children into their schools, or a miserable fraction, at best, of the whole population into their chapels, to hear the Word they have to preach, and hoping in this way to overthrow an ancient religion and convert an idolatrous people, present a spectacle which, to any eye but that of faith, has something of the ludicrous belonging to it. If we are to judge by appearances alone, no conflict could seem so unequal, no issue so certain. It is because we believe that there are other forces which we do not see, but which are mightier than all the power that can be arrayed against them, that we look forward with assured confidence to the result. It is in these things that are unseen, the force of truth, the armour of righteousness, the omnipotence of the Spirit of God, the things that cannot be shaken, but are eternal, that we trust. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

2. The real power of these unseen forces, which men are prone to value so lightly, but which ever and anon vindicate their majesty in such wondrous ways, is not now to be learned for the first time, and the absurdity which some discover in our expectations disappears when we attempt to cast the horoscope of the future by the help of the history of the past. Who would have dared to prophesy at the time when the words of our text were written that when everything else belonging to that famed city of Corinth had passed away, when her altars and her gods had sunk together in the dust, that the one thing which would live and would carry the fame of Corinth into regions where otherwise her name would never have been heard, would be the gospel taught by that Jewish stranger. What happened in those first days has happened again and again since.

3. If ever there was an age which ought to distrust the boastful confidence which men are wont to express in mere material strength it is the present. It has not to search in the records of the past, for it has had under its own eyes evidence which ought to have convinced the most sceptical that there is truth and righteousness a power mightier than the strength of armies, than the overwhelming force of public opinion, than the prestige of rank and fashion, than the union of all the forces which the world can employ on behalf of terror. If it has not learned that there are mighty forces battling on the side of truth and righteousness, we know not what signs and miracles would remove its ignorance or shake its obstinate unbelief. To us at least they are as new calls to put our trust in God, not neglecting the employment of all the means which He may place in our power. The victory may be declared in a very unexpected way and at a time most unexpected. Some succession of events will disclose the secret weakness of those proud systems whose outward show of strength and glory has deceived the world as to their true character. Institutions which looked as strong have fallen, though wise men said they could not, and proud men said they should not fall, though their assailants were as hopeless as their friends were confident, though everything was for them except only the power of truth.

4. This, then, is our faith, and in that faith we speak and act. But let us beware lest our own conduct falsify our professions and inflict on our cause an injury more serious than any which it could receive from its enemies. The assertion of our faith has value and efficiency only so far as it can point to practical results. Mere evanescent excitement not only works no good, but helps to deceive our hearts. It is s miserable thing indeed if we have to throw ourselves back upon the triumphs of the past to find some consolation amid signs of weakness in the present. Where is its power now? What it once had it can have again. There is no motive which it has ever called into play that does not retain all its ancient force, there is no promise on which it rests that does not remain firm and unchanging, there is no force which it has employed in the past that is not equally at its command to-day. We profess to have the same faith which inspired the heroes of our Christian chivalry in the days that are past, and if it does not work out a heroism as noble in us it is because our souls have not been submitted to its power.

5. Lord, increase our faith. Then we shall cherish a broader and deeper sympathy with humanity. Then shall we hear the voice of our King, bidding us go forth in His name and by His strength to conquer all falsehood, all sin, all tyranny, all priestcraft. Then will our consecration be more perfect, and our zeal will put forth an energy and liberality whose large-hearted and generous deeds shall put to shame the niggard offerings of the present. (J. G. Rogers, B. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 4:13-15. We having the same spirit — Which you have, because we have the same faith: or, we have the same spirit of faith which animated the saints of old, David in particular, when he said, I believed, and therefore have I spoken — That is, I trusted in God, and therefore he has put this song of praise in my mouth. We also believe — Have the same confidence that God will also deliver us out of our troubles; and therefore speak — Declare this our confidence by preaching the gospel openly, even in the midst of affliction and death, supported by an inward consciousness of our integrity, and animated by a powerful sense of duty to God, and a persuasion that he who raised up the Lord Jesus — The first-fruits of them that sleep; shall raise us up also, and present us, ministers, with you — With all his members, faultless before his presence with exceeding joy. For all things — Whether adverse or prosperous; are for your sakes — For the profit of all that believe as well as all that teach; that the abundant, πλεονασασα, overflowing grace — Which preserves you and us alive, both in soul and body; might abound yet more through the thanksgiving of many — For thanksgiving invites more abundant grace.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:13-14 The secret of Paul’s resilience was in the same kind of faith the psalmist had, (see Ps 116:10), which is centered in the living Lord.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Co 4:13. Τὸ αὐτὸ) the same, which both [David had and you have], comp. 2Co 4:14.—κατὰ, according to) This word is construed with we believe and we speak.—ἐπίστευσα, διὸ ἐλάλησα) So LXX., Psa 116:10, Hebr. ἐπίστευσα, ὅτι λαλήσω. The one meaning is included [involved] in the other. Faith produced in the soul immediately speaks, and in consequence of speaking, it knows itself and increases itself.—λαλοῦμεν, we speak) without fear in the midst of affliction and death, 2Co 4:17.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_4:13. A remark giving information (δέ, see on 2Co_3:17) on ἡ δὲ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν. For through the πιστεύομεν, διὸ καὶ λαλοῦμεν, is that very ἡ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐνεργεῖται rendered possible and brought about. The connection of ideas is frequently taken thus: Though death works in us and life in you, we have yet the certain confidence that we too will partake of the life. Comp. Estius, Flatt, Rückert. But in that case the relation of the two verses, 13 and 14, would be logically inverted, and the participial clause in 2Co_4:14 would be made the principal clause; Paul must logically have written: Because, however, we have the same spirit of faith, which David expresses in the words, etc., we know, etc. According to Olshausen, Paul wishes to represent the thought that his career, so full of suffering, is a source of life to the Corinthians, as a living certainty wrought in him from above. But apart from the erroneous explanation of ἡ δὲ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν, on which this is based (see on 2Co_4:12), the very factthe ἡ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐνεργεῖταιwas something consonant to experience, and hence Paul in 2Co_4:13 gives nothing else than an elucidation consonant to experience. According to de Wette (comp. before him, Erasmus, Paraphr., who inserts the intermediate thought: nec tamen ob id nos poenitet evangelii), the course of thought is: But this working of death hinders us not from preaching the gospel boldly, since the hope of the resurrection strengthens us. In this way, however, he arbitrarily passes over the immediately preceding thought, ἡ δὲ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν, to which, nevertheless, 2Co_4:13 supplies an appropriate elucidation. According to Hofmann, Paul brings in a modification of the contrast contained in 2Co_4:12, when he says that he has, while death works in him, still the same spirit as exists in those in whom life works. But there is no hint of this retrospective reference of τὸ αὐτό (which would have required a σὺν ὑμῖν or something similar); and not even the thought in itself would he suitable, since his being in possession of the same spirit which his disciples, in whom his life was in fact at work, possessed, would be self-evident, and not a special point to be brought into prominence and asserted by the apostle. This also in opposition to Erasmus, Estius, Bengel, Schrader, and others, who explain τὸ αὐτό: the same spirit, which you have.

τὸ αὐτό πνεῦμα τῆς τίστεως] i.e. the same Holy Spirit working faith, not: the believing frame of mind (de Wette, comp. also Lipsius, Rechtfertigungsl. p. 176), which is not the meaning of πνεῦμα in Rom_8:15; Rom_11:8; 1Co_4:21; Gal_6:1; Eph_1:17. τὸ αὐτό is the same which is made known in the following saying of Scripture, consequently the same as the Psalmist had. With this hero of faith the apostle knows himself to be on an equality in faith.[198] The πίστις which the Spirit works was with the Psalmist trust in God, with Paul faith in the salvation in Christ; with both, therefore, the same fundamental disposition of pious confidence on Gods promise (Heb_1:11).

κατὰ τὸ γεγρ.] in conformity, in agreement with what is written. This belongs to καὶ ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν, for if it belonged to ἜΧΟΝΤΕς (Calvin, Beza, de Wette, Ewald, and many others), ΑὐΤΌ would be superfluou.

ἘΠΊΣΤΕΥΣΑ, ΔΙῸ ἘΛΆΛΗΣΑ] I have become a believer, therefore have I let myself be heard, Psa_116:10, after the LXX., in which the translation of הֶאֱמַנְתִּי כִּי אֲדַבֵּר is incorrect, but might be retained by Paul, all the more seeing that in the original is contained the idea that the speaking proceeded from faith[199] (I trusted, for I spoke).

καὶ ἡμεῖς] we too, like the Psalmist. Hofmann, on the other hand, in accordance with his inappropriate view of τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα τ. π., understands it: in common with those, who have the same spirit.

ΔΙῸ ΚΑῚ ΛΑΛΟῦΜΕΝ] on which account we also let ourselves be heard, are not silent, but preach the gospel. Through this it happens that ἡ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν ἘΝΕΡΓΕῖΤΑΙ. See on 2Co_4:12. The ΚΑΊ before ΛΑΛ. is the also of the relation corresponding (to the πιστεύομεν).

[198] There is ground for assuming that Paul looked on David as the author of Psalms 116, which no doubt belongs to a far later time; it was customary, in fact, to ascribe to David the anonymous psalms generally.

[199] For the very different meanings given to the text of the original (Hupfeld, Ewald, I have faith, when I speak), see Hupfeld on Psalms 116, and Hofmann on this passage.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 4:13 . ἔχοντες δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ πν . κ . τ . λ .: but, sc. , despite our bodily weakness and the “working of death in us” of 2Co 4:12 , having the same spirit of faith, sc. , as the Psalmist, according to that which is written, “I believed, and therefore I spoke,” we also believe, and therefore also we speak, sc. , as the Psalmist did. The exact meaning of Psa 115:1 in the original is hard to fix; but the context would not naturally suggest the beautiful thought here read into it. That faith must find expression, that it cannot be silent, is the Apostle’s adaptation of the words. With τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πίστεως cf. Rom 8:15 , 1Co 4:21 , Gal 6:1 , Eph 1:17 , 2Ti 1:7 , etc. Deissmann ( Neue Bibelstudien , p. 78) illustrates the introductory formula of citation here employed by the legal formula κατὰ τὰ προγεγραμμένα which occurs in a Fayyûm papyrus of 52 A.D.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The same faith by the inspiration of the same Spirit.

He declareth the former sentence, showing that he and his fellows die in a sort to purchase life to others, but yet notwithstanding they are partakers of the same life with them: because they themselves do first believe that, which they propound to others to believe, to wit, that they also shall be saved together with them in Christ.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Translate as Greek, "BUT having," &c., that is, not withstanding the trials just mentioned, we having, &c.

the same spirit of faith, according as it, &c.--Compare Rom 8:15, on the usage of "spirit of faith." The Holy Spirit acting on our spirit. Though "death worketh in us, and life in you" (Co2 4:12), yet as we have the same spirit of faith as you, we therefore [believingly] look for the same immortal life as you [ESTIUS], and speak as we believe. ALFORD not so well translates, "The same . . . faith with that described in the Scriptures" (Psa 116:10). The balance of the sentence requires the parallelism to be this, "According to that which is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak," namely, without fear, amidst "afflictions" and "deaths" (Co2 4:17).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 13. We having the same spirit of faith] As David had when he wrote Ps 116:10: I believed, therefore have I spoken: we also believe that we shall receive the fulfilment of all God's promises; and being fully convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, we speak and testify that our deliverance is from God; and that he does not fail those who trust in him, and that he saves to the uttermost them who come unto him through Christ Jesus.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. Having the same spirit. This is a correction of the foregoing irony. He had represented the condition of the Corinthians as widely different from his own, (not according to his own judgment, but according to their erroneous view,) inasmuch as they were desirous of a gospel that was pleasant and free from all molestation of the cross, and entertained less honorable views of him, because his condition was less renowned. Now, however, he associates himself with them in the hope of the same blessedness. “Though God spares you, and deals with you more indulgently, while he treats me with somewhat more severity, this diversity, nevertheless, will be no hinderance in the way of the like glorious resurrection awaiting both of us. For where there is oneness of faith, there will, also, there be one inheritance.” It has been thought, that the Apostle speaks here of the holy fathers, who lived under the Old Testament, and represents them as partakers with us, in the same faith. This, indeed, is true, but it does not accord with the subject in hand. For it is not Abraham, or the rest of the fathers, that he associates with himself in a fellowship of faith, but rather the Corinthians, whereas they separated themselves from him by a perverse ambition. “However my condition,” says he, “may appear to be the worse for the present, we shall, nevertheless, one day be alike participants in the same glory, for we are connected together by one faith.” Whoever will examine the connection attentively, will perceive, that this is the true and proper interpretation. By metonymy, he gives the name of the spirit of faith to faith itself, because it is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

As it is written What has given occasion for the mistake is, that he quotes the testimony of David. It ought, however, to be taken in connection with the confession — not with the oneness of faith, or if you prefer it, it agrees with what follows — not with what goes before, in this way: “Because we have an assured hope of a blessed resurrection, we are bold to speak and preach what we believe, as it is written, I believed, therefore have I spoken ” Now, this is the commencement of Psalm 116, where David acknowledges, that, when he had been reduced to the last extremity, he was so overpowered that he almost gave way, but, having soon afterwards regained confidence, he had overcome that temptation. Accordingly, he opens the Psalm thus: I believed, therefore will I speak. For faith is the mother of confession. Paul, it is true, stirring himself up to imitate him, exhorts the Corinthians to do the same, and, in accordance with the common Greek translation, has used the preterite instead of the future, but this is of no consequence For he simply means to say, that believers ought to be magnanimous, and undaunted, in

confessing what they have believed with their heart. (Romans 10:9, 10.)

Let now our pretended followers of Nicodemus mark, what sort of fiction they contrive for themselves in the place of faith, when they would have faith remain inwardly buried, and altogether silent, and glory in this wisdom — that they utter, during their whole life, not a single word of right confession.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(13) We having the same spirit of faith . . .—The “spirit of faith” is not definitely the Holy Spirit, but the human spirit in fellowship with the Divine, and therefore characterised by faith. And then, as if pleading that this faith must find utterance, he falls back on the words that are in his mind, almost as an axiom, from Psa_116:10 : “I believed, and therefore I spoke.” It will be noted that the context of the words quoted is eminently in harmony with the feelings to which the Apostle has just given expression: “The sorrows of death compassed me; the pains of hell gat hold of me. I found trouble and heaviness . . . I was brought low . . . Thou hast delivered my soul from death” (Psa_116:3-8). It is as though that Psalm had been his stay and comfort in the midst of his daily conflict with disease.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. We having the same spirit of faith] The idea of boldness and outspokenness is still present with the Apostle. He speaks openly, because he has reason to believe what he says. And the thought is connected with the last verse by the fact that it is to his speaking that the Corinthians owe their life. The ‘same spirit’ means the spirit that dwelt in the Psalmist. See next note.

according as it is written] See Psa_116:10. The Psalmist was ‘sore troubled,’ but his faith enabled him to triumph over affliction and to declare the loving-kindness of the Lord. A similar faith enabled St Paul and his fellow-labourers to declare the good tidings of Christ, though encompassed by infirmity and trouble.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 (x),

"Nmwa hnwma and , "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 Pe2 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, Psa 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.

(x) Sepher Jetzirah, Semit 3. p. 6.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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;

Ver. 13. The same spirit] That you have, and shall be heirs together of heaven with you, though here we meet with more miseries.

I believed, and therefore, &c.] The spirit of faith is no indweller where the door of the lips open not in holy confession and communication.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We having the same spirit of faith - The same spirit that is expressed in the quotation which he is about to make; the same faith which the psalmist had. We have the very spirit of faith which is expressed by David. The sense is, we have the same spirit of faith which he had who said, “I believed,” etc. The phrase, “spirit of faith,” means substantially the same as faith itself; a believing sense or impression of the truth.

According as it is written - This passage is found in Psa 116:10. When the psalmist uttered the words, he was greatly afflicted; see Psa 116:3, Psa 116:6-8. In these circumstances, he prayed to God, and expressed confidence in him, and placed all his reliance on him. In his affliction he spoke to God; he spoke of his confidence in him; he proclaimed his reliance on him; and his having spoken in this manner was the result of his belief, or of his putting confidence in God. Paul, in quoting this, does not mean to say that the psalmist had any reference to the preaching of the gospel; nor does he mean to say that his circumstances were in all respects like those of the psalmist. The circumstances resembled each other only in these respects:

That Paul, like the psalmist, was in circumstances of trial and affliction; and, That the language which both used was that which was prompted by faith - faith, which led them to give utterance to the sentiments of their hearts; the psalmist to utter his confidence in God, and the holms by which he was sustained, and Paul to utter his belief in the glorious truths of the gospel; to speak of a risen Saviour, and to show forth the consolations which were thus set before people in the gospel.

The sentiments of both were the language of faith. Both, in afflictions, uttered the language of faith; and Paul uses here, as he often does, the language of the Old Testament, as exactly expressing his feelings, and the principles by which he was actuated.

We also believe ... - We believe in the truths of the gospel; we believe in God, in the Saviour, in the atonement, in the resurrection, etc. The sentiment is, that they had a firm confidence in these things, and that, as the result of that confidence they boldly delivered their sentiments. It prompted them to give utterance to their feelings. “Out of the abundance of the heart,” said the Saviour, “the mouth speaketh,” Mat 12:34. No man should attempt to preach the gospel who has not a firm belief of its truths; and he who does believe its truths will be prompted to make them known to his fellow-men. All successful preaching is the result of a firm and settled conviction of the truth of the gospel; and when such a conviction exists, it is natural to give utterance to the belief, and such an expression will be attended with happy influences on the minds of other people; see the note on Act 4:20.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

We also believe, &c. That is, we have the like faith as David, when he spoke in that manner; we hope and believe, God will deliver us, or at least raise us up from the dead with Jesus. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The same spirit of faith signifieth the same faith, or faith proceeding from the same spirit; thus, Isa 11:2, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, signifieth wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, &c. It is a question whom the apostle meaneth when he saith:

We having the same faith. Some think he meaneth the saints under the Old Testament, whose faith was the same with the faith of believers under the New Testament; and that which guideth them to that interpretation, is the apostle’s following quotation out of Psa 116:10. But the scope of the quotation seemeth to be, to prove that all good men will speak as they believe; they therefore seem better to interpret the text, that make this the sense of it: Though God, in the wisdom of his providence, hath assigned us in this world a different lot from you, that you are full, we empty; you in prosperity, we in adversity; yet we are partakers of the same faith with you, and are acted from the same spirit that you are: and as David’s spirit guided him to a profession of his faith, and a speaking what he believed; so we also speak, and must speak, according to what we believe. And this is manifestly the sense of the words, if we consider what followeth in the next verse.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. We—Apostles.

The same… faith—As the psalmist who wrote the quoted words.

Spirit of faith—Not merely temper of faith, but the divine Spirit with our spirit inspiring assurance, at the same time attesting itself.

I believed… spoken—Essentially quoted from Psa_116:10, where the exact Hebrew is, “I believe, for I spoke;” the connexion between speaking and faith is in both psalmist and apostle the same. Firm faith is instinctively vocal; it seeks to express the great truth it realizes—to create the same blessed realization in others. We also inherit the inspired faith and readiness for the same giving of our testimony as the saints of the Old Testament.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We; rather, But we. The same spirit of faith. The spirit manifested by the psalmist in the quotation which follows. It is from Psa_116:10, a psalm which corresponded with St. Paul"s mood because it was written in trouble sustained by faith. And this faith inspires him with the conviction that, after "the body of this death," and after this death in life, there should begin for him also the life in death. St. Paul says nothing as to the authorship of the psalm, which probably belongs to a period far later than that of David. The words are from the LXX, and seem fairly to represent the disputed sense of the original.

The speech of true faith.

having the same spirit of faith," etc. The world is full of speech. Human words load the atmosphere. All the speeches may be divided into three classes.

1. Speech without faith. Vapid and volatile talk.

2. Speech with wrong faith. Wrong faith is of two descriptions.

3. Faith in wrong subjects. Men believe errors.

4. Improper faith in right subjects. Weak wavering, etc.

5. Speech with true faith. Take the true faith as faith in Christ. In him, not in propositions concerning him, propositions either including doctrines or facts. I offer three remarks concerning the speech of this faith.

I IT IS INEVITABLE. The man who truly believes in Christ feels that "necessity is laid upon him," that he "cannot but speak the things seen and heard." Such is the influence of faith on man"s social sympathies that his emotions become irrepressible.

II IT IS RATIONAL. How much speech there is in connection even with the religion of Christ that clashes with the dictates of human reason, and is an insult to common sense! But he who really has faith in Christ can give reasons for his convictions in language clear as the day. It is the lack of true faith that makes our sermons hazy.

III IT IS STRONG. True faith in Christ is the strongest of all convictions, and a strong conviction will always have a strong utterance. The words will be free and full.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having the same spirit of faith - Which animated the saints of old; David, in particular, when he said, I believed, and therefore have I spoken - That is, I trusted in God, and therefore he hath put this song of praise in my mouth. We also speak - We preach the gospel, even in the midst of affliction and death, because we believe that God will raise us up from the dead, and will present us, ministers, with you, all his members, "faultless before his presence with exceeding joy." Psalm cxvi, 10.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

How the apostle rose above every handicap:

v. 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,

v. 14. knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

v. 15. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

v. 16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

v. 17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

v. 18. while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The mention of the life in and with Christ raises the apostle to the very heights of an exultant declaration: But since we have the same spirit of faith (as the Psalmist), according to that which is written: I believed, therefore I also spoke, we also believe, and therefore also we speak. The apostle quotes Psa 116:10, where the Easter joy of the Old Testament believers is expressed, declaring that the same spirit of joyful and confident faith lived in him also. His faith, being grounded so firmly, and being so sure in its hope, could not remain silent; it must break forth in a confession of the mouth. As one commentator says: No sooner does faith exist than she begins to speak to others, and, while speaking, recognizes herself and grows in power. Just as the Psalmist was surrounded by enemies, so Paul was in the midst of dangers; but in either case their faith would not hold its peace; it is impossible for the true believer to be quiet concerning the wonderful things which he has seen and heard, Act 4:20 And faith is not an uncertain hope, based upon mere feeling, but upon knowledge grounded in the Word of God: Knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and shall present us together with you. As Paul had shown at great length in chap, 15 of the first letter to the Christians of Corinth, so he here repeats briefly: The resurrection of Christ is a guarantee of our own resurrection; it is our surety that we shall share in the life of the risen Lord. As God raised up Jesus, our Lord, so He will, on the last day, raise up also us, to become partakers of His resurrection, and all believers will be presented together before the throne of the Father and of the Lamb. All these glorious facts are contained in the message of which Paul is a bearer, although he considers himself a weak and unworthy vessel. Note: The hope and faith of the believers of the Old and the New Testament is based upon the same foundation, the Word and promises of God; it exacts the same confession of belief, and looks forward to the same glory.

All these glories, however, are proclaimed by Paul, as he declares: For all things are for your sakes, that grace, being made abundant, through the greater number of you, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. In all his work the apostle had in mind the blessing and benefit of his readers, the Christians in whose interest he was working; it was all done for their sakes. But the end and aim which he had in mind as the final end was that the grace which had been multiplied to him, which gave him such wonderful strength and endurance, should by the force of their many additional prayers result in the more abundant thanksgiving to the glory of God. The greater the number of those that partake of the blessings of God’s gifts and offer up the thanksgiving of their lips and hands to Him, the more emphatically would the glory of the Lord stand out before the whole world and beyond the end of the world, into eternity. In this way "the gratitude of the multitudes which have been converted may keep pace with the blessings which they have received, and abound, as these blessings have abounded."

Paul now returns to the thought of v. 1. Because he is sustained by this glorious hope, he does not give way to faintness, he does not give up: Rather even though our outward man is decaying, yet our inner man is renewed day by day. The contrast is not between flesh and spirit, but between the gradual decay of the bodily organism and the corresponding growth of the spiritual self. The hidden man of the heart, 1Pe 3:4, receives nourishment and strength from the Word of God day after day, and thus gains continually. At the same time the mortal body, the earthen vessel, is making steady progress toward physical death; the dawn of every new day means one day less until the inevitable end; the final dissolution is always only a matter of time. But since the emphasis of the apostle’s sentence is on the second part of his statement, the thought is evidently not causing him any distress. His attitude is rather that of every true believer that regards this entire life merely as a preparation for the everlasting life to come.

Therefore he writes, in the same strain of exultation: For our present momentary, light burden of tribulation works out for us from one excess to another an eternal heavy burden of glory. All the troubles which can come upon us Christians are with us only at this present time, for the length of this fleeting life, at the worst, for a moment as compared with the coming eternal life. And it is light, easy to be borne, comparatively speaking. But the time is coming, and that soon, when the eternal glory will be revealed to us, and this is so wonderful, so great and extensive, so weighty and endless that the slight oppression of the life on earth will be forgotten, Rom 8:18. The miracle is so great which is to follow this present tribulation as though produced by it, though it is a reward of grace, that Paul cannot find words enough to express the thought that is clamoring for utterance. Exceedingly, abundantly, from one excess to another, will God give us the glory which He has prepared since before the foundation of the world for them that love Him.

And the result is that we, with the apostle, no longer look upon, no longer pay any attention to, the things that are seen, to the visible forms of this present universe, but to those which we cannot see, except in hope, by the eye of faith. For all the things which can be seen, which we can conceive of by our senses, are temporal, they were made for this present world and age only. But the things which are not seen, which are invisible to us at this time, are eternal. See Rom 8:24; Heb 11:1. To be concerned about the transitory, perishable things of this world and thereby to lose the true and lasting values of heaven argues for a false estimate of values, for a loss of the substance in the vain effort to catch hold of the shadow. Paul, as a preacher with the Gospel-message of light and life, wanted his readers ever to keep before their eyes the great end and aim of their existence, the life with God in the fullness of heavenly glory.

Summary

The apostle disavows all connection with craftiness and adulteration of the Word; in spite of the many perils that beset him he proclaims the Gospel of the knowledge of the glory of God; in doing so, the faith of his heart is uttered in the confession of his mouth, and he looks forward to the final deliverance and the glory eternal.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written [ Psa_116:10 ], I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak [having the same spirit of faith which was in the Psalmist who proclaimed his faith despite his afflictions, we preach right on despite all opposition];

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13–15. We having the same spirit of faith. Yet in spite of all the sufferings and peril described, we preach right on. Like the psalmist (Ps. 116:10) we are moved by the power of faith; we also believe, therefore we speak.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

the same spirit of faith

"the same attitude of faith." Here the word "spirit" refers a person's attitude and temperament.

according to that which was written

This can be stated in active form. AT: "as the one who wrote these words" (See: Active or Passive)

I believed, and so I spoke

This is a quote from the Psalms.

that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will

Here to raise up is an idiom for causing someone who has died to become alive again. AT: "that the one who caused the Lord Jesus to live again will" or "God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will" (See: Idiom)

Everything is for your sake

Here the word "everything" refers to all of the sufferings that Paul has described in previous verses.

as grace is spread to many people

This can be stated in active form. AT: "as God spreads his grace to many people" (See: Active or Passive)

thanksgiving may increase

Paul speaks of thanksgiving as if it were an object that could become larger by itself. AT: "more and more people may give thanks" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

spirit

faith

written

believe

know

raise

lord

Jesus

grace

glory

God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

13. ἔχοντες δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα. But, because we have the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, wherefore I spoke, we also believe, wherefore also we speak. The same trust in God which sustained the Psalmist sustains the Apostle; and it is this faith which enables him, in spite of his infirmities, to preach, and to preach with effect. The quotation is from the LXX. of Psa 116:10 [Psa 115:1], which here differs from the Hebrew. The Hebrew gives, ‘I believe when I speak,’ or, ‘I do believe, for I must speak.’ The point here is that faith and trust in God enable those who are in trouble themselves to make known to others the love of God. The whole context seems to be in S. Paul’s mind.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13-18.] Encouragements: and (1) faith, which enables us to go on preaching to you. Meyer connects this verse with ἡ δὲ ζωὴ ἐν ὑμῖν: for, he says, by means of πιστεύομεν διὸ καὶ λαλοῦμεν, is that ζωὴ ἐν ὑμ. ἐνεργεῖται, wrought. But, not to mention that thus the context is strangely disturbed, in which we and our trials form the leading subject, it would surely be very unnatural that ἔχοντες δέ should apply not to the principal but to the subordinate clause of the foregoing verse. But (contrast to the foregoing state of trial and working of death in us) having the same spirit of faith (not distinctly the Holy Spirit,—but as in reff., not merely a human disposition: the indwelling Holy Spirit penetrates and characterizes the whole renewed man) with that described in the Scriptures (τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τὸ γεγρ., i.e. either as Billroth, τὸ αὐτὸ (ἐκείνῳ) περὶ οὗ γέγραπται, or as De W., = τὸ αὐτὸ ὡς γέγρ., ὥσπερ being sometimes found after ὁ αὐτός, ἴσος, and the like, and κατὰ here being equivalent to it. I prefer the former: but at all events the connexion of τὸ αὐτό and κατὰ τὸ γεγρ. must be maintained, and we must not, with Meyer, connect κατὰ τὸ γεγρ.… with καὶ ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν, which makes the Apostle say that his faith is according to the words of the citation, and thus confuses the whole process of thought), I believed, wherefore I spoke (the connexion of the words in the Psalm is not clear, nor the precise meaning of כִּי rendered by the LXX διό. See Pool’s Synopsis in loc. for the various renderings), we too believe, wherefore we also speak (continue our preaching of the gospel, notwithstanding such vast hindrances within and without):

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. ‘But the fact that we have the death while you have the life is no reason why we should be silent.’ Nullo metu suppli ciorum omittimus loqui ea quae eredimus (Herv.). ‘Trust in God inspires us as it did the Psalmist.’ As in most of the quotations in the Pauline Epistles, the quotation is from the LXX, without material change (cf. 6:2, 8:15, 9:9; see on 1Co 6:16, 1Co 10:7) : also Swete, Introd. to O.T. in Greek, p. 400. This practice of the Apostle is remarkable here, because, although the exact meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain, yet the LXX, ἐπίστευσα, διὸ ἐλάλησα, is certainly wrong. The Hebrew may mean ‘I believed (or believe), for I will speak,’ i.e. must speak, must confess it: or, ‘I believe, though I speak it,’ i.e. although I utter the desponding words which follow, ‘I was greatly afflicted; I said in my alarm, All men are liars.’ And there are other possibilities. In the Hebrew the passage is central, cxvi. 10, 11 But the LXX, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic, against clear internal evidence, unite Psa 115 with Psa 114 and cut 16 in two, making 16:10 the beginning of 116 (115).

ἔχοντες. See on v. 7; ‘because we have,’ as in 3:12.

τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πἰστεως. ‘The same spirit of faith as the Psalmist’; quem habuerunt et illi qui scripserunt, Credidi, propter quod locutus sum (Aug.); not ‘the same spirit as you Corinthians’; nor ‘the same spirit among ourselves,’ i.e. that all the preachers have the same inspiration. Chrys. appeals to this as evidence that the O.T. and N.T. are inspired by the same Spirit; and many Fathers understand πνεῦμαhere to mean the Holy Spirit as the bestower of faith, which is probably incorrect.

κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. This formaula of quotation appears in papyri in reference to legal documents, and is found in one of about the same date as this Epistle (Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 250). Here it explains τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα. It does not look forward to καὶ ἡμεῖς πιστεύομεν (Meyer), as if the Apostle’s belief was regulated by the Psalmist. As often in his quotations, St Paul seems to have the whole passage in his mind, although he quotes only a few words.

καὶ ἡμεῖς. ‘We also, as well as the Psalmist, believe; and therefore we also speak.’ This is how it comes to pass that ‘life takes effect in you.’ Faith cannot be silent.

א F G, Syrr. Arm. Goth. insert καί before ἐλάλησα, B C D E K L P, Latt. omit. There is no καί in LXX, and some editors treat the omission of καίhere as assimilation to LXX.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The same spirit of faith. The same, namely, which is set forth in the following passage. Spirit of faith : not distinctly the Holy Spirit, nor, on the other hand, a human faculty or disposition, but blending both; faith as a gift of the Spirit of God. See on Spirit, Rom 8:4, sec. 5. I believed, etc. Cited from Sept., Psa 115:10. The Septuagint mistranslates the Hebrew, which is, "I believed though I said," etc.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.