NOTES for Co2 4:8-9
The words of the apostle about the conditions, in which he comes to live and to witness to himself and his coreligionists, may seem the declaration of a heroic resistance, the words of the heroes resisting the whole world and ready to fight till the victorious end. Probably, such would have been the case if it was not one "but". Paul understands perfectly that they cannot overcome here, in the world being transformed, but not yet transformed, and thus being still in evil. Of course, it does not diminish the heroism: the heroic perdition is a known thing, history. But the apostle, as seen, sees the meaning not even in the possible or impossible victory, but in the fact that, in spite of all the efforts of this evil, in which lies the world, they didn’t all the same disappear from this world, they are still here and continue their work, their witness.
Such logic from the point of view of the laws of the not transformed world seems a little bit strange and, at least, without perspectives: because the witnesses can’t all the same change radically the situation to their profit, and if it is so, which sense then in all their efforts? But from the point of view of the Kingdom everything falls into place: because from this point of view it is completely obvious that until the definitive triumph of the Kingdom and before the complete transformation of the world, it will be really impossible to change radically the state of things in it.
But the Kingdom has to exist in the world, exist as the Church, as a community of righteous men living the life of the Kingdom and witnessing of this Kingdom. They will not be able to transform the world not transformed into an earthly paradise, but they are able to manifest an alternative to the existing order of things and give the possibility to join the life of the Kingdom to those who seek for it. And in this consists the main task of the Church, as understands it Jesus Himself, and all the apostles, including of course Paul. So he speaks about his sufferings and those of his concelebrants not to boast in front of anybody or frighten anybody.
He wants simply, it seems, to dispel the illusion which begins already to spread among a certain part of Christians, that the Church can one day and one way or another become the natural and organic part of this world, find in it its place and even transform it, transforming if not into paradise, then at least in something more worthy, than it was from the moment of the fall. And the apostle does not get tired to remind to all that these hopes are illusive. And the ghosts are not harmless, because they distract those who are passionate in them from the most important – the Kingdom.