2 Corinthians · Chapter 7

V. 1. Let us cleanse ourselves-This is the latter part of the exhortation, which was proposed, 2 Corinthians 6:1, and resumed, 2 Corinthians 6:14.

From all pollution of the flesh-All outward sin.

And of the spirit-All inward. Yet let us not rest in negative religion, but perfect holiness-Carrying it to the height in all its branches, and enduring to the end in the loving fear of God, the sure foundation of all holiness.

Verse 1. Having therefore these promises] The promises mentioned in the three last verses of the preceding chapter, to which this verse should certainly be joined.

Let us cleanse ourselves] Let us apply to him for the requisite grace of purification; and avoid every thing in spirit and practice which is opposite to the doctrine of God, and which has a tendency to pollute the soul. Filthiness of the flesh] The apostle undoubtedly means, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, and all such sins as are done immediately against the body; and by filthiness of the spirit, all impure desires, unholy thoughts, and polluting imaginations. If we avoid and abhor evil inclinations, and turn away our eyes from beholding vanity, incentives to evil being thus lessened, (for the eye affects the heart,) there will be the less danger of our falling into outward sin. And if we avoid all outward occasions of sinning, evil propensities will certainly be lessened. All this is our work under the common aids of the grace of God. We may turn away our eyes and ears from evil, or we may indulge both in what will infallibly beget evil desires and tempers in the soul; and under the same influence we may avoid every act of iniquity; for even Satan himself cannot, by any power he has, constrain us to commit uncleanness, robbery, drunkenness, murder, &c. These are things in which both body and soul must consent. But still withholding the eye, the ear, the hand, and the body in general, from sights, reports, and acts of evil, will not purify a fallen spirit; it is the grace and Spirit of Christ alone, powerfully applied for this very purpose, that can purify the conscience and the heart from all dead works. But if we do not withhold the food by which the man of sin is nourished and supported, we cannot expect God to purify our hearts. While we are striving against sin, we may expect the Spirit of God to purify us by his inspiration from all unrighteousness, that we may perfectly love and magnify our Maker. How can those expect God to purify their hearts who are continually indulging their eyes, ears, and hands in what is forbidden, and in what tends to increase and bring into action all the evil propensities of the soul? Perfecting holiness] Getting the whole mind of Christ brought into the soul. This is the grand object of a genuine Christian’s pursuit. The means of accomplishing this are, 1. Resisting and avoiding sin, in all its inviting and seducing forms. 2. Setting the fear of God before our eyes, that we may dread his displeasure, and abhor whatever might excite it, and whatever might provoke him to withhold his manna from our mouth. We see, therefore, that there is a strong and orthodox sense in which we may cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, and thus perfect holiness in the fear of God.

Verse 1. Having therefore these promises — Of blessings so unspeakably great and precious, encouraged by them, and in order to our obtaining their complete accomplishment; let us — By the exercise of a lively faith in them, and in God’s word in general, by fervent prayer for the purifying influences of the Divine Spirit, and by obedience to the truth, 1 Peter 1:22; cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh — All irregular appetites, all outward sin; and of the spirit — All unhallowed affections, corrupt passions and tempers, and all unholy designs and desires; all inward sin; perfecting holiness — Universal, in all things; constant, at all times, and persevering to the end of our days; not resting in a mere negative religion, but aspiring after all the mind that was in Christ, a full conformity to the image of God; in the reverential, loving fear of God — Setting him always before us, in whose presence we always are, by whom all our actions are examined, and to whom our hearts lie open; and therefore, guarding against every disposition, word, and action, whereby we might grieve his Spirit, and deprive ourselves of the light of his countenance.

Verse 1. Having therefore these promises. Our good archbishop Langton is blamed by many critics for separating this verse from the preseding chapter. The great and precious promises of the new covenant are all designed to embolden our approaches to God. If he adopt us, and make us his living temple, then we should resemble him in holiness. This holiness, it would seem, is taught here, both as a progressive, and as an instantaneous work. The first effort towards holiness is the renunciation of sin at a stroke, by the knife of excision. Mark 9:43-48. Also by an approach to the fountain, which cleanses from all unrighteousness. Then to grow in grace, and profit by all the trials of life for the mortification of sin. But, at the same time, ever to seek an instantaneous deliverance, for now is the day of salvation.

Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Cultivating and improving the christian temper, by growing in knowledge and in grace, till from a little child, the inner man of the heart shall attain the measure and stature of Christ. Labouring to attain that perfect faith which would sacrifice every idol at the divine command, that perfect love which distinguished the martyrs and confessors, that perfect patience which endures affliction with joy, and blesses God under the severest privations. This great change is superinduced by the effectual working of the divine power. Christ, long knocking at the door, enters the heart, expels the serpent’s brood, and hallows the living temple as his abode. His presence changes the mind from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The old man is put off with his deeds, and the inner man is renewed day by day. This is the new heart, the glorious liberty of the children of God. The believer sinks into a state of humility, as less than the least of all saints, that Christ may be all in all.

1. Having—This verse completes the last section, and should belong to the sixth chapter. These promises—In the Greek the position of these words in the sentence renders them emphatic, these glorious promises. Paul refers to the promises of the last verse of the previous chapter, in which Jehovah promises us, upon our departure from sin, that we shall be his sons and daughters. Let us cleanse ourselves—Let us exert our active powers to our own purification; yet through the gracious power derived from God. Filthiness—Pollution, soiling, staining. The flesh and spirit—Sins of the flesh are those that arise from man’s animal or corporeal nature, as gluttony, intemperance, licentiousness; sins of the spirit are those that come from man’s intellectual nature, as pride, scepticism, falsehood, idolatry, etc. By the former, man is allied to brutes; by the latter, to devils. Yet both these classes of sins the apostle stigmatizes as filthiness. They defile the purity of man’s nature. He thereby stands before the perfectly pure God spotted with guilt. Perfecting—The positive process of which the purifying is the negative. To perfect is to bring to completion or normal maturity. Fear—That sentiment that deters and drives from sin, but can never bring us to holiness without the mingling and predominance of love. On this passage we may note that a perfected holiness is here represented as a possible attainment; that it is the result of a properly-directed activity, and that its attainment is not to be delayed until death, but is to be realized and possessed during the Christian’s life.

Ver. 1. Practical application of these quotations, in harmony with 2 Corinthians 7:14a and 16a. Notice carefully that God’s words to Israel in the wilderness and through Isaiah are promises now possessed by Christian believers. For God acts always on the same principles: and therefore His words to one man are valid for all in similar circumstances. Moreover, the Mosaic ritual and the Old Testament history are symbolic of the Christian life. God’s visible presence in the midst of Israel was an outward pattern of His spiritual presence in the hearts of Christians: and the obligations which His presence laid upon Israel were a pattern of those resting upon His people now. And when, through the pen of Isaiah, God called the exiles returning from the dominion of idolaters His sons and daughters, He taught plainly that in days to come He would receive as such those whom He rescued from sin. Indeed, the universality, to believers, of the favor of God in gospel days makes His promise to David a promise of adoption for all believers.

Let us cleanse ourselves; (cp. 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:3;) refers probably to abstinence from the outward corruptions of idolatry. It is justified by the truth that deliverance from sin, although it is God’s work in us, is yet obtained by our own moral effort and our own faith. It therefore depends upon ourselves whether we are made clean. [The aorist subjunctive exhorts us, not to a gradual and progressive, but to a completed, cleansing from all defilement. So Ephesians 4:22, 25; Colossians 3:5, 8; 1 John 1:9.] Our flesh is defiled when our hands and feet and bodies do the bidding of sin; our spirit, when we contemplate sin with pleasure. Flesh rather than “body,” because the defilement comes from desires belonging not so much to each individual organized body as to the common material and nature of all living bodies. Even the spirit, that part of us which is nearest to God, is capable of defilement. Cp. 1 Corinthians 8:7; Titus 1:15. Perhaps Paul had in view the sensuality always and specially at Corinth, connected with idolatry. He warns his readers, not only against all actual contact with sensuality, but also against that consent of the spirit which often defiles the inner life even when there is no outward sin.

Accomplish: to perform a purpose, or complete something begun. Same word, 2 Corinthians 8:6, 11; Romans 15:28; Galatians 3:3; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 8:5; 9:6; 1 Peter 5:9. Holiness; brings to bear on the foregoing exhortation the teaching in 2 Corinthians 6:16 that we are the temple of God. Cp. 1 Corinthians 3:17.

Accomplishing holiness: not identical with cleanse yourselves; or it would be needless. It denotes everything involved in being “the temple of God”; viz. absolute reservation for God alone. See note under Romans 1:7. For God claimed that none set foot in the temple except to do His work. Now this devotion to God implies cleansing from all sin. For all sin is opposed to God. Therefore, that God has given us the honor of being his temple and has promised to receive us as His children, is a strong motive for cleansing and consecrating ourselves. For only thus can we be His temple.

In the fear of God: cp. Ephesians 5:21. It brings before us the dread presence and power of Him who slew Nadab and Abihu, and the company of Korah: Leviticus 10:2; Num. 16. Cp. “Living God” in 2 Corinthians 6:16. All contact with impurity is in us a defilement of the temple of God and an insult to the majesty of Him who dwells therein. Therefore fear as well as hope should prompt us to abstain from all sin. The argument of this verse is akin to that of Leviticus 11:43ff; Leviticus 20:1ff, 25ff. God has promised to dwell in our midst. And, since He can tolerate no rival, His presence in us requires absolute devotion to Him: and this involves separation from whatever, in symbol or reality, is opposed to Him. Therefore, that God has promised to dwell in us as His temple and receive us as His children, ought to move us to turn from all sin and to claim by faith that complete purity (cp. Romans 6:11) which He is ready to work in us. This reference to the Old Testament also teaches that the service of Christ is quite incompatible with that of Satan; and that therefore there is no true harmony between believers and unbelievers.

Paul’s appeal in 2 Corinthians 7:11-13 was prompted naturally by his foregoing defence of his apostolic work, which was really throughout an appeal to his readers. But the reason of the sudden transition in 2 Corinthians 7:14 is not so evident. It may be that he knew that the disaffection towards himself of some at Corinth arose from their tolerance in some measure of the corruptions of idolatry. Or, the warning may have been prompted simply by the greatness of the peril. Certainly, of the exhortation in 2 Corinthians 6:1 this is a practical application.

V. 2. Receive us-The sum of what is said in this, as well as in the tenth and following chapters.

We have hurt no man-In his person.

We have corrupted no man-In his principles.

We have defrauded no man-Of his property. In this he intimates likewise the good he had done them, but with the utmost modesty, as it were not looking upon it.

Verse 2. Receive us] cwrhsate hmav. This address is variously understood. Receive us into your affections-love us as we love you. Receive us as your apostles and teachers; we have given you full proof that God hath both sent and owned us. Receive, comprehend, what we now say to you, and carefully mark it.

We have wronged no man] We have never acted contrary to the strictest justice.

We have corrupted no man] With any false doctrine or pernicious opinion.

We have defrauded no man.] Of any part of his property. But what have your false teachers done? They have beguiled you from the simplicity of the truth, and thus corrupted your minds. 2 Corinthians 11:3. They have brought you into bondage; they have taken of you; devoured you; axalted themselves against you, and ye have patiently suffered all this. 2 Corinthians 11:20. It is plain that he refers here to the false apostle or teacher which they had among them.

Verses 2-4. Receive us — With that affection which is due to the faithful servants of Christ, and to those who have been instruments in your conversion and edification; for, whatever may have been insinuated by ill-designing persons to the contrary; we have wronged — Or injured; no man — In his person. We have corrupted no man — In his principles. We have defrauded no man — Of his property. In this he intimates, likewise, the good he had done them, but with the utmost modesty, as it were, not looking on it. I speak not this to condemn you — As if I accused you of charging me with any of these crimes, but to vindicate myself from the imputations of the false apostles; for I have said before, &c. — I am so far from thinking so unkindly of you; that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you — That is, I could rejoice to spend all my days with you. Great is my boldness, &c. — As if he had said, As an argument of my love, I deal very freely with you upon all occasions; Great is my glorying of you — Or my boasting concerning you. He could, with confidence, boast of them, after the account which Titus brought him of their obedience and good dispositions. I am filled with comfort — On your account. I am exceeding joyful, &c. — My joy for your obedience overbalances the pain occasioned by my affliction.

Ver. 2. We have wronged no man of his rights, corrupted no man in moral or religious principles, defrauded no man of money or of his just claims. These are three sins which alienate the affections of people from their ministers, and are here enumerated as a tacit rebuke to false teachers.

2. Paul’s exhortation to acceptance of his apostleship, 2-16. a. From his purity and tender affection, 2-4.

2. Receive us—Accept and acknowledge me (with my co-labourers) as your founder-apostle. Paul blends the elevation of the Corinthians to a high platform of holiness with this acceptance. In his review of his gospel scheme, 5:13-21, and of his apostolic elevation, in 6:1-11, a sublime piety is the claim. In the earnest exhortation of 6:11-vii, 1, this is the view: that Paulinism is pre-eminently a holy Christianity. This appeal, receive us, therefore means, do you on this high plane receive us who present and occupy that plane. Let us stand in union on the same high level of an exalted Christianity. Have… have… have—The Greek aorist tense requires these three haves to be omitted. The three verbs then left, all point to a particular period; namely, (like a similar passage at 11:7-9,) the period of St. Paul’s first visit to Corinth and first founding that Church. Acts 18:1-18. We have wronged no man. This passage makes beautiful reference to the magnanimous appeal of Samuel to Israel, as he closed his prophetic office, asserting the purity of his administration, (1 Samuel 12:3,) “Witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith?” St. Paul refers, no doubt, to the insinuations of his detractors at Corinth. Wronged—By any kind of injustice. Corrupted—By any false or demoralizing doctrine; as the word signifies in 1 Corinthians 15:33. Defrauded—In any money matters. Comp. Acts 20:33, 34. St. Paul here intimates that his holiness consisted not purely in religious emotions, but also in plain, downright equity of dealing. Piety without honesty is a poor article. Sublimated religious professions are a sad deception unless sustained by true, square, conscientious dealing in the shop, the store, the market, or the exchange. Piety has a great deal to do with money. It is in a true sense a “cash article.”

II CORINTHIANS

SECTION 10. — PAUL IS FILLED WITH JOY BY

GOOD NEWS ABOUT HIS READERS; AND IS NOT

NOW SORRY THAT HE WROTE TO THEM HIS

FORMER LETTER. IN HIS JOY, TITUS SHARES.

CH. 7:2-16

Make room for us. No one have we treated unjustly: no one have we damaged: no one have we treated with greed. I do not say it to condemn you. For I have before said that in our hearts you are, to die together and to live together. Much openness of speech have I towards you: much exultation have I on behalf of you. I am filled with my encouragement: I abound beyond measure with my joy amid all our affliction. For even when we had come to Macedonia no relief our flesh had, but we were in everything afflicted: without, battles; within, fears.

But He who encourages the lowly ones encouraged us, even God, by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged about you, while announcing to us your longing, your lamentation, your jealousy on my behalf so that I rejoiced the more. Because, if even I made you sorrowful by the letter, I do not regret it. If even I was regretting it. (For I see that that letter, if even for an hour, made you sorrowful.) Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful for repentance. For you were made sorrowful in a way pleasing to God, that in nothing you might receive loss from us. For the sorrow pleasing to God works repentance for salvation not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world works out death. For see this very thing, being made sorrowful in a way pleasing to God, how much it wrought out for you of earnestness; nay, self-defence; nay, indignation, nay, fear; nay, longing; nay, jealousy; nay, vengeance. In everything you proved yourselves to be pure touching the matter. Therefore, if indeed I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of him who acted unjustly, nor for the sake of him who suffered injustice, but for the sake of your earnestness on our behalf being made manifest in your presence before God. For this cause I have been encouraged. Moreover, in addition to our encouragement more abundantly did we rejoice the more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has received refreshment from you all. Because, if at all to him on your behalf I have boasted,* (*Or, Exulted, exultation: so to end of the Epistle.) I was not put to shame. But, as all things in truth we have spoken to you, so also our boasting* (*Or, Exulted, exultation: so to end of the Epistle.) before Titus was found to be truth. And his heart is more abundantly towards you, remembering the obedience of all of you, how with fear and trembling you welcomed him. I rejoice that in everything I am in good heart about you.

Ver. 2.-4. Make room for us: in your hearts. Paul here takes up 2 Corinthians 6:13, “Be you also enlarged.” This sudden return to the same subject, and the sudden and unexpected digression of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, suggest that he knew that the disaffection at Corinth was caused by sinful toleration of idolatry.

No one… no one… no one: emphatic repetition. These sudden and unexplained denials must have been prompted by charges against Paul. Some might think that by his strict moral teaching, which required abandonment of idolatry and of all unjust gains, he had inflicted loss on his readers.

Greed; refers perhaps, as it does in 2 Corinthians 12:17f, to the collection for Jerusalem. Paul declares that while urging them to contribute he was not enriching himself. He denies any unfairness or loss to his readers, or gain to himself. And what he has before said (in 2 Corinthians 6:11, 12) about his love to his readers proves that he does not say this to condemn them, i.e. to announce coming punishment for wrong doing. For this is never the ultimate aim of our words to those we love.

In our hearts you are: implied in the similar words in 2 Corinthians 6:11, “our heart is enlarged.”

To die together and live together: Paul’s purpose when giving them a place in his heart. It reveals the greatness of his love to them. To die together: put first, as in Romans 8:38, because deadly peril was ever before both Paul and his readers. So great is his affection that he has cast in his lot with them, that they and he may stand side by side in face of death ever threatening them and him, and throughout life. Cp. Philippians 1:7.

Openness of speech: 2 Corinthians 3:12; shown in 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:3.

Boasting or exultation: see under Romans 2:17; 1 Corinthians 1:29. Here and in 2 Corinthians 7:14 it evidently found vent in words. Hence my rendering boast, continued throughout the Epistle. This is an apology for Paul’s bold language to his readers. To them he speaks without reserve strong words of warning: to others he speaks about them glowing words of joy and confidence, examples in 2 Corinthians 7:14; 9:2. He thus prepares the way for a recognition of the improved state of the Corinthian church, with which he appropriately concludes his “Review of recent events.”

With my encouragement: explained in 2 Corinthians 7:6. It gave him abundant joy. That good news about his readers fills him to overflowing with encouragement and joy, a joy which all his affliction cannot quench, proves the intensity of his love.

Filled with encouragement and abound beyond measure with joy: a double climax.

V. 3. I speak not to condemn you-Not as if I accused you of laying this to my charge. I am so far from thinking so unkindly of you, that ye are in our hearts, to live and die with you-That is, I could rejoice to spend all my days with you.

Verse 3. I speak not this to condemn you] I do not speak to reproach but to correct you. I wish you to open your eyes and see how you are corrupted, spoiled, and impoverished by those whom ye have incautiously preferred to the true apostles of Jesus Christ.

I have said before, that ye are in our hearts] He has in effect and substance said this, 2 Corinthians 1:6-8; 2:4, 12; 3:2, 13; where see the passages at length, and the notes.

To die and live with you.] An expression which points out the strongest affection, as in cases where love blinds us to the faults of those whom we love, and causes us to prefer them to all others; like that in Horace:— Quanquam sidere pulchrior

llle est, tu levior cortice, et improbo

Iracundior Adria.

Tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam tibens.

ODAR. lib. iii. Od. ix. ver. 21.

“Though he exceed in beauty far

The rising lustre of a star;

Though light as cork thy fancy strays,

Thy passions wild as angry seas

When vex’d with storms; yet gladly I

With thee would live, with thee would die.”

FRANCIS.

From all appearance there never was a Church less worthy of an apostle’s affections than this Church was at this time; and yet no one ever more beloved. The above quotation applies to this case in full force.

Verses 2-4. Receive us — With that affection which is due to the faithful servants of Christ, and to those who have been instruments in your conversion and edification; for, whatever may have been insinuated by ill-designing persons to the contrary; we have wronged — Or injured; no man — In his person. We have corrupted no man — In his principles. We have defrauded no man — Of his property. In this he intimates, likewise, the good he had done them, but with the utmost modesty, as it were, not looking on it. I speak not this to condemn you — As if I accused you of charging me with any of these crimes, but to vindicate myself from the imputations of the false apostles; for I have said before, &c. — I am so far from thinking so unkindly of you; that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you — That is, I could rejoice to spend all my days with you. Great is my boldness, &c. — As if he had said, As an argument of my love, I deal very freely with you upon all occasions; Great is my glorying of you — Or my boasting concerning you. He could, with confidence, boast of them, after the account which Titus brought him of their obedience and good dispositions. I am filled with comfort — On your account. I am exceeding joyful, &c. — My joy for your obedience overbalances the pain occasioned by my affliction.

3. Condemn you—The apostle is checked in his self-assertion by a delicate fear lest he should seem to retain in his heart a lurking feeling of resentment at the Corinthians for listening for even a moment to the insinuations of his traducers in his absence. Condemn—Blame, impute wrong. Said before—Above, at 2 Corinthians 6:12. To die and live— So prominent with Paul is the readiness and liability for death that it stands as first and most probable. It contradicts the favourite fancy of Alford and others, that he expected not to die, but to live until the second advent, and undergo the resurrection “change.” Die… with you—If it is to be martyrdom, I could lay my neck upon the same block; if by quiet death, upon a simultaneous pillow. Live—He could spend his days, so far as affection was concerned, under the shadow of the Acro-corinthus, in the bosom of his dear Corinthian Church. So did James, at Jerusalem; and John, at Ephesus. But Paul was by mission the great itinerant. He could stay in one place only by imprisonment, as at Cesarea and at Rome.

II CORINTHIANS

SECTION 10. — PAUL IS FILLED WITH JOY BY

GOOD NEWS ABOUT HIS READERS; AND IS NOT

NOW SORRY THAT HE WROTE TO THEM HIS

FORMER LETTER. IN HIS JOY, TITUS SHARES.

CH. 7:2-16

Make room for us. No one have we treated unjustly: no one have we damaged: no one have we treated with greed. I do not say it to condemn you. For I have before said that in our hearts you are, to die together and to live together. Much openness of speech have I towards you: much exultation have I on behalf of you. I am filled with my encouragement: I abound beyond measure with my joy amid all our affliction. For even when we had come to Macedonia no relief our flesh had, but we were in everything afflicted: without, battles; within, fears.

But He who encourages the lowly ones encouraged us, even God, by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged about you, while announcing to us your longing, your lamentation, your jealousy on my behalf so that I rejoiced the more. Because, if even I made you sorrowful by the letter, I do not regret it. If even I was regretting it. (For I see that that letter, if even for an hour, made you sorrowful.) Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful for repentance. For you were made sorrowful in a way pleasing to God, that in nothing you might receive loss from us. For the sorrow pleasing to God works repentance for salvation not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world works out death. For see this very thing, being made sorrowful in a way pleasing to God, how much it wrought out for you of earnestness; nay, self-defence; nay, indignation, nay, fear; nay, longing; nay, jealousy; nay, vengeance. In everything you proved yourselves to be pure touching the matter. Therefore, if indeed I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of him who acted unjustly, nor for the sake of him who suffered injustice, but for the sake of your earnestness on our behalf being made manifest in your presence before God. For this cause I have been encouraged. Moreover, in addition to our encouragement more abundantly did we rejoice the more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has received refreshment from you all. Because, if at all to him on your behalf I have boasted,* (*Or, Exulted, exultation: so to end of the Epistle.) I was not put to shame. But, as all things in truth we have spoken to you, so also our boasting* (*Or, Exulted, exultation: so to end of the Epistle.) before Titus was found to be truth. And his heart is more abundantly towards you, remembering the obedience of all of you, how with fear and trembling you welcomed him. I rejoice that in everything I am in good heart about you.

Ver. 2.-4. Make room for us: in your hearts. Paul here takes up 2 Corinthians 6:13, “Be you also enlarged.” This sudden return to the same subject, and the sudden and unexpected digression of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, suggest that he knew that the disaffection at Corinth was caused by sinful toleration of idolatry.

No one… no one… no one: emphatic repetition. These sudden and unexplained denials must have been prompted by charges against Paul. Some might think that by his strict moral teaching, which required abandonment of idolatry and of all unjust gains, he had inflicted loss on his readers.

Greed; refers perhaps, as it does in 2 Corinthians 12:17f, to the collection for Jerusalem. Paul declares that while urging them to contribute he was not enriching himself. He denies any unfairness or loss to his readers, or gain to himself. And what he has before said (in 2 Corinthians 6:11, 12) about his love to his readers proves that he does not say this to condemn them, i.e. to announce coming punishment for wrong doing. For this is never the ultimate aim of our words to those we love.

In our hearts you are: implied in the similar words in 2 Corinthians 6:11, “our heart is enlarged.”

To die together and live together: Paul’s purpose when giving them a place in his heart. It reveals the greatness of his love to them. To die together: put first, as in Romans 8:38, because deadly peril was ever before both Paul and his readers. So great is his affection that he has cast in his lot with them, that they and he may stand side by side in face of death ever threatening them and him, and throughout life. Cp. Philippians 1:7.

Openness of speech: 2 Corinthians 3:12; shown in 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:3.

Boasting or exultation: see under Romans 2:17; 1 Corinthians 1:29. Here and in 2 Corinthians 7:14 it evidently found vent in words. Hence my rendering boast, continued throughout the Epistle. This is an apology for Paul’s bold language to his readers. To them he speaks without reserve strong words of warning: to others he speaks about them glowing words of joy and confidence, examples in 2 Corinthians 7:14; 9:2. He thus prepares the way for a recognition of the improved state of the Corinthian church, with which he appropriately concludes his “Review of recent events.”

With my encouragement: explained in 2 Corinthians 7:6. It gave him abundant joy. That good news about his readers fills him to overflowing with encouragement and joy, a joy which all his affliction cannot quench, proves the intensity of his love.

Filled with encouragement and abound beyond measure with joy: a double climax.

V. 4. I am filled with comfort-Of this he treats, 2 Corinthians 7:6, &c.; of his joy, 2 Corinthians 7:7, &c.; of both, 2 Corinthians 7:13.

Verse 4. Great is my boldness of speech] He seems to refer to the manner in which he spoke of them to others.

Great is my glorying of you] They had probably been very loving and affectionate previously to the time in which they were perverted by their false apostle. He therefore had boasted of them in all the Churches. I am filled with comfort] My affection for you has still the most powerful ascendancy in my soul. Here we may see the affection of the most tender father to his children.

I am exceeding joyful] uperperisseuomai. I superabound in joy; I have a joy beyond expression. uJperperisseuw is an extremely rare verb. I have not met with it in any Greek author; and it occurs no where in the New Testament but here and in Romans 5:20.

In all our tribulation.] Perhaps epi here should be rendered under instead of in, as it signifies, Mark 2:26; Luke 3:2; Acts 11:28. Under all our tribulations, I feel inexpressible joy on your account.

Verses 2-4. Receive us — With that affection which is due to the faithful servants of Christ, and to those who have been instruments in your conversion and edification; for, whatever may have been insinuated by ill-designing persons to the contrary; we have wronged — Or injured; no man — In his person. We have corrupted no man — In his principles. We have defrauded no man — Of his property. In this he intimates, likewise, the good he had done them, but with the utmost modesty, as it were, not looking on it. I speak not this to condemn you — As if I accused you of charging me with any of these crimes, but to vindicate myself from the imputations of the false apostles; for I have said before, &c. — I am so far from thinking so unkindly of you; that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you — That is, I could rejoice to spend all my days with you. Great is my boldness, &c. — As if he had said, As an argument of my love, I deal very freely with you upon all occasions; Great is my glorying of you — Or my boasting concerning you. He could, with confidence, boast of them, after the account which Titus brought him of their obedience and good dispositions. I am filled with comfort — On your account. I am exceeding joyful, &c. — My joy for your obedience overbalances the pain occasioned by my affliction.

4. Great—Paul cannot directly address the Corinthians (as at 6:1) without breaking into exultation. Boldness—The fearlessness of a friendship that dares say any thing it pleases. Great… glorying—A climax; as is also comfort and exceeding joyful. Paul was lovingly bold in speaking to them, and boastful in speaking of them. He spake to them in fearless love; he spake to them in (if we may so say) holy pride. Tribulation—In every crisis of danger and damage, joy over his Corinthian Church was a cheer and an exultation.

b. His affection instanced by his anxiety until he heard from them, and joy at hearing of their loyalty, 5-16.

St. Paul instances his love for his Corinthians by calling to mind (as in 2:12-14, and 1:8-10) his intense suspense until he heard from them, and their heart towards him, by Titus.

II CORINTHIANS

SECTION 10. — PAUL IS FILLED WITH JOY BY

GOOD NEWS ABOUT HIS READERS; AND IS NOT

NOW SORRY THAT HE WROTE TO THEM HIS

FORMER LETTER. IN HIS JOY, TITUS SHARES.

CH. 7:2-16

Make room for us. No one have we treated unjustly: no one have we damaged: no one have we treated with greed. I do not say it to condemn you. For I have before said that in our hearts you are, to die together and to live together. Much openness of speech have I towards you: much exultation have I on behalf of you. I am filled with my encouragement: I abound beyond measure with my joy amid all our affliction. For even when we had come to Macedonia no relief our flesh had, but we were in everything afflicted: without, battles; within, fears.

But He who encourages the lowly ones encouraged us, even God, by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged about you, while announcing to us your longing, your lamentation, your jealousy on my behalf so that I rejoiced the more. Because, if even I made you sorrowful by the letter, I do not regret it. If even I was regretting it. (For I see that that letter, if even for an hour, made you sorrowful.) Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful for repentance. For you were made sorrowful in a way pleasing to God, that in nothing you might receive loss from us. For the sorrow pleasing to God works repentance for salvation not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world works out death. For see this very thing, being made sorrowful in a way pleasing to God, how much it wrought out for you of earnestness; nay, self-defence; nay, indignation, nay, fear; nay, longing; nay, jealousy; nay, vengeance. In everything you proved yourselves to be pure touching the matter. Therefore, if indeed I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of him who acted unjustly, nor for the sake of him who suffered injustice, but for the sake of your earnestness on our behalf being made manifest in your presence before God. For this cause I have been encouraged. Moreover, in addition to our encouragement more abundantly did we rejoice the more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has received refreshment from you all. Because, if at all to him on your behalf I have boasted,* (*Or, Exulted, exultation: so to end of the Epistle.) I was not put to shame. But, as all things in truth we have spoken to you, so also our boasting* (*Or, Exulted, exultation: so to end of the Epistle.) before Titus was found to be truth. And his heart is more abundantly towards you, remembering the obedience of all of you, how with fear and trembling you welcomed him. I rejoice that in everything I am in good heart about you.

Ver. 2.-4. Make room for us: in your hearts. Paul here takes up 2 Corinthians 6:13, “Be you also enlarged.” This sudden return to the same subject, and the sudden and unexpected digression of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, suggest that he knew that the disaffection at Corinth was caused by sinful toleration of idolatry.

No one… no one… no one: emphatic repetition. These sudden and unexplained denials must have been prompted by charges against Paul. Some might think that by his strict moral teaching, which required abandonment of idolatry and of all unjust gains, he had inflicted loss on his readers.

Greed; refers perhaps, as it does in 2 Corinthians 12:17f, to the collection for Jerusalem. Paul declares that while urging them to contribute he was not enriching himself. He denies any unfairness or loss to his readers, or gain to himself. And what he has before said (in 2 Corinthians 6:11, 12) about his love to his readers proves that he does not say this to condemn them, i.e. to announce coming punishment for wrong doing. For this is never the ultimate aim of our words to those we love.

In our hearts you are: implied in the similar words in 2 Corinthians 6:11, “our heart is enlarged.”

To die together and live together: Paul’s purpose when giving them a place in his heart. It reveals the greatness of his love to them. To die together: put first, as in Romans 8:38, because deadly peril was ever before both Paul and his readers. So great is his affection that he has cast in his lot with them, that they and he may stand side by side in face of death ever threatening them and him, and throughout life. Cp. Philippians 1:7.

Openness of speech: 2 Corinthians 3:12; shown in 2 Corinthians 6:11-7:3.

Boasting or exultation: see under Romans 2:17; 1 Corinthians 1:29. Here and in 2 Corinthians 7:14 it evidently found vent in words. Hence my rendering boast, continued throughout the Epistle. This is an apology for Paul’s bold language to his readers. To them he speaks without reserve strong words of warning: to others he speaks about them glowing words of joy and confidence, examples in 2 Corinthians 7:14; 9:2. He thus prepares the way for a recognition of the improved state of the Corinthian church, with which he appropriately concludes his “Review of recent events.”

With my encouragement: explained in 2 Corinthians 7:6. It gave him abundant joy. That good news about his readers fills him to overflowing with encouragement and joy, a joy which all his affliction cannot quench, proves the intensity of his love.

Filled with encouragement and abound beyond measure with joy: a double climax.

V. 5. Our flesh-That is, we ourselves. Had no rest from without-From the heathens. Were fightings-Furious and cruel oppositions. From within-From our brethren.

Were fears-Lest they should be seduced.

Verse 5. When we were come into Macedonia] St. Paul, having left Ephesus, came to Troas, where he stopped some time; afterwards he came to Macedonia, whence he wrote this epistle,

Our flesh had no rest] So exceedingly anxious was he to know the success of his first epistle to them.

Without were fightings] The oppositions of pagans, Jews, and false brethren.

Within were fears.] Uncertain conjectures relative to the success of his epistle; fears lest the severity of it should alienate their affections utterly from him; fears lest the party of the incestuous person should have prevailed; fears lest the teaching of the false apostle should have perverted their minds from the simplicity of the truth; all was uncertainty, all apprehension; and the Spirit of God did not think proper to remove the causes of these apprehensions in any extraordinary way.

Verses 5-7. For when we were come into Macedonia — From Ephesus, not finding Titus; our flesh — That is, we ourselves; had no rest — Fearing he had not been well received by you; but we were troubled on every side — En panti, in every place, or thing; without — From the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles; were fightings — Furious and cruel oppositions; within — From our brethren; were fears — Lest they should be seduced: or, he means, that in his own mind there were fears and anxieties on account of the Corinthians. Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast down — Touv tapeinouv, the humble, debased, or those brought low, namely, by affliction or distress; comforted us by the coming of Titus — With good tidings from you. And by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in — Or among; you — which he discovered to us; when he told us your earnest desire — To rectify what was amiss; your mourning — Or grief, for what had offended God, and troubled me. Your fervent mind toward me — Your zeal to vindicate my character as an apostle, and to support my authority; so that I rejoiced the more — For his consolation than for his coming; or, more than in other circumstances I could have done. Some critics think that the apostle’s expression in the former clause, thn umwn epipoqhsin, rendered, your earnest desire, should be translated, your vehement longing; namely, to see the apostle, their spiritual father.

5. Into Macedonia—His next stage and stopping place after passing through Troas, (ii, 12,) whence he is writing this epistle. Our flesh—Our bodily and nervous system; in distinction from spirit, 2:13. Fightings—Of the assailing Jews and heathens. Fears—Anxieties for news from you.

Ver. 5.-7. Exposition of 2 Corinthians 7:4b: 2 Corinthians 7:5 describes the “affliction”; 2 Corinthians 7:6, 7 the “encouragement” and “joy.” Paul’s anxiety at Troas (2 Corinthians 2:13) continued even after arriving in Macedonia.

We: probably Paul and Timothy. See under 2 Corinthians 1:1. Contrast 2 Corinthians 2:12.

Our flesh; depicts the effect on their body, in virtue of its constitution, of their anxiety about the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 2:13 the same anxiety is looked upon as affecting Paul’s “spirit.”

Relief: cessation from “affliction,” 2 Thessalonians 1:7. It recalls 2 Corinthians 2:13.

Without, within; expound in everything.

Battles: with opponents in Macedonia unknown to us.

Fears: probably, as suggested by 2 Corinthians 7:6, about the Corinthian church and the effect of his letter. Cp. 2 Corinthians 2:4. The state of that church might well give him dark forebodings. Encourages: as in Romans 1:12. See under Romans 12:1. Lowly: in mind body, or estate: opposite to “exalted.” Paul gratefully remembers that God’s kindness to him was His usual treatment of all in similar circumstances. Amid outward perils and inward anxieties Paul received encouragement not only from the face and presence of a beloved helper but also from the encouragement which Titus had evidently received from the conduct of the Corinthians. For, that Titus, who shared Paul’s anxiety, was himself encouraged by what he saw at Corinth, was proof to Paul of improvement there.

While announcing: i.e. the joy of Titus became more intense as he narrated to Paul the effect of the first Epistle. A genuine trait of human nature.

Your, your, your: each time emphatic. The longing, the lamentation, the jealousy, had been Paul’s: now they were implanted in the breasts of the Corinthians.

Longing: to see Paul.

Lamentation: about their former misconduct, especially in tolerating the gross offender of 1 Corinthians 5:1f.

Jealousy (or zeal: see under 1 Corinthians 12:31) for me: earnest defence of the apostle’s honor. Rejoiced, completes the exposition of the “joy” of 2 Corinthians 7:4.

No scene is more worthy of an artist’s skill than Titus, perhaps surrounded by sympathizing Philippians, narrating with a joy which increases while he narrates, the sorrow and earnestness of the Corinthian Christians, and by his own joy turning into joy the anxiety of the apostle. Well might this joy reveal to Paul (2 Corinthians 2:14) the grandeur, in spite of many hardships, of the gospel ministry. Notice that Paul attributes to God the joy he received through the coming and the joy of Titus; implying that the good done to us by others is an accomplishment of God’s purposes of mercy.

Verse 6. Comforted us by the coming of Titus] Who brought him a most satisfactory account of the success of his epistle, and the good state of the Corinthian Church.

Verses 5-7. For when we were come into Macedonia — From Ephesus, not finding Titus; our flesh — That is, we ourselves; had no rest — Fearing he had not been well received by you; but we were troubled on every side — En panti, in every place, or thing; without — From the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles; were fightings — Furious and cruel oppositions; within — From our brethren; were fears — Lest they should be seduced: or, he means, that in his own mind there were fears and anxieties on account of the Corinthians. Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast down — Touv tapeinouv, the humble, debased, or those brought low, namely, by affliction or distress; comforted us by the coming of Titus — With good tidings from you. And by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in — Or among; you — which he discovered to us; when he told us your earnest desire — To rectify what was amiss; your mourning — Or grief, for what had offended God, and troubled me. Your fervent mind toward me — Your zeal to vindicate my character as an apostle, and to support my authority; so that I rejoiced the more — For his consolation than for his coming; or, more than in other circumstances I could have done. Some critics think that the apostle’s expression in the former clause, thn umwn epipoqhsin, rendered, your earnest desire, should be translated, your vehement longing; namely, to see the apostle, their spiritual father.

Ver. 6. God who comforts those that are cast down. See Acts 9:31. Romans 5:5.

6. Those that are cast down—In a word the lowly, whether in spirit, position, or magnitude. And beautiful is the characteristic ascribed here by our apostle’s faith to God; the God that consoles the lowly. Men are apt to fancy that God is too great to mind small things. But inability to care for the very smallest as well as the greatest would not be greatness, but a defect of greatness. God is truly so great, so truly omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent, that he can take as perfect a care of the smallest thing in immensity or in eternity as if that thing were the only thing in all the universe that he had to take care of. Our humblest prayer, our lightest thought, our most secret sin, are as perfectly known to him as if there were nothing else to know. And so our apostle believes with undoubting faith that God is the consoler of his humble sorrows. By—Rather, in. The coming—The very presence of Titus was refreshing to his spirit, apart from the message he brought.

Ver. 5.-7. Exposition of 2 Corinthians 7:4b: 2 Corinthians 7:5 describes the “affliction”; 2 Corinthians 7:6, 7 the “encouragement” and “joy.” Paul’s anxiety at Troas (2 Corinthians 2:13) continued even after arriving in Macedonia.

We: probably Paul and Timothy. See under 2 Corinthians 1:1. Contrast 2 Corinthians 2:12.

Our flesh; depicts the effect on their body, in virtue of its constitution, of their anxiety about the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 2:13 the same anxiety is looked upon as affecting Paul’s “spirit.”

Relief: cessation from “affliction,” 2 Thessalonians 1:7. It recalls 2 Corinthians 2:13.

Without, within; expound in everything.

Battles: with opponents in Macedonia unknown to us.

Fears: probably, as suggested by 2 Corinthians 7:6, about the Corinthian church and the effect of his letter. Cp. 2 Corinthians 2:4. The state of that church might well give him dark forebodings. Encourages: as in Romans 1:12. See under Romans 12:1. Lowly: in mind body, or estate: opposite to “exalted.” Paul gratefully remembers that God’s kindness to him was His usual treatment of all in similar circumstances. Amid outward perils and inward anxieties Paul received encouragement not only from the face and presence of a beloved helper but also from the encouragement which Titus had evidently received from the conduct of the Corinthians. For, that Titus, who shared Paul’s anxiety, was himself encouraged by what he saw at Corinth, was proof to Paul of improvement there.

While announcing: i.e. the joy of Titus became more intense as he narrated to Paul the effect of the first Epistle. A genuine trait of human nature.

Your, your, your: each time emphatic. The longing, the lamentation, the jealousy, had been Paul’s: now they were implanted in the breasts of the Corinthians.

Longing: to see Paul.

Lamentation: about their former misconduct, especially in tolerating the gross offender of 1 Corinthians 5:1f.

Jealousy (or zeal: see under 1 Corinthians 12:31) for me: earnest defence of the apostle’s honor. Rejoiced, completes the exposition of the “joy” of 2 Corinthians 7:4.

No scene is more worthy of an artist’s skill than Titus, perhaps surrounded by sympathizing Philippians, narrating with a joy which increases while he narrates, the sorrow and earnestness of the Corinthian Christians, and by his own joy turning into joy the anxiety of the apostle. Well might this joy reveal to Paul (2 Corinthians 2:14) the grandeur, in spite of many hardships, of the gospel ministry. Notice that Paul attributes to God the joy he received through the coming and the joy of Titus; implying that the good done to us by others is an accomplishment of God’s purposes of mercy.

V. 7. Your earnest desire-To rectify what had been amiss. Your grief-For what had offended God, and troubled me.

Verse 7. He told us your earnest desire] To see me, and correct what was amiss among yourselves.

Your mourning] Because you had sinned.

Your fervent mind] The zeal you felt to testify your affectionate regard for me.

Verses 5-7. For when we were come into Macedonia — From Ephesus, not finding Titus; our flesh — That is, we ourselves; had no rest — Fearing he had not been well received by you; but we were troubled on every side — En panti, in every place, or thing; without — From the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles; were fightings — Furious and cruel oppositions; within — From our brethren; were fears — Lest they should be seduced: or, he means, that in his own mind there were fears and anxieties on account of the Corinthians. Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast down — Touv tapeinouv, the humble, debased, or those brought low, namely, by affliction or distress; comforted us by the coming of Titus — With good tidings from you. And by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in — Or among; you — which he discovered to us; when he told us your earnest desire — To rectify what was amiss; your mourning — Or grief, for what had offended God, and troubled me. Your fervent mind toward me — Your zeal to vindicate my character as an apostle, and to support my authority; so that I rejoiced the more — For his consolation than for his coming; or, more than in other circumstances I could have done. Some critics think that the apostle’s expression in the former clause, thn umwn epipoqhsin, rendered, your earnest desire, should be translated, your vehement longing; namely, to see the apostle, their spiritual father.

7. The consolation wherewith he was comforted—Titus received consolation from the Corinthians; and that same consolation was transferred to St. Paul’s heart. So that Paul was consoled with the same consolation that Titus was by them. Desire—Their longing for Paul’s presence in Corinth. Mourning—For the sin which Paul rebuked in them in his first epistle. Fervent mind—Your zeal in my behalf; that is, your readiness to maintain my cause and sustain my gospel. The more—For his message in addition to his personal presence.

Ver. 5.-7. Exposition of 2 Corinthians 7:4b: 2 Corinthians 7:5 describes the “affliction”; 2 Corinthians 7:6, 7 the “encouragement” and “joy.” Paul’s anxiety at Troas (2 Corinthians 2:13) continued even after arriving in Macedonia.

We: probably Paul and Timothy. See under 2 Corinthians 1:1. Contrast 2 Corinthians 2:12.

Our flesh; depicts the effect on their body, in virtue of its constitution, of their anxiety about the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 2:13 the same anxiety is looked upon as affecting Paul’s “spirit.”

Relief: cessation from “affliction,” 2 Thessalonians 1:7. It recalls 2 Corinthians 2:13.

Without, within; expound in everything.

Battles: with opponents in Macedonia unknown to us.

Fears: probably, as suggested by 2 Corinthians 7:6, about the Corinthian church and the effect of his letter. Cp. 2 Corinthians 2:4. The state of that church might well give him dark forebodings. Encourages: as in Romans 1:12. See under Romans 12:1. Lowly: in mind body, or estate: opposite to “exalted.” Paul gratefully remembers that God’s kindness to him was His usual treatment of all in similar circumstances. Amid outward perils and inward anxieties Paul received encouragement not only from the face and presence of a beloved helper but also from the encouragement which Titus had evidently received from the conduct of the Corinthians. For, that Titus, who shared Paul’s anxiety, was himself encouraged by what he saw at Corinth, was proof to Paul of improvement there.

While announcing: i.e. the joy of Titus became more intense as he narrated to Paul the effect of the first Epistle. A genuine trait of human nature.

Your, your, your: each time emphatic. The longing, the lamentation, the jealousy, had been Paul’s: now they were implanted in the breasts of the Corinthians.

Longing: to see Paul.

Lamentation: about their former misconduct, especially in tolerating the gross offender of 1 Corinthians 5:1f.

Jealousy (or zeal: see under 1 Corinthians 12:31) for me: earnest defence of the apostle’s honor. Rejoiced, completes the exposition of the “joy” of 2 Corinthians 7:4.

No scene is more worthy of an artist’s skill than Titus, perhaps surrounded by sympathizing Philippians, narrating with a joy which increases while he narrates, the sorrow and earnestness of the Corinthian Christians, and by his own joy turning into joy the anxiety of the apostle. Well might this joy reveal to Paul (2 Corinthians 2:14) the grandeur, in spite of many hardships, of the gospel ministry. Notice that Paul attributes to God the joy he received through the coming and the joy of Titus; implying that the good done to us by others is an accomplishment of God’s purposes of mercy.

V. 8. I did repent-That is, I felt a tender sorrow for having grieved you, till I saw the happy effect of it.

Verse 8. I do not repent, though I did repent] Though I had many doubts in my mind concerning the success of my letter; and though I grieved that I was obliged to write with so much severity, the case absolutely requiring it; yet now I am not sorry that I have written that letter, because I find it has completely answered the end for which it was sent.

Verses 8-11. For though I made you sorry — Caused you much distress and pain of mind by the letter I formerly wrote; I do not now repent — Of writing it; although I did repent — After it was sent away, fearing it might irritate some of you, and produce some ill effect. Or the meaning is, I felt a tender sorrow for having grieved you, till I saw the happy fruit of it. Now I rejoice not barely that ye were made sorry — By my letter, for that would rather still give me pain; but that ye sorrowed to repentance — To true and genuine repentance, attended with a change of heart and life; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner — With a penitential and humble regard to the honour of God: Greek, kata Qeon, according to God, in the manner God requires. That ye might receive — Or so that ye received; damage by us in nothing — But on the contrary, as we intended, great benefit, by the severity we were compelled to use. For godly sorrow — A sorrow for having offended God, or sorrowing according to the will of God; worketh repentance — Productive of fruit worthy of repentance; so the word metanoia, rendered repentance, implies, denoting such a change in a person’s mind or judgment, concerning some action, word, or disposition, as produces a change in his spirit and conduct for the better in time to come. Unto salvation — Issuing in eternal salvation; not — Never afterward; to be repented of — Or grieved for, as ametamelhton properly signifies. But the sorrow of the world — Sorrow that arises from worldly considerations; worketh death — Temporal, spiritual, and eternal. For behold this self-same thing — As if he had said, And it appears that your sorrow was godly, by the excellent fruits and effects thereof; that ye sorrowed after a godly sort — In a manner pleasing to God; what carefulness it wrought in you — Namely, to amend what was amiss; or what diligence, or earnestness, as poshn spoudhn rather signifies, namely, diligence manifested in the following particulars. Some had been more, some less faulty, whence arose the various affections here mentioned. Hence their apologizing and indignation, with respect to themselves; their fear and desire with respect to the apostle; their zeal and revenge with respect to the offender: yea, and themselves also. What clearing yourselves — From either sharing in, or approving of his sin; indignation — That ye had not immediately corrected the offender; fear — Of God’s displeasure. or lest I should come with a rod; vehement desire — To see me again; zeal — For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner; yea, revenge — Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves. In all things ye — As a church; have approved yourselves to be pure — That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter. Dr. Whitby here remarks, “That true repentance for sin clears us from the guilt of it, not only in the sight of God, but man; so that it is both uncharitable and unchristian to stigmatize or reproach any person for the sin we know or believe he hath truly repented of.”

8. Now—Earnestly emphatic. Now—After all that has past and I see the whole at a glance.

Ver. 8.-9. Cause of the special joy occasioned to Paul by the coming and the joy of Titus.

By the letter: specially by 1 Corinthians 5:1ff. Cp. 2 Corinthians 7:12; 2 Corinthians 2:4.

If I even was regretting; reveals Paul’s tender sympathy. He wrote the letter in tears, (2 Corinthians 2:4,) and regretted afterwards that he had written so severely.

For I see etc.] The intelligence which removed Paul’s regret shows that there was a temporary cause for it, viz. the sorrow occasioned to the Corinthians. “Although after writing the letter I was sorry that I had done so, (and I now see that in the sorrow I caused you I had reason for myself being sorry,) yet now I rejoice.”

Not that you were made sorrowful] So careful is Paul to show that his readers’ sorrow was not a matter of indifference to him. Not the immediate result, only the final result, of his letter gave joy to Paul. Repentance: see under Romans 2:4. Their sorrow brought about in them a change of mind and purpose. This sorrow to repentance, 2 Corinthians 7:9b explains, and shows it to be just cause of joy to Paul. In a way pleasing to God: literally according to God. Same phrase in Romans 8:27. It represents God Himself as a standard with which something is compared. This sorrow brought about a change of mind for the better because it was such sorrow as, in unfaithful ones, God desires to see.

That in nothing etc.: God’s purpose in causing them this sorrow. Had their sorrow been without result, it would have been an injury, a small and undesigned one, caused to them by Paul. But God designed their sorrow to be a means of blessing, so that not even in the least degree they might receive injury from the Apostle.

Such was the cause of the joy occasioned to Paul by the coming of Titus. He found that he had not inflicted upon his readers the damage of needless sorrow. So deep was his sympathy for them that he had regretted his well-deserved rebuke to them, because of the sorrow he feared it would cause. In this fear, he sees that he was not mistaken. But, to his great joy, he sees that the sorrow he caused had done them good. Consequently, his affectionate regrets about his letter are now altogether past. That Paul was sorry for having written words which all Christian churches put on a level with those ancient Scriptures which Paul himself accepted as the voice of God, proves how thoroughly human was the composition of the New Testament. It suggests perhaps that he was unconscious that the words he wrote were the words of the Spirit of God. But it by no means proves that they were not such. For his regret soon passed away. We are thankful now that the words which caused regret were written. And we are all sure that he wrote them under the influence of one who cannot regret or err.

Verse 9. Ye sorrowed to repentance] Ye had such a sorrow as produced a complete change of mind and conduct. We see that a man may sorrow, and yet not repent.

Made sorry after a godly manner] It was not a sorrow because ye were found out, and thus solemnly reprehended, but a sorrow because ye had sinned against God, and which consideration caused you to grieve more than the apprehension of any punishment.

Damage by us in nothing.] Your repentance prevented that exercise of my apostolic duty, which would have consigned your bodies to destruction, that your souls might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Verses 8-11. For though I made you sorry — Caused you much distress and pain of mind by the letter I formerly wrote; I do not now repent — Of writing it; although I did repent — After it was sent away, fearing it might irritate some of you, and produce some ill effect. Or the meaning is, I felt a tender sorrow for having grieved you, till I saw the happy fruit of it. Now I rejoice not barely that ye were made sorry — By my letter, for that would rather still give me pain; but that ye sorrowed to repentance — To true and genuine repentance, attended with a change of heart and life; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner — With a penitential and humble regard to the honour of God: Greek, kata Qeon, according to God, in the manner God requires. That ye might receive — Or so that ye received; damage by us in nothing — But on the contrary, as we intended, great benefit, by the severity we were compelled to use. For godly sorrow — A sorrow for having offended God, or sorrowing according to the will of God; worketh repentance — Productive of fruit worthy of repentance; so the word metanoia, rendered repentance, implies, denoting such a change in a person’s mind or judgment, concerning some action, word, or disposition, as produces a change in his spirit and conduct for the better in time to come. Unto salvation — Issuing in eternal salvation; not — Never afterward; to be repented of — Or grieved for, as ametamelhton properly signifies. But the sorrow of the world — Sorrow that arises from worldly considerations; worketh death — Temporal, spiritual, and eternal. For behold this self-same thing — As if he had said, And it appears that your sorrow was godly, by the excellent fruits and effects thereof; that ye sorrowed after a godly sort — In a manner pleasing to God; what carefulness it wrought in you — Namely, to amend what was amiss; or what diligence, or earnestness, as poshn spoudhn rather signifies, namely, diligence manifested in the following particulars. Some had been more, some less faulty, whence arose the various affections here mentioned. Hence their apologizing and indignation, with respect to themselves; their fear and desire with respect to the apostle; their zeal and revenge with respect to the offender: yea, and themselves also. What clearing yourselves — From either sharing in, or approving of his sin; indignation — That ye had not immediately corrected the offender; fear — Of God’s displeasure. or lest I should come with a rod; vehement desire — To see me again; zeal — For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner; yea, revenge — Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves. In all things ye — As a church; have approved yourselves to be pure — That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter. Dr. Whitby here remarks, “That true repentance for sin clears us from the guilt of it, not only in the sight of God, but man; so that it is both uncharitable and unchristian to stigmatize or reproach any person for the sin we know or believe he hath truly repented of.”

9. To repentance—Over their sorrow alone he could not rejoice: but over a sorrow merging into repentance he could rejoice. Sorry after a godly manner—Literally, sorry according to God. A sorrow that has reference to God in contradistinction from a sorrow that regards the world.

Ver. 8.-9. Cause of the special joy occasioned to Paul by the coming and the joy of Titus.

By the letter: specially by 1 Corinthians 5:1ff. Cp. 2 Corinthians 7:12; 2 Corinthians 2:4.

If I even was regretting; reveals Paul’s tender sympathy. He wrote the letter in tears, (2 Corinthians 2:4,) and regretted afterwards that he had written so severely.

For I see etc.] The intelligence which removed Paul’s regret shows that there was a temporary cause for it, viz. the sorrow occasioned to the Corinthians. “Although after writing the letter I was sorry that I had done so, (and I now see that in the sorrow I caused you I had reason for myself being sorry,) yet now I rejoice.”

Not that you were made sorrowful] So careful is Paul to show that his readers’ sorrow was not a matter of indifference to him. Not the immediate result, only the final result, of his letter gave joy to Paul. Repentance: see under Romans 2:4. Their sorrow brought about in them a change of mind and purpose. This sorrow to repentance, 2 Corinthians 7:9b explains, and shows it to be just cause of joy to Paul. In a way pleasing to God: literally according to God. Same phrase in Romans 8:27. It represents God Himself as a standard with which something is compared. This sorrow brought about a change of mind for the better because it was such sorrow as, in unfaithful ones, God desires to see.

That in nothing etc.: God’s purpose in causing them this sorrow. Had their sorrow been without result, it would have been an injury, a small and undesigned one, caused to them by Paul. But God designed their sorrow to be a means of blessing, so that not even in the least degree they might receive injury from the Apostle.

Such was the cause of the joy occasioned to Paul by the coming of Titus. He found that he had not inflicted upon his readers the damage of needless sorrow. So deep was his sympathy for them that he had regretted his well-deserved rebuke to them, because of the sorrow he feared it would cause. In this fear, he sees that he was not mistaken. But, to his great joy, he sees that the sorrow he caused had done them good. Consequently, his affectionate regrets about his letter are now altogether past. That Paul was sorry for having written words which all Christian churches put on a level with those ancient Scriptures which Paul himself accepted as the voice of God, proves how thoroughly human was the composition of the New Testament. It suggests perhaps that he was unconscious that the words he wrote were the words of the Spirit of God. But it by no means proves that they were not such. For his regret soon passed away. We are thankful now that the words which caused regret were written. And we are all sure that he wrote them under the influence of one who cannot regret or err.

V. 10. The sorrow of the world-Sorrow that arises from worldly considerations.

Worketh death-Naturally tends to work or occasion death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal.

Verse 10. For godly sorrow] That which has the breach of God’s holy law for its object.

Worketh repentance] A thorough change of mind unto salvation, because the person who feels it cannot rest till he finds pardon through the mercy of God.

But the sorrow of the world worketh death.] Sorrow for lost goods, lost friends, death of relatives, &c., when it is poignant and deep, produces diseases, increases those that already exist, and often leads men to lay desperate hands on themselves. This sorrow leads to destruction, the other leads to salvation; the one leads to heaven, the other to hell.

Verses 8-11. For though I made you sorry — Caused you much distress and pain of mind by the letter I formerly wrote; I do not now repent — Of writing it; although I did repent — After it was sent away, fearing it might irritate some of you, and produce some ill effect. Or the meaning is, I felt a tender sorrow for having grieved you, till I saw the happy fruit of it. Now I rejoice not barely that ye were made sorry — By my letter, for that would rather still give me pain; but that ye sorrowed to repentance — To true and genuine repentance, attended with a change of heart and life; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner — With a penitential and humble regard to the honour of God: Greek, kata Qeon, according to God, in the manner God requires. That ye might receive — Or so that ye received; damage by us in nothing — But on the contrary, as we intended, great benefit, by the severity we were compelled to use. For godly sorrow — A sorrow for having offended God, or sorrowing according to the will of God; worketh repentance — Productive of fruit worthy of repentance; so the word metanoia, rendered repentance, implies, denoting such a change in a person’s mind or judgment, concerning some action, word, or disposition, as produces a change in his spirit and conduct for the better in time to come. Unto salvation — Issuing in eternal salvation; not — Never afterward; to be repented of — Or grieved for, as ametamelhton properly signifies. But the sorrow of the world — Sorrow that arises from worldly considerations; worketh death — Temporal, spiritual, and eternal. For behold this self-same thing — As if he had said, And it appears that your sorrow was godly, by the excellent fruits and effects thereof; that ye sorrowed after a godly sort — In a manner pleasing to God; what carefulness it wrought in you — Namely, to amend what was amiss; or what diligence, or earnestness, as poshn spoudhn rather signifies, namely, diligence manifested in the following particulars. Some had been more, some less faulty, whence arose the various affections here mentioned. Hence their apologizing and indignation, with respect to themselves; their fear and desire with respect to the apostle; their zeal and revenge with respect to the offender: yea, and themselves also. What clearing yourselves — From either sharing in, or approving of his sin; indignation — That ye had not immediately corrected the offender; fear — Of God’s displeasure. or lest I should come with a rod; vehement desire — To see me again; zeal — For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner; yea, revenge — Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves. In all things ye — As a church; have approved yourselves to be pure — That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter. Dr. Whitby here remarks, “That true repentance for sin clears us from the guilt of it, not only in the sight of God, but man; so that it is both uncharitable and unchristian to stigmatize or reproach any person for the sin we know or believe he hath truly repented of.”

Ver. 10. The sorrow of the world worketh death. Sorrow for the loss of reputation, of fortune, of relatives, shortens life by grief and despair. Alas, what suicides followed the French revolution, and how many are still occurring even in our own country! True faith, on the contrary, bows to the will of God, and says, like the Shunamite, on the death of an only son, It is well. It rejoices in tribulation, and glories in the cross, as Christ has commanded us to do. Matthew 5:11, 12.

10. Godly sorrow—Sorrow in view of God, his law and judgment. Not to be repented of—An unrepentable repentance. Death—Not only a visible death, by a wasting of the body, but an eternal death, from the impenitent, worldly, godless sorrow. Sad destiny, when temporal sorrow does but work an eternal sorrow!

Ver. 10. A broad general principle, explaining the connection between “sorrowful” and “in nothing receive loss.” The sorrow which accords with God’s will is a sorrow for wrong doing, arising from an intelligent comprehension of the evil of sin and prompting a resolve to forsake sin. It thus works repentance. This is a necessary condition of salvation from sin and from death: and salvation will never be master of regret. Consequently, no one can regret, not even the tender heart of Paul, a sorrow which is in accordance with the will of God. And, by causing this sorrow to the Corinthians, he did them no injury. And God designed it to be so. All this is made more evident by the contrast in 2 Corinthians 7:10b. The world: as in 1 Corinthians 2:12.

The sorrow: with which unsaved men are sad.

Death: in its fullest sense, i.e. of body and soul in Gehenna. All mere worldly sorrow tends to deaden spiritual sensibility, and to make us impervious to the divine influences which alone save from death. Such would have been the effect of Paul’ s letter had it produced only worldly vexation. And such was the effect of the sorrow of Cain: Genesis 4:5.

V. 11. How great diligence it wrought in you-Shown in all the following particulars.

Yea, clearing of yourselves-Some had been more, some less, faulty; whence arose these various affections. Hence their apologizing and indignation, with respect to themselves; their fear and desire, with respect to the apostle; their zeal and revenge, with respect to the offender, yea, and themselves also.

Clearing of yourselves-From either sharing in, or approving of, his sin. Indignation-That ye had not immediately corrected the offender. Fear-Of God's displeasure, or lest I should come with a rod. Vehement desire-To see me again.

Zeal-For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner. Yea, revenge-Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves.

In all things ye-As a church.

Have approved yourselves to be pure-That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter.

Verse 11. What carefulness it wrought in you] Carefulness of obeying my directions, 2 Corinthians 7:15; yea, what clearing of yourselves from guilt by inflicting censures on the guilty person, and putting away evil from among you, 1 Corinthians 5:13; yea, what indignation against him who had dishonoured his profession, and defiled the Church; yea, what fear of my displeasure, and the rod which I threatened, 1 Corinthians 4:21; yea, what vehement desire to rectify what was amiss in this matter, 2 Corinthians 7:7; yea, what zeal for me; yea, what revenge in punishing the delinquent. See Whitby.

In all things, &c.] In the whole of your conduct in this affair since ye have received my letter, ye have approved yourselves to be clear, agnouv; not only to be clear of contumacy and obstinate persistance in your former conduct, but to have done all in the compass of your power to rectify the abuses which had crept in among you. The Corinthians were not clear, i.e. innocent or void of blame in the fact, but they were clear of all blame in their endeavours to remove the evil.

Verses 8-11. For though I made you sorry — Caused you much distress and pain of mind by the letter I formerly wrote; I do not now repent — Of writing it; although I did repent — After it was sent away, fearing it might irritate some of you, and produce some ill effect. Or the meaning is, I felt a tender sorrow for having grieved you, till I saw the happy fruit of it. Now I rejoice not barely that ye were made sorry — By my letter, for that would rather still give me pain; but that ye sorrowed to repentance — To true and genuine repentance, attended with a change of heart and life; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner — With a penitential and humble regard to the honour of God: Greek, kata Qeon, according to God, in the manner God requires. That ye might receive — Or so that ye received; damage by us in nothing — But on the contrary, as we intended, great benefit, by the severity we were compelled to use. For godly sorrow — A sorrow for having offended God, or sorrowing according to the will of God; worketh repentance — Productive of fruit worthy of repentance; so the word metanoia, rendered repentance, implies, denoting such a change in a person’s mind or judgment, concerning some action, word, or disposition, as produces a change in his spirit and conduct for the better in time to come. Unto salvation — Issuing in eternal salvation; not — Never afterward; to be repented of — Or grieved for, as ametamelhton properly signifies. But the sorrow of the world — Sorrow that arises from worldly considerations; worketh death — Temporal, spiritual, and eternal. For behold this self-same thing — As if he had said, And it appears that your sorrow was godly, by the excellent fruits and effects thereof; that ye sorrowed after a godly sort — In a manner pleasing to God; what carefulness it wrought in you — Namely, to amend what was amiss; or what diligence, or earnestness, as poshn spoudhn rather signifies, namely, diligence manifested in the following particulars. Some had been more, some less faulty, whence arose the various affections here mentioned. Hence their apologizing and indignation, with respect to themselves; their fear and desire with respect to the apostle; their zeal and revenge with respect to the offender: yea, and themselves also. What clearing yourselves — From either sharing in, or approving of his sin; indignation — That ye had not immediately corrected the offender; fear — Of God’s displeasure. or lest I should come with a rod; vehement desire — To see me again; zeal — For the glory of God, and the soul of that sinner; yea, revenge — Ye took a kind of holy revenge upon yourselves, being scarce able to forgive yourselves. In all things ye — As a church; have approved yourselves to be pure — That is, free from blame, since ye received my letter. Dr. Whitby here remarks, “That true repentance for sin clears us from the guilt of it, not only in the sight of God, but man; so that it is both uncharitable and unchristian to stigmatize or reproach any person for the sin we know or believe he hath truly repented of.”

Ver. 11. Ye sorrowed after a godly sort, so as not to relapse in anywise into the like faults, as was apparent from the seven fruits which followed.

(1) What carefulness to avoid temptation, and to shun the appearance of evil.

(2) What clearing of yourselves, by an apology in self-defence, that you never covered a deed which stained the church, nor ate bread with a fornicator.

(3) What indignation: aganakthsiv, a just and laudable contest with sin.

(4) What fear of the divine displeasure, and visitations on the church.

(5) What desire, yea, great desire, as signified by letter, that Paul would come with a rod, and restore order and peace among the brethren.

(6) What zeal for the honour and glory of God, and the purgation of evil.

(7) Yea, what revenge, when the church assembled, and expelled the offender: 2 Corinthians 2:6. All these facts, and all these effects are recorded for the instruction of the church in future ages, and to warn men against the consequences of falling away.

11. Thing—Fact, circumstance. Carefulness—Where there heretofore had been carelessness, viz., in not expelling the adulterous offender. Clearing—From his guilt; either by showing to Titus that you had no responsibility for it, or by promptly proceeding to expel it. Indignation— At the sin. Fear—Of the divine penalty from the apostle’s interdict. Desire—Longing for Paul’s presence. Zeal—Earnest purpose to punish the transgressor. Revenge—Used here in a good sense for justice against the guilty. Clear—Free from blame in the final result.

Ver. 11. Proof that godly sorrow works repentance; overleaping 2 Corinthians 7:10b, which was added only to bring out by contrast the force of 2 Corinthians 7:10a.

This very thing: their own sorrow was a case in point.

Earnestness: explained and proved by the six particulars following. Nay… nay; again and again breaks off the foregoing as not being a full statement of the case. No sooner did they hear Paul’s charge (1 Corinthians 5:2) against the whole church than in self-defence they repelled it; and with indignation, i.e.: with intense disapproval. This was accompanied by fear of the angry parent (1 Corinthians 4:15, 21) who threatened to come with a rod, mixed with longing to see the beloved teacher whom they had grieved so much. They were filled with jealousy for the honor of their church, and with vengeance, i.e. a resolve (cp. Romans 12:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:8) to inflict punishment on the wrong doer. This last word gives the chief thought which Paul’s letter left in the mind of those who heard it read in the church at Corinth. Pure in the matter: not implicated in the sin which one of them had committed.

In everything pure; does not imply that the general rebuke of 1 Corinthians 5:2 was not deserved. Paul is now convinced that the church members generally had not in any way sanctioned the crime. But we have no proof that they were plunged into sorrow by it: nor did they at once remove the offender from their midst. And this would be sufficient proof of the low spiritual state of the church.

V. 12. It was not only, or chiefly, for the sake of the incestuous person, or of his father; but to show my care over you.

Verse 12. Not for his cause that had done the wrong] viz. the incestuous person.

Nor for his cause that suffered wrong] Some think the apostle means himself; others, that he means the Church at Corinth, the singular being put for the plural; others, the family of the incestuous person; and others, the father of the incestuous person. If this latter opinion be adopted, it would seem to intimate that the father of this person was yet alive, which would make the transgression more flagrant; but these words might be spoken in reference to the father, if dead, whose cause should be vindicated; as his injured honour might be considered, like Abel’s blood, to be crying from the earth.

But that our care for you-might appear] It was not to get the delinquent punished, nor merely to do justice to those who had suffered in this business, that the apostle wrote his epistle to them, but that they might have the fullest proof of his fatherly affection for them, and his concern for the honour of God; and that they might thereby see how unnatural their opposition to him was, and what cause they had to prefer him, who was ready to give up his life in their service, to that false apostle or teacher who was corrupting their minds, leading them from the simplicity of the truth, and making a gain of them.

Verses 12-16. Wherefore, though I wrote so severely to you — It was not only or chiefly for the sake of the incestuous person, or his father; but to show my care over you; in the sight of God — Who hath committed you to me to be instructed and directed. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort — In hearing you were made happy by my care of you; and exceedingly the more for the joy ye gave to Titus, because his spirit was refreshed — When ye received him with affection, and read my letter with due submission. If I have boasted any thing — Concerning you; to him — That I was confident the converts at Corinth would approve themselves worthy of the esteem in which I held them; I am not ashamed — Of that boasting; but as we spake all things to you in truth — When addressing ourselves to you; so our boasting — Of you to Titus, concerning your good disposition and proper behaviour, has been verified to our great satisfaction. And — Or so that; his inward affection — Greek, ta splagcna autou, his bowels, or tender affection; is more abundant toward you — Than it had been before; while he remembers the obedience — Of the generality of you to those apostolical injunctions which I sent you by him; how ye received him — As my messenger; with fear and trembling — With great solicitude, that there might be nothing in or among you which it might grieve him to observe, or me to hear reported. I rejoice therefore that your behaviour has been such as to give me reason to rely on your ready obedience in all things. Œcumenius has observed, that the apostle, in this part of his epistle, expressed his good opinion of the Corinthians, and mentioned his having praised them to Titus, to prepare them for his exhortations in the two following chapters concerning the collection for the saints in Judea. His address, therefore, in this part of his letter is admirable, especially as, in commending the Corinthians, he expressed himself quite agreeably to the good opinion which he now entertained of them.

12. His cause that had done the wrong—The incestuous transgressor. That suffered—The father. Here St. Paul assures them that it was not to right the parties that he wrote, but to right the Church. There were countless adulterers in Corinth, but Paul did not interfere with them, as they belonged not to the Church, and so did not corrupt it. Our care— Literally, that your zeal for us might be manifested among you before God. His object was to inspire among them a genuine Pauline zeal before God.

Ver. 12. Inference touching the purpose of Paul’s letter, which his readers may fairly draw from its just described effect.

Him who suffered injustice: a definite and known person, evidently the stepmother’s husband, and probably the culprit’s own father, still living, and therefore injured by this incestuous marriage. The woman was probably a heathen. See under 1 Corinthians 5:1. And, that her husband was such, is the easier supposition. For this would explain Paul’s silence about him elsewhere, and the comparative indifference expressed here; and the church’s oversight of the offence. A church-member would probably have compelled the church-officers to take action. Among you: almost the same as to you. Paul wishes that in the church at Corinth, and therefore to the church-members, the earnestness of the whole church on his behalf should be made manifest; in other words he wishes them to become conscious of their loyalty to himself. And this wish prompted him to write; not a desire to inflict punishment, or even to do justice to the injured man. For it was not the apostle’s work to set right all wrongs.

Before God; adds solemnity to Paul’s purpose by pointing to God contemplating, and interested in, the conduct of the church. The word made-manifest suggests that Paul knew that underneath apparent disaffection lay real loyalty to himself. The purposes mentioned here and in 2 Corinthians 2:4 and 7 are in complete harmony. Paul wrote in tears: for he knew that his letter would inflict pain. He wrote to arouse the dormant loyalty which he knew existed; that he might put to the proof their full obedience; and that thus by doing them good he might make known to them his great love for them. And, that this was the purpose of his letter, they might infer from its effect.

Verse 13. For the joy of Titus] Titus, who had now met St. Paul in Macedonia, gave him the most flattering accounts of the improved state of the Corinthian Church; and indeed their kind usage of Titus was a full proof of their affection for St. Paul.

Verses 12-16. Wherefore, though I wrote so severely to you — It was not only or chiefly for the sake of the incestuous person, or his father; but to show my care over you; in the sight of God — Who hath committed you to me to be instructed and directed. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort — In hearing you were made happy by my care of you; and exceedingly the more for the joy ye gave to Titus, because his spirit was refreshed — When ye received him with affection, and read my letter with due submission. If I have boasted any thing — Concerning you; to him — That I was confident the converts at Corinth would approve themselves worthy of the esteem in which I held them; I am not ashamed — Of that boasting; but as we spake all things to you in truth — When addressing ourselves to you; so our boasting — Of you to Titus, concerning your good disposition and proper behaviour, has been verified to our great satisfaction. And — Or so that; his inward affection — Greek, ta splagcna autou, his bowels, or tender affection; is more abundant toward you — Than it had been before; while he remembers the obedience — Of the generality of you to those apostolical injunctions which I sent you by him; how ye received him — As my messenger; with fear and trembling — With great solicitude, that there might be nothing in or among you which it might grieve him to observe, or me to hear reported. I rejoice therefore that your behaviour has been such as to give me reason to rely on your ready obedience in all things. Œcumenius has observed, that the apostle, in this part of his epistle, expressed his good opinion of the Corinthians, and mentioned his having praised them to Titus, to prepare them for his exhortations in the two following chapters concerning the collection for the saints in Judea. His address, therefore, in this part of his letter is admirable, especially as, in commending the Corinthians, he expressed himself quite agreeably to the good opinion which he now entertained of them.

13. Your comfort… joy of Titus—Paul sympathized with both Corinth and Titus. Their comfort was his comfort; Titus’s joy was his joy.

Verse 13b.-16. Another joy, in addition to the encouragement just described. Here, as in 2 Corinthians 7:7, we have joy upon joy. Because his spirit etc.: cause of the joy of Titus, viz. that without exception the Corinthian Christians were to him, in his intercourse with them, a source of spiritual refreshment. Cp. 1 Corinthians 16:18. [The perfect tenses note the abiding effect of the encouragement and of the refreshment, and the abiding position as a responsible witness in which Paul’s boasting about the Corinthians had placed him.] 2 Corinthians 7:14 gives a reason why the joy caused to Titus by his intercourse with the Corinthians was a special encouragement to Paul.

If at all… I have boasted: a delicate compliment to the Corinthians, viz. an intimation that he had expressed to Titus his joyful confidence in them. He is delighted to find that his expressed confidence was justified by what Titus himself saw. Otherwise, Paul’s good opinion about them would have put him to shame. Cp. 2 Corinthians 9:2-4. 2 Corinthians 7:14b states, in contrast to put to shame, what actually happened, with a reason why Paul was specially glad that his boasting about his readers had proved to be true. As herald of Him who is The Truth, he made it a point of honor to speak always exact truth; that thus by claiming respect for his own word he might claim respect for the Gospel he announced. In this he is a pattern to all Christian teachers. Conversely, in 2 Corinthians 1:18f he appeals to the Gospel he preaches in proof of his own general truthfulness. Was found to be true: literally, became true; or, colloquially, turned out true.

Heart: as in 2 Corinthians 6:12. As Christians, Titus loves them. But his intercourse with them called forth a more abundant affection. Remembering; reveals the abiding, and therefore deep, effect upon his mind.

All of you: emphatic, laying stress on the universality of their submission. Cp. 2 Corinthians 7:13.

Obedience: to the apostle’s words brought by Titus.

How with fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3; Ephesians 6:5; Philippians 2:12) etc.; expounds obedience. It reveals the deep mark which Paul had made in his readers’ minds.

Welcomed him: respectfully and readily, as armed with Paul’s authority. 2 Corinthians 7:16 is the happy conclusion of DIV. I. In every point Paul has good hopes about them: and this gives him joy.

SECTION 10 brings to light Paul’s feelings while writing the first Epistle, and its effect on the church at Corinth. He wrote it with bruised heart and with tears; moved, not by a wish to punish the chief offender or even to vindicate the injured man, but by a desire to put to the test, and thus manifest to himself and to them, the loyalty which he knew underlay his readers’ apparent callousness. He was moved to write by his love to them; which he hoped to make better understood by them even through this stern reproof.

So great was his reluctance to cause them pain that he afterwards regretted his well-intended letter. For the purity of his motive did not save him from anxiety about its effect. And he waited eagerly for the return of Titus, with tidings from Corinth. Not finding him at Troas Paul gave up the good opening for the Gospel there presented, and hasted to Macedonia; but only to be plunged into deeper anxiety by not finding Titus even there. At last he came; and with more pleasant news. The letter has produced its designed effect. It has moved the heart of the Corinthian Christians. They were eager to clear themselves from the charge of intentional complicity in the crime, were alarmed at their toleration of it, longed to see their offended father in Christ, and were determined, for the honor of their church, to punish at once the guilty member. Such was the outflow of spiritual life that it touched and refreshed the heart of Titus. And his mission to Corinth laid the foundation of a lasting friendship. With gushing joy Titus narrates all this to Paul.

The joy of Titus, and the improvement at Corinth, of which it was a witness, filled the apostle with joy. The many perils which still surround him, and of which at times he is so deeply conscious, are for the moment forgotten. For, his anxious fears about the success of his labors in the important city of Corinth are dispelled.

REVIEW OF DIVISION I. Already we have seen that of DIV. I. as of the whole Epistle Paul’s famous exposition and defence, in 2 Corinthians 2:14-6:11, of the apostolic ministry is the central and chief part. And we have just seen that the framework in which this exposition is embedded tells us its specific occasion.

DIV. I. begins with an outburst of praise to God, and ends with abundant joy. But the praise was prompted by the apostle’s hardships and perils, in a consciousness that these were a means of good to his readers. In view of a wonderful deliverance from death, he expresses hope for continued deliverance, a hope strengthened by an assurance that his readers pray for him. This assurance rests upon his consciousness of having lived unblameably among them. Having thus claimed their confidence, he repels, as unworthy of a herald of the Gospel, a charge of vacillation in postponing his visit to Corinth. His real motive was kindness. This recalls to him the tears amid which he wrote his former letter. He begs them to receive again the church-member, now repentant, whom in that letter he so severely condemned. He claims their affection still further by saying that his anxiety for them moved him to abandon a favorable opportunity for Christian work at Troas, and drove him in haste to Macedonia.

A review, from this point, of his toils, hardships, and perils, reveals to him the grandeur of his apostolic work, elicits a shout of praise to God, and moves him to set forth at length the credentials and the surpassing greatness of his office, and to show that this greatness is consistent with the fact that many reject the Gospel he unreservedly proclaims and with the deadly perils amid which he proclaims it. These perils are designed to make known the power of God, who rescues him from them. And they cannot deter the apostles: for with the eye of faith they look forward to the resurrection of the dead, to an immediate entrance at death into the presence of Christ, and to the reward of the great day. Their devotion to Christ’s great work is prompted by Christ’s great love, and by their own commission from God. With this commission their entire conduct accords. Supported by this exposition of the principles of his life, Paul claims his readers’ affection. And, remembering the secret source of the disaffection at Corinth, he warns them to shake off all connection with idolatry and sin. He indignantly repels the charge that he has treated them with injustice and rapacity. And, to strengthen his appeal, he says that to others he speaks confidently in their favor; and that he is now filled with joy by the good news about them which Titus has brought. He rejoices the more because he now sees that his letter to them, which he afterwards regretted, has gained its purpose. The sorrow which he foresaw it would cause has done them good. He is overjoyed to find that their conduct has filled Titus with warm love to them. And he concludes his long defence of himself and his office by a joyful expression of complete confidence in his readers. Notice that throughout DIV. I., when speaking of the grandeur and the perils of his work and of his faithfulness therein, Paul says we, us, remembering that all this is shared by Timothy who joins him in the letter, and by others. But when (2 Corinthians 2:3-11) speaking of his former letter, in which Timothy had no share, or (2 Corinthians 1:15-2:2) of the specific charge against himself of vacillation in his purpose to come to Corinth, he says, I, me. About his journey to Macedonia, he says first (2 Corinthians 2:12f) I, me, thinking only of his own deep anxiety; and afterwards (2 Corinthians 7:5) we came, remembering that he was accompanied by others, and probably by Timothy. Throughout the whole, when speaking of blame, he prefers to stand alone: when speaking of perils and of faithfulness, he associates others with himself.

Verse 14. For if I have boasted] The apostle had given Titus a very high character of this Church, and of their attachment to himself; and doubtless this was the case previously to the evil teacher getting among them, who had succeeded in changing their conduct, and changing in a great measure their character also; but now they return to themselves, resume their lost ground, so that the good character which the apostle gave them before, and which they had for a time forfeited, is now as applicable to them as ever. Therefore his boasting of them is still found a truth.

Verses 12-16. Wherefore, though I wrote so severely to you — It was not only or chiefly for the sake of the incestuous person, or his father; but to show my care over you; in the sight of God — Who hath committed you to me to be instructed and directed. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort — In hearing you were made happy by my care of you; and exceedingly the more for the joy ye gave to Titus, because his spirit was refreshed — When ye received him with affection, and read my letter with due submission. If I have boasted any thing — Concerning you; to him — That I was confident the converts at Corinth would approve themselves worthy of the esteem in which I held them; I am not ashamed — Of that boasting; but as we spake all things to you in truth — When addressing ourselves to you; so our boasting — Of you to Titus, concerning your good disposition and proper behaviour, has been verified to our great satisfaction. And — Or so that; his inward affection — Greek, ta splagcna autou, his bowels, or tender affection; is more abundant toward you — Than it had been before; while he remembers the obedience — Of the generality of you to those apostolical injunctions which I sent you by him; how ye received him — As my messenger; with fear and trembling — With great solicitude, that there might be nothing in or among you which it might grieve him to observe, or me to hear reported. I rejoice therefore that your behaviour has been such as to give me reason to rely on your ready obedience in all things. Œcumenius has observed, that the apostle, in this part of his epistle, expressed his good opinion of the Corinthians, and mentioned his having praised them to Titus, to prepare them for his exhortations in the two following chapters concerning the collection for the saints in Judea. His address, therefore, in this part of his letter is admirable, especially as, in commending the Corinthians, he expressed himself quite agreeably to the good opinion which he now entertained of them.

14. Boasted… ashamed—Paul takes care to offer Titus to their high respect. Titus had justified his highest boasts.

Verse 13b.-16. Another joy, in addition to the encouragement just described. Here, as in 2 Corinthians 7:7, we have joy upon joy. Because his spirit etc.: cause of the joy of Titus, viz. that without exception the Corinthian Christians were to him, in his intercourse with them, a source of spiritual refreshment. Cp. 1 Corinthians 16:18. [The perfect tenses note the abiding effect of the encouragement and of the refreshment, and the abiding position as a responsible witness in which Paul’s boasting about the Corinthians had placed him.] 2 Corinthians 7:14 gives a reason why the joy caused to Titus by his intercourse with the Corinthians was a special encouragement to Paul.

If at all… I have boasted: a delicate compliment to the Corinthians, viz. an intimation that he had expressed to Titus his joyful confidence in them. He is delighted to find that his expressed confidence was justified by what Titus himself saw. Otherwise, Paul’s good opinion about them would have put him to shame. Cp. 2 Corinthians 9:2-4. 2 Corinthians 7:14b states, in contrast to put to shame, what actually happened, with a reason why Paul was specially glad that his boasting about his readers had proved to be true. As herald of Him who is The Truth, he made it a point of honor to speak always exact truth; that thus by claiming respect for his own word he might claim respect for the Gospel he announced. In this he is a pattern to all Christian teachers. Conversely, in 2 Corinthians 1:18f he appeals to the Gospel he preaches in proof of his own general truthfulness. Was found to be true: literally, became true; or, colloquially, turned out true.

Heart: as in 2 Corinthians 6:12. As Christians, Titus loves them. But his intercourse with them called forth a more abundant affection. Remembering; reveals the abiding, and therefore deep, effect upon his mind.

All of you: emphatic, laying stress on the universality of their submission. Cp. 2 Corinthians 7:13.

Obedience: to the apostle’s words brought by Titus.

How with fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3; Ephesians 6:5; Philippians 2:12) etc.; expounds obedience. It reveals the deep mark which Paul had made in his readers’ minds.

Welcomed him: respectfully and readily, as armed with Paul’s authority. 2 Corinthians 7:16 is the happy conclusion of DIV. I. In every point Paul has good hopes about them: and this gives him joy.

SECTION 10 brings to light Paul’s feelings while writing the first Epistle, and its effect on the church at Corinth. He wrote it with bruised heart and with tears; moved, not by a wish to punish the chief offender or even to vindicate the injured man, but by a desire to put to the test, and thus manifest to himself and to them, the loyalty which he knew underlay his readers’ apparent callousness. He was moved to write by his love to them; which he hoped to make better understood by them even through this stern reproof.

So great was his reluctance to cause them pain that he afterwards regretted his well-intended letter. For the purity of his motive did not save him from anxiety about its effect. And he waited eagerly for the return of Titus, with tidings from Corinth. Not finding him at Troas Paul gave up the good opening for the Gospel there presented, and hasted to Macedonia; but only to be plunged into deeper anxiety by not finding Titus even there. At last he came; and with more pleasant news. The letter has produced its designed effect. It has moved the heart of the Corinthian Christians. They were eager to clear themselves from the charge of intentional complicity in the crime, were alarmed at their toleration of it, longed to see their offended father in Christ, and were determined, for the honor of their church, to punish at once the guilty member. Such was the outflow of spiritual life that it touched and refreshed the heart of Titus. And his mission to Corinth laid the foundation of a lasting friendship. With gushing joy Titus narrates all this to Paul.

The joy of Titus, and the improvement at Corinth, of which it was a witness, filled the apostle with joy. The many perils which still surround him, and of which at times he is so deeply conscious, are for the moment forgotten. For, his anxious fears about the success of his labors in the important city of Corinth are dispelled.

REVIEW OF DIVISION I. Already we have seen that of DIV. I. as of the whole Epistle Paul’s famous exposition and defence, in 2 Corinthians 2:14-6:11, of the apostolic ministry is the central and chief part. And we have just seen that the framework in which this exposition is embedded tells us its specific occasion.

DIV. I. begins with an outburst of praise to God, and ends with abundant joy. But the praise was prompted by the apostle’s hardships and perils, in a consciousness that these were a means of good to his readers. In view of a wonderful deliverance from death, he expresses hope for continued deliverance, a hope strengthened by an assurance that his readers pray for him. This assurance rests upon his consciousness of having lived unblameably among them. Having thus claimed their confidence, he repels, as unworthy of a herald of the Gospel, a charge of vacillation in postponing his visit to Corinth. His real motive was kindness. This recalls to him the tears amid which he wrote his former letter. He begs them to receive again the church-member, now repentant, whom in that letter he so severely condemned. He claims their affection still further by saying that his anxiety for them moved him to abandon a favorable opportunity for Christian work at Troas, and drove him in haste to Macedonia.

A review, from this point, of his toils, hardships, and perils, reveals to him the grandeur of his apostolic work, elicits a shout of praise to God, and moves him to set forth at length the credentials and the surpassing greatness of his office, and to show that this greatness is consistent with the fact that many reject the Gospel he unreservedly proclaims and with the deadly perils amid which he proclaims it. These perils are designed to make known the power of God, who rescues him from them. And they cannot deter the apostles: for with the eye of faith they look forward to the resurrection of the dead, to an immediate entrance at death into the presence of Christ, and to the reward of the great day. Their devotion to Christ’s great work is prompted by Christ’s great love, and by their own commission from God. With this commission their entire conduct accords. Supported by this exposition of the principles of his life, Paul claims his readers’ affection. And, remembering the secret source of the disaffection at Corinth, he warns them to shake off all connection with idolatry and sin. He indignantly repels the charge that he has treated them with injustice and rapacity. And, to strengthen his appeal, he says that to others he speaks confidently in their favor; and that he is now filled with joy by the good news about them which Titus has brought. He rejoices the more because he now sees that his letter to them, which he afterwards regretted, has gained its purpose. The sorrow which he foresaw it would cause has done them good. He is overjoyed to find that their conduct has filled Titus with warm love to them. And he concludes his long defence of himself and his office by a joyful expression of complete confidence in his readers. Notice that throughout DIV. I., when speaking of the grandeur and the perils of his work and of his faithfulness therein, Paul says we, us, remembering that all this is shared by Timothy who joins him in the letter, and by others. But when (2 Corinthians 2:3-11) speaking of his former letter, in which Timothy had no share, or (2 Corinthians 1:15-2:2) of the specific charge against himself of vacillation in his purpose to come to Corinth, he says, I, me. About his journey to Macedonia, he says first (2 Corinthians 2:12f) I, me, thinking only of his own deep anxiety; and afterwards (2 Corinthians 7:5) we came, remembering that he was accompanied by others, and probably by Timothy. Throughout the whole, when speaking of blame, he prefers to stand alone: when speaking of perils and of faithfulness, he associates others with himself.

Verse 15. And his inward affection] ta splagagcna autou. Those bowels of his-his most tender affection. For the meaning of this word see Clarke’s note on “Matthew 9:36”.

Whilst he remembereth the obedience of you all] This is a very natural picture; he represents Titus as overjoyed even while he is delivering his account of the Corinthian Church. He expatiated on it with extreme delight, and thereby showed at once both his love for St. Paul and his love for them. He loved them because they so loved the apostle; and he loved them because they had shown such kindness to himself; and he loved them because he found so many excellent and rare gifts, joined to so much humility, producing such an exemplary and holy life.

With fear and trembling ye received him.] Ye reverenced his authority; ye were obedient to his directions; and ye dreaded lest any thing should be undone or ill done which he had delivered to you in the name of God.

Verses 12-16. Wherefore, though I wrote so severely to you — It was not only or chiefly for the sake of the incestuous person, or his father; but to show my care over you; in the sight of God — Who hath committed you to me to be instructed and directed. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort — In hearing you were made happy by my care of you; and exceedingly the more for the joy ye gave to Titus, because his spirit was refreshed — When ye received him with affection, and read my letter with due submission. If I have boasted any thing — Concerning you; to him — That I was confident the converts at Corinth would approve themselves worthy of the esteem in which I held them; I am not ashamed — Of that boasting; but as we spake all things to you in truth — When addressing ourselves to you; so our boasting — Of you to Titus, concerning your good disposition and proper behaviour, has been verified to our great satisfaction. And — Or so that; his inward affection — Greek, ta splagcna autou, his bowels, or tender affection; is more abundant toward you — Than it had been before; while he remembers the obedience — Of the generality of you to those apostolical injunctions which I sent you by him; how ye received him — As my messenger; with fear and trembling — With great solicitude, that there might be nothing in or among you which it might grieve him to observe, or me to hear reported. I rejoice therefore that your behaviour has been such as to give me reason to rely on your ready obedience in all things. Œcumenius has observed, that the apostle, in this part of his epistle, expressed his good opinion of the Corinthians, and mentioned his having praised them to Titus, to prepare them for his exhortations in the two following chapters concerning the collection for the saints in Judea. His address, therefore, in this part of his letter is admirable, especially as, in commending the Corinthians, he expressed himself quite agreeably to the good opinion which he now entertained of them.

Verse 13b.-16. Another joy, in addition to the encouragement just described. Here, as in 2 Corinthians 7:7, we have joy upon joy. Because his spirit etc.: cause of the joy of Titus, viz. that without exception the Corinthian Christians were to him, in his intercourse with them, a source of spiritual refreshment. Cp. 1 Corinthians 16:18. [The perfect tenses note the abiding effect of the encouragement and of the refreshment, and the abiding position as a responsible witness in which Paul’s boasting about the Corinthians had placed him.] 2 Corinthians 7:14 gives a reason why the joy caused to Titus by his intercourse with the Corinthians was a special encouragement to Paul.

If at all… I have boasted: a delicate compliment to the Corinthians, viz. an intimation that he had expressed to Titus his joyful confidence in them. He is delighted to find that his expressed confidence was justified by what Titus himself saw. Otherwise, Paul’s good opinion about them would have put him to shame. Cp. 2 Corinthians 9:2-4. 2 Corinthians 7:14b states, in contrast to put to shame, what actually happened, with a reason why Paul was specially glad that his boasting about his readers had proved to be true. As herald of Him who is The Truth, he made it a point of honor to speak always exact truth; that thus by claiming respect for his own word he might claim respect for the Gospel he announced. In this he is a pattern to all Christian teachers. Conversely, in 2 Corinthians 1:18f he appeals to the Gospel he preaches in proof of his own general truthfulness. Was found to be true: literally, became true; or, colloquially, turned out true.

Heart: as in 2 Corinthians 6:12. As Christians, Titus loves them. But his intercourse with them called forth a more abundant affection. Remembering; reveals the abiding, and therefore deep, effect upon his mind.

All of you: emphatic, laying stress on the universality of their submission. Cp. 2 Corinthians 7:13.

Obedience: to the apostle’s words brought by Titus.

How with fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3; Ephesians 6:5; Philippians 2:12) etc.; expounds obedience. It reveals the deep mark which Paul had made in his readers’ minds.

Welcomed him: respectfully and readily, as armed with Paul’s authority. 2 Corinthians 7:16 is the happy conclusion of DIV. I. In every point Paul has good hopes about them: and this gives him joy.

SECTION 10 brings to light Paul’s feelings while writing the first Epistle, and its effect on the church at Corinth. He wrote it with bruised heart and with tears; moved, not by a wish to punish the chief offender or even to vindicate the injured man, but by a desire to put to the test, and thus manifest to himself and to them, the loyalty which he knew underlay his readers’ apparent callousness. He was moved to write by his love to them; which he hoped to make better understood by them even through this stern reproof.

So great was his reluctance to cause them pain that he afterwards regretted his well-intended letter. For the purity of his motive did not save him from anxiety about its effect. And he waited eagerly for the return of Titus, with tidings from Corinth. Not finding him at Troas Paul gave up the good opening for the Gospel there presented, and hasted to Macedonia; but only to be plunged into deeper anxiety by not finding Titus even there. At last he came; and with more pleasant news. The letter has produced its designed effect. It has moved the heart of the Corinthian Christians. They were eager to clear themselves from the charge of intentional complicity in the crime, were alarmed at their toleration of it, longed to see their offended father in Christ, and were determined, for the honor of their church, to punish at once the guilty member. Such was the outflow of spiritual life that it touched and refreshed the heart of Titus. And his mission to Corinth laid the foundation of a lasting friendship. With gushing joy Titus narrates all this to Paul.

The joy of Titus, and the improvement at Corinth, of which it was a witness, filled the apostle with joy. The many perils which still surround him, and of which at times he is so deeply conscious, are for the moment forgotten. For, his anxious fears about the success of his labors in the important city of Corinth are dispelled.

REVIEW OF DIVISION I. Already we have seen that of DIV. I. as of the whole Epistle Paul’s famous exposition and defence, in 2 Corinthians 2:14-6:11, of the apostolic ministry is the central and chief part. And we have just seen that the framework in which this exposition is embedded tells us its specific occasion.

DIV. I. begins with an outburst of praise to God, and ends with abundant joy. But the praise was prompted by the apostle’s hardships and perils, in a consciousness that these were a means of good to his readers. In view of a wonderful deliverance from death, he expresses hope for continued deliverance, a hope strengthened by an assurance that his readers pray for him. This assurance rests upon his consciousness of having lived unblameably among them. Having thus claimed their confidence, he repels, as unworthy of a herald of the Gospel, a charge of vacillation in postponing his visit to Corinth. His real motive was kindness. This recalls to him the tears amid which he wrote his former letter. He begs them to receive again the church-member, now repentant, whom in that letter he so severely condemned. He claims their affection still further by saying that his anxiety for them moved him to abandon a favorable opportunity for Christian work at Troas, and drove him in haste to Macedonia.

A review, from this point, of his toils, hardships, and perils, reveals to him the grandeur of his apostolic work, elicits a shout of praise to God, and moves him to set forth at length the credentials and the surpassing greatness of his office, and to show that this greatness is consistent with the fact that many reject the Gospel he unreservedly proclaims and with the deadly perils amid which he proclaims it. These perils are designed to make known the power of God, who rescues him from them. And they cannot deter the apostles: for with the eye of faith they look forward to the resurrection of the dead, to an immediate entrance at death into the presence of Christ, and to the reward of the great day. Their devotion to Christ’s great work is prompted by Christ’s great love, and by their own commission from God. With this commission their entire conduct accords. Supported by this exposition of the principles of his life, Paul claims his readers’ affection. And, remembering the secret source of the disaffection at Corinth, he warns them to shake off all connection with idolatry and sin. He indignantly repels the charge that he has treated them with injustice and rapacity. And, to strengthen his appeal, he says that to others he speaks confidently in their favor; and that he is now filled with joy by the good news about them which Titus has brought. He rejoices the more because he now sees that his letter to them, which he afterwards regretted, has gained its purpose. The sorrow which he foresaw it would cause has done them good. He is overjoyed to find that their conduct has filled Titus with warm love to them. And he concludes his long defence of himself and his office by a joyful expression of complete confidence in his readers. Notice that throughout DIV. I., when speaking of the grandeur and the perils of his work and of his faithfulness therein, Paul says we, us, remembering that all this is shared by Timothy who joins him in the letter, and by others. But when (2 Corinthians 2:3-11) speaking of his former letter, in which Timothy had no share, or (2 Corinthians 1:15-2:2) of the specific charge against himself of vacillation in his purpose to come to Corinth, he says, I, me. About his journey to Macedonia, he says first (2 Corinthians 2:12f) I, me, thinking only of his own deep anxiety; and afterwards (2 Corinthians 7:5) we came, remembering that he was accompanied by others, and probably by Timothy. Throughout the whole, when speaking of blame, he prefers to stand alone: when speaking of perils and of faithfulness, he associates others with himself.

Verse 16. I have confidence in you, in all things.] It appears that the apostle was now fully persuaded, from the accounts given by Titus, that every scandal had been put away from this Church; that the faction which had long distracted and divided them was nearly broken; that all was on the eve of being restored to its primitive purity and excellence; and that their character was now so firmly fixed, that there was no reason to apprehend that they should be again tossed to and fRomans with every wind of doctrine.

1. THUS a happy termination was put to an affair that seemed likely to ruin the Christian Church, not only at Corinth, but through all Greece; for, if this bad man, who had been chief in opposing the apostle’s authority, bringing in licentious doctrines, and denying the resurrection of the dead, had ultimately succeeded at Corinth, his doctrine and influence might soon have extended over Greece and Asia Minor, and the great work of God which had been wrought in those parts would have been totally destroyed. This one consideration is sufficient to account for the apostle’s great anxiety and distress on account of the divisions and heresies at Corinth. He knew it was a most pernicious leaven; and, unless destroyed, must destroy the work of God. The loss of the affections of the Church at Corinth, however much it might affect the tender, fatherly heart of the apostle, cannot account for the awful apprehensions, poignant distress, and deep anguish, which he, in different parts of these epistles, so feelingly describes; and which he describes as having been invariably his portion from the time that he heard of their perversion, till he was assured of their restoration by the account brought by Titus.

2. A scandal or heresy in the Church of God is ruinous at all times, but particularly so when the cause is in its infancy; and therefore the messengers of God cannot be too careful to lay the foundation well in doctrine, to establish the strictest discipline, and to be very cautious whom they admit and accredit as members of the Church of Christ. It is certain that the door should be opened wide to admit penitent sinners; but the watchman should ever stand by, to see that no improper person enter in. Christian prudence should ever be connected with Christian zeal. It is a great work to bring sinners to Christ; it is a greater work to preserve them in the faith; and it requires much grace and much wisdom to keep the Church of Christ pure, not only by not permitting the unholy to enter, but by casting out those who apostatize or work iniquity. Slackness in discipline generally precedes corruption of doctrine; the former generating the latter.

II CORINTHIANS

Verses 12-16. Wherefore, though I wrote so severely to you — It was not only or chiefly for the sake of the incestuous person, or his father; but to show my care over you; in the sight of God — Who hath committed you to me to be instructed and directed. Therefore we were comforted in your comfort — In hearing you were made happy by my care of you; and exceedingly the more for the joy ye gave to Titus, because his spirit was refreshed — When ye received him with affection, and read my letter with due submission. If I have boasted any thing — Concerning you; to him — That I was confident the converts at Corinth would approve themselves worthy of the esteem in which I held them; I am not ashamed — Of that boasting; but as we spake all things to you in truth — When addressing ourselves to you; so our boasting — Of you to Titus, concerning your good disposition and proper behaviour, has been verified to our great satisfaction. And — Or so that; his inward affection — Greek, ta splagcna autou, his bowels, or tender affection; is more abundant toward you — Than it had been before; while he remembers the obedience — Of the generality of you to those apostolical injunctions which I sent you by him; how ye received him — As my messenger; with fear and trembling — With great solicitude, that there might be nothing in or among you which it might grieve him to observe, or me to hear reported. I rejoice therefore that your behaviour has been such as to give me reason to rely on your ready obedience in all things. Œcumenius has observed, that the apostle, in this part of his epistle, expressed his good opinion of the Corinthians, and mentioned his having praised them to Titus, to prepare them for his exhortations in the two following chapters concerning the collection for the saints in Judea. His address, therefore, in this part of his letter is admirable, especially as, in commending the Corinthians, he expressed himself quite agreeably to the good opinion which he now entertained of them.

16. Confidence—In this word is the final seal of settlement of all misgivings between St. Paul and his Corinthians. The agonies of suspense and distrust are all over, and their hearts are one. He will meet them again as their assured apostle. And he will now exhibit his confidence in their fidelity by moving them to open their pockets, and give a generous lead in furnishing funds for the poor saints at Jerusalem.

Verse 13b.-16. Another joy, in addition to the encouragement just described. Here, as in 2 Corinthians 7:7, we have joy upon joy. Because his spirit etc.: cause of the joy of Titus, viz. that without exception the Corinthian Christians were to him, in his intercourse with them, a source of spiritual refreshment. Cp. 1 Corinthians 16:18. [The perfect tenses note the abiding effect of the encouragement and of the refreshment, and the abiding position as a responsible witness in which Paul’s boasting about the Corinthians had placed him.] 2 Corinthians 7:14 gives a reason why the joy caused to Titus by his intercourse with the Corinthians was a special encouragement to Paul.

If at all… I have boasted: a delicate compliment to the Corinthians, viz. an intimation that he had expressed to Titus his joyful confidence in them. He is delighted to find that his expressed confidence was justified by what Titus himself saw. Otherwise, Paul’s good opinion about them would have put him to shame. Cp. 2 Corinthians 9:2-4. 2 Corinthians 7:14b states, in contrast to put to shame, what actually happened, with a reason why Paul was specially glad that his boasting about his readers had proved to be true. As herald of Him who is The Truth, he made it a point of honor to speak always exact truth; that thus by claiming respect for his own word he might claim respect for the Gospel he announced. In this he is a pattern to all Christian teachers. Conversely, in 2 Corinthians 1:18f he appeals to the Gospel he preaches in proof of his own general truthfulness. Was found to be true: literally, became true; or, colloquially, turned out true.

Heart: as in 2 Corinthians 6:12. As Christians, Titus loves them. But his intercourse with them called forth a more abundant affection. Remembering; reveals the abiding, and therefore deep, effect upon his mind.

All of you: emphatic, laying stress on the universality of their submission. Cp. 2 Corinthians 7:13.

Obedience: to the apostle’s words brought by Titus.

How with fear and trembling (1 Corinthians 2:3; Ephesians 6:5; Philippians 2:12) etc.; expounds obedience. It reveals the deep mark which Paul had made in his readers’ minds.

Welcomed him: respectfully and readily, as armed with Paul’s authority. 2 Corinthians 7:16 is the happy conclusion of DIV. I. In every point Paul has good hopes about them: and this gives him joy.

SECTION 10 brings to light Paul’s feelings while writing the first Epistle, and its effect on the church at Corinth. He wrote it with bruised heart and with tears; moved, not by a wish to punish the chief offender or even to vindicate the injured man, but by a desire to put to the test, and thus manifest to himself and to them, the loyalty which he knew underlay his readers’ apparent callousness. He was moved to write by his love to them; which he hoped to make better understood by them even through this stern reproof.

So great was his reluctance to cause them pain that he afterwards regretted his well-intended letter. For the purity of his motive did not save him from anxiety about its effect. And he waited eagerly for the return of Titus, with tidings from Corinth. Not finding him at Troas Paul gave up the good opening for the Gospel there presented, and hasted to Macedonia; but only to be plunged into deeper anxiety by not finding Titus even there. At last he came; and with more pleasant news. The letter has produced its designed effect. It has moved the heart of the Corinthian Christians. They were eager to clear themselves from the charge of intentional complicity in the crime, were alarmed at their toleration of it, longed to see their offended father in Christ, and were determined, for the honor of their church, to punish at once the guilty member. Such was the outflow of spiritual life that it touched and refreshed the heart of Titus. And his mission to Corinth laid the foundation of a lasting friendship. With gushing joy Titus narrates all this to Paul.

The joy of Titus, and the improvement at Corinth, of which it was a witness, filled the apostle with joy. The many perils which still surround him, and of which at times he is so deeply conscious, are for the moment forgotten. For, his anxious fears about the success of his labors in the important city of Corinth are dispelled.

REVIEW OF DIVISION I. Already we have seen that of DIV. I. as of the whole Epistle Paul’s famous exposition and defence, in 2 Corinthians 2:14-6:11, of the apostolic ministry is the central and chief part. And we have just seen that the framework in which this exposition is embedded tells us its specific occasion.

DIV. I. begins with an outburst of praise to God, and ends with abundant joy. But the praise was prompted by the apostle’s hardships and perils, in a consciousness that these were a means of good to his readers. In view of a wonderful deliverance from death, he expresses hope for continued deliverance, a hope strengthened by an assurance that his readers pray for him. This assurance rests upon his consciousness of having lived unblameably among them. Having thus claimed their confidence, he repels, as unworthy of a herald of the Gospel, a charge of vacillation in postponing his visit to Corinth. His real motive was kindness. This recalls to him the tears amid which he wrote his former letter. He begs them to receive again the church-member, now repentant, whom in that letter he so severely condemned. He claims their affection still further by saying that his anxiety for them moved him to abandon a favorable opportunity for Christian work at Troas, and drove him in haste to Macedonia.

A review, from this point, of his toils, hardships, and perils, reveals to him the grandeur of his apostolic work, elicits a shout of praise to God, and moves him to set forth at length the credentials and the surpassing greatness of his office, and to show that this greatness is consistent with the fact that many reject the Gospel he unreservedly proclaims and with the deadly perils amid which he proclaims it. These perils are designed to make known the power of God, who rescues him from them. And they cannot deter the apostles: for with the eye of faith they look forward to the resurrection of the dead, to an immediate entrance at death into the presence of Christ, and to the reward of the great day. Their devotion to Christ’s great work is prompted by Christ’s great love, and by their own commission from God. With this commission their entire conduct accords. Supported by this exposition of the principles of his life, Paul claims his readers’ affection. And, remembering the secret source of the disaffection at Corinth, he warns them to shake off all connection with idolatry and sin. He indignantly repels the charge that he has treated them with injustice and rapacity. And, to strengthen his appeal, he says that to others he speaks confidently in their favor; and that he is now filled with joy by the good news about them which Titus has brought. He rejoices the more because he now sees that his letter to them, which he afterwards regretted, has gained its purpose. The sorrow which he foresaw it would cause has done them good. He is overjoyed to find that their conduct has filled Titus with warm love to them. And he concludes his long defence of himself and his office by a joyful expression of complete confidence in his readers. Notice that throughout DIV. I., when speaking of the grandeur and the perils of his work and of his faithfulness therein, Paul says we, us, remembering that all this is shared by Timothy who joins him in the letter, and by others. But when (2 Corinthians 2:3-11) speaking of his former letter, in which Timothy had no share, or (2 Corinthians 1:15-2:2) of the specific charge against himself of vacillation in his purpose to come to Corinth, he says, I, me. About his journey to Macedonia, he says first (2 Corinthians 2:12f) I, me, thinking only of his own deep anxiety; and afterwards (2 Corinthians 7:5) we came, remembering that he was accompanied by others, and probably by Timothy. Throughout the whole, when speaking of blame, he prefers to stand alone: when speaking of perils and of faithfulness, he associates others with himself.